Page 67 of Bless This Hot Mess

“No, I did.”

“So, now you just do it for… Jesus?”

“Yeah, well… yeah,” Ronald said sheepishly. “But there’s lots of other things I do too. Like I read that big book every day. The thick one with all the Jesus stories?”

“The Bible?” Carrington clarified.

“Yeah, the Bible!” Ronald grinned, “And it’s a great read, you know? Like, it’s a funny book overall. Yesterday, I was reading about how Jesus took all those animals on that boat with Him. You have got to be Jesus Christ to put two of every animal in the world on a boat. I’m pretty sure no one else could do that.”

Carrington’s brow furrowed, “Wasn’t that…”

But Ronald was already celebrating another shot. “Yes! We’re well matched!”

“I’d say so,” Carrington agreed.

“Yeah, Jesus was like 600 years old when he built that big boat. He was no Spring chicken, okay? Since I’m trying to be like Jesus in every way, I’ve decided to build an ark, too. You never know when it could rain like that again. And there are lots of cats in my neighborhood. They could probably use a lift. I just don’t know which ones I should pick to take with me. I mean, how do you tell a cat it can’t get on the boat? They might just jump on.”

“Cats are very agile,” Carrington said with authority.

“And clever,” Ronald added. “And they don’t like rules.”

“True. It would be difficult to negotiate with a cat and convince them not to get on a boat.”

“I know!” Ronald said, exasperated. “That’s another example of why Jesus is Jesus and I’m just Ronald. He figured it out.”

Carrington’s voice softened, “You’re notjustRonald.”

And then it happened. Dribble, dribble, swoosh! Twice over.

Ronald froze. “Did wejust…”

Carrington’s eyes widened, “We just went all the way around the horseshoe! No way!”

“Nowthat’show you play horse!” Ronald declared.

Carrington’s lips curved into a smile, “May I collect my prize?”

Ronald raised a brow, teasing, “Yeah, sure. It’s back at my place. You have to see it to believe it.”

Carrington leaned forward, their sunglasses catching the sun just right to shoot off even more sparks between them, “I have no doubts.”

And as they walked off the court, pigeons circling back down to reclaim their asphalt kingdom, one question lingered like the last echo of a bouncing ball in the minds of Carrington and Ronald. Carrington spun the ball once more on their fingertip before letting it drop, catching it against their hip and wondered to themself, was this streak of chemistry a one-off, or did these players have the stamina to go all the way to the relationship playoffs?

Neither of them moved toward the gate. It wasn’t hesitation exactly. More like… neither one wanted to be the first to end something that had barely even started.

Ronald finally nodded toward the street. “I’m just a couple blocks that way, if you…?”

Carrington was already slinging their bag over their shoulder. “Lead on, point guard.”

He laughed at that, ducking his head slightly as they fell into step beside each other. The walk started easy. Familiar, even, in that strange way something brand new sometimes does. Their shoulders brushed once. Then again. Neither apologized.

Streetlights flickered on overhead, one by one, casting long stretches of gold across the sidewalk. Carrington noticed the way Ronald walked, loose but grounded, like he still had agame rhythm in him. Ronald noticed the way Carrington talked with their hands, animated and sharp and completely unselfconscious.

His noticing didn’t end there. He took in the curve of their smile. The quickness of their wit. The way they looked at him directly, like they weren’t afraid of what they might find there. He cleared his throat, glancing down for a second then started to find a song,

“Against all odds, we stumbled,

Like shadows in the dark.