Chapter 3
Chapter three
Jay
“I don’t know how we aren’t getting mobbed right now,” Daphne says, looking around the full Lakeside diner, our old college hangout.
“Well, Dan knows us,” Hudson replies with a casual shrug. “I may have called ahead to reserve the booth. He agreed on the condition that I sign his wall of fame.”
“Dude, be more humble,” I laugh jokingly. “You’ve just played and won your first pro game as a rookie, and you killed it.”
Dan swings by with a grin, placing some chips on the table for us. “Great game, Hudson, we’re proud of you ’round here.”
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”
“Three Lakeside Specials, yeah?” he says, pen tapping against his notepad. “Two milkshakes for the lovebirds and a lemonade.”
“You know us too well.” Daphne grins, then adds, “Extra pickles on mine.”
Dan nods and disappears back toward the kitchen, and Hudson leans an elbow on the table, stealing the nacho chips from the basket.
“Is that allowed now?” I ask, raising a brow. “You’re a pro athlete, remember? Strict diet and all that?”
Hudson just shrugs, mouth full of chips and dip. “We won. I earned every single calorie tonight.”
Must be nice, measuring success in touchdowns and victory beers. My big win this week was not tripping over a tangle of extension cords in the studio. God, that’s depressing.
“Does Finn have Rosie tonight?” I ask them.
Daphne shakes her head. “He’s busy with Foxx tonight, my mom has her.”
Hudson wraps his arm around Daphne’s shoulders, bringing her head to his lips. “The whooooole night.”
“Thank god I’m not in the same building as you guys tonight.”
Daphne laughs, unfazed. “Honestly, I plan on being asleep by nine.”
Hudson frowns. “That’s not what we talked about.” But Daphne just grins at him. He looks at me like he’s been personally betrayed. “Is this what our married life is going to be like?”
“It’s what having a toddler is like,” Daphne says, already reaching for another chip. “Lower your expectations.”
“I will not, and you know it.”
When Daphne and Hudson found out they were having Rosie, I’d never seen Hudson be so committed to something that wasn’t football. He stepped up and, with the help of Daphne’s twin brother, Finn, last year, they made it through, and I’m really damn proud of them both.
A waiter places our drinks and food down, and Daphne’s phone lights up where she left it on the table.
I see a message pop up from her best friend, Liv.
I haven’t thought about her in a while, not since she visited before summer break.
Even then, her visit was the usual weather warning that seems to be Olivia Matthews.
“Everything okay with Liv?” I ask, taking my first bite of the best salted fries in town.
Daphne gets this strange, faraway look on her face before she answers, which is unusual for her. Liv is her twin flame; despite being an actual twin with Finn, they’re sisters in every other sense of the word. “She’s uh… actually, she’s moving to Cedar Lakes.”
I pause, the first burger bite halfway to my mouth. “She’s attending CLU?”
Daphne nods, taking her sweet time chewing a fry, and across from me, Hudson suddenly becomes very quiet, which isn’t unusual when he’s eating, but I know my best friend, and there’s a shifty air about him.
“Huh,” I say, setting my burger down. “That’s interesting. Figured it was too late in the semester for that.”
“Something happened at Washington State,” Daphne says, still dancing around it. “So, her dad pulled some strings.”
I don’t know much about Liv’s family, but clearly her dad has enough pull to make things happen at CLU.
“Is he a professor?”
“No, he works with insurance, but he knew the dean of the school somehow.”
Well, that doesn’t add up still. My brow lifts as I decide to nudge further. “What’s she studying here, or has she not declared a major yet?”
“History and art,” Daphne says, reaching for her drink. “She’s more into museums these days. Wants to be that person who tracks down and collects historic art for them… what are they called again?”
“Curators?” Hudson offers, eyes still fixed anywhere but mine.
Daphne snaps her fingers. “Yes! That’s it. Art curator.”
I nod slowly, chewing my food as I watch them both do everything in their power to act like this is a casual conversation, but I can sense there’s more to it.
I lean back slightly, eyes flicking between the two of them as I reach for my drink, the coolness of the condensation licking against my fingertips.
Daphne’s suddenly invested in her napkin.
Hudson’s now examining the ketchup bottle like it holds the secrets of the universe.
“So,” I say slowly, drawing the word out, “Liv’s moving here. Her housing must be sorted, then?”
Daphne doesn’t answer right away.
I arch a brow. “She’s staying on campus like we did?”
Daphne hums. “Well…”
I set my drink down, the thud final between us. “Don’t even try to ease into it. Just rip the Band-Aid off, Daph.”
She looks up at me with that innocent smile, but I’m not falling for it. I’ve walked into a trap, and I realize that now. “I was actually going to ask if she could maybe—just temporarily—stay with you since you currently have a spare room?”
Hudson coughs into his fist, and my best friend only does that when he feels awkward.
Daphne rushes to explain. “It’s too late in the semester to get a dorm. The new ones they’re building won’t be ready until January, and everything nearby is either overpriced or a total dump. We offered her Rosie’s room, but she refused, and I just can’t have her somewhere that isn’t safe.”
“Wow,” I say. “You’ve really thought this through.”
“I’m just saying,” she continues, a little more hopeful now. “It wouldn’t be forever, only until the New Year. She’s clean, she’s quiet—”
“Daphne,” I interrupt. “I have met your best friend a handful of times, and quiet is not what I’d call her.”
“Okay, maybe you’re right, but she’s sweet and thoughtful, and she can pay you!”
“I don’t need rent money.” Even if my job has shitty pay, it covers my bills, and even though my place is a two-bed, it was a steal thanks to… her brother Finn, who lives downstairs and knows the landlord… damn, I guess I owe her a favor because of that setup.
“You haven’t done anything with the extra room yet, right?”
I shake my head, but can’t seem to find the words to say no just yet.
“She really has mellowed out,” Hudson offers, trying to be diplomatic. “I mean, mostly.”
“That’s… comforting.” In a way that really isn’t comforting at all.
Daphne rests her elbows on the table and leans in, giving me puppy dog eyes. “Please, Jay. I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option. She needs a soft place to land right now, and you’re—”
“A human mattress, apparently.”
She bats her lashes this time. “A comfortable, reliable one.”
I sigh, raking a hand through my hair, knowing that I’m always the reliable one.
I’m always the one who could be trusted to step in, to smooth things over and save the day.
Hell, back when Hudson’s hookups pre-Daphne went sideways—and they often did—I was the guy who’d fake a phone call or show up with an invented emergency to bail him out, wearing some animal onesie to be his fake boyfriend.
Jesus, my best friend was a menace, thank god Daphne has him now.
So yeah. Saying no has never been my strong suit, especially not when someone actually needs me.
And Liv… well, she’s not some stranger. Blowing out a breath, I admit defeat.
“Fine,” I say, pointing a fry at Daphne.
“But I’m only doing this because you and Finn helped me get that place, and I’m paying it forward. ”
Daphne beams. “You won’t regret it.”
Hudson chuckles, finally sitting back in his seat, the tension draining from his shoulders. “You’re such a softie, man.”
I shoot him a look. “I’m not a softie. I just have a moral compass and two manipulative friends who know how to guilt-trip me.”
“I really appreciate it, though.” Daphne elbows Hudson in the ribs. “Don’t we, baby?”
He grunts, but recovers fast. “Yeah, we do.”
I drag a hand down my face, suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. “So, when is my life going to be turned upside down?”
Daphne winces, glancing at Hudson. “Tomorrow?”
I blink. “Seriously? That soon?”
She shrugs, but it’s sheepish. I’m pretty sure they did this to give me zero time to second-guess it. “We figured it’d be easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Hudson lifts his glass. “To impulsive decisions and best friends.”
I stare at them and reluctantly clink mine against his. “To whatever the hell I just agreed to.”
And just like that, my peaceful life is interrupted by a roommate.