“He wants the best out of us,” I admitted, surprising myself. “We wouldn’t have made it this far without his guidance.”
“There’s no one better,” Selwin agreed with a grin.
The photographer snapped more photos of our team with Kirkland, and then we had interviews with several local media. It was completely overwhelming, but in a great way.
Finally, an hour later, done with the press and pictures, we cleared off the ice and headed to the locker room.
The first person I called was Josiah.
“I’m so proud of you, Si. I texted all my friends. Do you get to bring the trophy back home?” Josiah asked.
My brother sounded as excited as me.
“Yep, we all get our turn. Not sure when mine will be, but it’ll happen.”
“When you get here, we’re heading to see Dad first thing.”
“Definitely. I’m going to call the home now to tell him.”
My father still had trouble speaking, but he was able to read and write a bit, and I got him a phone so he could text. He still needed someone to assist him, but it was better than before. But a text right now wouldn’t do. I called the home and had them put me on speakerphone so he could hear my voice.
“We did it, Dad! We won the college championship!”
I could hear shouts in the background, and what sounded like a muffled cry.
“Your dad is so excited for you, Silas, we all are,” I could hear Mandy, one of his nurses, call out. “He’s crying.”
I blinked away tears myself. Fuck, I hadn’t cried in so long—not since my mom’s funeral—that I wasn’t sure I remembered how. Swallowing past the gigantic lump in my throat, I took a deep breath and swiped a hand over my eyes. It’d been a rocky road to get here, so I guess tears were in order.
“I’ll see you on Sunday to show you all the pics,” I finally replied when I got my emotions under control. “Love you, Dad.”
“Congratulations, Silas,” Mandy replied. “We’ll see you then.”
I hung up and sat on one of the benches for a moment, taking a few deep breaths to settle myself. It was unusual for me to show that kind of emotion and I needed a moment to gather myself together. When I glanced around, though, I realized that the rest of the guys were the same, calling their family and friends, laughing and crying at the same time.
For the first time in six years, I allowed myself to feel joy. And I embraced it.
Calmer, cleaned up, and dressed up, the team headed back to the hotel for our post-game dinner celebration. I wore grey dress pants, a white button down, and tied up my hair in a bun. Butas soon as the dinner was done, I was heading back upstairs to change into my jeans and leather jacket.
Dinner was raucous as usual, with the bonus of Kirkland’s easy charm and ability to make everyone laugh. Finn got to sit beside his idol, but he hardly said a word all evening, which wasn’t like him. Then again, if I was sitting in his place, I’d be starstruck too.
Once dinner was done, and dessert ordered, Coach paid the bill, and he and Kirkland said their goodbyes. I was relieved that Banning was headed out early, even though I was curious about where they were going. I’d overheard Kirkland mention a place called Moonbeam. I figured it was a VIP-only club filled with pro athletes and thirty-dollar drinks and turned my attention back to my teammates.
We finished up dessert, and I sat back and glanced around the table.
“So, where are we going?” I asked. “Ethan?”
“My frat has a chapter nearby. I texted their President and they’ve got a party going on tonight. Everyone’s welcome.”
“Do we need to rideshare?” Dane asked.
Ethan shook his head. “It’s a ten-minute walk.”
“I think that’s a better idea than partying in our hotel rooms,” Dane replied. “Or trying to find a bar that will let everyone in.”
Then I remembered that not all the guys on the team were twenty-one plus like me. Back home, everyone drank at frat parties and the like, but bars and clubs were a no go, unless you had fake ID.
“Cool.” I nodded. “I’ll stick around for a while but then I’m heading for a club.”
