Trixie’s mouth falls open with disbelief. “Is this for the shelterfunds?”
“That’sright.”
Rush slaps his laptop shut and gives a hoot of a laugh. “Dude, you’re agenius.”
“I don’t know about that.” The back of my neck lights up with heat, and I scratch it. I’m pretty sure Rush isn’t going to think I’m such a genius when he finds out I’ve knocked up his sister. Nope. But I am sure he’ll have a few other choice words for me. None of them will be flattering, at least not pertaining to my graymatter.
“Let’s see”—Trixie chokes as if she were scoffing—“first, you set up enough food drives to launch a decent foundation, then you fan out to the first small businesses you see and convince them to match the funds, doubling them overnight. You do it four times after that, and we’re at a hundred grand. Sure, you’re still a hundred fifty grand away, but you keep this math-a-magic up and we’ll be at a million by the end of thesemester.”
“You’ve got six weeks.” Rush flexes a dry smile. Rush has a way of making you feel that no matter how well you do you can do better. He reminds me a lot of my dad in that way. He’s going to make a hell of an uncle. Just hope I live to seeit.
“Six weeks. Don’t I know it.” I pull my backpack up over my shoulder and head on out. A part of me wanted to say something, hint at the fact I was interested in Sunday, but it didn’t feel like the right time. I don’t know. I thought having Trixie there might be a buffer, but she was just as tense to be around as he was. She’s Sunday’s roommate. She might know something. I haven’t exactly pried to see what Sunday is sharing and with whom, but maybe it’s time we compared notes—about a lot ofthings.
* * *
The Sloppy Pelicanis clear across town in a far more residential area in comparison to WB. Misty set up the meeting for me and said she’d swing by to do the intros. Misty’s been teaching on campus—creative writing—and loves it. She’s got a devout following of grad students who look to my sister as if she were a scholarly deity. Yes, Misty can wield a mean pen. In fact, she’s the one who gave me an interest in both reading and writing—not that I’ve had a chance to tackle much of either over the last few months. But as much as she hounds me to share my work with her, there’s no way I’d do it. That’s like stepping out naked in front of someone, and I sure as hell don’t want to put myself out there in front of my sister. Nope. She might be a great professor, but that’s one class I’ll have toskip.
I head into The Pelican, and the place smells like beer and burgers. I like it already. Heck, I’ve appreciated The Sloppy Pelican ever since it opened. I spot Misty at a table near the bar, waving like mad, so I head on over. Misty is never short on enthusiasm, and I’ve always appreciated that about her. Misty and I share the same dark hair, same bone structure. I can see myself in her if I stare long enough. But thankfully she’s built like a ballerina and I’m built like a linebacker. We do share the same heart, though, and that’s to help the ones we love. That’s what I’m doing right now, helping the one I love—Sunday. It’s going to take some major balls to hit Collins and Associates up for over a hundred grand, and that’s what I came here with—some major balls. I’ve been wielding them ever since I slept with Sunday the first time around. I don’t see the point in putting them away rightnow.
“Here you are!” She pulls me down to the table. “Shep will be here in a minute. He just texted and said he was running a bit behind. You’re going to really like him. His father owns Collins and Associates, and his brother, Axel, owns a stake in this place. They’re all attorneys.” She waves it off. “So what’s going on with you? I haven’t seen nearly as much of you as I thought I would. What’s been holding you down? Or should I say who?” Her lips pinch tight as if pinning me with theaccusation.
“There might be a who.” I hold back a laugh. It feels good to get it off my chest, or at least the hint of it. I haven’t told a soul that I’m into Sunday, let alone with her. She’s my girlfriend, and as eighth grade as that sounds I’m proud of it—of her. I want to tell the world, and it kills me that I can’t. But if anyone can be a safe place for me, it’s Misty. “I’m seeingsomeone.”
Her eyes double in size. “Seth!Who? I promise I will not get in your way. If I see you with your arm around some girl, I won’t even run over and accost you until you introduce me, I promise. I will play by your rules. Just tell me who she is. It’s going to eat me alive if you don’t. I probably don’t even knowher.”
“You know her.” There. I already feel lighter than air. “You know her so well you’re practically related toher.”
She inches back, baffled for a moment before her mouth falls open. “Oh my God! Are you seeingSerena?”
“What? No. Tryagain.”
“Practically related…” She shakes her head, and just like that, she sucks up all the air in the room. “Oh my God, please tell me you’re not seeingSunday.”
“Yes, I’m seeing Sunday. We’re together.” My affect darkens as I lean in. “And you won’t tell her brother. I swear, Nolan will go ballistic. Let her do it. We’re getting ready to telleveryone.”
“Oh, I’m not telling.” She shakes her head, incredulous. “No way.” Her face goes white. “Seth, you’re dating Sunday.” She nods as if I should know what this means. A death sentence in most third-world countries, I’m sure. “Do you know everything there is to know abouther?”
“I’m pretty sure. Why, is there some dark history that involves a psychiatric institution?” And just as I’m about to laugh it off, I read that look on my sister’s face like a book—a maternity manual to be exact. “Oh shit. Youknow?”
She gives a silent nod. “Doyouknow?” She shakes her head as if it still wasn’t possible. “About the—” She glances down to hermidsection.
“Baby. Yes, I do. And again, please, for everyone’s safety, don’t breathe a word of it to Nolan. That’s Sunday’s job and nobodyelse’s.”
“Oh, I agree. As much as I hate keeping this from my new husband, I rather like him breathing. So, do you know who the father is? She mentioned she didn’t know him that well. Oh my God, she wasn’t pulling my leg, right? It’s not you, isit?”
My mouth opens and closes. Can I really lie to my sister’s face? The truth will come out eventually. “She doesn’t know who it is.” There. That’s the truth. “She thinks it’s some guy on the team.” And just as I’m mustering the strength to tell her it’s me, a shadow darkens the table, and we look up to find some dude in a wool coat who looks vaguely familiar. I’ve met Axel Collins a time or two, and I can tell right off the bat this is hisbrother.
“Shep!” Misty jumps up. “I’m glad you could make it. This is my brother, Seth.” She makes crazy eyes at me as she pulls her purse over her shoulder. “I’ve got a class to teach in a half hour, so I’d better get back to campus.” She looks to me. “Shep is teaching at Briggs aswell.”
“I’m an adjunct professor.” He reaches over and shakes my hand. “Shepherd Collins, but you can call meShep.”
“I’ll see you two later.” Misty waves as she starts to take off. She points my way. “Good luck.” And for a moment, I can’t tell if she means with breaking the news that I’m dating Sunday to her brothers or the big payday I’m about to grovel for. Both mostlikely.
“What do you teach at WB?” I ask as he takes a seat across from me. A waitress drops off a couple glasses of water before taking off like aracehorse.
“It’s a transition course that bridges business admiration with real-world opportunities. I act as an overseer to the proctors. Class time is spent going over learning experiences and applying textbook material to the workplace. I like to refer to it as where the rubber meets the road. It’s a pilot program the school launched as a means to have students do mini internships throughout the semester. Plus, it gets me out of the office a few days a week. It’s win-win. So how about you? What’s taking up your airspace thissemester?”
I launch right in about basketball, about the few classes that actually hold my attention, the mediaclub.
