Togetherness

7

"Hey, Coach!" We walk into his office. Tryouts had ended by the time we got out there so now, we're gonna talk to him.

"David! Hey, what's up?"

"So you know that guy I asked to go look for?" He nods. "Well, this is Parker," he says, motioning to me. I raise my hand and wave.

"Hello, Parker." He offers his hand out and I shake it. "So you wanted to try out for the team?"

"Yeah, I did, but I had something happen before I could get out here."

"That's perfectly fine. From what David has said about you just today, you sound terrific."

I look at David, confused as to when he has seen me play.

"Two years ago, we were on the same rec team." He shrugs.

"Ah," I say, trying to think back to then.

"Anyway, we can do some drills right now to see your skills, if you want?"

"Yeah, sure, okay," I say, nodding.

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After some passing drills and blocks, Coach pulls us to the sidelines again. He's got a smile on his face so that should be good.

"Oh, yeah. You're just as good as David said. Practice starts tomorrow after school."

"Okay, thank you."

"Anytime, kiddo."

As we're walking away, David speaks up.

"Need a ride home?"

I nod. "Yeah, I need to go get my bag from the locker room and put away my duffel really quick, though."

"Okay. Let's go do that, then."

We're walking through the hallway when David slips his hand into mine, his soft palm pressing against my sweaty one. When we reach the locker room, he doesn't let go, he just covers his eyes with his other hand as we walk through the door. Thankfully, the room's empty. I stand him next to a locker and let go of his hand. I unzip my duffel and pull out my clothes I was wearing earlier.

"Keep your eyes covered, okay? I'm trusting you on this."

"Pfft, like I'd peek."

"Turn around and face the lockers behind you." He does so. "Thank you. Keep your eyes covered, too." He does.

I take off my pants first, since my shirt covers past my thighs. I slip my jeans on and fasten them. My shirt's replaced next by my white t-shirt. I left my sweatshirt in my locker so I don't need to put that on. When I'm putting on my shoes, I let David turn around.

"Where's the sweatshirt you had on earlier?"

"It's in my other locker. I forgot it earlier."

"Ah."

"Do you need to go get dressed?"

He looks down at his shirt and shorts. "Oh. Yeah, I do. I can go change while you go get your sweatshirt?"

"Okay. Meet by the boys' locker room?"

"Yeah, that's fine."