Page 61 of Scoring Chances
I didn't, of course. I was too scared of feeling out of place. I was guaranteed to trip in front of everyone or say something awkward.
But tonight. I’m here. And it feels like I have a VIP seat into some secret society.
Everyone enters the basement from the side entrance of the house. It’s separate from the main house so as not to disturb anybody upstairs. Keelan really thought of everything when he built this place. Each player that appears is accompanied by a small posse of their own.
Friends, girlfriends, their girlfriend’s friends. By the time I have the kids settled in for the night away from the party, it’s already quadrupled in size.
I find Joshua holding court in the decked out basement. He’s surrounded by people who are fascinated with his story. They all laugh when he says something funny. I notice a few girls in the group staring at him. They talk amongst themselves and giggle.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here,” a voice says behind me.
I turn to find it’s coming from one of the younger guys on the team. He smiles and offers me an outstretched hand.
“Sincaid,” he says.
“Jones,” I say, smiling back.
“What’s your first name, Jones?”
“Cassidy. My family calls me, Sid. But… I’ve recently decided I prefer just Cassidy.”
He chuckles. “Mine’s Trevor. But my team calls me Rookie. Even though there’s like four of us.”
“Well, nice to meet you Rookie.”
“Can I get you a drink, Just Cassidy?”
I shouldn’t. In fact, I should just find my merry way back to my room and call it a night. It looks like the party’s mission is accomplished. Keelan isn’t sulking.
Instead, he’s breakdancing in the middle of the synthetic rink which doesn't seem to be the best idea considering he's just fully recovered from an injury… but I'm not his nanny.
“I shouldn’t drink,” I tell him. Hoping he gets the idea.
“Because you don’t like to have fun?” He cocks his head.
“No…” I grin. “Because I’m not twenty-one yet.”
“Ah,” he says. “Well, a soda then?”
I feel eyes on me and look up just in time to see Joshua giving me a sidelong glance from his place in front of his crowd.
“Sure,” I say to Trevor.
“Anything in particular?”
“Surprise me.” He nods and heads over to the bar.
Joshua’s not talking anymore. One of the other teammate’s has taken over the conversation but he’s watching me.
I scan the room, in search for any of the WAGS, but nobody is here. Izzy, Kesley, Libby…and especially not Rina, considering this is Keelan’s house and they clearly can’t stand each other at the moment. I wonder if they all actively avoid these particular gatherings.
I miss Lillian. She’d make sure I wouldn’t be alone.
Trevor comes back with a Big Red.
“How’s this for a surprise?”
I open my mouth to say something but a man’s hand reaches out and grabs the drink. It’s the second time he’s taken a drink of mine. I turn around to lay it into him but it’s not who I think it is.