5. Jimmy
JIMMY
Mac: Where the fuck are you man? Get your ass to Aspen.
I stare at the text and let out a slow breath. Of course he wants me to come. He’s always dragging me into stuff, forcing me out of my comfort zone at every turn.
But he doesn’t have my parents.
He’s got the opposite problem to me. His parents barely know he exists. Mine, on the other hand…
Swallowing, I brush my thumb over my phone screen and wonder how I’m supposed to reply. He’s been texting me all week. Ever since Darian called him and set this whole thing up.
A weekend at the lake with my team. Sounds kind of awesome, actually. Or a little crazy. Things will get out of control. I know they will.
I shouldn’t go.
But I kind of want to.
But I don’t.
It’s not my thing.
I’m not a party guy.
I’m the sensible one.
I’m at Nolan U to get the degree my parents want me to.
Even though I’ll definitely end up working for my father’s company, he still wants that piece of paper hanging on my office wall.
When I got recruited by the Nolan U basketball team, my parents decided it would be all right for me to study there.
The school was offering to cover my tuition and housing, and even though my parents can afford to send me anywhere, they took the free offer.
It helps that Nolan U has a reputable business school, and that’s where they want my focus to be.
Basketball is just a way for me to get educated for free, but I am not supposed to love it as much as I do. My parents would pull me out of Nolan quicker than I could blink if they knew how good I was. They don’t want scouts sniffing around and luring their son to the dark side.
My parents decided that I’m joining their real estate empire and taking over the world. It’s what I’ve been raised to do. There is no other option for me.
Too bad the only thing I want to do is play.
There’s nothing like being on a court—the squeak of sneakers, that bounce of the ball, the sweat, the speed, the adrenaline pumping through me.
But that’s not my future; it’s simply a way to stay physically healthy, which is important to them.
That’s why they let me play in high school.
When I got offered a place on the Nolan U team, they weren’t that happy about it and told Coach I wasn’t there to waste my time on sports.
Thankfully, he convinced them that physical fitness made for better study and that most of the athletes at the school were top-of-the-class students.
I don’t know if that’s actually true, but my parents bought it.
Although, it was the offer of the free ride that really clinched it. I guess they didn’t become multimillionaires by saying no to free lunches, right?
So I can play, just as long as my grades don’t slip and I don’t spend longer on the court and in the gym than I absolutely have to.
The fact that Nolan U isn’t known for its basketball helps.
Scouts don’t tend to linger at our games, and I never show anyone what I’m truly capable of, so I’m safe.
The main thing is, I get to play. I have to make these last three years at college my best…
before I get locked inside the Li Penitentiary, aka Li I’m playing on instinct. My body just knows what to do, where to be. If anything, I have to monitor myself to make sure I don’t get too caught up in instinct mode and give myself away.
It’s situations like this—where I can’t make up my mind—that drive me crazy.
Just go. You want to go.
No, I don’t! It’s not my scene.
“So just say no,” I mutter to myself, my thumbs hovering over the screen as I decide to turn my vague Not sure if I can make it text into an outright I can’t come.
“Jun Hie!” My mother’s voice is accompanied by the standard clip of her heels on our marble floor.
Pock, pock, pock.
She’s sounded like that my whole life. I’m not sure the woman has ever worn a flat shoe. Ever. She’d probably hike in a pair of practical pumps. Not that she’d ever go hiking.
“Jun Hie?” She pushes my bedroom door open, and I sit up straight. She hates it when I slouch.
Resting my hand on my knee, I give her a closed-mouth smile.
She eyes me up, crossing her arms and giving me a stiff nod before gazing around my room.
Yes, Mā. It’s tidy. Everything is in order.
Man, she knows how to make me feel like I’m eight years old, my body tensing as I wait for her to spot something she doesn’t agree with and tell me what I need to fix.
With a delicate sniff, she looks at me, her glossy lips curling into a smile. “I wanted to remind you about the Abbot function we’re attending tomorrow night. You’ll need to wear your tuxedo.” She starts walking toward my closet, and I touch my throat, already feeling the noose around my neck.
I hate wearing a tux. I hate bow ties. I hate having my body restricted by tight fabric and a suit jacket. Yes, it was custom-made for me, but still. I like my clothes loose so my body can breathe and move and—
“I can’t go.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Mā whips around to look at me, her almond eyes demanding answers. And they better be good.
I swallow and stand, needing the advantage of towering over her.
Her gaze follows me, and I still feel like an ant as I try to stand my ground.
“I have a… basketball thing. It’s a team-building weekend. I really need to be there.”
“When did you find out about this?”
“Last week.” I internally cringe, hating how the truth pops out so easily around her. I’ve never been a great liar, especially when it comes to my parents.
“Well, the Abbot function was planned two months ago, and you committed to that first.”
I frown, not remembering committing to anything.
I wasn’t asked, I was told.
“There will be some important business connections we need to make, and we want you at your best.”
No, they don’t. They just want to show me off, boast about my near-perfect grades, then talk about how I’m going to join the family business. They can’t wait for me to start pursuing a future in real estate.
“Your father is hoping to secure the Emmett deal, and it would be good for you to observe him in action. Tomorrow night is unmissable.” Mā gives me a pointed look, and I just stand there, my shoulders slumping when she turns her back to check out my tux.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Spinning back around, she gives me a smile, which quickly fades. “Stand up straight.”
My shoulders automatically ping back, and she lightly pats my chest before gliding out the door.
A ding from my phone has me reaching for it, and I can’t help snickering at the image Mac’s just sent me. He’s standing on the deck with Ben, who’s smiling nicely, while Mac gives me the finger. His smirk is so… him, and I shake my head with a soft laugh.
I never thought I’d become friends with a guy like Finn MacAlister.
We’re opposites in almost every way, but he took me under his wing last year.
I was a terrified freshman, and he seemed to sense that I would lose it without a little help from a friend.
So, he became that friend, even when I didn’t ask him to be.
He’s the last person my parents would ever want me associating with, but there’s something about the guy that makes me feel understood in a way I never have before.
We got on great last year, played good basketball together, hung out between classes.
I helped him maintain his grades so he could keep playing, and he helped me put my laptop away when my brain was fried.
Even though he’s a year ahead of me, we ended up bonding.
And maybe I do really want to be at that lake house, acting like a twenty-year-old man, rather than a tux-wearing mini-Li.
I don’t want to become my father. I don’t want to observe how he secures some big deal so he can buy another building or shopping mall.
So he can demolish another house to build a multistory apartment complex in its place.
None of that stuff lights me up.
My phone dings again.
Mac: Come on, Jimmy Boy. Don’t leave me hangin’.
I smile and shake my head, my insides getting all tight and painful again.
Rubbing my forehead, I stare at my bedroom door.
Then, before I can stop myself, I’m walking through it and heading down the marble staircase.
My socked feet don’t make a sound as I pad through the grand entrance of our house and head toward the sunroom.
My parents always spend the morning in there, drinking tea like they’re lord and lady of the manor.