Hands to Myself

John Wall paused as a group of women approached the roped off area of the bar. He could see Sarah, a close friend, talking animatedly, gesturing with her hands. She sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation and looked around the bouncer.

“John!” She shouted, locking eyes with him.

John chuckled as he strolled over. “They're with me,” he told the burly man with his arms folded across his chest.

The bouncer grunted and lifted the rope to let Sarah and her two friends pass. “Where's Sam?” Sarah asked as they walked away. The usual bouncer was familiar with Sarah, her husband Mike, John, and their respective teammates.

“Sick,” John answered.

Her tone changed to concern. “Should we take him soup?”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“No, but you could promise the owner some floor seats to find out.”

“I'm not going to bribe the bar owner to find out where your favorite bouncer lives so you can take care of him while Mike is in Philadelphia. I'm sure Sam will be fine.”

“Mike doesn't have to know; he's busy with playoffs you know.”

“Your husband somehow seems to know everything, probably because you can't keep secrets from him and tell him absolutely everything. And since I was tasked with keeping an eye on you, coercing personal information about people we barely know does not sound like a good time to me.”

“Then I want some girly ass drink instead.

“That I can do.” He looked over at Cassidy, the girlfriend of one of Mike's teammates and her best friend Liz Phillips. “What will it be for you ladies?”

“Whatever Sarah is having is fine,” Cassidy answered with a shy smile.

“Liz?”

“Rum and coke please and thank you.”

John nodded and he left the three women with some of his teammates as he approached the bar. His season was over and most of his Wizards teammates would be leaving town in the coming days. John would still have Sarah though, at least until playoffs were over for the Capitals. But even after that, no matter where she and Mike landed next, he knew he had a pair of friends for life in the Richards.

When he walked back a few minutes later, Sarah was laughing with a couple of his teammates, Cassidy was checking her phone, and Liz was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around for her, frowning when he spotted her a few feet away from the others with Marcin, the 6’11” center on his team.

Since Cassidy had started dating one of the Capitals, and Sarah had taken her under her wing to guide her through the ups and downs of being a WAG, John had gotten use to seeing her and Liz both. Liz was single, despite interest from a different teammate of Mike’s.

John knew that they'd gone out a couple times, and he suspected they'd hooked up at least once. He wanted to ask Sarah about it but he knew if he did that she would run with the information and play matchmaker. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

For the longest time, John had been off and on with a girl back home in North Carolina. They had dated in high school and reconnected after she graduated college on a visit home during the summer. Long distance was hard and they had broken up and gotten back together more times than John could remember now.

He had finally ended it a few weeks earlier, after it became more clear to him that she was never going to move to DC to be with him. It was her loss Sarah had told him. He was a catch that any sane girl would be lucky to have she ranted. He appreciated Sarah's loyalty and one day true love would find him outlook.

He handed Sarah and Cassidy their drinks and then headed straight for Liz and Marcin.

“Here's your drink, Liz,” he interrupted.

“Thank you, John,” she smiled as she accepted the drink from him. “Marcin was just telling me about his hometown in Poland. Are you going home during the summer too?”

He took a sip of his own drink and shook his head. “Only for a week and then I'm back here to train.”

“Cass is going to Toronto with Tom all summer.”

“She's leaving you here alone?”

“She's happy, I can't blame her.”

Marcin excused himself and left John and Liz alone. “We should hang out this summer, since your friend will be leaving and all of mine will be gone too,” John said nonchalantly.

“You know I have more friends here than just Cassidy.”

“Oh? I thought Cassidy said once that Philip and his friends iced you two out after she started seeing Tom.”

“Okay, maybe Cassidy is my closest friend here. But I have co-workers. We get drinks after work from time to time.”

“Or you already know me. We can exchange numbers and when I get back in town week after next, I can call you to take you to dinner.”

She blushed but reached into her little purse for her phone and John felt the swell of victory. Liz handed him hers and he quickly saved himself in the contacts and sent a text to his phone so he could save her number later.

“Come on,” he said, offering his arm to her. “Let's go save my teammates from Sarah.”