Chapter 2
Dean
Now that the football season was over, I had time on my hands. It was a blessing and a curse because I didn’t know what to do with it. Part of me wanted to be lazy as hell while the other stayed on my ass, chewing me out every time I relaxed.
Right now, I was high, so it was easier to silence the part of me that demanded I work harder, do more. It was never truly gone, and at a certain point, it would break through the weed and possibly give me anxiety, but that was a future me problem.
The door slammed open, making me look up from my textbook. Jay rushed in, and if it was possible, he looked more frantic than usual. He was always moving like he’d lost his asshole or something.
“You good?” I asked.
“Fine,” he replied without looking at me. He threw his comforter back, then huffed and grabbed the binder that was underneath. When he turned around, his eyes narrowed.
Inconspicuously, I nudged my dab pen so it was beneath my leg. I didn’t think it was possible for him to look more pissed off, but he did. I raised a brow, daring him to say something, but after a second, he just shook his head and left the room.
If I’d known he was going to come back, I wouldn’t have been smoking in here. I’d have to make sure I did it somewhere else now. If he went and complained to the university, it wouldn’t be good.
Not for the first time, I took a second to consider getting a different place to live. If I could find roommates, it might actually be cheaper than the dorm. The idea just sat strangely in my stomach.
How did one even go about finding a roommate? Could I qualify for a lease? I had decent credit, but I was broke as hell.
That thought brought the non-relaxed voice back into my head. Football was finished, so I should’ve been looking for a job. I should’ve had one already.
Even though the idea didn’t spark any joy, I pulled up a job-hunting app and started scrolling through.
By the time I got hired and had some cash, it would be too late to get out of my dorm for the semester, but maybe I could start saving.
The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in a room with another guy for the rest of my years at Harmon.
At the very least, I wanted my own room.
A job. That was the first step.
My mom would hate that I was working on top of doing school. I was twenty now, though, and this was a necessary step in my life, which she’d understand. Hopefully.
None of the job listings were great, but I didn’t expect them to be. I was a full-time college student who needed a flexible schedule and couldn’t be picky. If I had to, I would bag groceries a few nights a week. No big deal.
*****
“You’re sure you don’t have anything?” I asked again.
The owner, Marty, crossed his arms over his chest. He looked like what you’d expect from the dad in a nineties sitcom, and something about him made me feel at ease. The look on his face told me he wished he had a better answer for me.
“I’m fully staffed. Try one of the chain stores. They usually have applications open.”
I glanced around the store absently. It was a family-run place, much more inviting than one of the big names. I liked the atmosphere, and when I got myself food to keep at the dorm, I generally came here.
“I will,” I said before shaking his hand.
The truth was, I’d applied at all of those places.
It was easy to do online, but everybody else did the same thing.
All of them were just a name in the system.
This place did in-person, on-paper applications.
Most people would think it was old-school and refuse to put in the effort, but I could tell that Marty appreciated the idea of someone coming in to meet him personally.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t done me any good.
The only thing I could do was wait for a call from one of the hundred places I’d applied. It didn’t help that my car was out of commission right now, so I was trying to stick close to campus.
On my way to the front, I grabbed their cheapest jug of protein powder to save myself the trip next week. It would have to go on one of my credit cards, but I’d manage. I was great at keeping myself afloat against all odds.
After I rang up the jug at self-check, I pulled out my wallet. I was about to swipe my card, but an arm appeared beside me and scanned something.
“Hey, what—” I turned, but when I saw him, I paused.
Oliver was . . . interesting, to put in gently.
There was nothing wrong with the guy, and I honestly didn’t think most people saw him as odd.
But I did. I wasn’t even sure what it was about him that made me feel standoffish.
He was outgoing, but he wasn’t really exuberant—not in the way my friend West was.
That one acted like he was going on his third line all the time, even when he was completely sober.
Oliver, on the other hand, had a look on his face like he was discovering the world for the first time.
He seemed excited but reserved, playful yet cautious, free and contained.
Maybe I was reading him completely wrong. We’d only talked once, at Tilian’s dorm, and even then, we’d hardly said anything to each other. I knew of him from the circles I ran in, and I’d never heard anything bad about him.
I didn’t care enough to seriously break him down, so I just chalked it up to us not having vibes that resonated with each other.
When he looked at me, he smiled. Then, he winked. Why?
“What are you doing?” I asked, resisting the urge to tell him to back off. Seriously, he was basically leaning over me.
He was only about an inch shorter than me, and he wasn’t quite as bulked as I was.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t have brawn.
Oliver was fit in the way of a swimmer, which made sense since he used to be on the team.
He was both broad and muscular, but leaner than I was.
Overall, I wasn’t threatened by him, but I certainly didn’t appreciate the invasion of my privacy.
Taking a step to the side, he held up a card attached to an anime lanyard.
His green-dominant hazel eyes sparkled with mischief.
The color was a contrast against his deep bronze skin and wavy black hair, and I remembered what Brooks had said about him after he left the other night: “Dude could say ‘bark’ and I’d take it a step further and bite him. ”
What did that even mean? I assumed he thought he was hot. Tilian had followed it up with: “If eyes are the window to the soul, his is fucking gorgeous.”
Looking at Oliver, I didn’t really see what they were talking about.
Sure, I could objectively tell he was attractive.
He had the look of a jock who could break the girls’ hearts, but that didn’t make someone special.
I must’ve been missing the appeal because I wasn’t attracted to men.
Although, I was kind of the same about women.
Looks just weren’t nearly enough for me to notice someone.
“Twenty percent off,” he said, dropping his voice low. His eyes darted to the left, then the right.
“Uh, I’m not trying to fuck this place over.”
He laughed, then pointed to his nametag. “I can share it with friends and family, no worries.”
“Oh. Then why’d you make it sound like you were doing something illegal?”
“Cause it felt more fun, but you didn’t play along.”
“Sorry,” I muttered as I swiped my card. I was actually grateful for his annoying interruption because it had saved me four dollars. That was a lot of ramen, so I wouldn’t complain.
“Don’t be. I still had fun with it. What are you doing here?”
I picked up my bag, then quirked a brow. “Um, shopping, obviously.”
“Came all the way here for protein powder? Gotta get those gains, I guess.” He jabbed me in the bicep with two fingers.
With an awkward laugh, I stepped back. “Yeah, I guess. Well, I was also seeing if this place is hiring.”
“Are we?”
“Nope.”
“Ah, damn. I would’ve put in a good word. Have you tried anywhere else? Walmart?”
I glanced around, wishing it was busier in here so I had an excuse to get out of the way. Oliver stared at me expectantly, so I cleared my throat. “Yeah, just thought I’d try here too, y’know?”
“I might have a friend.”
“Um . . . Good for you?”
With a chuckle, he crossed his arms. “A friend who might be looking for help is what I mean.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about it, man. There are a ton of places hiring.”
“For sure.”
“Well, I gotta—” I hiked a thumb over my shoulder. “Thanks for the discount.”
He offered me a polite smile. “See you in class, Dean.”
As soon as I made it outside, I started walking toward campus. It wasn’t raining today, so I didn’t mind going by foot. The fresh air could do wonders for the stressed mind.
It was probably a good thing that store wasn’t hiring. Being cornered into awkward conversations by a classmate was not how I wanted to spend my days.