Out in the End Zone (Out in College 2)

Mitch didn’t answer right away. I stared at the black and white checks on my Vans sneakers. The pattern blurred and sharpened. Blurred and sharpened.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmm. I think so. Just talk to me for a minute.” Fuck, why didn’t I call Derek? He wouldn’t have required an explanation. Now I’d just made things weird with someone I really liked.

“Where are you?”

“School. I’m about to go to class. I’m late but…what about you? What are you doing?”

“I just got out of my history of film class. It’s my favorite. We watch old black and white movies and then critique them. Today it was Bringing Up Baby. Classic screwball comedy. Silly but fun. Have you seen it?”

His voice was melodic and soothing. My pulse was beginning to steady. Five minutes or less and I’d be good to go.

“No. Tell me about it,” I urged.

“Oookay, but…will you tell me what’s bothering you? Is it me? Are you having second thoughts about tomorrow? ’Cause—”

“Fuck, no.” I pursed my lips and sighed before continuing. “No. That’s not it. Not at all. I just called to tell you about the link I sent, but I should go. I’m sorry to bug you. I—”

“I thought you wanted to hear about the movie I just saw,” he intercepted playfully.

I clung to the humor in his tone with relief. “I do.”

“How much time do you have?”

“Five minutes.”

“All right. So the movie was released in 1938. It starred Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn and…”

I closed my eyes and let Mitch’s animated voice pull me from the proverbial wreckage with a colorful synopsis of a movie I was pretty sure I’d never see. Somehow the newness of our friendship made it easier to lean on him. If only for a little while.

Thankfully, I felt more like myself when class was over two hours later. My appetite returned in full force. I had a team dinner in Orange. I couldn’t remember who’d asked me for a ride to the restaurant, but I figured I’d stop by the field on the way to my truck and see if anyone was waiting for me before I took off. I rounded the tall hedge by the stadium and stopped in my tracks when I spotted Jonesie standing near the entrance with a pretty brunette.

“Evan!” he called, waving me over.

I smiled at the girl as I absently exchanged fist bumps with my teammate. “Hi, Nicole. How’s it going?”

“Good. I never thought I’d say this, but it’s nice to be back in school. Ask me if I still feel that way during midterms,” she said with a laugh.

“I know what you mean,” I agreed politely.

“I’m excited about the game this weekend. You know I’m having a party after, right?”

Jonesie slapped my back and grinned. “I told him all about it. Hey, man—I gotta grab something from my locker. I’ll meet you in the parking lot in a few minutes. See ya, Nicole.”

Damn it. There was nothing quite like an awkward setup. I smiled tightly as I dug my keys from my pocket. “Jonesie’s a smooth operator,” I snarked.

Nicole threw her head back and laughed. “He’s the worst. But his heart’s in the right place. He told me you stuck up for me last week.”

“Of course he did.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I appreciate it. He doesn’t mean half of the dumb things he says but…thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything really,” I insisted.

She touched my elbow when I started to turn. I noted her long pink fingernails and her tiny wrists. She had to be a full foot shorter than me, and everything about her was petite. Her long dark hair was piled high on her head in deference to the weather and I couldn’t help thinking that even her neck was small. “Come to the party, Ev.”

“Uh yeah. I can’t. I’ll need to get back to Long Beach and—”

“You’re welcome to stay the night. There’s plenty of room.”

Her delivery was neutral, as though she’d offer the same to anyone in need, but I heard the innuendo loud and clear.

“Thanks,” I said awkwardly. “I better go or they’re going to get to the food before me.”

“Ha. Go on. I’ll see you at the game, Evan.”

My phony grin faded the second I turned toward the field. Great. Just what I needed.

Was it my imagination, or had my life gotten ridiculously complicated in a very short time?

Mitch had been very specific about parking in the alley behind his garage, but I hadn’t bothered to check out any landmarks on my previous visit. And anyone with a phobia to dark, ill-lit spaces knew it was important to have a familiar signpost or two. So I parked in front of the house like I had before and ended up in the kitchen eating cookies with Maryanne again. Chocolate chip this time.

She regaled me with a brief history lesson of my adopted town, citing all the changes in Long Beach since she was a kid until Mitch arrived and told her we had some work to do.