Page 14

CHAPTER 14

The roar of the crowd was deafening.

"Is it always like this?" Jayce had to scream to be heard.

"No." Shaun shook his head. "But if they win this game, they are in the playoffs. It's been a few years since they've even come close."

Michael was number ten and he was killing it.

"Isn't Michael a little young to be playing on varsity?"

Jayce didn't know a thing about high school sports. He’d never had the opportunity to play anything, but Michael was only a sophomore and he would've thought that was too young for a varsity sport.

"He started out on JV but was quickly pulled up to varsity when they realized how good he was. He's the third top scorer for the team. He'll absolutely have a thousand-point career before he graduates. Most likely higher."

Pride filled his chest even if he didn't understand half of what Shaun was saying. Asking Michael to teach him about basketball was high on the list of things he wanted to do with his son to help build a relationship.

Michael went up for another three-point shot, and just like many of his other shots, it went straight through the net without hitting the backboard. He and Shaun jumped up and clapped along with everyone else on their side of the gym.

Cheerleaders screamed, the crowd roared. It was hard not to get caught up in the excitement when the team was winning sixty-four to fifty-six. Michael ran down the court, and glanced over to where they were sitting and smiled.

Shaun had mentioned when he showed up that Michael was excited he was coming to a game. Apparently it was rare for Jasmine to show, but Shaun and Kennedy made every one.

Kennedy sat to his right while Shaun was on his left. She had yet to say anything other than a brief hello when he found them in the crowd. Jayce didn't know what it meant. He couldn't imagine why she would be mad at him. When he left yesterday, after confronting Shaun, he thought they were on good terms but now he wondered if he managed to screw up in another way. It wouldn't surprise him.

One of Michael's teammates took a shot at the basket but missed. Fortunately, Michael was right there to grab the ball before the other team could get to it. He thought he heard Shaun holler about having a good rebound but he couldn't be sure. It was hard to distinguish between all the yelling going on around him.

The rest of the game went by in a flash. Michael's team won by twenty points. The players jumped up and down in the middle of the court in celebration. Cheerleaders ran out to join in, along with some of the student body who had been in the stands. The announcer screamed in the microphone that it was the first time in seven years the team was going to the playoffs.

It was nearly thirty minutes after the game ended, and more than half of the gym had cleared out, before the players emerged from the locker room one by one. Jayce expected Michael to be one of the last ones out as he celebrated with his teammates, but his son was practically first. There was no mistaking the excitement in his son's eyes when he approached.

"That was one hell of a game, bud,” Jayce said. “I'm glad I was here to see it."

"Yeah?" Michael looked unsure. "I'm glad you came." He hefted the bag farther up on his shoulder.

"I do have to say though, I don't know the first thing about basketball. You're going to have to teach me so when I come to your games, I know what I'm talking about."

Michael's eyes lit up. "You're going to come to another one?"

"You get me your schedule and I promise to be at every one of them."

The look on Michael's face alone was reason enough to show up to every game. To hell with work. Luke would understand him taking time off and it wasn't like he had anything else going on in his life. It was easy to make Michael his priority at the moment.

"Okay, cool. And yeah, I'll teach you. It's pretty simple once you learn the basics."

"So what do you normally do after a big game like that?" He wasn't ready to say goodbye even though it was a school night. He wanted some extra time with his son.

"Can we go for pizza?" Michael asked Shaun. "I'm starving."

"Why not?" Shaun shrugged. "A game like that deserves to be celebrated."

"Yes!" Michael pumped his fist in the air. "Can I ride with . . . Jayce?"

He wished Michael had used the word “dad” but he understood his hesitation, especially around Shaun. For Michael’s whole life Shaun had been his dad and now to learn that wasn't the case, the transition was bound to be awkward when the three of them were together. Kennedy stood off to the side silently observing the interaction and he wondered what she thought about Michael pausing before saying his name.

"Of course. We’ll hit up your favorite place. You can show your father where it is."

It was in that moment Jayce knew things were going to be okay. Shaun was doing his best to include him and that was all he wanted; to be involved in Michael's life moving forward.

The walk out to his truck was quiet. It wasn't until they were out of the school parking lot before Michael spoke again.

"Thank you again for coming to my game. It means a lot to me."

Jayce cleared his throat. "I know we don't know each other yet, but I promise to be at every event you have from now on. I know I missed the first fifteen years of your life but I don't want to miss any more."

Michael fidgeted in his seat. "Mom hardly ever came. She hated basketball. Said it was boring and she had other things that required her attention."

Fuck Jasmine and her self-centered way of life.

"Well, I'm not your mother and I have to disagree. I enjoyed watching you play. There was nothing boring about it."

He might not have known a damn thing about the sport but just having the opportunity to watch Michael was enough to make it fun for him.

"Are things going to change now that you're my dad?"

They were stopped at a red light, so Jayce put his forearm on the steering wheel and turned so he was looking at his son. "Change how?"

"Where I go to school and who I live with?" Michael didn't look at him. He played with the strap of his bag that sat on the floor between his legs.

"Michael, look at me." It took a moment for his son’s eyes to come up. "I promise you, I'm not taking you away from your life. Shaun is your father just as much as I am. He raised you. I wouldn't think to take that from you. Would I like for you to spend some days with me? Absolutely, but no, I'm not taking you away from anything."

A car honked behind him and he was tempted to stick his hand out the window and give the person the finger. Instead he shifted gears and rolled through the light.

"Do you live far from here?"

"A little less than an hour away. I'm in the process of buying a house though, and that will be a little bit closer."

"You don't live in a house now?"

Well, this wasn't the conversation he wanted to have. The hope was he would never need to explain his current living situation. That plan was shot to hell.

"No, I live in a one-bedroom apartment, but now that I have you in my life, I'm going to buy a house. Your aunt Kennedy helped me pick it out. It's a fixer-upper, so it might take some time before I can have you over."

"Aunt Kennedy loves to decorate. She did my room. Mom wasn't happy because she wanted it to be more sophisticated but Aunt Kennedy knew what I liked."

He would keep that in mind when it came to decorating Michael's room at the new house. He didn't have the first clue what teenage boys liked. He had barely been one himself because life forced him to grow up too quickly.

"Then I guess it's a good thing she's helping me."

The rest of the drive to the pizza place was more relaxed, as was the conversation while they ate. The entire evening turned out great, and it was nice to see how their future looked.