The Guy on the Right (The Underdogs 1)

“Not my scene, no,” he says, sipping his beer. “This is where you come to hide, and it’s cheap.”

“Yeah.”

“You look bummed.”

I shrug. “Girl shit.”

“Something to do with that beauty you used to bring home all the time?”

“You saw her?”

“Heard her mostly. She cracked me up.”

I frown.

He shrugs. “Thin walls. Couldn’t be helped.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Seems like you had a good year.” He grins and sips his beer, and I study the barbed wire tattoo around his bicep.

“Well, my good year is ending on a shitty note. Garçon!” I call to the bartender

who gives me a tattooed bird before pouring more shots.

“So, what’s your story?” I ask. “Seriously. I’ve never seen a jock be such a recluse.”

“I’m a creature of my routine. I break out once in a while. But I stick to my circle, and it’s small.”

“I get it. Mine is dwindling.”

“Yeah, be careful with that,” he says, tapping the bar next to my empty shot glass. Seconds later we’re raising freshly poured shots in a toast. “To the graduating class of 2019,” he says before tipping it back. I inhale the liquid with him.

“So, are your parents coming to your graduation?”

He shakes his head. “Nah.”

“Really, why?”

“I’m up,” he says, jutting a chin over his shoulder at the guy waiting at the pool table, stick in hand. “See you, man.”

“See you.”

He lays a twenty on the bar, and it’s when he walks away that I realize I discovered absolutely nothing about Lance. He’s moving out in a week and will forever remain a mystery to me.

I raise my finger.

“Another shot?”

“Line ‘em up,” I pluck my wallet of another twenty when my phone buzzes due to a slew of incoming texts.

Zach: Fucking parties everywhere man! Hit me up!

Courtney: You better not have screwed this up!

Brenna: Hey Ya? What the hell is going on?

Jamie: Call me right now!!