had taken some great photographs early in the first quarter and then went down to sit in the friends and family section.
I said hello to the parents I recognized. Nate Levacki’s parents both hugged me and said they missed me but promised that they took good care of Josh whenever I missed a game. Nate, who we all called by his last name, was Josh’s roommate and the starting tight end. Mom never came to Josh’s games and after the first year, Levacki’s parents finally stopped asking about her.
By the time I got down to the Fieldhouse, the team had apparently already started changing, as several of the players drifted out toward the exit with street clothes and wet hair. Josh, unfortunately, didn’t show up for at least thirty minutes more.
By that time, I had stretched out onto the floor along one wall within the hallway of the Fieldhouse, the painted white brick walls protecting me on one side and my backpack serving as my pillow. I threw my arm over my eyes to protect them from the harsh fluorescents that lit the hallway. I was a little tired from the game and the drive. Josh finally showed up and woke me from my nap by nearly stepping on me.
“Nice bed, Grace,” Levacki smirked.
“I wouldn’t have had to lie down if you prima donnas hadn’t taken time to Bieberize your hair.” I referenced his carefully styled sideswept bangs and stood up.
“I’ve got to give the ladies an excuse to brush the hair out of my eyes,” Levacki replied, swinging his head to the side so his bangs lifted and resettled.
“Guys who wear more product in their hair than a girl are never going to get laid,” I said.
“Kids, kids, kids.” Josh laid a hand on both of our shoulders and separated us, forestalling any sexually suggestive comeback Levacki might have had. Josh liked to pretend I was still twelve and tried to prevent any male from saying anything that intimated I might know what a penis was or what it was used for.
Another teammate of Josh’s came up and slapped him on the back. “Good game. See you at West End?” The teammate peered around Levacki and Josh at me. I gave a little wave. “You can bring the chick. She’s hot.”
“This is my sister, you asshole,” Josh scowled. The reference to my supposed hotness got Levacki’s back up, as well, and he pushed the teammate away. “We’re not taking her to that hell hole.”
The player shrugged and walked off. “Your loss,” echoed down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Some girl Levacki is seeing suggested a new bar that has a battle of the bands tonight.”
That did sound halfway entertaining, plus I could tease Levacki about his new girlfriend. We grabbed some food and went back to the guys’ apartment, where we all played video games for a bit. Several other of Josh’s teammates arrived. Josh pulled me into the kitchen to grill me about why I was staying overnight. Usually I just did a day trip but this time, I asked Josh to find me a ride that would stay until tomorrow.
“Don’t give me this bullshit about missing me, either,” he warned. I hopped up on the counter while Josh pulled a beer out of the refrigerator.
I picked at the label of the bottle he handed me. “I just wanted to get away from Central.”
“What about this Noah kid?”
Oh, Lana. She had apparently called Josh in a preemptive move, and now he was going to flex his big brother muscle. I rolled my eyes.
“Just some guy,” I shredded the label with my fingers, pulling off one soggy bit at time. The bits felt wet and cold in my hand, like used Kleenex. It was kind of gross. I shook the mashed-up label onto the counter.
“Some guy you wrote to for four years showed up on your doorstep out of the blue?” He sounded skeptical.
“How do you know all of that?” I asked shocked.
Josh threw me a disbelieving look. “You are my sister. We lived in the same house. Hello.”
I shrugged. “You never asked me about it.”
“It didn’t seem important at the time, but now that he’s come halfway across the country to go to same college as you, I think he qualifies as a person of interest.” Josh was getting his criminal justice degree. He wanted to go FBI if the football thing didn’t work out for him.
“We’re just friends,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell Josh