LET’S FORGET
288 Vouchers
LET’S FORGET
JOSH – PRESENT DAY
It had been months since I felt anything close to lightness. Life had a way of pressing its weight into you until you stopped noticing just how heavy it all was. But tonight, for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel the weight quite so much.
We’d won. It wasn’t just any win either–it was one of those gritty, hard–fought games that reminded you why you fell in love with football in the first place. The kind of game that made you forget for a second that there was anything else in the world but the field.
I sat in the locker room, peeling off my gear as the guys whooped and hollered around me. Sweat slicked the air, and the locker room smelled like victory–adrenaline and exhaustion mixed with relief. For once, I didn’t feel like a spectator in my own life. I felt… alive.
“Saunders!” Mateo, one of our linebackers, called out from across the room. “We’re heading out to grab some drinks. Celebrate the win. You coming?”
Before I could answer, one of the rookies, Jackson, laughed. “You know Saunders doesn’t go out, man. He never does. Family man. Right, big guy?”
I hesitated, my usual excuse dying on my lips. Normally, I’d laugh it off, tell them I had to get back to Asha, or that I wasn’t much of a drinker. But tonight…
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LET’S FORGET
288 Vouchers
Tonight, something in me shifted
“Fuck it,” I said, standing up and tossing my towel into my. locker. “One drink.”
The room went silent for a beat, and then chaos erupted.
“YEAH!” Mateo hollered, slapping my shoulder so hard I nearly stumbled. “Saunders is in!”
“Finally!” Jackson added, throwing his arms in the air. “It’s about damn time, man.”
The energy in the room doubled as the guys rallied around me, their excitement contagious. For once, that little voice in the back of my mind–the one that always brought me back to Laura, to guilt, to everything I was trying to escape–was quiet.
A babysitter was already with Asha until midnight, and for the first time in months, I wasn’t going to let myself sink back into that loop of regret and responsibility.
We piled into a few trucks and headed to a bar on the outskirts of town a proper Texan spot, filled with cowboy hats, country music, and the smell of barbecue wafting through the air. The guys wasted no time, ordering rounds of beer and joking about the game.
I nursed my drink at first, listening as they talked trash about rival players and argued over who had the worst game–day habits. The camaraderie was infectious, and for a moment, I let myself lean into it.
“Saunders,” Jackson said, nudging me with his elbow, “How about that pretty brunette over there?” He tilted his beer toward
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LET’S FORGET
288 Vouchers
a woman at the bar, her long hair cascading over her shoulders as she laughed with her friends.
I opened my mouth to brush it off, but before I could stop myself, the words spilled out.
“Nah, man. Married man over here.”
The table went quiet for a second, the air shifting just enough for me to notice.
They didn’t know what to say, and honestly, neither did I. It wasn’t like I’d been hiding it–everyone knew about Laura, about what happened, but I didn’t talk about her much. Not anymore.
I could feel their eyes on me, pity creeping into the edges of the moment. But I wasn’t about to let my past spoil this one chance t breath.
“Shots!” I said suddenly, slamming my hand on the table.
The guys blinked at me, surprised, but it didn’t take long for them to catch on.
“Hell yeah! Shots it is!” Mateo shouted, standing up and heading to the bar.
The tension eased as quickly as it had come, and soon, the table was filled with little glasses of amber liquid.
“To Saunders,” Jackson said, lifting his shot glass. “For finally getting out with us!”
“To the win,” Mateo added, grinning.
“And to keep it coming,” I said, raising my glass.
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LET’S FORGET
288 Vouchers
We clinked them together and downed the shots, the burn of the alcohol a welcome distraction from everything else.
The night blurred after that–more laughter, more drinks, and for the first time in a long time, I felt something close to freedom.
But even in the chaos of the bar, surrounded by my teammates and the noise of celebration, I couldn’t help but feel that familiar tug in the back of my mind.
Laura.
She was always there, just out of reach, like a shadow I couldn’t shake.
But tonight, for once, the shadow didn’t feel so heavy.
10:52
LET’S FORGET
288 Vouchers
We clinked them together and downed the shots, the burn of the alcohol a welcome distraction from everything else.
The night blurred after that–more laughter, more drinks, and for the first time in a long time, I felt something close to freedom.
But even in the chaos of the bar, surrounded by my teammates and the noise of celebration, I couldn’t help but feel that familiar tug in the back of my mind.
Laura.
She was always there, just out of reach, like a shadow I couldn’t shake.
But tonight, for once, the shadow didn’t feel so heavy.
