I blink, not realizing we had reached the level of friendship that included nicknames. “I’m busy Saturday night.”
“You’re going clubbing instead?” He cocks his head at me, a glimmer in his eye.
“Nope.” Though I did love dancing.
“Dive bar?”
“Definitely more my speed. But also no.”
“So…girl’s night? Your friends are welcome to come too.”
“I have a paper I need to finish, which will happen on Saturday.”
Jake’s jaw drops. “What do you mean you have a paper to write?That’syour idea of fun?” He scoffs.
His mocking tone pisses me off. Friends don’t judge other friends for trying to be successful. “I never said I don’t have any plans. I said my plans don’t involve being stuck in a dingy frat basement or getting so drunk I can’t function for the rest of the weekend,” I snap. “Now if we can get back to our respective tasks, that would be great.”
Jake was a little rude, but the fact that I hadn’t eaten an actual meal since lunch the day before was the main contributor to my attitude. I had been way too busy this week to find time to buy groceries. Plus, my mom called two days ago lamenting about the cost of Josie’s field trip which I offered to cover, effectively wiping out my bank account. My direct deposit went through today, which meant the second I wasdone here, I would treat myself to a bacon, egg, and cheese from the Beanery, followed by a trip to the grocery store. My current task was making a cost-efficient shopping list.
“You’re in a mood today,” Jake notes.
“And you’re nosey.”
“True. But Tuesday Ellie would’ve just rolled her eyes and kept it moving. But today, you’re looking for a fight. Why’s that?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Maybe it’s because you’re being particularly insufferable today. Have you considered that?”
He taps his index finger on his chin a few times, contemplating. “Nope. I don’t think that’s it. I think you’re upset I?—"
His words are cut off by the embarrassingly loud sound of my stomach growling. My eyes widen as I clear my throat, attempting to cover the noise.
I expected him to tease me about it or, at the very least, look smug about the fact that he figured out my bad mood, but instead, he just looks concerned. “Maybe you should take a break and make some breakfast? I promise to do my homework for this week while you do.”
“Do your homework or don’t. I’m not your tutor, remember?”
“I’m serious. I don’t want you skipping meals to entertain me.”
“I’ll just eat something after.” My stomach conveniently grumbles obnoxiously.
Jake pushes himself away from the table and walks towards my kitchen, a determined look on his face. He throws open my fridge and grunts at the sheer emptiness of it. He turns his attention to my cabinets next, also extremely empty, which draws another irritated noise. “Is all your food hidden somewhere or?”
“I’m all out. I’ve been too busy this week to go to the grocery store. My plan was to go after our session.”
“When’s the last time you had something to eat?”
“Um, I had a pretty big lunch yesterday...”
He looks aghast. “Are you being serious?”
“Not everyone needs 6 eggs and a pack of bacon a day for breakfast, okay? Us non-athletes can survive on granola bars and coffee. We actually prefer it that way. What are you doing?” I watch as he throws on his coat and grabs his wallet, leaving the rest of his belongings.
“Going to grab us some breakfast. Any specific requests?”
“Jake sit down. Let’s just finish this and then I can head to the grocery store.”
“Actually, I’mstarving. I only had 4 eggs and half a pack of bacon. This is more for me than for you.”
My eyes narrow at his obvious deflection. “I can take care of myself just fine.”
