“Man, when are you going to quit it with the talk about that chick? She’s a good person who’s never offered me anything, not that I’d accept if she would. As for my good mood,” Jake shrugged, “I guess it was just the relaxing weekend I had and the fact that the team is just where I wanted them to be—4 and 0.” Jake clicked on a few keys and soon the hum of the printer filled the space.

After conversation about the day’s practice had ended, Shawn stood. “Guess I’ll head home and get in the clown suit.”

“Clown suit?”

“Well, some people call it a tuxedo.”

“What’s the special occasion?”

“In-laws’ golden anniversary and a big shindig at a lah-di-dah restaurant in Beverly Hills. I swear that even after ten years, I sometimes still feel like an outsider in Taylor’s family.”

Jake nodded, but couldn’t relate. Robin’s father had died when she was young, another thing they had in common, but her mother had treated him like a son. Though less frequently, they still kept in touch. Jake made a mental note to give his former mother-in-law a call, then grabbed the stack of papers from the printer and headed to the classroom where he tutored math.

“Hey, Justin. You’re early.”

Justin shrugged, his head buried in a textbook.

“Well, let’s get started.” Jake placed a couple pieces of paper on Justin’s desk. “I worked up these problems for you guys to solve, sort of a pre-test to the one you’ll take next week.”

Justin closed the book he was viewing but instead of picking up the papers, he looked at Jake. “Coach, can I ask you something?”

Jake pulled the teacher’s chair from behind the desk, pushed it closer to Justin and sat. “Sure.”

“How old were you when you started liking girls?”

The question was unexpected and Jake checked his watch, buying some time to gather his thoughts. Always a big guy, Jake had been accosted by a just-moved-in seventeen-year-old neighbor who thought he was older. He’d lost his virginity at the ripe old age of thirteen, a fact he wisely decided to keep to himself. “About your age,” he finally said.

Justin eyed him for a moment, and then busied himself by working on the formulas Jake had given him.

Now Jake was surprised again. Instead of this one simple question, he’d expected an interrogation. When that didn’t seem likely, Jake pushed the issue. “Why do you ask?”

Justin shrugged.

“No reason?”

After a long pause, Justin added, “Mama’s mad at me ’cause I like girls. She don’t understand....”

“She’s mad because you like a girl here at school, in one of your classes?”

Justin’s signature crooked smile appeared briefly before disappearing behind scrunched eyebrows. “She don’t know about Ashley. But she’s still mad that I like girls.”