39. Deacon
Chapter thirty-nine
Deacon
Snow had officially come to Bowling Green, Ohio. The windchill was fierce, and a miserable blanket of final exams and ice covered the campus. I was ready to check out of the scene for a few weeks.
The base in the living room told me Nathan hadn’t left yet. Andre was leaving around six with a buddy of his, and I planned to head out in the next hour. The drive to Detroit wasn’t horrible, but the lack of scenery didn’t make me want to get going anytime soon. I was also giving Lyla a little bit more time to text me before she headed home to Cleveland. Things had shifted between us since dinner with her dad, and I was nervous I had done something to turn her off.
Aaron Brooks was exactly how Lyla described him. Classic Italian dad appearance, clean-cut business persona, and a clear line of attack pointed at any possible flaw Lyla presented to the crowd. We’d been at dinner for an hour, and he insulted her at least five times. What threw me the most was Lyla’s ability to shrug the words off as if they meant nothing. I honestly didn’t think she knew how to respond to a man who was supposed to be rooting for her. He set aside a trust fund, for God’s sake. Why bet on the winning team if you only wanted them to lose?
My phone buzzed on my end table, and I reached over to tap the screen.
Cassie
I hope you have a good break. Lunch when we get back?
I stared at the screen. Lunch? That was the last thing I expected to read today.
Deacon
You too. Yeah, that sounds good.
With my bags packed and ready, I ventured into the living room just in time to witness the end of Nathan and Andre’s game of Madden.
“Are you heading out?” Nathan asked. He tossed the controller in Andre’s lap and ducked before Andre could smack him on the back of the head.
There was a knock at the door, and the three of us looked at each other. Since it was clear none of us were expecting someone, I peered through the peephole. It was Greg.
I opened the door and stepped aside so Nathan and Andre could see our guest. Greg walked right past me and set his bags down in the kitchen.
“Perfect,” he exclaimed. “You’re still here. Nathan, why the fuck don’t you answer your phone?”
“Madden.” Nathan shrugged, falling back into the recliner. “You good?”
Greg put his hands on his hips and glared at Andre. “You don’t answer either.”
Andre threw his hands up in the air. “I put my phone in my bag! ”
Greg looked at me next. “And I didn’t have your number, so I couldn’t really text you. Even though you’re the one I need to talk to the most, I guess.”
I eyed him quizzically. “Why?”
He took a deep breath and glanced from Nathan to Andre. Then he turned to face me head-on, and I knew it wasn’t good. “Leslie broke up with me last night. When I woke up this morning, she left me a note telling me to leave since I wasn’t on the lease. I’m sorry, man, but I need my room back for the semester.”
My stomach fell to the floor. I knew this was a risk when I took Andre’s offer for his extra room, but halfway through the semester? I hoped that if this bomb dropped, it wouldn’t be until we were closer to graduation.
“Sucks, man.” Nathan let out an exaggerated sigh. “Deacon can just use the living room. No big deal.”
Andre offered me a sympathetic smile. “At least it’s just for the semester?”
“You know what, never mind, that’s shitty.” Greg winced. “I’ll just crash in the living room. My shit shouldn’t move you out of a room that you’re technically paying for.”
I recognized the look on his face. The girl he thought was the one broke his heart on a piece of paper. Everything he had planned was going up in flames around him. Another set of Falcon Flames doused because of a girlfriend-initiated breakup. I knew what the right thing to do was. If I had to spend the rest of the semester on a living room couch after Cassie broke up with me, I would’ve lacked the ambition to do anything productive.
“Nah, man. You take the room. It’s yours.”
“I would offer a celebratory drink, but we are fresh out of everything,” Nathan said through a massive grin .
Greg scoffed. “What is there to celebrate?”
“Your new opportunity!” Nathan hopped up from the recliner and grasped Greg’s shoulder. “You just dodged Christmas gifts and Valentine’s Day. Miracles happen in this apartment! Look at Deac!”
Greg shifted his attention to me. “What kind of miracle happened to you, exactly?”
“This man came here completely devastated over his ex-girlfriend.” Nathan grinned. “After two weeks in this apartment, he met Lyla. She’s ridiculously hot, and they are like totally in love.”
“I wouldn’t say devastated ,” I mumbled under my breath. Honestly, all of the content in that sentence and “devastated” was what drew my attention.
Greg adjusted his glasses. “That simple, huh?”
My phone vibrated, and I pulled it from my back pocket.
Lyla
Hey! Sorry I’m just getting back to you. Much needed girl time with Charlie before break. What time should I come next Saturday?
A pathetic grin stretched across my face. I forgot for a moment that Greg asked me a question. I texted Lyla with a time for Saturday and told her to let me know when she made it home.
“Yeah, man,” I said, sounding way too happy for a guy who just lost his privacy for the next few months. “It was that simple.”