Page 107 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

“You boys going to bring home another win?” Someone asks from behind us.

“That's the plan.” Lucas nods.

“Good, because now you’ve got the whole of 607 and now the 315 counting on you.”

“I mean, no pressure,” I chuckle.

Lucas rolls his neck. “We’ve got this.”

“We do, no doubt, but you heard them; we have two area codes now.” I joke.

“One day, Tommy, we’ll have the entire league either hating us or loving us.”

Another guest at a nearby table asks, “You boys figure out where you're playing next year yet?”

Lucas doesn't even hesitate. “Depends on who's offering what. Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Syracuse, maybe Rutgers.”

She raises her eyebrows. “That's quite a list.”

“We've got options,” he says, nodding at me.

“You two always did.” Another guest states.

I look at him as I slather warm butter on a slice of the best Italian bread in … two area codes. “You've been holding out on me.”

“About what?”

“Syracuse.”

He shrugs. “It's a good school.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“You're surprised?” he asks.

“A little.”

Before I can push it, Vinnie comes back to the table, wiping his hands on a towel. “Surprised about what?”

“Lucas says he may look at a New York school.”

The owner looks at him. “You never said that before.”

Lucas shrugs again. “Things change.”

“That's damn good news if you ask me.” He pulls out the empty chair at the end of the table and sits. “You boys staying close, maybe we get to watch you play instead of reading about you in the paper.”

“That would be nice,” Lucas says.

The owner looks at me. “And you too, Lane?”

“He and I are a team,” Lucas states.

He’s always said that, and I believed it until a couple of years ago when I realized that’s not how this works. “We're working on it.”

Vinnie stands and chuckles. “You win State; I’ll add a Lucatommy special to the menu.”

“That may be better than playing D1.” I chuckle.