“You can fall in love, yes, but maybe not stay in love.”
Lilly was still unconvinced. “I just wanted to give them some privacy. That’s why I’m interrupting yours. Why don’t you sit with the rest of us, Ben?”
“Lilly, I’m not a huge football fan probably because I’m jealous of the guys who play and get the attention. I’d rather sit alone because it’s less noisy, and every once in a while, I can look up at the stars. They put on an even better show than JD.”
She smiled. “You’re such a dreamer.”
“I’m a loner,” he corrected. “A lone wolf.”
Haley was bounding up the steps. To Lilly she said, “Where’d you go?”
“I’m right here.”
“Come back. Just because he doesn’t want to be part of it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.”
“I thought you told me not to stick around,” Ben said.
“I don’t want you hovering around me, but you don’t have to alienate yourself.” Haley paused. “I talked to Ro at halftime. She’s going to show me some moves so I can try out for cheerleading next year. She also invited us to pizza with a few of the players after the game.”
Ben was suddenly at attention. “Uh-uh. No way.”
“Ben!”
“You know what pizza after the game is, Haley? They go out to Ochoa parklands and get drunk and smoke weed. Sometimes they throw up in the trash cans. Not my idea of a good time, and it better not be your idea either.”
“Please?”
“Mom would kill me. Beer is bad enough, but Weekly’s a pothead. No.”
“Mom’s not here. Please? Ro asked us to come.”
“Fine. Go with Ro and be her responsibility. I’m not having any part of this.”
Haley made a big point of sighing. “You’ll come with us?” she asked Lilly.
“Not without Ben. I don’t trust those guys.”
“You show solid judgment,” he said.
“Please, Ben? Just this once?”
“Why are you always asking me to do stuff I don’t agree with?”
“Why don’t you ever do stuff that’s fun?”
“Getting stoned is stupid, not fun.” She didn’t answer and he was torn. Go and have a rotten time or leave Haley to her own defenses?
“Just this once?” Haley pleaded. “It’ll give me status with my classmates. I promise I’ll never ask you again.”
She was Ro in miniature. Ben shook his head. “This is a mistake, but I’ll do it this one time and only for a few minutes. That’s the deal. If you complain, the answer will be no.”
She kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.” She grabbed Lilly’s hand. “Come on! We’re going to miss the fourth quarter.”
Lilly turned and waved good-bye. He didn’t bother waving back. The night had been a bust and he just knew it was only going to get worse.
A few minutes turned into an hour. Ben sat in the darkness watching Ro sip her second beer while Griffen looked on in a little discomfort. JD was on his fourth bottle, but he was a big guy and always handled his booze well. Mark Salinez was also good-sized. He could down a six-pack with little effect. Shannon had chosen to remain dry while Chelsea had been nursing a single bottle for over an hour.
It was Ron Weekly who was plastered. Weekly had one of those kinds of cute faces that girls went gaga over, the kind of looks that would turn womanish in his fifties. He was smaller than Manny and JD, but wiry and scrappy. Weekly was also not very good at holding his hooch and, of course, was drinking more than anyone else.
The park was black, the sole illumination coming from a couple of flashlights. Manny had brought along a CB radio, and whenever a cop was in the vicinity, the lights went out and people hid behind the trash cans.
Ben kept checking his watch. He had promised that he’d have the girls at home by eleven, which meant around thirty more torturous minutes.
Weekly pulled out a joint. “Anyone interested?”
Chelsea raised her hand. “Less calories than booze.” Shannon laughed a little too loud, then laid her head on Weekly’s shoulder. He brushed her off as he lit up. He passed the joint around and JD took a hit. He passed it to Ro. She locked eyes with Ben and then inhaled deeply. By the time the joint came to Haley, Ben’s eyes were daggers.
Haley dutifully passed it to Lilly, who passed it to Griffen, who passed it back to JD, who took another hit.
“Someone call the doctor,” Salinez told JD. “’Cause tonight you gave me one sick pass.”
“Call the ambulance,” JD said. “A real sick pass for a real sick catch.” Another hit, then JD downed a wedge of pizza, washing the whole thing down with a beer. “But in all fairness, we could have mowed them down with a rolling pin. They were pussies.”
“Yeah, they really sucked.” Weekly took a hit. “Sucked the big one.” He grabbed his crotch and laughed.
Ben said to Haley, “Ready to go?”
“Few more minutes,” Ro told him. “She’s my bud.” She put her arm around Haley. “My little bud.”
“It’s a weekend, bro,” JD said. “What’s the hurry, Vicks?”
Weekly said, “Where’s the fucking john? I need to take a wicked piss.”
“Locked up at this time of night,” JD said. “Just use the bushes.”
“Gross,” Shannon said.
“Hey,” Weekly said. “I’m marking my territory, dude. Just like the ca-yotes.” He howled and broke up at humor no one else saw as funny. After he urinated behind a trash can, he stumbled back into the crowd, tripping over Haley. He prevented himself from falling flat-faced into the dirt by catching himself with the palms of his hands.
Haley stood up. “Are you okay?”
Weekly went over to her, picked up her hand, and kissed it. “I am fine, my fair maiden.”
Ben was on high alert. Drop her hand, asshole. Instead Weekly kissed it again. “How does such a douche like Vicks have such a charming, lovely sister?”
With Weekly still holding her hand, Haley began to squirm. Ben stood up. “Take your hands off her.”
Weekly turned, grinned, and threw his arm around Haley’s shoulder. “If she doesn’t like it, let her say something, asshole.”
Haley blushed and tried to move away, but Weekly had a good grip on her shoulder. Ben went nose to nose with him. “Take your goddamn hands off my sister.” A hard shove. “Now!”
Lilly gasped and Haley’s eyes got wide. Weekly recovered and shoved Ben back, his arm making a swing toward his face.
He ducked, but the asshole still clipped him on his cheek. Ben, being quicker and sober, kneed Weekly where it hurt. As Weekly doubled over in pain, Ben grabbed his jacket lapels and threw him into the trash cans. In the background, some of the girls were screaming. Shannon had rushed over to Weekly while Ro was screaming to stop. It was JD who ran interference, something he was good at on and off the field. He towered over Ben by a good four inches and fifty pounds. “Go home, Vicks.”
Ben locked eyes with Ro. Say something!
Silence.
He backed away and grabbed Haley’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’re out of here!”
Weekly had gotten back on his feet, but was still woozy. “Don’t fucking come back!” he slurred out.
“Shut the fuck up, Weekly,” JD told him.