dark wood gave off a casual, old-school vibe, and I suggested we sit at the bar, but Chance pointed at one of the high-top tables in the back.
“So we won’t have to move when the girls get here,” he said.
I nodded. “You’re right. My bad.”
We ordered drinks and food from the bartender and then moved to the table.
“Food will just be a few minutes,” the bartender said as he slid our beers toward us.
“So”—Chance took a sip of his drink while he looked at me—“you and Sunny seemed extra smooshy today.”
I grinned, wishing I could stop myself but I couldn’t. I didn’t even make fun of his use of the word ‘smooshy.’ “She loves me,” I said, sounding like an excited little kid.
“Did she actually say that, or are you just assuming?” He was being a smart-ass, but I would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. I probably had when they were.
“She told me.”
“Good for you, man. She’s a good girl,” he said, taking another swig. “Are you ready for the season?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Gonna give it my all, and hopefully, it will be enough.”
“I know it’s hard,” Chance said, but the truth was that he didn’t know. There had never been any question as to whether or not he was going to get drafted. Everybody, including ESPN, had known that he would even if Chance acted like it wasn’t a sure thing. He was just being modest.
“No offense,” I started, “but I don’t really want to talk about baseball right now.”
I wondered if he was as surprised as I was by my admission. Chance and I always talked about everything, especially baseball—and I rarely avoided that subject. I’d eaten, lived, and breathed baseball for as long as I could remember, and now, I didn’t even want to talk about it.
“Okay. I get it. But I’m here if you need me.”
“I know you are,” I said as I took a drink of my beer and swallowed. “Your dad said that same thing. Offered to hook me up with your uncle in case I had more specific questions.”
“My uncle would have insight that my dad wouldn’t.”
“I know.” I nodded. “But I’m not sure there’s a point.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know what your uncle would tell me that I don’t already know. No matter what he says, it won’t change the way I play,” I explained.
Chance nodded. “And you don’t want anything he says to get in your head.”
“Exactly.”
“Anything new with your old man?” he asked. Another touchy subject.
“Not really. Same old Dick.”
“But you and Sunny are good?” He circled back around to the one topic I was actually willing to talk about in greater detail.
“Yeah, we are. I’m just stupid for not making it official with her last year.” I smacked my hand on top of the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Chance laughed and leaned back. “No, no, no. Don’t even go there, buddy.”
“What?” I feigned innocence as the bartender appeared with our food.
The size of the fish on my plate made me laugh. It was huge. I grabbed a way-too-hot French fry and dropped it back on the plate.
“I did tell you last year.” He shook his head at me. “And then you stopped going over there with me just so you could pretend like you didn’t have feelings for the girl.”
“You should have tried harder then,” I said, blaming him.
He rolled his eyes. A signature Chance Carter move. “Well, it worked out anyway.”
“No thanks to you,” I offered with a smirk before grabbing a fry again and blowing on it so I could finally eat it.
Both of our phones vibrated on top of the table at the same time.
“Girls are on their way,” Chance said, telling me what I’d just read myself in a text message from Sunny.
“What else are we doing tonight?” I asked because I knew we wouldn’t sit at home on our last night in the city. I broke apart a piece of my fried fish and watched the steam billow out of it. At this rate, I’d never get to enjoy my fish and chips.
“I’m pretty sure Danika got tickets for the Empire State Building, so we could all see it at night.”
“Oh.” I blew out a breath. “I forgot about that place. That sounds sick. Have you been?”
He slowly shook his head. “No. Not yet.”
“It wasn’t enough time,” I started to say before elaborating, “being here, I mean.”
“I know. Do you like it though?” he