“You’re such a dick! Did he tell you? Why would he do that? He doesn’t even know you!”
“Well he knows me now. Why haven’t you mentioned him anyway?” There’s a slight pang of hurt. I’ve only moved in with her this summer, but I’ve known her practically my entire life. But when Missy shrugs and looks at me sheepishly, I let it go.
“It just didn’t come up.”
“I heard that it comes up quite frequently,” I counter, and she bursts into laughter.
“Itdoes, actually, come up quite frequently,” she agrees with a small smile.“ But we’re just friends with benefits. Or fuck buddies, I guess. We don’t hang out much otherwise.”
“You did well, girl. He’s damn handsome.” I wink at her, unscrewing my third bottle of Gatorade for the day. Tyler was right, this stuff works wonders. “What about King, though?” I inquire about him, remembering how flustered he became whenever I was being well…me.
“Ty? What about him?” Ava asks, wiping her fingers after finishing her salad. “Are you asking if he’s into guys?”
When I nod she shakes her head.
“Not that I know of. He's been with his girlfriend forever. Actually, if you think about it, he's quite boring. Well, except for being one of the best college quarterbacks in the country and having everybody in a ten mile radius fawn all over him, that is.”
“Huh, damn shame. Wouldn’t mind being all over that.” Or under that, whichever he prefers. I’m not that picky.
Well, at least I think I’m not. It has been a while since I’ve taken the dude route. The last time I did, it didn't end well, and I still bear the scars as a reminder. It was one of the reasons I left. Music was another reason. Well, and my dad... But let's not go there.
“You know what can happen if you mess with the straight ones, right?” Missy says, knowing somehow exactly where my mind is at. She gives me a knowing look, and I shake my head at her with a glance at Ava. Just because Missy knows–since she was visiting her family in Europe last spring break–doesn’t mean I want more people to find out. Some shit should just stay where it is; in the past.
“Yeah, real subtle, Jace,” Ava comments. “Luckily for you, I don’t care what that was about. I only care that we’re going to be late to Asher's place. We do need to practice, you know.”
I groan loudly, causing the girls next to us to giggle again. “Why? Last night went great, the audience loved it. Big time. I know most of our setlist by heart, and I want to make a start with the management course load.”
I don’t like to admit it, but the class was a bit more challenging than I expected. Not because the material itself is overly difficult, but because I can already tell that I‘m not familiar with all the terms. My English is just fine, but in an advanced business class where all the jargon is already complicated in my own language? Yeah, I’m humble enough to admit that I might need to put in some extra effort for this one.
My knee bounces up and down as I ponder it, and maybe band practice first isn’t that bad an idea. It would be a good way to expel all the excess energy that’s swirling around inside me. Soccer training was fine, but since it was the first session of the year, it mainly consisted of introductions. And besides the laps around the field, it was not nearly as psychically demanding as I had hoped.
On top of that, I missed my regular morning run too, being hungover and all.
A hand waves erratically in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I blink.
“You there?” Missy shakes her head at me in disapproval. “I was actually being nice to you. Remind me not to do that again.”
“I’m sorry. What were you saying, darling?” I apologize, trying to salvage the situation.
She huffs. “Darling my ass. I was saying you did a great job last night, and yes, you know our cover songs well. But we need to work on some original material, and Iknowyou have some. I’ve watched you play with your old band and perform your own songs, remember?”
I brighten at that, because I love working on new music, and stand up immediately, stacking their trays on mine and taking them with me. “Why didn’t you mention that earlier? Lead the way, ladies. Take me to your den, and let me show you what I can do.”
My last sentence echoes throughout the room, earning us some curious looks, and I smile as I trail behind my two bossy friends as we deposit our trays and make our way out of the cafeteria, fueled by the excitement of creating music together.
FOUR
The first few weeks back at campus are always the best. Everybody is still chill from summer, we don’t have a shitload of essays breathing down our necks, and no one’s nagging my ass off about helping my bros or parents with either of their businesses.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my family to bits, I do. But sometimes… gah.
I like helping during the summer. I dig the business stuff, and it’s wise to save up some extra cash for the coming year. But after a few months of dealing with flirty, sweaty moms at my brothers' gym who keep trying to get my attention by asking the same damn questions about the machines over and over again, I've had enough.
And don’t even get me started about the loudmouth staff at the diner my parents own with my aunt and uncle. Yes, most of them are like family and I’ve known them my whole life, but their constant analysis of my stats and plays becomes somewhat annoying after a few weeks.
So, yeah, while I love being home during the summer and I swing by every other weekend since they’re close by, it's a relief when I get back on campus. I usually get back a few weeks before the rest of the pack though, because of football practice.
Now, as the first week of classes is wrapping up, I can’t help feeling a bit nostalgic as I make my way downstairs on Friday morning. Tomorrow is my last Saturday off before the season kicks off officially, and things are gonna get wild and crazy busy again.
