Sparks Fly

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Peasant and a Drunk

He didn't even try. "Since you're so curious about my relationship with Rain, we'll end practice for today." Teagan didn't miss the low cheers the other boys gave when he made the announcement, but he ignored them to glower at the smirking fifth grader before him. "You'll be happy to know that the lady and I are going very strong."

"Don't let it go to your head, stud," the boy warned. "Knowing you, you'll probably do something stupid and take out your frustrations on us poor kids."

He would have laughed the boy's premonition off, but Teagan knew himself well enough to concede that Gavin could have a point. "I'm glad you've got so much faith in me."

Gavin turned to watch his teammates as they made their way of the splotchy grass field. His shoulders rose and fell in a careless shrug as he turned back to look at him with a serious look. "You're the one guy in my life I consider close enough to be a brother. Don't make it weird, but I love you, which is why I can say with all honesty that you tend to ruin all the good things you have in life."

Well, that was a sucker punch right to the gut. But deep down, Teagan knew there was some validity to what Gavin said. He winced as he flexed his hand, pulling at his torn and bruised knuckles. "I guess that's fair. Not that I've had many good things in my life, but the few I've had made me feel like I didn't deserve them."

Gavin eyed him. "You don't think you deserved a full ride to Menlo College in Silicon Valley?" the boy asked bluntly. "Cause your grades would have suggested otherwise."

That memory still stung. "It wasn't a full ride. It was just that the rest of the tuition was going to be covered by someone who was trying to pay off a debt they thought they owed me." Teagan wouldn't have accepted the money even if it had meant he would finally be free of Jamison Miller and the lowdown image the townspeople had of him.

"Whatever," Gavin said, waving an arm in dismissal. "It was your decision. Just don't throw away what you've found with Rainy, ok? Cause I know I complained about that look she's got on your face, but it's a heck of a lot better than that reckless look you'd been rocking for years."

Teagan felt his mouth widen into a full grin as he watched Gavin Santos march off the field without a backward glance. It was the strangest thing, that he found himself having deep conversations with a boy who shouldn't have understood half of the things Teagan had gone through in life. Then again, the boy had an old soul. He'd matured faster than most children his age who lived on the other side of the train tracks.

"Hey, Santos!" Teagan called.

Gavin stopped and threw a glance over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

He couldn't believe he was gonna say it. "I love you, too, little rascal!"

The boy made a disgusted noise. "I told you not to make it weird!" he hollered, annoyance clear on his face. "You tell anyone I said that to you, I'll deny it and claim you use me for free child labor!"

Teagan was still wearing a smile on his face when he finally shuffled into his truck.

xXx

The old man was drunk.

Surprise? No, actually, but finding him sober would have been a welcome change.

As luck would have it, he was drunk and looked mean enough to cause trouble on the one day Teagan had felt like he could conquer the world. What a cruel joke. How was he supposed to move forward when he couldn't change the fact his father was a worthless man who only served to drag him through the dirt?

How did a peasant with a long line of conquests win the Queen's heart?

He didn't.

So in hindsight, maybe Gavin had nothing to worry about. He couldn't ruin something that was never truly his, right?