James walked around the SUV to hug Scott, then push him into the back seat.
“Enjoy the quiet,” Finn said before wincing as Michael shouted at Jackson again.
“Oh, I will,” James promised. He gave Finn a hug too. Backing away from the vehicle, James nearly jumped when Jacob stepped up beside him.
“You’re not going with them?” Jacob questioned.
Obviously not. Why did Jacob even give a shit? “The firehouse is short-staffed due to the holiday. Also, no one is allowed off on New Year’s Eve since it’s basically amateur drunk-driving night.”
Both back windows rolled down as Michael and Scott started to wave and blow him kisses.
How freaking embarrassing! James was just glad that this hadn’t taken place in front of his co-workers at the fire station. Even his friends at the coffee shop would tease him.
“I see.” Jacob’s voice was stern.
It was always stern. The man really needed to chill out. Not that James gave a shit. Or at least he’d tried to stop caring. James had gone out of his way to be polite and accommodating toward the professor. He’d been shut down so hard and fast every time that he just stopped caring what Jacob thought about him.
James lifted his hand and waved until Finn pulled the SUV out of the driveway and out of sight. He turned to go back up to the apartment when Jacob stepped in front of his path.
Deep breath in.
“Speaking of New Year’s Eve, you need to remember the rules. No parties,” Jacob told him.
Hadn’t James just said that he had to work? Did this guy never listen to him?
“No guests either,” Jacob added. “I rent this apartment to you and your brother with the conditions that I am not bothered. I have a new semester to prepare for. Keep the music down.”
One time. When James and Scott first moved in, James been working out with some weights and had the music on in the apartment. Jacob had stormed in, nearly breaking James’s old stereo. That might have been when Jacob started to hate him.
It didn’t matter that James never played his music loud again. Or that he made sure that the apartment remained spotless since Jacob loved to just drop by to check on Scott. He took the trash bins to the curb and brought them back once they were emptied by the city, so the professor didn’t have to. He even mowed the lawn when it needed it. James couldn’t do anything right in Jacob’s eyes.
“I understand the rules, sir,” James said with as much patience as he could manage.
“Even with Scott gone, I expect peace and quiet,” Jacob told him.
“Got it.” James ground his teeth.
“Fine.” Jacob gave him a sharp nod.
“Anything else, Professor?” James asked. “I need to get ready for my shift at the coffee shop.”
“You’re still working there? I thought you were full-time at the fire station.”
“No, sir.” Not that it was any of Jacob’s business. “I’m a probationary firefighter. I still have six months of training to finish. In the meantime, I pick up shifts at the Coffee Cove.”
“Are you still delivering food from that app?” Jacob demanded.
Asshole sure knew all about James’s schedule, didn’t he? Michael probably told him so the professor knew when to spy on him. Whatever. James just needed to get away from Jacob.
“I am,” James confirmed. He just hated that damn job. The tips were shit even with the money the residents of Surf City liked to flash around. “When I have time.” Because time was the one thing that James never had enough of.
“On that?” Jacob waved toward the motorcycle off to the side.
James made sure that he never parked in Jacob’s way. The motorcycle was cheap to own, insure, and fuel up. “Yes, that is my only mode of transportation.” His brother walked the six blocks to the university to get to school and usually caught a ride to the marina to do his research. The old car that they had driven to California hadn’t made it through the first semester. Michael had tried to buy them a new vehicle but Jackson had come through with the bike.
“You need to be careful,” Jacob said. “Those are death traps.”
James nodded. He was at his limit. “May I go?” It grated on him that he even had to utter the words.
