Reece dropped his face toward the floor, not wanting Nick to see the tears instantly filling his eyes. It felt like he was being dismissed, like Nick was turning down his company. “Do you want to warm up with me?”
His hesitance made Reece fear he’d turn him down, but Nick just grunted and started a slow jog that Reece matched. He was still quiet. Too quiet. But Reece was happy to fill the void for Nick. Even when Nick didn’t feel like talking, Reece rambled, and Declan was always around doing the same. Some days were better than others, but most of the time Nick seemed to be suffering in silent depression. Counseling only seemed to make Nick angry, and he was understandably overwhelmed as he was still grieving while trying to navigate senior year and his blossoming basketball career.
Agents had been contacting Nick over the phone since the summer, some even approaching him at school. He had snapped at a handful of them. They didn’t care about Nick or what he was going through, only his name, image, and likeness—and how much money Nick could make them. Declan was going through similar things, but he had his parents helping. Both Declan and Nick had guaranteed full rides to college. The same couldn’t be said for Reece. His grades were average and, while he was good at basketball, he wasn’t exceptional like his friends.
There was too much going on and plenty to worry about, but Reece’s priority was his hurting friend. He was desperateto cheer Nick up, to make him realize that even though his life had changed and he’d suffered an unimaginable loss, there was still so much good in his life and so much to look forward to. He wasn’t going to let Nick forget about all their plans and promises.
As the season kicked off and life got busier, things seemed to get better. Not back to normal, but Nick was all in, playing his best, and playing with him was like living a dream. He’d never been more lethal on the court. Every game, it was as if Nick was on fire, and Declan was always matching him. Reece started practicing on his own to continue getting better because his friends were soaring. They dominated All-Star games, the season extending into March. Their spring break was packed with practice and film review, which Reece pouted about, wishing they could spend at least a day on the beach having fun like they used to. It helped him feel better about it seeing how seriously Nick was taking everything. Put a movie on and he’d be dozing off, but he’d review films all day attentively. The same couldn’t be said for Declan, he loathed film time, which Reece found amusing.
“Want to go for burgers after practice?” Reece asked Nick hopefully as he sat between Nick and Declan at their shared table.
“Hell yeah, I’m starving,” Declan answered, doing a little dance in his seat.
“I like burgers,” Nick said quietly with a shrug.
Reece smiled softly. “I know, they’re your favorite. We can go for ice cream after, too. What do you say?”
Nick looked from the basketball game running on the wide screen to Reece. The left corner of his mouth curved up for an instant as he attempted to smile. It faded almost immediately, but had shown itself long enough to make Reece’s heart skip a beat.
They ended up at a local burger place, seated in a booth. Reece was admittedly feeling giddy that he was in the booth next to Nick and they were even looking at the same menu together even though Nick had his own, he just didn’t bother picking it up.
“It smells so good in here,” Reece said with a sigh before turning his head toward Nick and breathing in deep through his nose. “Wow, that might be just you, Nicky.”
“It’s gotta be the food,” Nick said as if accepting the compliment might somehow put an end to him.
“Food smells good too, but you smell better. Ooh, this looks tasty.” He pointed at one of the burgers on the menu. “Have you had the secret sauce?”
Nick raised a brow at that. “The what now?”
“Secret sauce. See it here—I bet it’s delicious. Want to try it with me?”
“Dunno,” he mumbled, eyeing the description on the menu suspiciously. “You try it and if it tastes like shit, then we can share my burger.”
“Okay, sure,” Reece said with a smile. “Which one are you getting?”
“Fully loaded,” Nick answered almost immediately. “Look,” he said and pointed to one of the specials. “Now that’s a damn burger right there. Two hands.”
Reece almost started clapping, his excitement getting the better of him. He hoped Nick would eat well and loosen up with them. “Sounds like a monster but the best kind. What about you, Dec?”
“Oh? Is this the part where we remember that I’m here too?” Declan said, feigning genuine surprise, and then gasped when Reece kicked him in the shin.
“Don’t be mean.”
“You’re huge, Declan, nobody can forget you,” Nick deadpanned.
Reece laid a hand on Nick’s thigh, snickering. “Nicky’s right and you know we’d never forget you.”
“Well shit, I better get two burgers then since I’m larger than life.”
Reece had witnessed Declan put away double that before, so he wouldn’t be surprised. “Which two? Try the secret sauce with me?”
Declan grinned, looking more than happy to. “Sure! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“I bet you’d like that one with the onion rings too,” Reece said, pointing at it on the menu.
Declan nodded. “Yeah, I heard those are really good here. And they don’t slack on the desserts either, all kinds of stuff… like this vanilla milkshake,” he said and subtlety glanced at Nick.
“Where?” Nick asked, tone casual and nonchalant, but he was leaning over the table to see. “Hm. There’s chocolate too, Ree.”
