16. Alan

Chapter sixteen

Alan

I get back to my room and text the group chat.

ALAN: So Ryan knows that you all know, but we are not telling anyone else, so can you all try to keep this to yourselves?

HARRISON: So it is a thing then?

STEVIE: Of course it’s a thing! Did you see the way they were looking at each other on second base today? Bella looked at me like that a few months ago and now we’re having another baby.

GORDON: I don’t think he has to worry about that, but I saw it. Chances are other people did, too. Are you just going to play it off as part of the star-crossed thing?

ALAN: Yeah, given Dennis has us play acting anyway, it’s the perfect cover.

HARRISON: Except we can all tell neither one of you is acting.

BENNY: You might want to avoid the late-night visits to his room if you are wanting to keep this a secret long.

Fuck. I swear I didn’t see anyone on the way back. I was so careful. I even carried a towel with me so I could say I was headed to the sauna if I ran into anyone.

HARRISON: At least someone is getting some. I swear I can’t wait for Arlo to visit.

GORDON: Come on, dude, that’s my brother.

HARRISON: Sorry. I mean, I can’t wait for my boyfriend to visit so I can fuck his brains out in my hotel room.

GORDON: *** Middle finger emoji***

ALAN: I have no idea what Benny is talking about. I’ve been in my room all night.

Phillip rolls over in the bed on the other side of our hotel room, his phone in his hands and the screen illuminating his cheeky grin.

“Come on, back me up, please?” I beg.

“You literally just walked in.”

“They don’t have to know that.”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t. I just… I don’t know.”

He frowns and then starts tapping on his phone. I don’t know why I care. They know we are together. So it stands to reason we’d be wanting some alone time. Why is it a big deal?

PHILLIP: The dude has been in the room all night. No idea what Benny was seeing, but it wasn’t Alan.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, but when I need an alibi, I expect your support, no questions.”

“You got it.”

BENNY: I didn’t say I saw him. My room is next to Ryan’s. Let’s just say that the walls in this place are not exactly super thick.

Phillip laughs, and I throw one of my pillows at his head.

“Shut up.”

He tosses it back, still laughing.

HARRISON: Maybe he was watching porn, hotels have decent porn, I mean you have to pay for it, but it’s not bad.

GORDON: Please tell me you didn’t order porn to our room.

STEVIE: Are you two texting each other while in the same room?

HARRISON: No, Gordon went for a walk because he couldn’t stand listening to me and Arlo on video chat.

GORDON: Excuse me if I don’t want to hear you make kissy noises at the screen to my little brother. It’s weird.

HARRISON: No weirder than you acting like a teenager and playing the “ no, you hang up first ” game with Niki every fucking night.

ALAN: I think that’s our cue to go to bed. So to recap. All you dickheads will keep this to yourselves, and if anyone even hints at knowing, I hope you will help squash any rumors. At least until the tour is over.

HARRISON: We got you. If anyone says boo, we’ll just say it’s all part of Dennis’s master plan.

GORDON: Yep, totally got your back, man.

STEVIE: After what the little monkey did for me and Bella, I owe you two. You got it. Whatever you need.

BENNY: No problem. But if I get a room next to either of you next time, you are buying me earplugs.

ALAN: Thanks, guys.

“I’ve got your back, too,” Phillip says, switching his phone screen off and placing it on the bedside table.

“Thanks. Good night.”

“Night.”

***

Ryan was right. Lady Luck does like him better. Or at least she likes the Funky Monkeys better because they kicked our asses, again. Losing sucks, sure, but losing to Ryan stings a little less knowing his prize for winning is to get to do whatever he wants with me, and that means I win, too. But it also means that if Bart Erricson is looking to dump one of the new teams next year, the party Animals are not exactly showing him our best. But it’s early in the season, we play the OG teams soon, and that is where we get to really show him how amazing we are. If we can both kick their asses and he has to keep us all.

ALAN: So we have an hour before we have to head to the airport with the team. What were you thinking?

RYAN: Thinking about what?

He can’t be serious.

ALAN: About claiming your prize. Phillip already packed up his stuff and headed down to grab a meal with the guys. You could come to my room.

RYAN: We did agree on whatever I want, right?

ALAN: Yep. Anything at all. Did you want me to come to your room?

RYAN: No, let’s go down and grab something to eat, too. I’m starving.

He wants to eat.

ALAN: You’re choosing to get dinner as your prize when you can have whatever you want?

RYAN: No. I’m saying let’s get dinner with the guys and I’ll collect my prize later.

ALAN: I guess I’ll see you downstairs.

RYAN: See you soon.

I throw the last of my things into my bag and head down. Leaving my suitcase with the others piled up beside the doors of the hotel ready to be loaded onto the bus taking us to the airport, I make my way into the restaurant. The room is packed, and I scan the faces, looking for the guys.

“Wow, everyone is here,” Ryan says from beside me.

“Yeah, you sure you would rather be here than…you know?”

A soft pink blush rises to his cheeks.

“Yeah, I’m sure. We’ll have plenty of time once we get to the next hotel,” he says, stretching an arm up to wave at Duckie, who is standing on a chair on the other side of the room, trying to flag us down. “Come on.”

“Allllllaaaaaannnnnnn,” Duckie calls out, and a bunch of people turn to look my way as we weave through the sea of people to the table they’ve secured by the back wall.

“You okay?” Gordon asks as I take the open seat next to him. Ryan is sitting three seats down between Stevie and Tim Sage, and I hear him laughing at something someone has said. I love the sound of his laugh. It’s like a song for my heart, filling it like air fills a balloon.

“Fine, just tired.”

“Well, you can sleep on the plane. There’s plenty of food. Did you want a beer?”

“No, I’m good. Water is fine,” I say, reaching into the middle of the large table to grab the tongs resting on top of a bowl of what looks like beef and black bean noodles. The whole middle of the table is filled with a bunch of different dishes, and everyone is sampling from whatever they like.

“Here, have one of these, too,” Gordon says, handing me a slider.

I dig in, chatting with the guys near me and trying not to let my attention keep drifting to what Ryan is saying.

“How is your arm?” I ask Gordon. His pitches are perfect when it comes to accuracy, but I noticed today they were a little slower than we’ve seen him. Ryan’s looked like they were double his speed. They weren’t, not really, but it was noticeably slower for sure.

“It’s fine. Why? Who said it wasn’t?”

“No one, I was just watching today and…”

“I just had an off day. It was nothing.”

It sounds like it was not nothing. Gordon is one of the oldest players on the team. It has to be rougher on his body than it is on, say, a guy like Tim who’s still in his twenties.

“It happens. Was just checking in. So your business is still going well?”

His expression immediately shifts from apprehension to pure excitement. His eyes widen and he smiles ear to ear.

“Amazing. Oh, man. It’s so much fun, too. This next gig we’re doing is for Hail Fenton’s twenty-fifth birthday and every celebrity you can think of will be there. It’s the biggest event yet. I’ve been on the phone with my vendors all week, making sure everything is on track.”

I’ve seen Hail Fenton’s latest blockbuster, Tides. It was good. He’s Aussie like Tim but does the American accent so well that most people didn’t even know he was Aussie until he did the press tour.

“How did you score that?”

“His girlfriend is a model who was at the last event, and she’s planning the party for him. But it’s fucking hard to stay on top of it all with the tour as well. I got three more emails enquiring about events, too, just yesterday. Who knew, celebrities partied so hard?”

“Yeah, ‘cause they are totally known for staying out of the spotlight,” I laugh. “At least you have something lined up for when this all ends.”

“That’s the plan. Not that I want to stop playing anytime soon, but I see all the young guys coming up, and pretty soon I won’t have a choice, I guess. What will you do when it’s all over?”

“Fuck, I have no clue. I guess maybe go work on the ranch with my brothers.”

“How are Dean and Nial?”

“Good. They want Gramps to sell it to them, but the old guy already added all our names to the deed, and he doesn’t want any of their money. So I guess I own a ranch now, too.”

“Well, with him refusing to leave the house, he doesn’t exactly need it. Still can’t get him to a game?”

“Nope. I might be able to get him to agree to a visit to the ranch, though. Maybe when the season is over, I can head up there in break. See what my brothers have done with the place for myself. We should all go. If we keep losing, we might get axed and it could be the last time we get to all hang out together.”

“Way to make it sound super appealing.”

“You know what I mean. It would be great to have you all come see it.”

“I’ve never been to a ranch,” Gordon says, and Harrison points my way from across the table.

“Yes,” he declares. “We needed to find something amazing to do on break. The ranch would be perfect. Arlo can come, too, right?”

“I guess. I mean, I’ll have to check if they don’t already have it booked out, but sure.

Harrison pulls out his phone, and a second later several chimes sound as the guys all check their phones. I grab mine, too.

HARRISON: Thinking of a week at Alan’s ranch to unwind at the end of the season this year? You know, in case it’s our last. Looking for numbers before we lock it in. Who’s up for it?

At least I am not the only one who was thinking this could be our final hurrah. I text my brother Nial.

ALAN: How are the bookings for the first week of October? I’d love to bring the guys to the ranch. Not sure of the exact numbers, but if they are all in, we might need all the cabins.

The three dots appear right away, and his message comes through a few seconds later.

NIAL: We’re free that whole week. We have the pool going in the week before and weren’t sure if it was going to be done on schedule, so had it already blocked out. Let us know the numbers when you know. BTW an awesome game last week. Dean and I will make the next one at Savannah, promise.

ALAN: I think the guys are more interested in pretending to be cowboys than swimming, anyway. No worries if you don’t get there, you have a lot going on.

They came to only a couple of games last year with all the renovations and upkeep at the ranch keeping them busy. Kelly was at every Savannah game and always is. She bought tickets the second they went live online to be sure she wouldn’t miss out. I told her I could probably get her tickets, but she said she wanted to support me in every way, and that included paying for her ticket. She’s the best big sister in the world.

Harrison turns his phone to face me. “They’re all in. Oh, except Stevie. He’s not sure cause they’ll have a newborn at home, but maybe Bella will want to get away for some country air with the kids?”

“Maybe. Nial has the whole first week of October blocked out for us.”

“Awesome.”

I quickly text Ryan.

ALAN: So the guys are planning to visit the ranch for a week in break. Do you want to come?

RYAN: Sounds like fun. You should bring Gramps. He hasn’t been back in years, has he?

ALAN: I was thinking the same thing. If we get him there, he’ll probably try to talk you into cooking the whole time. Still swears your shepherd’s pie is the best thing he’s eaten in decades.

RYAN: Please tell me there will be a cabin away from the prying ears of others. I hear we were not exactly discrete last night.

ALAN: We could try to be more.

RYAN: But I like your noises.

ALAN: Okay, I’ll make sure we have the most secluded cabin, then you can make me make allllll the noises you like.

RYAN: Deal.