6. Trey
6
Trey
T hank you very much for the offer, but due to circumstances outside of my control, I have to decline.
That sounds good, professional, and appropriately grateful. I still don’t want to send it. Over the last week, I’ve worked out a decent plan for the summer. The only real problem is that I have to turn down an unpaid internship with one of the best mental health crisis centers in Colorado. This is the email that I’m having a hard time sending. The only way to make it through the summer without the RA job and the food plan that goes with it is to work another job. I’m not willing to leave my job and commitments at the shelter, so that leaves me no time to do the internship. I just can’t afford to work those hours unpaid.
I’ve also decided that since I can’t stay here over the summer, I won’t reapply for the dorms or the RA position in the fall. It was a lifesaver for my first three years, but I feel like it’s not where I need to be anymore. If I can work two jobs this summer, I can save enough to go to school, work one job in the winter, and live off campus.
I technically get my bachelor’s degree next week, and I’ll start on my master’s in the fall. My test scores on admission and my grades have qualified me for an accelerated program. If I can just stay on track, I can complete my master's requirements in one year and start on my doctorate after that. I have a scholarship to cover the entire class cost, all the way through my doctorate, but it doesn’t cover food and housing. Still, I know how lucky I am to have it, and although I’d love to do this internship, I have to work this summer to stay in school. No point in angsting about it. It is what it is.
I’m just typing my name to the end and getting ready to hit send when a whirlwind throws my dorm door open.
“Guess what?! I found a place for you to live!” Mandy is color in motion, as always. “My dad has a whole floor in his house that he’s not even using, and he said you could stay with him for the summer!”
I blink at her for a second, processing what she said, and then jerk my finger away from the computer so I don’t accidentally hit send before I’m ready. “Wait, your dad? The one I met at the wedding?”
“Yep,” Mandy pops the P on the end of the word. “He has a couple extra bedrooms and a bathroom he never uses. He said you could stay there, no problem. You’re not allergic to dogs, right?”
“No, I’m not allergic,” I say absently as I roll the idea over in my mind. Having a place to sleep instead of the shelter or my car while I save up money to rent a room off campus would be a lifesaver. If he didn’t charge me too much, I could probably make it work. I’d probably still have to turn down the internship, but the path to my own place to live could be a lot simpler if staying with Ben for a little while is an actual option.
“Are you sure he wants a roommate?” I ask Mandy. “I could be wrong, but it doesn’t sound like he needs one.”
“Depends what you mean by ‘needs,’” Mandy answers, as she sits and bounces on my bed. “I think he’d like to have someone around. You have to be careful, or he’ll try to take care of you.” She sends me a mischievous grin.
I know she’s teasing, but the idea of Ben 'taking care' of me sends a string of entirely inappropriate thoughts through my head. On the outside, I roll my eyes at Mandy. On the inside, I’m taking a quick inventory. Is this going to be a problem? I’ve been attracted to guys before and managed to get along with them. We’re both adults. Surely, it would be fine. There’s no real indication that Ben is even interested in men. I’m making a complication where there doesn’t need to be one.
“If you think he’d be fine with it, it sounds great to me,” I finally tell Mandy. “I’ve got a couple more finals to take, and then I’ll be ready to move. I’m sure staying with your dad would be better than stealing a bed from the shelter.” I twirl a pencil between my fingers and lean back in my desk chair, contemplating the leap I’m about to take. “Should I text him and set up a time to talk about it?”
“You can.” She shrugs. “Or you can just show up on his doorstep with your bags. I guarantee it doesn’t matter to him either way.”
I toss the pencil at her and make an exasperated teasing noise. “I would never,” I tell her. “And besides, I have no idea where his house even is.”
“Ooooh, you’re going to love it!” She tosses the pencil back to me, then gestures animatedly as she describes the house, the yard, and the hiking trails in detail. It sounds idyllic and too good to be true. I make encouraging noises in the right places so she knows I’m listening, but the other half of my brain is worrying about how much it’s going to cost and whether or not the sparks between Ben and me are going to be a problem.
When she finally runs out of things to describe, I ask her to send me her dad’s number so I can get ahold of him to set something up. When my phone dings with her contact card, I glance at the screen, and my stomach makes a funny, nervous leap. Where the name should be, it says “Daddy” with a heart emoji.
I thank Mandy and stand to hug her. I’m grateful that she thought of me and that she’s such a good friend. I’m not going to repay that by getting some weird crush on her dad. She goes to get her books so we can study for our finals together, and I pull out my notes to study for the two I have tomorrow. I also send Ben a quick text asking if I can stop by tomorrow after my last final.
Hi Ben, this is Trey. Mandy said you might have a room I could rent for the summer. Could I stop by tomorrow around 4 to talk about it?
His reply is almost instant and makes my stomach flutter again.
Sure!!!
That’s an adorable number of exclamation points, and I can hear him saying it in the cheerful, friendly tone he had at the wedding. I’m really going to have to work at keeping these feelings under control.