I blink. “Who's Kevin?”
Jere rolls his eyes. “You have met Kevin several times already. He's the brother of my friend with benefits situationship?”
“Who?” I lean closer. “Is that Malcolm's brother?”
“No,” he scoffs, and someone behind us shushes him. Jere completely ignores whoever it was and continues. “Malcolm and I stopped seeing each other six months ago, girlie. Kevin is Griffin's brother. You know Griffin, the guy I've been hooking up with for like two months? Jesus, Gi, do you listen to anything I say?”
My brow creases in confusion. “Do you mean the hockey brother? I thought that guy's name was Keegan.”
“It is Keegan. I said Keegan.”
I cover my mouth to conceal my laugh. “You literally just said Kevin.”
“No, I did not,” he scoffs again, waving me off.
“You really did,” I laugh, not hiding the sound this time, and I cringe when heads turn in our direction.
Professor Donahue clears his throat loudly and we both stop talking. Shaking my head, I go back to pretending to pay attention while Jere goes back to actually paying attention. He's so much better at this classroom setting than I am.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzes in my bag. When I find it in between my notebooks, I see the text from my sister Shauna.
Shauna:Sage wanted me to ask you if you’d like to come to dinner on Sunday at her and Maxton’s place. Max will be cooking.
I wrinkle my nose as I read the text over and over again. Sunday dinners are a new thing amongst the Georges’ children that only began after Sage and Maxton got engaged over Christmas.
The dinner consists of my sister, her husband, all his siblings, and their spouses being madly in love. They talk about the future, their children, and their houses. Add in the fact that Maxton glares at me the entire time like I personally offended him, and it sounds like a terrible way to spend a Sunday evening.
I guess, in a way, I did offend Maxton by going after his teammate, but spending a night with the over thirty crowd is an unorthodox punishment for my offense.
Me:Sorry, I can’t. I have plans that night. Give the kiddos a kiss from their favorite auntie.
I don't actually have plans on Sunday, but I'll make sure I find something to do that night.
The class finally comes to an end, and I shove my laptop into my backpack along with my notebook.
As I exit the classroom, Jeremiah runs up beside me in the hallway.
“So, have you decided if you are coming out with us tonight?” He glares at me.
“Do I have a choice?”
“No, not really. The fact that I asked you was more rhetorical — a formality of sorts,” he laughs, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.
As soon as we step outside, the cool May air hits my face, and I stop short to just bask in the sun. Jere clears his throat, but I hold up my hand. “Let me enjoy this gorgeous spring day for another minute before you tell me what my plans are for tonight.”
While the air is still crisp in the mornings on campus, it’s nearly three in the afternoon, and the sun is so warm that it almost makes me forget the bitter winter we just escaped.
“You’re so fucking weird,” Jeremiah grumbles. Slowly, I open my eyes until I’m staring at him, and I hope he can see how unamused I am right now. Of course, he doesn’t and continues talking like nothing is wrong. “Kevin or Keegan or whatever his name is, he’s coming out with us tonight. I thought maybe you can take him for a test ride and get out of this weird funk you’ve been in all semester.”
“I'm always weird…” I shrug, waiting for him to elaborate as to what he means.
“Yeah, babe, I’m well aware of your weirdness. You’ve just been weirder than usual, like a beauty queen trying to keep her unplanned pregnancy with the star football player from her bestie.”
I punch him in the arm. “You’re a jackass, Jeremiah. I am not a beauty queen or pregnant, so your analogy is falling a little flat, babe.”
My best friend throws one of his signature smirks my way before he takes a few steps backwards. “I know, but I’m also right. Plus, if I found out you were hiding a hunky football player from me, we’d no longer be best friends.”
“What if I was hiding a pregnancy from you?” I bite back a smile as I watch his face morph from amused to horrified in half a second.
