Hat Trick 3: Penalty Shot (11 page)

“He’s confused right now.” I stepped closer, but he kept his eyes on the pavement. “I told him I’d come see what happened.”

“Always the counselor, eh?” TJ looked up and I gave him a gentle smile.

“Yeah. I think all you have to do is tell him what happened. That it got to be too much all of a sudden.”

“I was so awful.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “He’s your friend. If you talk to him, he may have questions, but I’m pretty sure he’ll understand. If you don’t talk to him, it’ll just hang there, causing problems. I know from experience. Early on, I did some pretty horrible stuff to Alex, but we got through because we ultimately talked about it. It wasn’t easy, but it all worked out and here we are now.”

TJ started to relax.

“I can’t believe you’d do anything horrible,” he said. “Even in hockey you’ve got the lowest number of penalty minutes of anyone on the Wolverines.”

“It’s true,” I said. “You can ask Alex, if you want. The longer you wait to talk to Bryan, the worse it’ll be. If you want some private space, I can arrange that.”

“It looks like he wants to talk, I guess.”

I turned and saw what TJ did. Bryan stood outside with Walt and Bruce, looking in our direction.

TJ gave a weak smile. “I completely overreacted.”

“You reacted. It happens. Now you go fix it.”

I put my arm across his shoulders and we walked slowly towards the group. As we approached the others went inside, leaving Bryan.

“I don’t know what to tell him,” TJ said quietly.

“Tell him the truth. He needs to know where your boundaries are. He can’t do the right thing if he doesn’t know what that is.”

TJ stopped, forcing me to do the same.

“Thanks, Simon.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Will you stay while I talk to him, just in case?”

“In case what?”

“It goes wrong.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. But, if you
both
want me there, I’ll stay. I don’t want to intrude though.”

TJ nodded and we walked to Bryan in silence.

“T, what happened?” Hurt poured out through his voice. “I thought we were having a good time.”

TJ took Bryan’s two fingers again and guided them to the farthest corner of the lobby, away from the entrance to the dance. They sat on a bench and I stood a few steps away from them, half watching and half making sure nobody bothered them. Scottie was at the main table, helping Alex handle the people coming in. He looked over briefly and I nodded to let him know it was okay.

“It was good. It’s just…” TJ’s voice cracked again. Bryan reached out and wrapped his hand around TJ’s. He wanted to hear what was coming next. “We got too close. I know you know what I am, but I didn’t want you to actually feel, or not feel what’s there.”

Bryan nodded and looked less hurt.

“I’m sorry.” TJ paused. He was tensing up, but he managed to keep his eyes on Bryan. “The thing is, I felt the bulge in your jeans against my leg. I don’t have one of those. And I’m not talking sex, you know, it’s just there for you. I’m always aware of stuff like that. Like what it might feel like for your firm chest to rub up against mine, which is not firm. This must sound crazy.”

“I don’t quite know what to say,” Bryan said, his brow furrowed. “And I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

TJ chuckled, which made Bryan crack a smile. “I don’t think you can. Not after the shit I just did.”

“Fair enough.” Bryan was silent and ended up looking at me. I raised my eyebrow, silently asking if he wanted me to step in. He finally went forward on his own. “I get what you’re saying. We can keep some distance between us if we need to. I don’t think I was aware that I bumped you like that, or that you weren’t doing the same. But I think I understand why it bothered you. You just have to tell me what’s going on, or that you need me to stop doing something.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” TJ asked.

It was clear they wanted to be together, but TJ was giving Bryan an out.

“What? Talk so I don’t screw up again?”

“No, date.”

“This doesn’t change that. I still want to be your boyfriend.”

I smiled as Bryan said that. I took the moment to sit down on the bench next to theirs so I could talk to them.

“You know you guys can talk to me anytime, together or separate. But I’d like to suggest that you both talk to Dee.”

“I’ve talked to her a little bit since we started going out,” TJ said. “It wasn’t until tonight that I freaked.”

And there was the answer to that question. This was not the first date. “Good. I’m sure she can help you both feel more comfortable asking questions and keeping the communication open.”

“Would you come with me?” TJ asked.

“Of course,” Bryan said without hesitation.

 “You’re pretty incredible,” TJ said. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Bryan blushed as they stood up. “Let’s go back inside, get some water, and dance some more.”

“Cool,” TJ said as Bryan led him back into the dance.

I sat on the bench collecting myself. Bryan’s proclamation of boyfriend filled my heart. I had to talk with Dee on Monday. I needed to be confident that I could support them any time we talked.

“Hey,” Alex said, taking a seat next to me. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.” I looked over and saw different staffers covering the admission table. “I take it our table time is done.”

“It is. Scottie was great. He stepped in right as it got busy.”

“Does this mean I can have a dance or two now while we watch over the crowd?” I said, standing up and, with a flourish, offering him a hand.

He looked up at me with that sweet, sexy look that made me swoon. The addition of the Nightwing mask added an air of mystery to it. “Yes, you can.”

Inside, a fast dance tune played, and I moved us to the edge of the crowd. Alex was better with his dancing but he still didn’t want to be too front and center. There were a number of Rainbow High teammates clustered together, dancing. It reminded me of our senior year winter formal at Central when much of the team was dancing just like that, not caring about what the partnerships were. TJ and Bryan were dancing face-to-face, but not touching.

I stepped closer to Alex and rested my hands on his hips, helping him match my rhythm. I no sooner had us in sync than Scottie turned up at our side.

“Hey, guys, sorry for the interruption.” He spoke loud enough to be heard over the music, and was bouncing to the rhythm. I wished I could borrow some of his energy. “The team wants to get a picture of all of us in costume. Come with us?”

Alex and I looked at each other and nodded.

“Sure,” I said to Scottie. “Where are we doing it?”

“In the lobby with the drag pumpkins. I’m getting everyone together.”

“Perfect,” I said. I’d grabbed a few selfies with the pumpkins because they were being redressed every couple of days. It was a table with four pumpkins, each on stands, which allowed them to be costumed.

“Excellent. Some of the guys are already out there. I’m going to circle the room and make sure I’ve got everyone. Can you make sure no one leaves?”

“Will do, Captain, sir.” Alex said with a salute.

Scottie went speechless for a moment before he simply smiled and continued his canvassing of the room. Alex and I went to our newly assigned positions.

“Whoever takes this photo, we should have them grab a pic of us,” Alex said.

“Yes!” I said. “Can’t believe we haven’t done that already. Must have a snap of us as superheroes.”

There were more Rainbow High players here than I realized. From my quick scan in the lobby it seemed like only a couple people were missing. With Scottie still looking for people it seemed likely the whole team might be here, which was great.

One of the best parts of my schedule this semester was the ninety minutes I had between independent study and psych. I used it to hang out in the atrium of the social work building and prep for later in the day.

The atrium had a coffee house feel, with an array of tables and chairs. I settled into my favorite big comfy chair in the middle of the space so I could people watch if I wanted to.

I’d barely situated myself with my tablet to go over some materials that Trevor sent me when my phone rang. The caller ID was a pleasant surprise, it was one of the numbers Zack’s calls came from. Weird. He didn’t say anything about calling today and, since his phone time is limited in prison, I usually get a day or two advance notice so I can make sure I’m available.

I answered and accepted the charges from the operator since I was always happy to talk with my older brother these days.

“Zack! This is unexpected. Everything okay?”

“Everything’s amazing. You know I was up for a parole review this month. It was supposed to be in two weeks, but I found out yesterday afternoon that they rescheduled it for today. The awesome thing is…” Zack sounded choked up, which rarely happened. “The awesome thing is, I got it. Simon, I’m gonna be outta here in a couple days.”

“Wow!” A guy who was reading a few feet away glared at me. Granted this wasn’t a library, but I understood his look. “I’m so happy for you,” I said, more quietly. “Two days and that’s it?”

“Well, I still have at least eighteen months on parole and maybe as much as three years. It’s possible it can be cut short if I’m good. There’s a lot of conditions on how far I can travel and for how long. I have to report in at least daily for a while. They can search me and where I live without notice and without warrant. It’s all stuff I
can
do. There’re already waivers built into the initial paperwork to let me live in Dawson, but work at the prison and also commute to school, which is technically a little further than I should travel on a daily basis. In fact, being at the prison so much means I’ll see my parole officer even more than normal.”

“Mom must be thrilled,” I said.

“I think she would’ve crawled through the phone to hug me if she could’ve figured out how.” He paused for a moment. “Speaking of Mom, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Sure.”

Where could he be going with this?

“So when I get out of here, I have to have some place to stay. Mom said I was welcome in her apartment. I wanted to ask if I could stay in your room. The apartment’s been your home and not mine, and I don’t want to come in and take over. I can stay on the couch, but Mom says it’s not great for sleeping.”

Even though Zack and I made peace with each other a couple years ago, he could still surprise me. There was a time he would’ve done whatever he wanted and he
might
listen if Mom protested.

“She’s right about the couch,” I said, chuckling. “It’s not even good for a nap. As for the room, you can take it. You can pack up whatever I’ve got there. It’s not much. When I’m home, Alex and I can either stay with his folks’ or at Leo’s. You need your own space so you can get settled.”

He was quiet, probably taking in this brotherly moment like I was. “Thanks, bro. I appreciate it.”

“So, what’s next?”

“I need to figure out about getting a car so I’ve got transportation separate from Mom’s. Hell, I think I might have to get a new driver’s license. I’m actually not sure. The good thing about getting out is that my privileges are extended so I can use the computer and phone nearly unlimited so I can make arrangements.”

“Man, this is so excellent.”

Our relationship had grown so much even though it was restricted to phone, email, and brief visits when I was home. Even Alex was in a better place in regard to Zack. He’d come with me to visit once over the summer and when we left he said he could really see that Zack had changed.

“I know you were a major reason why I’m getting out, too,” he said, his voice softening. “You didn’t tell me you were sending that letter.”

I’d debated whether I should tell him in advance or not. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up. For the last hearing, I’d simply said I had no objection. This time I wanted it to be more than that.”

“They read it into the official record, so I heard it. I can’t thank you enough. I’ve asked them for a copy because I want to keep it as a reminder of what an amazing brother I have, and a reminder of what I almost lost.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, my voice breaking.

He cleared his throat before he continued. “I have to ask, did you talk with Jackson’s parents?”

“No, why?”

“As good as your letter was, I think the review board was swayed by no comment of any kind coming from them. One of them has always appeared at the hearing to support the documentation they provided. This time there was nothing.”

“Maybe they found peace,” I said.

“I hope so. I can’t imagine…” He stopped himself. “I shouldn’t dwell on that. It won’t do either of us any good.”

“Very true.”

“Anyway, thank you. This is the next phase of rehab for me, to see if I can function without the structure of this place. I think I can, I just have to adjust to it.”

“I’m sure you can. If there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me, okay?”

“Deal. So enough about me, what’s going on there?”

I gave Zack the quick recap, focusing on how Rainbow High was doing, which he was excited about. I also talked about my classes a bit, which to me was the boring part of our calls. Zack seemed to enjoy it though, so I always threw it in.

“And I already know the Wolverines are kicking it. My quest, now that I’m free, is to get to at least one game before your last season is over.”

“We’ve gotta make that happen.” I got a glare from the guy because my enthusiasm made me loud again. I couldn’t help it, I was excited. “Let me know how I can help arrange that.”

“It’s really good to hear you that excited about seeing me.” We were both silent after that. I wasn’t sure what to say in response. “Alex is good?” he asked, changing up the topic.

“Yeah. Busy. Hell, we’re both busy, but he’s good.” I left out details on Alex’s leg. We weren’t discussing that any more than we had to.

“Excellent. So, I need to get going. I think this is the first time that I haven’t had to hang up because a guard was asking me to, but I do have an appointment with an inmate that I need to get to.”