I really wasn’t in the mood, but I wasn’t in the mood to stay home either. There’d been no further discussion of me playing college football. By the time I came home that night of the fight I was too exhausted to think about it anymore and had just gone to my room. Ivy never responded to my call. “DO YOU GUYS ever think about what you’d do if you didn’t play ball?” I asked. We were in Ollie’s truck headed for the party. They were passing shots from a Cuervo bottle ‘hidden’ inside a brown paper bag. Like that’d fool the cops if we got pulled over. “Not play ball?” CJ glanced at me with a confused look. “Why in the hell, would we ever think about that?” He nudged Olli’s arm. “Life is all about playing ball, if you get my meaning.” Ollie laughed and raised the brown bag. “Amen, brother.” I felt like saying ‘and look where that got you,’ but I didn’t. I leaned forward so I could see both of them at once. “No, I’m serious. Are you loading all your bets up on that one thing and just letting it ride?”
