Again

Chapter 9

"Shit, Steve. That's like half a court!" Eddie exclaims, looking over the court where Morgan and Corey are playing a little one-on-one.

"Was almost a full court, but thankfully Jenny talked me out of it." Steve decides to try and put something out there and see what happens, "It's not really my nature to do things by half, you know, so I'm glad she made me see sense before I wasted all that money and space." Then quickly moves on to something else, "You can sit wherever, but there is some seating out of harm's way if you prefer?"

"What kinda violent basketball do you play out here, Steve?" Eddie chuckles as he sits down on the grass and reclines back on the slight hill with his mug as he waves Steve on, "Go do your sports ball, don't mind lil' ol' me."

Steve walks over to Morgan and Corey and looks around at the distinct lack of Zee but figures she'll be down when ready. On his approach to the boys, he notices Corey is laughing, and he wonders if it's at Morgan's expense, but he's smiling too, but they both spy Steve, quickly stop whatever they are about to do and exchange a look causing an eruption of laughter again. Corey wasn't mean, not by a long shot; he had a big heart, but things had changed over the last two years. He'd toughened, and Steve supposed that comes with growing up, but he hadn't wanted that for his kids. He'd protect them from everything so they could keep that gentle innocence for as long as possible, but it hadn't worked out that way. At least they weren't on track to become the bitter condensing asshat he was in his teens. That was his hope, anyway. He supposed Zee was experiencing the same as Corey and couldn't help but feel hugely responsible. Sure, the divorce was peaceful enough, but it still took away something the kids thought they would always have. The home life they were used to. But who knows what environment it would have been if they hadn't decided to separate. At least their home wasn't full of spite and lies. He wonders if Eddie's separation had been as smooth.

Eddie could be a real firecracker sometimes. He was a little sharper than he needed to be, but none of that appeared to have passed to Morgan. Even though Eddie said Morgan didn't touch the stuff, he did give off that stoner vibe. For the most part very chilled out, funny, and prone to moments of anxiety, but overall seemed like a sweet kid. Steve claps his hands together, "Alright, gather round! So I figured we do some drills and see where your strengths are. Unless, of course, you have something in mind, you want to work on, Morgan?" Steve asks pleasantly.

"Yeah, drills sound good, Mr Harrington, but can you teach me how to do that spin Corey does? He's so fast" Morgan smiles down at the younger boy.

Corey bounces the ball on the concrete a few times, "Hell yeah, I'm fast, but if it weren't for that, I wouldn't get past this guy. He's like a wall!" Corey smiles up at Morgan, "We were working on something fun, but it would probably give you a heart attack, Dad" Corey smiles up at Steve before thumping Morgan in the gut with the back of his hand.

"Corey!!! That's enough!" Steve reprimands, motioning towards his son, but Morgan interrupts.

"I'm fine, honestly. Didn't feel a thing" He laughs and ruffles Corey's hair.

Corey ducks away from Morgan's hand. "See what I mean? A wall, Dad. What high school are you going to? They better put you on the team. They'd be idiots not to."

"I still don't want any of that on my court, Corey. This is basketball, not MMA or whatever, ok?" Steve walks into the little storage area under the hoop and retrieves a net of balls. He passes one to Morgan, takes another out and looks around. Still no sign of Zee, so he just keeps this one for himself. Steve demonstrates some drills by bouncing the ball at different heights, sock, knee, thigh, and hip, then dribbling the ball around the perimeter of the court, and lastly, just taking some shots. As Steve had anticipated, the game elements came easily to Morgan because of his build. It was clear he enjoyed playing, and honestly, wasn't that the key to success?