“You bet.” Beckett eyed the second soda and smiled. “Did it work?”
“Like a charm. The Coury Henderson fake out for the win.” Coury for the win in so many ways.
“Pop said you and Coury are hanging out?” Beckett picked up the glass and took a sip.
Liam nodded, his heart jumping to the base of his throat. Coury must have talked to him. “He’s made it his mission to make sure I go out once a weekend now.”
Beckett stared into the sea of family in the main part of the hall. “He’s good like that. Always doing things for someone else.”
Liam downed half his soda and screwed up his flaky courage. “I—I kissed him.”
Beckett didn’t react surprised. Maybe Coury told him. Maybe he expected his brother one day to make a fool of himself.
Beckett nodded after a second.
Liam continued, his voice hoppy and all over the place. “He’s just super nice. Did he tell you he gave up a Friday night kegger at the frat to take me to a paleontology lecture?”
“No.”
“Or that he joined me and Pop for Pizza Friday and Frights because he knew I didn’t want to go out that night? And when Pop wanted me to go to dinner with him and Helen, Coury gave up a Saturday night to go with me so I wouldn’t feel stupid.”
“He went with you? As your date?”
Liam wished it had been a date. “He went as my friend. He also helped me get my dream job with Professor Glover. He’s like my ideal boyfriend, except . . .”
“Except what?”
“He’s your best friend.” He couldn’t face his brother. “I feel like I’m stealing him from you.”
The silence continued. He wanted Beckett to respond, to saysomething, even if it was just how pissed he was.
“I’d never feel that way, Squirt. But he’s not the one for you.”
Liam’s head snapped around. “Why do you say that?”
“As long as I’ve known Coury, he’s wanted to be a baseball player. It’s his big dream in life. It’s a long shot but not impossible for him. If he gets drafted, and I’d bet money he will, you’re out of the picture.”
“Wow, don’t hold back.”
“I’m not saying it to be mean or put you down. What I’m saying is, he doesn’t get to pick what team drafts him or where they send him. There aremaybeseven minor league teams in driving distance, and none of them are where he’d likely end up. The pay is shit, so the teams make deals with local families who house the players, kind of like exchange students only for baseball players. Assuming he gets past the first level, he’ll be shipped somewhere else with no notice and no ability to say no.
“And that’s just where he’s going to be living during the season. There is the much bigger issue of he can’t let people know he’s dating you. You’ll be his boyfriend on the down low. You can’t visit him more than once or people will think you’re exactly what you’d be. Boyfriends. If that happens, his career is over.”
“They can’t do that.” His brother’s expression said otherwise. “Can they?”
“Not out loud, but his future depends on his coaches helping him. If they don’t want him, they’ll make sure he bombs out. You won’t be able to see him during the season, which just happens to be when you’re on summer break.”
Liam’s ignorance of baseball hadn’t prepared him for this. “I had no idea.”
“If baseball wasn’t his thing, I think it would be awesome if you two were together. But it’s not just his thing. It’s his dream.”
“So you think I shouldn’t even try?”
Beckett stared at him for a few more seconds and stood. “He’s leaving, Liam.”
Chapter Fourteen
Liam
