Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Micah

A week after the party, Danny confronts me.

"What's going on with you?"

I freeze, my entire body locking up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

He shakes his head as he hops up onto the counter beside me. His eyes are like laser beams. They're focused solely on me and how I react to every word and movement he makes.

"We both know that's a lie, Micah. You've been different ever since we went to that football game. What has gotten into you?"

Stepping away from the papers I'm attempting to read for the millionth time, I scrub my hands over my face.

"It's just…"

The bell above the door rings out as someone walks inside, interrupting our conversation.

I jolt when I see it's my brother.

"Monty?"

Danny's jovial attitude changes quickly. He drops his normally loud flirtatious tone to a more reserved persona.

"Hey bro! I was in the area and wanted to come by."

I nod numbly.

Monty is never in the neighborhood. And he never comes to see me at work.

Something isn't right.

I just don't know what it is.

Part of me wants to think maybe it's something to do with Danny. My friend gushed all about the game but has been tightlipped about the party and what all happened once we separated.

It could have been that Monty just ditched him, and he doesn't want to relive it, or it could be that something went down between the two of them that now has them acting strange.

I see the way Monty's eyes keep cutting to Danny.

And how Danny is purposefully ignoring him.

"What are you two doing for lunch? I figured it could be my treat, and we could have something while you show me around this place a bit more."

Danny takes that opportunity to jump off the counter and grab the keys to his car. "Just tell me what to get, and I'll go grab it. It'll save on delivery costs and everything."

I have to smother a laugh with my fist at my brother's obvious frustration. He must have wanted Danny to stay so they could talk it out while I went to get food.

"Are you allowed to have pizza?" I ask him.

He smirks. "Of course, I am. I work out plenty enough to eat a slice or two."

I turn back to Danny, who's waiting very impatiently. "Grab a supreme, an extra cheese, and a sausage with half bacon. That should keep him going."

Danny gives a clipped nod, then takes the hundred-dollar bill Monty extends his way. I watch my friend purposefully avoid touching my brother's hand, and then he's gone in a flash.

As soon as the door closes, I point my finger at Monty.

"What in the world happened at that party? Danny has not been himself at all."

Ironic given the accusation I was just defending.

Monty rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I'd really rather talk to him about it, if that's okay. I know you're my brother, but I kind of screwed up. Let me make it right first."

I wait for whatever he wants to say next. Unfortunately for me, it seems his mind is too much on my friend to make sense of anything.

Instead, I ponder over what he might know about my newest obsession. "What do you know about Jett?" I ask before I can overthink it.

He gives me a cautious look. "Jett, as in my teammate, Jett? The one that's obsessed with trains and pretty much nothing else?"

Sighing, I nod. "Yes, that one. What do you know about him? Besides the train stuff? I'm curious."

"You're curious? Do you have a crush? Are you gonna date him?"

I would laugh if it wasn't so frustrating.

For all his stubbornness and cockiness he throws out to the public, my brother is actually a big softy. He just really hates losing or confrontation, and unfortunately, most of the time one of those two things happens during game days—aka the times when the press is all in his face.

Monty shakes his head.

"I don't know much else. His mom is a single parent, and he never talks about his dad or having any siblings. He will only really talk about either trains or how to play football well. And he really treats football like it's a job. He's not one of those people that loves the sport so much that he never saw life without playing. I think if he hadn't gone professional, he would have been a software engineer or freaking CEO of some company. He's a genius."

I smile. "I could tell that much on my own. It was fascinating talking to him. I want to do something. Something a bit unconventional, but I need your help."

The idea comes out of left field.

It honestly wasn't even on my mind before Monty arrived, though I have been thinking of ways to meet up with Jett again. The goodbye he gave me at his car was too final. I felt like he was trying to say we'd never see each other again, despite the fact that my brother plays with him.

"What kind of surprise? Tell me, and I will make it happen."

"I need to know what dates you guys have off in December. That way. I can line up a trip on the California Zephyr."

Monty scrunches his face. "The California who did what?!"

Laughing at his confusion, I explain it to him. "The California Zephyr is one of the longest train paths in the United States. It also happens to be the one that Jett says he wants to go on but hasn't been yet. I want to take him on it for Christmas."

Monty nods. "Okay, I'm following now. How am I supposed to help?"

"I figure you could help me create some reason for giving him the gift. I don't think just showing up with a present is going to help, and he and I don't know each other that well. Maybe I can get in his good graces, and he'll actually go to dinner with me or something after the gift. I don't know, it's a lot."

I watch my brother nod slowly, his eyes closing tight. It's his thinking face, one I've seen him make a million times.

When his eyes reopen, he grins. "I know just who to get involved with this. There's only one person who's good at making things happen when we don't see a way."

Pulling his phone out, he presses a few buttons and then puts it on speaker. I glance at the screen and see a picture of Bellamy Bellport.

Of course. Why didn't I think of calling him first?

Bellamy answers the line, "What you got, Monty?"

Monty snorts. "Well, currently I've got my brother here, and he's needing our help."

"Hello, Micah. What kind of help do you need?"

"I want to gift someone something. Someone on the team. And I don't really have a way of doing it discreetly. I also need to know when you guys won't be playing around Christmas, so I can plan the surprise."

There's silence on the other line before Bellamy breaks into boisterous laughter. It takes him a minute to calm down, but when he does, I can hear amusement still in his tone.

"Oh, you have fallen quick and hard, my friend. Welcome to being a — this life." I can hear him correct himself at the end, likely because my brother is here. I wondered if he was going to say, ‘welcome to being a Daddy.'

At least, I'm hoping that's what the welcome was for.

"Any ideas?"

"Actually, yes. Have you ever heard of Secret Santa?"

Monty snaps his fingers. "Yes. We have. Our parents were big fans of it once we became a blended family. Said it was good for us to learn more about each other."

I roll my eyes at the memories. "Yeah. All it did was prove that we were a hot mess."

Bellamy makes a noise, drawing my attention back to him. "Then fixing what you want is pretty simple. We'll do a Secret Santa exchange. We can set it up as a friends and family thing if you want. Or we could do a small group with just us so that you don't have to get the entire team involved and get approval from Coach."

"That one," Monty says. "Do the discreet way with just a few people. If not, Jett will just get overwhelmed and not participate."

"I could see that happening," I whisper.

‘Then we'll keep it simple," Bellamy agrees. "We'll do me and my husband, Aries, Raymond, Jett, Monty, and you."

"And as far as the time off goes?"

"I'll have a talk with Coach. I know that we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but depending on how long your trip is going to take, you may need a couple of buffer days around that. So long as Jett doesn't get hurt, everything should be fine."

My entire body relaxes with the news that I've got some help to get this surprise in order. It'll mean shutting down the shop for a few days too and being away at Christmas. But I think it'll be worth it.

It's as if Monty realizes it too, when his face drops. "You'll be gone for Christmas. Mom and Dad won't like that."

Bellamy laughs. "Just tell them he's trying to convince the love of his life to love him back. Parents are sappy for that kind of shit. Besides, it's true, isn't it?"

I blush. "I can't say definitively that he's the love of my life, but I'd be willing to do damn near anything to find out. Including going on a multiple day train ride with someone I barely know in a cross-country adventure during Christmas."

Monty whistles. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could just tell our parents that part and they'll be okay. Plus, you can FaceTime. Problem solved."

"Agreed. Problem solved. I will text you updates on when we'll do the exchange. We'll set it up to where the presents are delivered by couriers or something so no one knows who's who. The details don't matter much as long as Jett gets what he's supposed to."

"Thanks for the help, Bellamy."

"Anytime," he says.

As the call ends, I spot Danny making his way down the sidewalk with his arms full of food bags. Monty sees him at the same time and rushes to the door to open it. When my friend gets back inside, he sets the bags down.

"All right, food's here. What did I miss?"

Monty and I share a look. One where I tell him not to talk about it and he replies, ‘okay, cool'.

When we turn back to Danny, he's staring at us curiously. I shrug. "Monty was just telling me about boring football stuff."

As expected, my friend launches into a tirade of how football stuff isn't boring, and how I should learn to appreciate the sport better. He spends the rest of lunch grilling me about what I remember from the game and promising Monty we'll be at another before the season ends.

My brother simply shrugs, proclaiming confidently, "It's a good year to win the Super Bowl again."

Cocky little shit.

Knowing him. It's highly possible.