Page 34 of Out of Bounds

“I was open!” Carpenter called out from down court. His pale arms reflected the lights above the court. Apparently, the sun never came out in Maine.

“You were lollygagging,” Coach said.

“That was too easy.” Altshuler dribbled the ball back to half-court, smirk on his pockmarked face.

Today’s game was the upperclassmen versus the underclassmen. Newbies versus veterans. Altshuler and Cliff were dueling point guards, and Altshuler showed no mercy and no chill. This was Game Seven to him.

“Where’s the challenge?” Altshuler spun the basketball on his finger. It only lasted half a second.

“Nice job. When are you getting drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters?” Dell rolled his eyes.

Altshuler spun the ball again - this time on his middle finger, which was pointed right at Dell. The ball still only lasted half a second.

Cliff wasn’t going to sink to catch his bait. Team camaraderie obviously meant nothing to their captain. He was out for himself.

“Dell, Carpenter, join your teammates at the basket. Altshuler, cool it.” Coach’s arms directed all parties like an expert traffic cop. He turned his attention to Cliff once everyone scattered.

“What was your plan?”

For the first time, Cliff didn’t have an answer. So he told the truth.

“I wasn’t focused.”

“No, you weren’t. Our first game of the season is in three weeks.” The vein in his forehead pulsed with emphasis. Coach was an intense guy, as befitting anyone with a close cropped, military-style haircut.

Whistles and comments from Cliff’s teammates interrupted their conversation. Cudia strolled onto the court dressed up like he was going to church. He beelined to Coach.

“Looking fancy.” Dell brushed his fingers on his collar.

“Sorry I’m late. The event ran long. I couldn’t get out of there.” Cudia rolled his eyes at the memory.

“Yeah. I know. You’d think our boosters would care about getting you to practice so you can win games.” Coach nodded and exhaled a sigh through his nostrils. They shared a quick look of commiseration.

“Go change.” Coach shot him a supportive smile and watched Cudia shuffle into the locker before turning his eyes back to Cliff. “Look, whatever is on your mind, you have to put it to the side when you’re on this court. That’s what players like Cudia do. When you’re in the game, you need to be in the game.”

Cliff knew that. Hewasthat guy. That was what he loved about basketball. He had to be in the moment. His mind wasn’t allowed to wander to thoughts about being gay or being different. But for the first time, his sexuality wasn’t a secret only for him, something that could be tucked away. It was now shared. It made its debut in the real world. Cliff’s face was up close and personal with a dick. And he liked it.

“I’m sorry, Coach.”

“Don’t apologize. Show me what you got.”

* * *

After practice,Cliff went to Alex’s dorm to Zoom with their parents. Dell walked with him again through the quad.

“What was up with Cudia? Coach is really strict about players showing up on time.” Cliff believed somehow, Dell would know. He was social with everyone on the team, except Altshuler, and he had the innate skill of getting people to talk. It was something Cliff had to be careful about around him.

“He was greasing palms at an event for one of the boosters. Don’t you know the golden rule of life? When rich people ask you to do something, you can’t say no.” Dell laughed as he hitched his gym bag from sliding off his shoulder. “There are deep-pocketed donors that arrange for players to make appearances at different events, like company meetings, conferences. You go around and schmooze with a bunch of old men about your hopes for the season and shit like that.”

Cliff was familiar with boosters from his high school days, but the most they asked for were photos with players after games. This sounded much more involved, maybe because there was more money and prestige on the line. “Have you had to go to any of those events?”

“Nah. But we will once we strut out stuff on the court.” Dell seemed excited, but he also loved being around people. He could regale fatcats and their ilk with tall tales of grueling games and buzzer shots. Cliff doubted he’d had the same panache. And the whole thing struck him as a weird quid pro quo relationship, like Whitetail players were paid escorts, except everything they earned went to the school.

Cliff arrived at Alex’s dorm. He and Dell did their special handshake without a hitch. They’d been perfecting it every time they saw each other.

“Hey,” Alex said when he opened the door to his suite, which was actually more like an apartment with a kitchen and living room. This would probably be the nicest place Alex would live in until his late twenties. Each time Cliff visited for their parental Zoom chats, he marveled at the size and swankiness of the furnishings. It was a million times nicer than the dorm rooms his high school friends were posting pictures of on social media.

“My roommates are gone, so we can do it at the kitchen table.” Alex brought his laptop from the coffee table into the kitchen. “You still can’t get over this place.”