Page 17 of Set Play

I want that. That connection.

Flashes of green eyes and caramel hair cross my mind, but I quickly dismiss them, tuning back into the conversation just in time to hear Sophie answer Lukas’s earlier question.

“We want to have it when you two have a break in your game schedule. Obviously, not near any major holiday, since people won’t come. So, we wanted to see what the team’s schedule looked like.”

Lukas opens his mouth, but I cut him off, knowing his answer will only be fifteen percent serious and guaranteed to piss Flora off again. “Well, there is always the mid-season pause for the tournaments, but depending on how the team is doing, we may play in them. I think that puts our longest home streak at the end of July or the beginning of August. We have four or five home games during that stretch. As long as you schedule it around those, we can get the day off.”

“Perfect!” Sophie claps excitedly. She pulls out her phone and pulls up the game schedule. “It’s a Tuesday, but how does August third sound? You two have a game that Sunday but then nothing else until that Thursday.”

Once the date is settled, Flora drags Lukas up to the bar to help carry back a round of drinks, leaving Sophie and me alone. “So, Teo…you want to tell me what’s going on, or do I need to have your sister bring me her chancla?7”

She doesn’t even hesitate to issue the threat, making me snort in amusement. Yeah, she definitely fits in with the Reyes family. Like my sister, Sophie refuses to let me wallow in my thoughts and forces me to talk about things. I often tell her that she should’ve been a therapist since she’s so good at helping people realize what they need.

Using the condensation on the table to draw random patterns, I heave out a sigh. I know she won’t let this go. Either I talk to her, or Flora and she will harass me until I do.

Resigned to the path of least pain, I lean forward, place my elbows onto the table, and give her all my focus as I explain the last two weeks. She stays quiet until I get to today’s encounter.

At Henri’s name, she sucks in a sharp breath, back rigid. If anyone has as much reason to hate him as I do, it’s Sophie. He almost cost her and Flora everything. Sophie and I lock eyes, silently acknowledging the pain but agreeing to leave it in the past for now.

She drags her hands down her face, groaning. “That asshole. Why won’t he just leave you alone? He’s been bullying you for, what? Six years? There’s more though, isn’t there?”

“Unfortunately.” I drop my head into my hands, ignoring the tackiness on them courtesy of the table. “So, on top of seeing him, which really stole the joy from winning, it turns out that Élise is his younger sister.” Every time I say it, I hope it’ll be easier, but so far, I’m not that lucky.

How did she worm her way into my head so thoroughly in two weeks?

A warm hand on my forearm pulls me from my thoughts, forcing me to lift my head. Sophie, having leaned in to match my posture, looks at me, eyes filled with sympathy and a soft smile on her face. I revel in the momentary warmth the gesture offers.

“Why does it bother you so much? You barely know her. Plus, after everything her brother has done, it feels unlikely that she wouldn’t know.” Her words mirror my earlier thoughts, but for some reason hearing her say them fills me with an intense need to defend Élise.

“But what if she doesn’t? Henri seemed pretty mad at her, too. If this was a plot to fuck with me, I doubt he would’ve acted so upset. And she was genuinely upset with how he talked to me. The way she looked at me when I…” My voice breaks as I trail off, not willing to admit to what I said. “You can’t fake that type of emotion, Soph.”

Without another word, Sophie gets up and walks over to me. She waits while I struggle to turn toward her in this cracked vinyl chair before she steps between my thighs. For a moment, she just stares up at me before grabbing my neck to pull me down until our foreheads touch. The gesture unleashes a blend of sorrow and gratitude.

Mamá always did this when one of us was having a bad day to help settle us down. After the accident, Flora, Lukas, and I started doing it in her honor whenever one of us was struggling. The memory is so strong that her words hardly register. “Things will work out, Teo.”

A few flashes of lights go off throughout the bar, but I ignore them, focusing on the chaotic vortex of emotions in my chest. As if sensing that, Sophie slips her arms around my back, hugging me tightly. More flashes dance behind my eyelids, but I foolishly tell myself it’s just random bargoers taking group photos. But you know what they say about assuming…

1. ¡Qué onda, mano! = What’s up, bro?

2. ¿Qué pasa? ¿Qué ha hecho ese cabrón esta vez? = What happened? What did that bastard do this time?

3. un cerveza fria o tres = a cold beer or three

4. loca = crazy

5. burro = jackass

6. ¡Que pedo, mana! = What the hell, sis!

7. Chancla = sandal

Chapter 11

Mateo

I’m in a semi-conscious state between awake and asleep when a continuous vibration reaches my awareness. Rather than waking up, my mind incorporates the sound into my dreamscape, somehow believing that it is the rumbling of cars on the highway behind me.

I’m standing in front of an earth-toned, Pueblo Revival-style home that seems to rise from the surrounding desert. Indigenous flowers line both sides of the house leading to a painted wooden door. The emerald green is distinct but still manages to look coherent.