The next day, Victor Crawford woke up earlier than ever. He  finally came to a conclusion, and decided he'd try to break the ice between him and Jack, but he needed an excuse. He spent over one hour thinking of a plan. In the end, he remembered that Lawrence usually stays way more time than the other team members in the locker room, sitting on the same bench, same place, every day, probably meditating or something like that.

Crawford felt a little bit creepy remembering that, but his final excuse was to wait for everyone to leave and speak to Jack in the locker room, to ask him about his water bottle, which he’d apparently lost. ‘Perfect plan’ he thought.

The team spent their fair amount of time training, jogging round the field and practicing passing the ball while running. After the session, every footballer, sweaty and exhausted, left the place, except Crawford, who waited outside to not smell the sweat for so long, and Lawrence, who somehow was already used to it. 

Then, as nervous as usual, took a deep breath and walked towards the locker room. He opened his locker to pretend he was looking for something. Then, he spoke his mind.

“Hey, um, have you seen a bottle of water? I think I left it around here somewhere.” Crawford’s heart began to beat faster as soon he spoke a word.

“Oh, sorry, I haven't seen anything.”

Of course he wouldn't, that bottle was fake.

“But hey, here you go” Jack threw his own bottle of water at Crawford’s hands, which caught it as if it were butter. “You can drink from my bottle.”

“T-thank you.” Crawford mumbled.

He paused for a few seconds to process everything, and took a little sip.

“You can drink more if you want.” Said Lawrence.

“Nah, thanks.” Crawford wasn’t so thirsty, besides, he didn’t want Lawrence to run out of water.

“So, you’re Crawford?”

“Yes, I am. Victor Crawford. You’re Jack Lawrence? I m-mean, I obviously know your name.”

“Nice to meet you, Crawford.” Said Lawrence, after a little chuckle.

“You can call me Victor- only if you want.”

“I’ll call you Victor, then” Lawrence smiled.

Crawford Didn’t know what to say next, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Quick question”

“Alright”

“Why do you stay for so long here in the locker room?”

“I don't know, it helps me relax. I mean, I can't eat sushi everyday, so I meditate here”

“Sushi helps you relax?”

“Yeah, it's delicious.”

“I guess, I've never tasted a good one.”

“What?” Jack was surprised.

“I said I've never tasted a good-” Crawford was interrupted by Jack.

“Come with me, we're having sushi.”

The invitation increased Crawford’s internal panic.

“Wait, what?” 

“Let's go.”

“I d-don’t it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I mean, I want to, but-”

“I’m taking you then.”

“But-, I… okay.” Crawford gave it over, looking a little anxious.

‘Wow, befriending Jack Lawrence was really that easy?’ Was the only thought in Crawford's mind.

Clawford’s car wasn’t so old, but it was very dusty, no rubbish, just dust. Its silver color wasn’t very noticeable because of how dirty it was from outside. Lawrence’s car, on the other hand, was shiny as a crystal, not a single speck of dust nor a visible scratch. Crawford was unsure of how his teammate managed to keep it so clean.

After a quick —and very silent— ride in Lawrence's  shiny car, they arrived at a tiny restaurant 

“Trust me, this place's really underrated.” Said Jack.

“Okay, I'll give it a try.”

The restaurant, which looked way smaller from outside, was cozy. Everything was old-fashioned with a slight Japanese feel to it. It had warm lights that brought calm to the ambience. The few waitresses were dressed with red, shimmering embroidered pattern clothes. They seemed very professional, and they were coming and going from the kitchen door, which was at the side of a tiny bar table. The mix from the wide variety of meals and dishes made a perfect balance of the smell. It really had a great atmosphere. Surprisingly, there were only a few groups having dinner.

Crawford and Lawrence sat down at a table for two. The chairs felt soft when you took a seat.

“What should I order?” asked Crawford, yet uncertain.

“My favourite is the salmon one, it’s wrapped in avocado, but I don't know what you like”

“I think I'll just copy you”

“Okay”

The well-dressed waitress arrived, and Lawrence ordered two portions of every sushi roll that he usually ate. It sounded like a lot of food, so Crawford was slightly scared.

While they waited, Lawrence tried asking some questions, to stop the silence.

“So, how did you end on the national football team?”

“Oh, I guess I just became good enough to compete. I signed up without thinking I would be selected”

For a few seconds, there was an awkward silence.

“How did you join the team?” Said Crawford.

“I was really into sports since I was a kid, and passed through a lot of phases to decide that I would focus on football. So I worked hard and people noticed me, and now I'm here.”

“Well, you clearly look like you like sports, after all, you have amazing  skills.”

Jack smiled and let out a little chuckle.

“Thanks, I'm not that good.”

“Believe in you, man.”

The sushi arrived. Indeed, it was a lot of food, some sushi rolls were warm, some others had just come out of the deep fryer, and they were also cold ones. The order had also fried shrimp, and some soya sauce for dipping the food in. Everything smelled so tasty, that it could make you hungry in just seconds.

Crawford tried at first the fried sushi rolls and some shrimps, and he could feel how crunchy it was. The Japanese rice was tasty and soft. 

“Wow, this is really good.” Said Crawford, covering his half full mouth with his hand.

“See? This place is the best.” Lawrence began eating after he proudly received his confirmation.

The first minutes after Crawford tasted all the food, were just them eating without any dialogue. Any short conversation made Crawford a bit anxious. However, little by little, his voice stopped sounding nervous or awkward, and he managed to have a good dialogue with Lawrence while they ate their meals.

The sushi was great, Crawford loved all the variations of dishes, but it was too much for him.

“Oh man, I feel like I'm gonna explode. How do you eat so much?” Crawford was suffering.

“Well, I need energy, don't you think?”

“I swear if I eat one single piece more, I'm going to vomit.”

Lawrence laughed, so he ate half of the remaining food and called the waitress to ask for the rest of their teammate’s meal to take away.

Lawrence drove Crawford home. The sky was already dark, and he put on some music along the way. It was a mixture of Pop, Rhythm & Blues, and a few Rock songs. Lawrence checked secretly at the rearview mirror, just to see if he liked his playlist. Crawford never imagined Jack would have that music taste, he looked more like a tough guy who would listen to something more heavy. Despite the little surprise, he really enjoyed the ambience of both, listening to good music and chilling in the cozy —and shiny— car on his way back home. Lawrence was also relieved when he saw Crawford relaxing on the passenger’s seat.

Both arrived at the building where Crawford lived and Lawrence got out of the car too.

“Bye, Victor, it was a pleasure to talk with you.”

“Oh, thanks. I could say the same.” 

Lawrence put his arm round Crawford and gave him a few light pats on the back. After that, he walked back to his car

“See you at the field!”

“Yeah.” Crawford was smiling more than ever.

As he rode up in the lift, Crawford realised something.

He had forgotten his car at the training center.

“Ah, shit.” He mumbled.

He clearly enjoyed his time with Lawrence.