The Beautiful Game

Chapter Twelve - Carter

    "Homeboy tell you he's in love yet?" Seamus manages to say with a mouthful of pancake. "That's all I got last night in the uber; you wouldn't have heard Carter, your head was hanging out the window like a golden retriever. But Ella is different. Ella is so funny, she does this impressio-" Marcus throws his used napkin at Seamus, effectively shutting him up.

    "What happened?" I ask him before taking a long drink of Pepsi.

    "We talked and I apologised for acting like a prick. So, now we're taking it slow."

    Seamus waggles his eyebrows at me, and I study Marcus as he takes a bite of his sub. It's bizarre, these words coming out of his mouth. I'd seen this guy kick girls out of our apartment without a second glance, all before heading off to judge a wet t-shirt contest.

    "Is she good in bed? Asking for a friend. That friend is me." The look Marcus shoots Seamus is scalding, I'm surprised the syrup on Seamus's pancakes hasn't started to boil.

    "Hang on, you're together?" I ask, saving Seamus from getting his ass kicked.

    "Not really. Like I said, she wants to take it slow. Date."

    "Date?" I'd never even been on a date. We didn't have to. Fuck, we'd just turn up and get girls.

    "Yea, dating. It's possible Carter, I'm not going to forget how to play ball because I'm seeing someone."

    "Let's hope you actually improve." Marcus balls up another napkin to launch at Seamus.

   "She wants to hang out more, but start off like, in a group or something." Marcus takes another gargantuan bite of his sub, leaving Seamus and I to process what he'd said.

    "You mean us?" Seamus asks the question; I decide a mouthful of hash brown is best.

    "Yea. Like bowling and shit. She said her roommates and mine would be a big enough group, keep things casual for a while." I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

    "I fucking love bowling." Seamus bounces in his seat like he's ten years old, not twenty one and the most aggressive line-backer I've ever seen.

   "No." They both look at me.

   "What do you mean no?" Marcus asks.

    "I mean no. Her roommate's a fucking nightmare."

    "Which one? The little one with curly hair is cute, I could put her in my pocket." Seamus pats the pocket of his shorts and I can feel Marcus staring at the side of my head, fuming that I'm sabotaging his plans.

   "No, the other one, Lou." Saying her name out loud to them both felt weird, like she'd been some figment of my imagination until now.

   "Yea, Ella mentioned she had some... issues." Marcus mutters as he pours more syrup onto his pancakes.

   "Issues? Like Charles Manson issues or-" Seamus starts.

   "Daddy issues." I finish whilst finally wiping the grease and yolk from my hands, Marcus stops pouring to look at me.

   "Dude, her dad died."

    My throat seizes up, causing the hash brown I'd been chewing to get lodged at the back of my throat. I launch into a coughing fit, drawing attention from Mandy and the other few people in the deli. I punch my fist into my chest, trying to help my coughing but to also try and beat down the realisation that I'm a total bastard.

    "W-what?" I just about manage to get the word out between heaving coughs.

    "Yea, beginning of sophomore year he died. Ella said Lou had a breakdown, almost quit school and hasn't really been the same since."