1. Cole
CHAPTER 1
COLE
I think I’m going to commit murder.
“What do you mean you can’t live with me? I already signed the lease. I can’t back out now. Fuck, man, I can only afford this place with you paying half the rent.”
Teddy, one of my good friends, scratches the back of his head giving me a sheepish smile. “Yeah, well, you see. My parents were going to be paying for it, not me, and I kinda fucked up and they’re cutting me off. Apparently, they think I’ll be less of a headache and pain in their ass if I have to live on campus. Something about not partying and fucking everything that moves. Like are they kidding, that’s worse on campus, but when I tried to tell them that they thought I was just bullshitting them.”
I stand frozen, taking in his long-winded explanation. I don’t care about his excuses, all that matters is I’m moving into my new place today and I can’t afford it without him.
What the fuck am I going to do?
“Teddy.” His name comes out as a growl, and he must realize I’m this close to sucker punching him because he shuts up. For a second at least, then he’s back to running his mouth. It’s the only thing he’s good at besides baseball.
“Look, man, I’m sorry. Believe me. I don’t like dropping this on you now.”
And by now, he means when I’m unloading my shit from the back of my old pickup truck. The run-down black Chevy has seen better days—like back in the 80s. Teddy’s Porsche 911 Turbo in a cobalt blue looks extremely out of place beside it.
“Please tell me you have a goddamn plan in place and a replacement for your sorry ass.”
“Um…” He rubs the side of his head. “No.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me.”
“Shit, man. I said I was sorry. Look I’ll help you find a replacement. I doubt they’ll be half as charming, and definitely nowhere near as good looking but I’ll do what I can.” He messes with his shaggy brown hair, clearly nervous and probably still expecting me to punch him.
I should but hitting him would only make me feel better temporarily and that’s not my style anyway.
“I don’t need your help. You’ve already helped enough.”
And by helped, I mean he’s tossed me over a cliff and to the jagged rocks beneath.
I know, I fucking know I could go to my friend Mascen and he’d make sure my costs are covered, but he’s the sole reason I want out on my own so I’m not about to ask him for a fucking favor. Especially one I doubt I’ll ever be able to pay back.
Hefting a box from the back of my pickup, I carry it into the apartment. Teddy, my new Golden Retriever apparently, follows dutifully behind me still muttering about how sorry he is. He doesn’t even make himself useful and carry a box. Typical.
“You don’t understand, I’m walking a fine line with my parents. One more screw up and I’m done, they’re cutting me off for good—like no inheritance forever. If they’re demanding I stay in the dorms, that’s what I’m doing.”
I whip around on the stairs, nearly knocking him down them with the box. My bad—not really. He steadies himself with a hand on the railing.
“You’ve had to know about this for a while or you wouldn’t have a fucking dorm to go back to.”
“Well, actually, I was just going to keep it, that way Jude would basically have a single and it’d be a great on campus party space.” Jude, a junior and a year behind us, is the star wide receiver on the football team. “I swear I wasn’t trying to screw you over or anything. I was looking forward to it. Now that Mascen is pussy whipped it was going to be you and me. The two single bros living the best of their senior year. Throwing parties, getting shit-faced, and getting all the pussy we can. Aldridge is like an all you can eat buffet of the finest girls around.” He throws his arms out and I nearly hurtle my box at him.
“First off, don’t talk about Rory that way. Secondly, if you thought for one minute, I was going to let you turn our apartment into some sort of sex club den thing you’re fucking wrong.” I start up the stairs again so I can put this box down.
Teddy, like our friend Mascen and most of the lucky people at Aldridge unlike myself, are rich. The kind of rich where they could buy their own island if they wanted. Some is new money, like Mascen’s family—his dad is a drummer in a world-famous band—some of it is seriously old money like Teddy’s family. I still don’t know exactly what it is his family does, but I do know he casually mentioned one time that his cousin is married to a prince of Greece. Still haven’t wrapped my head around that one.
Unlike them, if it wasn’t for my talent at basketball, there’s no way I would’ve ever been able to attend Aldridge University. But for some reason they saw something in a poor mixed kid from the middle of nowhere Michigan.
Reaching the apartment, I set the box down and unlock the door. Teddy pushes his way in before me. He has no idea that he’s tap-dancing across my last nerve.
The smell of fresh paint litters the air, stinging my nostrils when I step inside. Despite the chemical smell, I won’t complain. The apartment building is new, built to accommodate the growing amount of people in the area thanks to the university.
Setting the box on the kitchen counter, I turn to Teddy. “Since you’re here already and irritating the shit out of me with your babbling, make yourself useful and unload my truck.”
He laughs like I’m being funny. “Oh,” he sobers when I don’t laugh along, “you’re serious.”
“Yeah.”
He holds out his hands. “You see these hands? Do they look like they do manual labor? No. They’re good for baseball, weightlifting, and fingering pussy.”
“What pussy? The only action your hand gets is from jerking yourself off.”
He slaps a hand to his chest, gasping like a dramatic mother in a period drama when her daughters do some shit she’s not pleased with. Yeah, my sisters have made me watch all that shit.
“You don’t have to cut me like that, Cole. I know you’re mad at me, but you know damn well I have no problem getting girls.”
“There’s shit in my truck waiting for those delicate hands of yours.”
“All right, all right.” He throws his hands up. “I’m going. But don’t think I’ve forgotten about my promise. I’ll find you a new roommate. A great one. The best ever. Better than even me, which is unimaginable, but I’ll make it happen.”
“You do that,” I call after him as he walks out.
I shake my head. It’s laughable to think that Teddy will actually manage to secure me a roommate. Nah, like always I’ll be on my own to dig myself out of a hole.