Chapter Ten
Jake
Monday afternoon, I check my watch. It’s three forty-five. Sweat dapples my brow. I’ve come straight from cone drills and traffic across town has been a bitch. I just pray I haven’t missed her.
When I pull up in the parking lot at The Bounty, it’s five minutes before four. I swing open the door to find the diner bursting at the seams with customers. I search the room. My gaze falls on Serenity and I breathe a sigh of relief. She’s still here.
There are no free tables, so I take a seat at the bar. I look over at her. She’s rushed off her feet. I pick up a menu, though instead of deciding what to order, I watch her out the corner of my eye. Even her fake smiles are cute.
River texted me and asked if I wanted to go see a movie with her after school, seeing as she didn’t have any friends in Canyon.
I felt guilty turning her down, when I didn’t have an excuse that meant I could be truthful.
I told her I was going to hang out with some of my teammates, except she asked me who and I fudged a response.
‘Excuse me, can we get a selfie?’
I turn my head. There’s a woman standing there with her teenage son, holding up her phone. The kid looks embarrassed. I panic, thinking I can’t get tagged in a photo taken at Serenity’s place of work.
‘I, uhh… Not to sound rude, but I don’t really say yes to selfies. Would you take an autograph?’
She looks a little annoyed at first. Her son takes off his Mutineers cap.
‘Do you have a pen?’ I ask.
The woman looks blank, like she’s expecting me to carry one.
‘Here,’ a voice says to my right, and I find Serenity is behind the bar, holding out a black Sharpie.
I give her a wide grin. ‘Thank you.’
I still find it weird, that strangers would want my name on their stuff. Still, the kid looks pleased and thanks me when I sign his cap. His mom puts her phone away.
‘Seriously, what kind of major league athlete doesn’t carry a marker around?’ Serenity asks when they’re gone and I hand her back the pen, though she’s smiling when she says it.
‘Not this one, clearly.’
‘That the first time you got asked for your autograph?’
‘No, I just… lesson learned. Always carry a pen. What about you? You ever get asked for an autograph?’
There’s a woman at the other end of the bar trying to get her attention. The apples of Serenity’s cheeks look pink and dewy, and it’s hard not to focus on her lips and think about what it must be like to kiss them.
‘We had to pay a visit to an old folks’ home last week. I signed a T-shirt for a raffle, does that count?’
‘Sure, it does.’
‘Miss!’
The woman at the end of the bar looks irate.
‘I’ll be right there,’ Serenity replies in the sweetest tone, though the look she gives me tells me she’s exasperated.
‘Your shift ends soon, right? Can we talk?’
‘Can’t be seen with you, Jake. You know the rules.’
She’s already walking around the other side of the bar with a pay machine. As she passes me, I whisper, ‘Then how do I give you the details for our date?’
She reaches into her apron, passes me back the Sharpie, then leans over me, grabs a paper napkin and places it in front of me on the bar. ‘Write it down,’ she says.
‘But we didn’t even agree on a day yet.’
The woman yells again. ‘Miss! The check!’
‘How about Friday night?’ I suggest.
‘It’s Labor Day weekend. CMC is taking part in the Mayor’s parade. How ’bout the Friday after?’
I hate that she’s making me wait to spend time with her. ‘I guess.’
‘Would you settle for the Friday afternoon? Pick me up from here at four?’
‘Done.’
‘You won’t be needing this, then,’ she says. ‘Now get out of here before somebody asks for another selfie.’
She takes her pen and doesn’t give me another backward look. I watch the woman at the other end of the bar chew her out and I’m mad on Serenity’s behalf. The girl has two fucking jobs, cheerleader and waitress, neither of which appear to be very well-paid.
So, despite my reluctance, I leave.
‘Hey, son,’ my dad calls from the living room where he’s watching baseball. ‘How was practice?’
I toss my bag down on the carpet. ‘Hey. All good.’
Mom’s voice floats through from the kitchen. ‘Jake? Jakey, is that you, honey?’
‘Hi, Ma,’ I say, raising my voice.
‘You didn’t call what’s-her-name,’ Dad grunts at me, and his eyes don’t stray from the TV.
‘What?’
‘Your mom saw her at tennis class. You know, the weather girl.’
‘Oh. Right.’
Mom appears from the kitchen clutching what looks like pink lemonade. ‘Hey, sweetie, how was practice? You want a drink?’
I take the glass and down the contents. ‘Thanks, Ma.’
‘Somebody’s thirsty. We thought you’d be home earlier.’
I hand her back my empty glass. This is why I sometimes regret bringing my entire family with me to Canyon. ‘You don’t need to track my movements every minute of the day.’
‘I saw Olivia at my tennis class today. She told me you never called her.’
‘She was nice, Ma, but I didn’t wanna ask her out on a date.’
‘Why not? Why would you not wanna go out with a girl like that?’
Because you chose her for me, I think to myself. Plus, I got somebody else in my sights.
‘I’m serious, honey,’ Mom continues, and I see Dad roll his eyes. ‘One, she’s gorgeous. Two, she’s very well-educated. Three, she got that job at the TV station she went for.’
‘So now she’ll actually be a weather girl?’ Dad pipes up with a chuckle.
‘Four—’
‘There’s a four?’
‘I’ve seen the kind of girls these players like to date. You know, with their fillers and their Instagram pages and all dripping with jewellery…’
‘What’s wrong with any of that? Did you meet Dalton Briar’s wife, Ally? She seems pretty down-to-earth to me.’
‘I’m just trying to help you make good choices, sweetheart.’
‘I don’t need your help, Ma. Like I told you, I’ll find my own girlfriend, alright? Where’s Riv?’
‘Upstairs. Sulking.’
‘Why’s she sulking?’
‘Oh, you know. New school, lotta kids already know each other. Some of her classmates aren’t going easy on her.’
I grimace. I suspect that’s because of me. ‘I’ll go talk to her.’
I swipe up my bag, and head upstairs on River’s side of the house. I can hear music emanating from behind her closed door.
I knock hard. ‘Hey, can I come in?’
A moment later, the door opens. River pokes her head out. Behind her I can still see boxes piled up.
‘You know when you move somewhere new,’ I say, ‘it’s customary to unpack.’
She gives me a look like I can go to hell. ‘Hey, jackass, you’re back. Did you have fun with your teammates?’
‘Sure. Getting to know ’em a bit.’
‘Which ones?’
‘Uhhh… Dorsey and Grayson.’
‘You didn’t spend very long hanging out.’
I shrug. ‘We hit the gym, you know. Talked about guy stuff. How was school? Those kids still bothering you some?’
River rolls her eyes. ‘I’m keeping a tally of the number of times I get asked for tickets to the game.’
‘Which is how many?’
She disappears then comes back with her school textbook. There’s about thirty tally marks in groups of five. ‘Yikes. Maybe I can hook you up.’
‘Uh-uh. No way. The only people I would take to a game are the ones who don’t ask me for tickets.’
‘Okay, well… you wanna catch that movie now?’
Her brow creeps up her forehead. ‘You’re serious? His majesty actually wants to hang out with me now?’
I give her a mock bow. ‘He does.’
She gives a shrug. ‘Fine. But you’re buying the popcorn.’
On Thursday, for our game against the Las Vegas Raiders, I arrive at the Danube Stadium in my sweats, only to find I must do this weird pap walk past a bunch of guys with cameras.
‘It’s called your game day outfit!’ Zach Dorsey cackles in the locker room when I complain about it.
‘I play football, I’m not here for the fashion show.’
‘Dude, soon you gonna get designers sending you shit to wear, instead of you showing up like you just rolled outta bed.’
I pull at my jersey – one that I’ve had since my first year of college football – and notice that Hud Briar just swaggered in wearing a bright blue matching two-piece with a huge designer logo on the front. Expensive headphones hang around his neck and his sunglasses are still on.
‘Now that’s what I’m talking about,’ Dorsey tells me. ‘You gotta know how to make an entrance.’
‘Noted,’ I say, and I hate the way my voice falters.
I’m excited for the game. I’m more excited that I get to see Serenity again. I haven’t seen her since our last brief encounter at the diner. I got everything planned out for our big date.
‘Walsh!’ I hear from across the other side of the locker room, and I snap to attention.
‘Yes, Coach?’
‘Don’t get changed yet. Head on upstairs. Ms Conway would like to see you in her office.’
The moment he says it, my body goes rigid, and all my teammates are hollering and whistling in my direction. I feel my cheeks flare hot. I still haven’t asked Lemon out on a date, like I was supposed to.
I get a bunch of slaps on the back as I head for the door. Others ruffle my hair. I hate that I feel like the kid in my own workplace. The one who everybody laughs at. Hud Briar gives me a wolfish grin. He’s chewing gum and still hasn’t removed those damn glasses.
‘Got any advice?’ I ask him.
‘Other than take Lemon Conway out on a date and show her a good time? Unless you wanna get benched for the rest of your season? Sorry, man, no. No advice.’
My feet are like lead weights as I climb the stairs to the main offices from the first floor.
On route, several people I don’t know wanna shake my hand.
I can hear the crowds already. River and my parents are somewhere out there in their seats, but we don’t get free tickets for the game.
Some of my teammates have a suite, but I’m nowhere near that level yet.
‘I’ll let Ms Conway know you’re here,’ a woman says to me when I arrive.
My stomach’s a ball of nerves. It’s been almost a week since Sam Conway dropped a colossal hint that I should ask her daughter out, and since that moment, all I’ve thought about is Serenity Harper. Lemon hasn’t even entered my mind, not once.
‘You can go on in,’ the woman says.