Chapter 32 #2
He nodded and looked down at his phone. It was too difficult to let him go, but I had to. I took a few steps back, battling with myself over leaving him alone. When he offered me a tight smile, I swallowed and turned around.
Brooks and Tilian were both in the pool when I got back. They looked at me, their light expressions shifting to concern.
“What happened?” Tilian asked.
“His dad had an accident.”
“Shit. Is he—”
“He’s fine,” I interrupted.
Picking up Dean’s shirt, I held it to my chest silently. My eyes followed the ripples in the water as worst-case scenarios riddled my mind. When my knees felt weak, I crouched and hung my head, trying to calm the way my heart was racing.
“Hey,” Tilian said. I heard him get out of the water, then his hand was on my shoulder. “Is it that bad?”
I shook my head back and forth. “I don’t know what to do. This isn’t . . . I don’t have a family. What does someone do when this happens?”
“Uh, just be there for him? I don’t really know. When bad things happen in my family, I become a nuisance until everyone starts acting right, but that’s different.”
“Spring break is in a couple days,” Brooks pointed out. “He should go home.”
“His mom told him not to,” I said.
“Who cares? He’s not in football right now. What’s stopping him?”
Tilian scolded him softly, but I didn’t hear what he was saying.
While I sat there, I tried to come up with a way to fix this.
I might be able to scrounge up the money to get him a plane ticket.
There were some pieces on my shelf that would sell for a decent amount.
I just didn’t think it would be quick enough to do any good.
If I got him a shitty ticket, I probably had enough on one of my credit cards. I’d paid it down the other day because Dean had marked it in red on my spreadsheet, which meant it was ‘of critical importance.’
God, he’d put in so much effort for me, yet I couldn’t even return the gesture. There was nothing I could do.
“Ah, beans,” Brooks muttered. He nudged my foot, so I looked up at him. He jerked his chin toward the locker room, and not knowing what else to do, I followed him.
There was some fancy fingerprint lock on one of the lockers. He opened it and pulled out his phone and wallet. Flipping it open, he slid out a black card.
“What . . .” I trailed off when he held it out to me.
“Get him a ticket. A nice one. The last thing he needs right now is to sit in the shitty back of the plane.” He shuddered, as if he was reliving some sort of trauma.
I brushed my thumb over the textured front of the card. It was heavy, like it was made of metal. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of money.”
“He’s got, like, fifteen thousand in his checking account,” Tilian said casually. “Don’t get me started on the savings account and the trust fund and the real estate and—” Brooks nudged him hard enough to make him stop talking.
“Wow.” Sitting on one of the benches, I pulled out my phone. “Thank you, Brooks.”
Brooks watched over my shoulder while I looked for flights. “Get two.”
“Why?”
“For you, obviously.”
My thumb paused on the screen. “For . . . me? No, it’s fine.”
“Don’t send him there by himself, dumbass. He needs emotional support. That’s you.”
“He’s not going to want me to go with him. We’ve only been together for a week.”
“And? What’s the holdup? I’ve met Tilian’s parents.”
“Has he met yours?”
The silence that ensued made me glance between them.
I guess that was a no.
“Brooks is right,” Tilian said. “If you care about my probably misguided opinion, I think it’d be good for him to have you there.
It’s not like you have to announce that you’re dating.
Dean’s really close to his family, but he deals with things by himself.
You shouldn’t let him do that. Isn’t that part of being partners? ”
“What if he gets mad that I want to go?”
“Too bad.”
“But we have class tomorrow—”
“We can deal with it. Mr. Pritchard will understand. Just stop bitching and hit add to cart.”
Even though it made me a little nauseous, I added two flights that would go out tonight.
Seeing the total made it feel like I was doing something wrong, but Brooks didn’t say anything as I put in his information.
He even forced me to add the VIP lounge and premium entertainment, as if we’d be able to enjoy anything like that. But maybe it’d be a distraction.
“Thank you,” I said again. “Really, I don’t know how to repay you.”
Brooks shrugged. “Don’t.”
“Bleed him dry,” Tilian whispered conspiratorially.
It was impossible not to smile just a little. “You guys are cute.”
Tilian grinned. “I know.”
“I should find Dean.”
Brooks stepped in front of me and flipped open his wallet again. I blinked a few times when I saw all the green inside. He pulled out a stack cash, then cocked his head as he thumbed through it. Pulling some more out, he added it to the pile and handed it to me.
I shook my head. “No, I have money.”
He rolled his eyes, then stuffed the bills in the band of my swim shorts. After patting the spot a couple of times, he winked.
“Let’s go, baby.” He wrapped an arm around Tilian’s shoulders, bringing him tightly into his side. “We have our own spring break plans to prepare for.”
I watched them leave before I changed out of my wet clothes. Holding onto Dean’s shirt and shoes, I rushed out of the gym. I saw him through the window, pacing barefoot outside while he talked on the phone.
I had no idea how to broach the subject, but I marched up to him as confidently as I could.
“Yeah,” he said. He met my eyes briefly before he focused on the call again. “Alright. Yeah, you too, Blake.”
With a sigh, he pocketed the phone and leaned against the brick. His jeans were still soaked, and he was getting interesting looks from people who passed by. It wasn’t the most important thing right now, but I stepped in front of him and held his shirt out.
Once he was decent again, I swallowed hard. “Let’s get home. You need to pack.”
“Pack?” His brows pulled down. There was a distance in his eyes that made me wonder if he’d actually heard me.
“You’re going to New York.”
“Oli, I told you I can’t.”
“I’ve already got a ticket for you.” I held up my phone. “I’ll talk to Remi about your shifts. Seriously, he won’t have an issue with it.”
“What . . . no.” Shaking his head, he pushed away from the wall and walked off.
My mouth went dry as I chased after him. When I grabbed for his arm, he shook me off.
“Why are you pushing me away?” I asked.
“I can’t just go to New York. God damnit, Oli.” When he reached his car, he stopped and tipped his head back. “Why would you buy a ticket without talking to me?”
“Brooks told me to.”
“Well, that’s your first mistake. Never listen to fucking Brooks.”
“Tilian said it too.”
His eyes rolled up to the sky. “Yeah, well, the guy smokes pure fucking gas every second of the day. Fuck, man.”
“Can you stop swearing so much?”
He met my eyes, and I pursed my lips at what was in them. Not warmth, that was for sure.
“Sorry,” I said quietly. “I shouldn’t ask you that when you’re going through this.”
When he cupped the side of my neck, I looked at him again. This time, the sun shone on his face, turning his eyes to sepia. His expression softened, and I leaned my forehead against his.
“I didn’t mean to snap at you,” he murmured. His fingers stroked the back of my neck. “I appreciate the gesture. I really do. But I can’t let you pay for that.”
“Brooks paid for it.”
He reared back with a scowl. “Are you kidding?”
“Listen to me, Dean.” I cupped his face with both hands.
“This isn’t the time for pride. He wanted to help, so he did.
And before you say anything else, I got non-refundable tickets.
Do you really want to feed into the cycle of corporate greed by letting them take all that money without making them provide the service? ”
“That’s a really fucked up thing to say. Wait, tickets?”
I rolled my lips, then grimaced. “I thought . . . we could both . . . go.”
He just blinked at me.
Bad idea. Really bad idea. I shouldn’t have listened to those two.
“I’m so sorry,” I rushed out. “I didn’t want you to go alone, but I should’ve known you wouldn’t want me to come. Don’t even worry about it, okay? I can take over for you at the bar, then you don’t have to think about anything else.”
“It’s . . . fine.”
I opened my mouth, but a booming voice cut through my thoughts. “Yo, Kennedy!”
A dark-haired man jogged over to us with a smile on his face. I recognized him from the football team, but I’d never spoken to him. His dark green eyes shone in the light, making him look like a god of old.
“Hey, Kai,” Dean said. His eyes darted to me, then back to Kai. “What’s up?”
“Same old. Living my best life. You know how it goes.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Kai’s head cocked. “Shit’s going on, huh? No offense, but I’m not gonna ask about it. I need to get back to Sen. Like I always say, though, ‘Admit defeat, and defeat will surely admit you into permanent custody.’”
“Isn’t that from the Goofy Movie?” I asked.
Turning, he seemed to examine me for a second. “Nope. A hundred percent original. Oli, right?”
“How’d you know?”
“We run in similar circles.” He tapped his temple. “I keep a tab of hostiles and friendlies. Can never be too prepared, yeah?”
I chuckled. “Sure, I guess.”
With a grin, he turned back to Dean. “Anyway, we’re staying at Brooks’ house over spring break.
Holding down the fort while they’re gone.
We were thinking of having a bunch of the guys over to use the pool.
No funny business, though. Brooks would kill us.
” His eyes sparkled, making me wonder if he wanted exactly that.
“Thanks,” Dean said, “but I can’t.”
“Ah, damn.” Looking at me again, Kai lifted a brow. “What about the boyfriend?”
“How did you—”
“I’m a genius. So?”
Dean took my hand, surprising me. “Actually, we’ll be in New York. Both of us.”
Kai’s shoulders slumped, but he perked back up quickly. “Alright. All good. Next time, yeah?”
“We wouldn’t miss it.”
Kai started backpedaling. Pointing at me, he gave me a mock-serious look. “I’m holding you to that. Drag this motherfucker out of the house more. At this rate, he’ll turn into Linc.”
I looked at Dean, feeling the weight of what he’d said.
We were going to New York.