Chapter 8

*****

FIVE WEEKS LATER

*****

It'd been well over a month since the last time Lance spent the night in Cara's bed. Within this period, they'd grown closer in more ways than one, but not close enough for Cara to be careless. That was why she always came up with excuses whenever he asked to spend the night at her place. On those days when she couldn't get out of it without promising something, she would agree to sex in his car or hers, parked in a quiet, deserted area.

On one such days, they were almost caught by a policeman whom she knew, if not for Lance's agility in jumping to the driver seat and driving out of the area before the cop could find out exactly what had caused the car to vibrate so much. After that narrow escape, Cara swore there and then never again to be fully naked while having sex in a car.

But that was far from being the only thing they engaged in. Dinner and going to the movies were other things they did too, always at night of course, to reduce the risk of being seen by someone who knew his mother. Left to Lance, he wouldn't mind grabbing her and kissing her on the street in broad daylight, but Cara tried hard to always keep her head. She didn't want to constitute the gossip of the town and even more importantly, she didn't want to end up on the bad side of Carol and other friends of hers.

But to say that she had never considered where this affair of theirs was headed was very far from the truth. She'd thought about it over and over again, and she wondered if Lance was also thinking about it. Or had he once thought about it and then later abandoned it? Either way, one thing she knew for sure was that she wouldn't be the first to bring it up in their conversation.

*****

Lance woke up with most of the dream on his mind. His memory had not been able to hold on to the last part, but the part he could remember was enough. He never was one to believe in dreams, but this one seemed to be trying to tell him something. What exactly? He had no idea. But today, he was going to have a full-scale rest and that meant no work, no Anna (since she'd be going to school) and a lot of games outside of screens.

He had an appointment, a coaching appointment with Rex and Chase at their house. The budding soccer star was insistent on improving his dribbling skills and learning to keep possession of the ball against all odds. His school coach was not having much success with him, or so he felt, that was why he had decided to skip practice today and fall back to his idol in the sport: Rex. He was seeking to do much better than his elder brother and really become a pro player. Rex had dropped out of the local academy, choosing to train as a chef instead - a decision everyone in his family was still trying to wrap their heads around.

"Lance?", Carol called and gave a sharp knock on her son's door.

"I'm fine, Mom," Lance called back from the other side of the locked door.

He knew his mom was worried that he still was not down so late in the morning.

"Okay, dear. I'll soon be off," she said before walking away.

"Wait! Where's Anna?"

"On her way to school. W..."

Lance promptly unlocked the door and opened it. Carol's eyebrows shot up and she gave him a lopsided smile.

"Scared of a 12-year old, are we?"

"This is no ordinary 12-year old, Mom," Lance mumbled as he made his way to the bathroom.

"Then you should take my advice and start thinking of getting a girlfriend to counter her. Anyway, she might not return early. Gymnastics stuff, I think."

"Very glad to hear!", he called from inside the bathroom, causing her to chuckle.

*****

"You're late!", Chase accused as Lance stepped out of his car.

"The coach's never late. Are we using the lawn today?"

"Mom's home."

"So we'll be using the park. Where's Rex?"

Chase jerked his thumb toward where the park was located.

"So what are we doing heading this way, hmm?"

The boy shrugged carelessly and Lance grabbed his head, wheeling him 180degrees in the direction of the park.

They found Rex on a bench singing to a song on his phone and oblivious to their approach. Chase signed for Lance to remain quiet, stole behind his brother and covered his eyes with both hands.

"G..."

"Chase! Get your hands off me!", Rex shouted before his little brother could ask him to guess his identity.

"How do you always know it's me?"

"You should wash your hands more often."

"But they're clean!", Chase shouted, staring at his palms.

He looked up to find his brother juggling the ball he had brought and he quickly rushed over to try to win it from him. Lance sat on the bench to watch the drama. He knew very well that if Rex had the ball and his right foot was free, there was no one alive who could dispossess him. But somehow, he had a strong feeling that with Chase's level of enthusiasm, he would outdo his brother in no time.

He chuckled as the youngster fell after miscalculating a Cruijff turn from Rex. But Chase was on his feet almost immediately, chasing after his opponent with even greater enthusiasm. It was his brother's policy that Chase had to learn to dispossess before learning to keep possession. So the boy faced an uphill task of dispossessing his brother and then Lance, if he failed.

"Pull me again and I'll tie your hands," Rex threatened as Chase jerked his shirt in desperation. "Rule number 4, no unnecessary contact."

Chase shrugged his apology and play continued, but Lance knew that it would be no easy task getting Chase to learn not to use his hands on his opponents, especially when he desperately needed to gain or keep possession. Rex always said that that right hand of his would put him in trouble one day.

Another Cruijff turn by Rex, but this time Chase had not miscalculated. He swept the ball from his brother's leg before he could say Jack. Then he went around him to gain possession of it. Rex came to challenge him, but he made a feint to the right, fooling his brother and subsequently switched to the left. He tipped the ball, sending it over Rex's outstretched foot and swiftly jumped over that obstacle to retrieve the ball. Outrunning his brother and dodging a tricky tackle, he delivered a low shot that sent the ball to rest between Lance's legs.

"Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!", Lance applauded, feeling very proud of their student.

Rex on the other hand only ruffled his hair which on most days was worth more than a thousand Congressional Medals of Honor. He joined Lance on the bench to catch his breath and gulp down a few centilitres of water. Chase wouldn't rest. He had outsmarted his brother and that had given him a new high. Now, he was with the ball, trying to perform the Cruijff turn his brother loved so much.

"The kid'll get you on your back soon enough," Lance said as they watched him.

"Will take him a long time yet."

"We'll see."

"Ugh, look at them," Rex grimaced in disgust.

Lance looked in the direction his friend was looking and saw a couple seated on another bench, laughing and kissing. What Rex had found disgusting was the disparity in their ages. The man was young, perhaps in his early 20s and the woman was looking nowhere below middle age.

"Shocking, eh?", Rex asked as his friend stared open-mouthed at the couple. "Unfortunately, it's not uncommon."

But Lance wasn't listening. He wasn't thinking what his friend was thinking. No, he had something different on his mind. The sight of the couple had triggered certain things in his memory and shed a bright light on them. The electricity, the dreams, the constant thoughts... they all made sense now.

Two most vital organs of his body system had been trying to tell him something and only now could he fully understand the message. You either followed one or the other, but in his case, both were saying the same thing and there was nothing to do but listen and act before he would lose not only the opportunity, but the prize.

"Where're you going?", Rex asked as Lance jumped to his feet like someone who had just been released from a trance.

"Sorry. Got an appointment," he replied and hurried off.

Rex was surprised. He looked from his friend's retreating figure to the romancing couple, wondering what connection there could be between both occurrences. But with nothing helpful coming into his mind, he shrugged it all off and joined his brother for the second round of training: keeping possession.

***

Lance arrived home in record time and made a swift entry into the house. No one was home to witness it, so there were no questions asked as he took the stairs three at a time to his room. Getting there, he rummaged about in his drawers, under his pillow and even under his bed. Still, he could not find what he was seeking. He began to fear that Anna had taken it.

As he turned wildly around, trying to imagine where exactly it could be hiding, assuming it was still in his room, he caught sight of it near the nightstand. With a sigh of relief, he grabbed it and headed out, his feet flying down the stairs as if the house was on fire.