Chapter 28
Ashby
“Tell me again why you’re here?” Jasper asked, glancing at Stan, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m here to dive. Duh.” Stan pointed dramatically toward the diving tower, his face dead serious now. “You guys swim your little laps, and I get to have fun jumping from the ten-meter platform.”
I chuckled. Stan had sprinted over to my car just before Jasper and I got in and practically begged to come with us to the aquatic center. He hadn’t brought swim shorts or a towel, but luckily for him, I always kept a second pair of jammers in my locker. That was what he was wearing now.
“At least you’ll look professional jumping,” I said, pursing my lips in amusement.
He grinned again and reached down, cupping his crotch with one hand. “They’re pretty damn tight, but I guess I won’t be losing them when I hit the water.”
“Definitely not,” Jasper added with a laugh, shaking his head.
“Boys!” Ruben called from the other side of the pool. “Let’s get this session started. Warm up with ten laps. Nice and easy.”
I dropped my towel on the bench and slapped Stan on the back. “Go play, kiddo.”
He smirked. “Thanks, Dad.”
He jogged off toward the diving pool, and I rolled my eyes as Jasper laughed again.
“He’ll be like this at fifty.”
“Oh, I know. I’m prepared for that.”
After our warm-up laps, Ruben wasted no time and sent us straight into a race. Once that was over, he had us move out of the water for a round of strength exercises. My shoulders were already burning when we started lifting.
“How often are you going to the gym?” he asked.
“Twice a week,” Jasper replied without hesitation. And it showed. His arms and shoulders had filled out, and even his legs looked noticeably stronger than they had a few months ago.
“Good,” Ruben said, then shifted his attention to me. “Ashby?”
I flinched. I hadn’t set foot in the gym in weeks. Mostly because I hadn’t had the time. And when I did, I usually didn’t have the energy or the motivation. “I haven’t been in a while,” I admitted carefully.
Ruben hummed, studying me while I lowered the dumbbells to my sides. My shoulders screamed in protest as the muscles worked hard.
“You feeling strong enough with just swim practice?” he asked next, his eyes staying locked on mine as if he already knew the answer.
“Yes, I do,” I said honestly. “But I plan on getting more workouts in.” It sounded like a promise, not just to him, but to myself. I knew skipping strength training could set me back, especially with the goals I had. I didn’t want to risk that.
“You can come work out with me,” Jasper chimed in. “I go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday before school. Even Stan shows up sometimes.”
“Sounds good,” I replied, giving him a tight smile. “Thanks.”
“Of course, buddy.”
Before we could say anything else, a loud, pained cry echoed through the entire aquatic center. We all turned toward the diving pool just in time to see Stan hauling himself out of the water. His face was bright red, twisted in pain, and when he stood upright, his chest was the same alarming shade.
I grimaced. “You okay, Stan?” I called over.
“No,” he choked, one hand clutching his chest, the other firmly guarding his crotch. “I think I broke my balls.”
Jasper laughed and shook his head, clearly unwilling to feel even a shred of sympathy. I could’ve warned Stan not to jump from that height without knowing any actual diving techniques. But even if I had, he would’ve done it anyway.
“My balls,” Stan groaned again, drawing out a dramatic breath. “I need to go to the hospital.”
“You’ll be fine, son,” Ruben called back, not sounding nearly as amused as the rest of us. He’d known Stan since he was little. He was well aware of his reckless tendencies, and he’d stopped feeling sorry for himself a long time ago.
“My balls are aching, Ruben!” Stan cried, still cupping himself. Then he tugged the jammers away from his body and glanced down. “Holy shit…they’re turning blue. Come look,” he urged, turning toward us.
“No, thank you,” Jasper said immediately, already turning back to lift his dumbbells.
Ruben turned away, clearly done with Stan and his theatrics.
I chuckled. “Maybe stop jumping from up there. You’ll break your neck next time.”
“Hey, I’m a great diver,” Stan shot back defensively. “I should’ve picked that as my sport instead of MMA.”
“No, Stan,” I said dryly. “You’re doing just fine in MMA.”
“But I’m a good diver.”
I didn’t respond.
“Ash, dude,” he called. “Tell them I’m a good diver.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Jasper warned without looking over.
“I won’t,” I replied, smirking as Stan groaned in frustration.
__
On our drive back to Bowen, Stan wouldn’t stop whining about his balls. And while any other person would’ve gotten annoyed by his whining, I started to feel bad for him. He was in real pain, and being a guy with balls myself, I knew how hurtful that could be.
I looked at him through the rearview mirror, grimacing when I saw the pain lingering in his eyes. “Sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
“And tell the doctors my balls hurt? Thanks, but I don’t want to embarrass myself like that,” Stan huffed.
“You might get your balls checked out by a hot nurse,” Jasper added. He wasn’t taking this as seriously as I was, and it showed through his amusement.
To be fair, it was funny. But then again, the pain Stan was feeling wasn’t.
Stan’s expression changed, and I prepared for a clever response. “If you put it that way… get me to the fucking hospital so I can get my balls checked out by a hot nurse.”
Jasper and I laughed.
“Jokes aside,” I said, focusing on the road again. “Hospital. Yes or no?”
He thought about it for a good thirty seconds, then shook his head. “No. I’ll just put a pack of frozen peas on it, and the swelling will go down.”
We were quiet after the mention of his swollen balls until Jasper broke the silence. “How are things with Scottie?”
A loud sigh ripped out of Stan. “Fine? Bad? I don’t know. I texted her this morning, but she ignored it.”
“What did you text her?” I asked.
“If she wants to come over tonight, so we can Netflix and chill.”
He said it so nonchalantly, I flinched. “Dude…”
Jasper sighed. “Stan.”
“What?”
“Come on. You can’t possibly be the only guy who doesn’t know what that stands for,” I said, half-surprised at how unaware he was.
We had grown up together. We were best friends.
But sometimes it felt like he missed things that were so obvious to me.
Maybe it was his fuck-everyone’s-opinions-other-than-mine mindset, but he couldn’t possibly be that oblivious to something so obvious.
“To watch Netflix and chill. It’s literally in the saying,” he explained, but he was painfully wrong.
“No, Stan,” I said, laughing because I couldn’t believe I had to lecture him on simple teenage slang. Granted, he didn’t use his phone often. Didn’t have all those social media apps everyone else was addicted to. But he must’ve heard that phrase somewhere.
“You asked her to hook up,” Jasper told him, turning his head to look back at him.
I glanced into the rearview mirror again, watching his reaction. He was frowning, genuinely baffled.
“No, I didn’t. I asked her to come over to watch a movie and relax. Okay, maybe I hoped to cuddle with her or whatever, but definitely not hook up.”
“That’s what it means,” Jasper went on. “It used to mean actually watching a movie and hanging out, but it turned into this euphemism for having sex.”
“Yup,” I said.
“No way…”
“Maybe that explains why she ignored the text,” I suggested with a shrug. “Try taking it back.”
“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” I heard him fumble for his phone in his backpack, then he spoke again, probably recording a voice message. “Scottie? Ignore my last message. I didn’t know that Netflix and chill means sex. I don’t want sex with you—”
I glanced at Jasper, who was looking at me with the same amused expression.
“I mean, shit, I do want to have sex with you someday because you’re, like, so hot and my best friend.
But I want it if you want it too. But not tonight.
Tonight I want to hang out with you and actually watch a movie or two, and you can talk during them and tell me all the silly little facts you know.
And then we can order pizza, and I’ll even let you order the one with anchovies and olives.
I’m sorry, Scottie. I didn’t know. Motherfucker… ”
“I hope that last bit you didn’t record,” I said, peeking at him again.
“No.” He frowned, sighing heavily. “Goddammit. Who takes something simple and innocent and twists it into something that can be misinterpreted?”
Jasper laughed. “To be fair… you’re the first one to turn innocent things sexual. Even if you don’t mean to.”
“Right,” Stan muttered.
We stayed quiet until I pulled over in front of Jasper’s house. He leaned forward to grab his backpack from the floor, then turned toward me. “Thanks for the ride. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Yeah. Happy Thanksgiving,” I said. “See you after the break.”
“Bye, Jasper,” Stan added.
Jasper shut the door behind him and headed up the walkway. Stan climbed into the front seat, and I waited until he buckled his seatbelt before pulling back onto the road.
“She texted back,” he said.
“Yeah?” I glanced at him. “What’d she say?”
He looked down at his phone, then groaned. “Ah, damn…”
“What?”
“She said, ‘I would’ve said yes to Netflix and chill, but you took it back.’”
I lifted a brow, then pressed my lips together. “Well…”
“I could’ve had sex tonight,” he blurted, then waved it off. “Shit. Never mind. Hold on.” His thumbs moved fast. “Now she texted again. ‘JK. I’d love movies and a pizza.’”
Scottie was obviously messing with him, but I was relieved neither of them seemed eager to push things into something messy. Or messier than they already were. “That’s good,” I said, a small smile pulling at my mouth.
“Yeah. I guess it is.”
“Don’t fuck it up.”
He let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. Like that’s not my strong suit.”
“You’re not that bad,” I said. “You just need to use your brain a little more sometimes.”
“Heard that before.”
“So try listening. People don’t tell you that for fun. We mean it.”
He sighed, then nodded, resting his head against the headrest. “I know. And I do appreciate it.”
“Good.” I turned onto his street and slowed in front of his house. “If Scottie comes over tonight and you actually want to impress her, maybe stop by the store first.”
“And get her what?”
“Her favorite chocolate,” I said. “A book she might like. Something that shows you’ve been thinking about her.”
He studied me with those deep blue eyes for a second, then nodded. “Yeah. I might.”
I pulled to the curb. He grabbed his backpack, opened the door, then paused. “Hey,” he said. “Thanks. For all of it.”
“Anytime,” I replied. “And put those frozen peas on your balls.”
He chuckled and shut the door, then jogged up the driveway as I drove off.
My parents’ car was already in the driveway when I pulled up to the house, and I parked beside it, cutting the engine before getting out.
I was ready to unwind and let my body relax.
My thoughts kept drifting back to Milow, hoping her doctor’s appointment had gone well.
I’d missed her all afternoon, and I caught myself hoping she’d want to watch a movie with me tonight.
But when I entered the house, excited to see her again, my stomach dropped at the sight of her.