Free Green Fairy (Dangerous Spirits) by Kyell Gold Page B

himself off. By the time he was out, Taric still hadn’t come in from working out. Sol had the fleeting image of the coyote as a Terminator-like machine, gleaming metal parts under a veneer of fur and muscle, standing in batting cages unleashing the same deadly swing again and again, a relentless hitting machine.
    That led to thoughts about what the coyote might look like in nothing but his fur, and that led to dangerous thoughts to be having in the shower, even with nobody else there. So Sol got out, toweled himself as dry as he could, then pulled his pants on and walked out to the sidewalk.
    While waiting for his father, he texted Carcy to tell him he’d be trying absinthe tonight. He ran a paw through his damp, chilly fur, turning his bare chest to face the breeze, and closed his eyes, damp tail wagging again. He didn’t expect a quick response, but his phone buzzed a minute later: It’s stronger than beer. Don’t get fucked up.
    I’ll be with Meg , Sol replied, and then stretched his arms over his head. If there were anyone watching, he would stop, but the baseball field was around back, and most of the school had left for the day. I’m outside the school without a shirt , he texted Carcy. Feels nice.
    Another quick reply: Wish I was there! Carcy must be bored at work.
    The breeze and the ruffling had not completely dried out his fur when he saw his father’s car swing around the corner. He pulled his shirt on hastily, put the phone away, and picked up his bag.
    “I was staying late to finish up practice,” Sol said before his father could say anything.
    The older wolf just nodded. “Did you stay later than Taric?”
    “Uh.” Lie. Just lie. “No. But everyone else…”
    The slow sigh, the flick of the black-tipped ears: Sol knew those signs well. He slumped back into the seat, stretching the seatbelt across himself. His tail hung limp behind him.
    His father pulled out, onto the street. “I thought at least for today, you’d take this seriously.”
    “I stayed longer than everybody else!”
    “You don’t have to be better than everybody else. You gotta be better than that coyote.”
    Sol picked at the fur on his arm again, rubbing out the dampness and parting the fur. Why had he even bothered to try placating his father? “It’s not gonna happen overnight.”
    “It won’t happen at all if you don’t apply yourself.”
    I’m trying, he wanted to say. I’m going to. At worst, he would gain his starting spot back in some other position, though he had no idea what that would be. Second base had been his last refuge, the middle ground between the demanding fielding positions on the other side of the infield and the demanding hitting positions at first and in the outfield. He wasn’t strong enough for football, he wasn’t tall enough for basketball, and he didn’t have enough stamina for soccer.
    “Listen,” his father said. “There’s no reason you shouldn’t be better than a coyote at baseball. They might be a little faster, sure, but baseball’s a team sport and you’re part of a pack. No reason you shouldn’t be better.”
    Sol squirmed in his seat. It wasn’t fair. He’d made it through eleven and three-quarters years of school doing well enough to play. Why couldn’t coach have waited just two months before demoting him? Even if it had happened after his birthday, he’d have the car. He could run away to Millenport with Meg as soon as he graduated. Just having that to look forward to would make the tension in these evenings tolerable. He tried to think back to when he’d been able to have a relaxing time with his father, and the last time he could remember had been when they’d gone to Natty’s last football game.
    “Sol? You hear me? You’re part of the team.”
    “Yeah. I hear you.” Sol choked the words out past the roughness in his throat.
    Part of it was that for the last year, Sol had been terrified that he would let something slip about being gay. It had started out