Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
“Is your girlfriend coming over?” D-Low smirks at me as he pulls a clean T-shirt on over his head.
“How much longer are you going to do that?” I ask with a small laugh. I’m sprawled out on the couch, staring at my phone after a long practice.
“What? She is your girlfriend, right?”
“You know she is.” Though I’m regretting telling him now.
“I do, but I love hearing it.” His smile is as wide as I’ve ever seen it. “I’m just so happy for you. I can’t believe you asked her. That’s huge.”
“Thanks, man.” It is sort of huge. “I think I blacked out during it, so I’m not sure how proud of me you should be.”
His grin is lopsided as he plops down on the opposite side of the couch from me. “Is she coming over tonight?”
“No, they had an away game.”
“Did they win?”
I shake my head. “JV lost again.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.” I drop my gaze to my phone again. I’ve been staring at an empty note for the better part of an hour.
“Consoling her with dick pics, again?”
“What?” I laugh and shoot him a “please tell me that isn’t how you console chicks” look. “No. I’m working on my speech for this weekend.”
“Speech?” he asks, then his eyes widen. “You’re going to the retirement ceremony for your old coach?”
“Yeah.”
“When did you decide that?”
“When I was in Houston,” I admit. “Talking with Whitney made me realize how much I want to be there for Coach Carson. He did a lot for me, and in return, I can do this one thing for him. Maybe.”
“Well, fuck, you’re having a banner month.” An expression crosses his features that I can’t immediately place. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything. Did I get replaced? Are you not going to tell me things now? Did Whitney bump me out of BFF status?”
“I’m sorry.” I fight a laugh. He looks so serious, I don’t want to hurt his feelings. “It’s been busy. We haven’t had time to talk in a few days, but you know you’re still my best friend. Always.”
“Busy with your new girlfriend.” He sighs dramatically, then finally breaks out into a smile. “So, tell me about this speech. What do you have so far?”
“Big fat nothing.” Not a single word. “I can’t focus because I just keep thinking what a terrible idea this is. How am I going to stand up there and give a speech?”
“Picture them naked?”
“No.” I scrunch up my face at the prospect and shake my head. I tried that once on a date, and it did not improve the situation. The only thing worse than sitting across from someone with no idea what to say is doing so with an erection.
“Okay.” He sits forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You need a speech. Something you can get through so fast, your brain doesn’t have time to panic.”
I’m also not sure that’s possible, but I don’t stop him. He has that look of deep concentration on his face.
“Short and concise. There’s no time quota, right?”
“No, but I think speech implies a certain length.”
“Eh.” He waves off my concern. “Other people’s constraints are not your concern.”
I laugh. “It must be nice to go through life with that motto.”
He grins wider. “Okay, let’s hear your ideas.”
“I don’t know. ‘Congratulations, Coach Carson, and good luck in retirement,’” I say as I also tap the words into the blank note.
“And fuck all the rest of you.” D-Low sits back, leaning against the couch cushion. “Done. Want to watch a movie?”
“Yeah. Might as well.” I toss my phone to the side.
“You’ll figure out what to say,” he says more seriously. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Are you sure? It’s been a while since I’ve hung out with your parents. I bet they miss me.”
“I’m sure they do, but it’s a quick trip.” I’ll get in Friday afternoon and fly back early Sunday.
“Is Whitney going with you?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“She’s been my girlfriend for two seconds. I think I’ll save her the torture of meeting my parents and watching me pass out in front of my old classmates.”
“You’re going to be fine.” He pulls out his phone, and I guess that’s the end of that conversation.
I pick up my own phone, ignoring the speech for now and navigating back to my messages with Whitney. The varsity game was still finishing up last I talked to her. I hope they won, but I don’t think it’ll really improve her mood.
I hate that she’s struggling so much. And I hate it even more that I can’t figure out how to help her.
I thought bringing the boys to the arena would help, I don’t know, inspire them or something, but I was grasping at straws.
I think it was more inspiring to me than it was to them.
I’m never going to forget looking up into the stands and seeing Whitney cheering me on while wearing my jersey.
My phone vibrates in my hands. D-Low is air-dropping a file. I glance up at him as I click Accept. He’s grinning at me.
When the file downloads and opens, I laugh.
“What is this?”
“My valedictorian speech.”
I should have guessed he was top of his class. I’ve never met anyone smarter than D-Low. Most guys who’ve already signed a professional deal would lessen their college load and focus on hockey. D-Low double-majored in aerospace engineering and math.
“For what purpose?” I read a few lines and chuckle under my breath. It’s good. Funny. Smart. Classic D-Low wit and charm.
“Backup in case you can’t come up with anything. You’ll have to tweak the wording, but there’s some gold in there.”
“‘Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass,’” I read.
“My girl Maya Angelou said that.”
“And you put it in your high school valedictorian speech?” I scan the rest of it for other hidden gems.
“It’s a great quote. And also, I wanted an excuse to say ‘bitch’ and ‘ass’ in front of the entire school.” The corners of his mouth lift higher.
I’m not sure Coach Carson is looking for this type of “go out and conquer life” motivation going into retirement, but I appreciate the gesture anyway.
“Thanks.”
“Any time. In fact, I think I’ve got my eighth-grade graduation speech somewhere too.”
“You also spoke at your eighth-grade graduation?” Why am I even surprised?
“Mm-hmm.” He nods.
A chuckle loosens in my chest, and I shake my head. “How are we even friends?”