Mess To Be Made

7

To: Sean

Whatcha doing?

"Should we watch the new Kardashians or KUWTK reruns?"

"Do the new one," Rachel suggested as she applied a second coat of red paint to her fingernail.

Lindsay and I were lounging on her bed, the large TV hung on the wall in front us. Rachel was off to the side at Lindsay's desk so she could paint her nails while still seeing the television.

"How you feeling?" I asked my best friend as she rested her forearm atop her auburn hair.

"Rough," she replied honestly.

We had gone to Austin's party last night and, again, Lindsay got incredibly drunk.

"You have to stop being so nervous," Rachel replied as she carefully examined her fingernails, analyzing her work.

"Wow. Thank you, Rach. Insightful advice," Lindsay sneered with an eye roll.

"Austin's a player," Rachel stated bluntly. "If you want him, you're going to have to go all in."

My phone buzzed in my hand.

From: Sean

You know what.

I did know what.

The Varsity Basketball roster was posted yesterday afternoon. It was no surprise Sean made it. Sean played Varsity his junior year, and JV his freshman and sophomore year.

Sean was a dipshit—my favorite dipshit—at a lot of things. But he was actually really talented when it came to basketball.

"So," I said to him in the crowded section of the parking lot where all the popular seniors and juniors hung out during lunch. It was the day after Varsity's first game. We were juniors, so it was a big deal for him, and everyone who was anyone in the popular crowd was gathered in the parking lot to chat, mingle, gossip, and flirt. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it last night."

He simply grunted and I could just feel that he was upset I wasn't there.

I definitely wasn't going to tell him I was hooking up with a really hot senior, Dan Thompson, instead of going to his game. So I mused, "How many homeruns did you make?"

Sean almost laughed but caught himself. It was like in an instant he went from being pissed to, well, Sean. He clicked his tongue. "So many homeruns, they all added up to one touchdown."

I gasped and punched his shoulder lightly. "Sean! A whole touchdown!"

I remember the gratitude in his eyes and I only hoped I could return it.

"I am really proud of you, Seany," I said sincerely, despite using my playful nickname for him. "I'm sorry I missed your first Varsity game."

He wrapped his arms around my ribcage and squeezed. I squeezed back. "Yeah, yeah. You better be front row at the next one though."

I was.

As a senior now, Sean volunteered to host the celebration party for everyone who made the team. Apparently, this was a tradition that happened every year the Saturday after the roster came out. So at his house, right now, there were about 15 or so guys.