Page 20 of Out of Bounds

“Iwantto believe you.”

Oooooooh.

Altshuler got right in his face, giving him a gnarly whiff of his lunch. “You better watch yourself, freshman. You may’ve been hot shit at Cowfucking Township High School, but this is college ball, and I am the captain of this team.”

Althsuler swiped the ball from his hands, pivoted around Cliff before he knew what was going on, and released the ball into the air.

It swished through the basket. Altshuler kept his arm raised and waved bye to Cliff.

* * *

The restof practice was a more civilized affair. The team ran drills for the first hour, and then were split into two half-court games. Coach Trainor had the good sense to keep Cliff and Altshuler in separate games. Practice helped Cliff keep Brennan off his mind. He only thought of him in random bursts of downtime...and one occurrence while zoning out in the shower. Fortunately, he kept, uh, things under control.

Cliff exited the arena into a warm afternoon. The wind rustled the changing leaves on the row of trees along the sidewalk.

Dell jogged up to him.

“Hey, man.” Despite working through a two-hour practice, Dell hadn’t lost a smidgeon of energy. The people at Red Bull could study him for tips. “So I just looked up the termpetty bitchin Urban Dictionary, and it said ‘See also: Altshuler.’”

Cliff snorted out a laugh. “Is that so?”

“Big senior is scared that the little freshman’s going to outshine him. I had one of those on my team back home. But this guy.” Dell bugged out his eyes and exhaled an overly dramatic breath. “His dick must be so small.”

Even though he was gay, the last thing Cliff wanted to think about was Altshuler’s dick.

“Don’t let him get to you.”

“I’m not,” Cliff said firmly.

“I could tell. You seem focused, like a guy who knows how to tune people out. But don’t tune me out. I’m too much fun.”

“I won’t.” And Cliff meant it. Dell cracked up the players during practice, too.

Sunlight danced in the shadows of the branches. Cliff looked to the water and saw the mountains. Coming from the flatter-than-flat Wisconsin, he’d never take them for granted.

“Where ya headed after this?”

“To my brother’s dorm, Kempson Hall. We’re Zooming with our parents.” It wasn’t that long ago that he watched his parents drive away, but it already felt like a lifetime ago. College, and a childhood crush reappearing unexpectedly, aged a person.

“Nice. I FaceTime with my folks while I’m walking to class. It’s more efficient.”

Dell seemed like someone who didn’t care about having personal conversations out in the open.

“Hey, did you not sign up for FunDac?” They weaved around bike riders and other students.

“I decided to try an art class.”

Dell gave an exaggerated nod. “I could tell you’re an artist. Deep down.”

“Thanks?” He figured Dell was being sarcastic, but still took the compliment. “And you would make a great actor.”

“I don’t want to act. This class can help with public speaking. After a career in the NBA, I want to go on the lecture circuit. Speakers make bank, just for talking. I’m great at talking!”

“Yes, you are.” Cliff made a left onto a path that weaved between indistinguishable ivy-encrusted buildings.

“You single?” Dell apparently did not believe in segues. When something was on his mind, he just said it.

Cliff nodded yes and braced himself for more questions.