“I know,” Remi said.
“Know what?” Lay asked.
“I know everything.”
Lay shook his head.
“Oh, fuck,” I growled. “Lay, he knows about Madison and I.”
“What about you guys?” Lay asked.
“Stop fucking around,” I said. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t think. I don’t know. Something happened…”
“What happened?” Remi asked.
“Nothing,” I said. I pointed to Remi. “Want to get a drink?”
“Hell yes, I do,” Lay said.
“Talk to me, Mav,” Remi said.
I looked at Remi. “You have a puppy to go home to. And a wife. Don’t worry about me.”
“It’s not worry,” Remi said.
“Stop, Remi. Okay? Just do me a favor and stop.”
“That I won’t do,” Remi said. He stepped toward me. “You know what I said to Madison, right? About the way she looked at you? It goes the same way for you. That’s how I knew. The way you’d look at her. From the first time I saw you look at her, Mav. I just knew. I thought to myself,he’s screwing her.Then I realized the look in your eyes was more than that.”
“What the fuck is this?” Lay asked. “Therapy hour? He was banging the boss’s daughter and now he’s done with her. Throw her to the curb and move on, right?”
“This is who you want to take advice from?” Remi asked, nodding to Lay.
“Forget everything,” I said.
“No drinks?” Lay asked.
“No drinks,” I said. “I’ll go home and get drunk on my own.”
“Being drunk and alone is a dangerous thing,” Remi said. “Bad things can happen.”
“Bad things happened tonight already,” I said.
That comment felt a little petty and weak.
But whatever.
I let Madison too close to my heart and she took a bite out of it.
And if I tried to talk to her, I knew the answer I’d get.
That it was probably for the better. That we didn’t belong together. Or near each other.
I went into the locker room and sat through Coach’s speech about the game.
About family.
About commitment.