Find Me in Philadelphia //nolan patrick

37. Another One

The next day, I'm shopping with Gina by noon. The game isn't until seven but shopping to Gina is like her Super Bowl.

We've been to a couple stores already and take a lunch break around two. She brings me to a seafood restaurant that her and Shayne enjoy, because I let it slip that Nolan and I go to Chick Fil A more than any other restaurant.

We need to be more cultured, she joked. But then she reasoned that we're still just teenagers so it's alright to binge. The mention of our age continues to a conversation.

"I can't wait until you guys are 21," Gina says and sips on the glass of water brought by our waiter. "It's not the same without the boys and you when we all go to bars and clubs after games."

"Trust me I can't wait either," I agree. "I don't know how many more nights with Travis, Nolan, Ivan, and a case of beer that I can handle. I swear I wake up more hungover after those nights than any frat party I've ever been too."

We both laugh. The three young boys on the team- affectionately called the babies sometimes- use their underage statuses as reason to black out virtually every night in which there are no professional obligations the next morning. Whereas the rest of the team may go to a bar and drink a beer or two, the babies use their apartments as safety nets that allow them to get crazy.

Only three months into the season, I've had to play the role of mom countless times. One time Ivan was passed out on his back and I had to roll him to his side on my own since the other two were occupied.

Travis always makes a mess of whosever apartment we are in for the night- often throwing cereal or accidentally dropping glass plates and cups. He always apologizes, but I usually take to cleaning it up myself so he doesn't hurt himself.

As for Nolan, he gets very dependent when he's drunk- almost like a child. Honestly I find it a bit adorable, how he will pull me to the couch and position me so that his head can muzzle perfectly in my chest, so that my hands can easily reach his hair. His hair is another thing; whether we're laying down or standing in the kitchen, when he starts to get tired, he'll give me puppy dog eyes and beg me to play with his hair.

The last time we had one of those nights, I was making pizza for the boys in the kitchen while they were playing video games. Nolan came up behind me, easily dropping his head to my shoulder. I giggled as he nuzzled his face into the sensitive skin there. "Nolan," I laughed.

"Are you drinking tonight?" He slurred.

I turned around to see him, but he kept his face in my skin. "Unless you boys already drank everything," I chirped.

"Noooo," he said and brought me a four loko, knowing I can get hammered off one can. That night ended in a blackout, but those nights usually do...

"So we're throwing a little party to celebrate Ryanne and Claude and Wayne and Crystal getting married in a few months," Gina begins. "Does the first week of March work for you?"

The only future plans I have are during the All Star break with Nolan, so I tell her that the first week of March sounds perfect. We talk about both the weddings coming up- what we're gonna wear being the most talked about topic. I haven't decided, but I still have months.

She recruits me to help organize the party for Ryanne and Crystal, and we start planning right away. Gina knows a restaurant that has previously let them rent out the entire place so that instead of just dinner, everyone can stay and socialize as well. She's going to call them within the week to finalize the date.

I have the idea to make it a surprise, and we decide that for that to work we need to keep all the boys in the dark as long as possible. They're likely incapable of keeping the surprise.