Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“Takin’ care o’ yourself, Samwise?” Haymitch claps me on the shoulder as I pass him in the hall. “Findin’ some downtime?”
“Course.”
His head shake is interrupted by a buzz from his phone.
“Bet I know who that is,” I tease.
He grins and saunters off, eyes glued to the screen like never before.
I greet Levi with an arm whack as he types on his couch, and I catch my reflection in the mirrored closet doors on the way to my desk.
My hair is getting gnarly. I always put off haircuts because I hate asking favors, but at this point I might have to suck it up, get someone to take clippers to this mess.
I rake a hand through it. “Dude, my hair’s too long, right?”
Maybe that’s a weird question to ask my roommate, but he helps me with this stuff.
Levi grew up in New England old money world and knows how to look good in any situation.
The last two and a half years I’ve asked him about everything from sneaker colors to how not to regret my life choices at a wedding.
“Not if you love the seventies.”
I chuckle. “Well played. But seriously.”
His hesitation is concerning. My gaze slides to him. “What?”
“You get what you pay for, bro,” he says lightly.
He’s been sitting on this? Embarrassing. Dude rarely gives advice unless directly asked.
I plop onto my couch and grab a ball. “Okay, Jeeves. Lay it on me.”
He closes the laptop. “The haircuts you get on the floor are atrocious. Never do that again. Your hair is wicked cool if you’d just pay for a real cut and buy some product.”
I snort.
“You could have Nick Jonas hair—better—if you’d do something about it.”
“Dude.”
“Really.” He pulls his phone out, already on a mission. “Not everyone can do curly hair, but I know my barber can. Maybe he’ll have a last-minute cancellation.”
“You know too much about this.”
“Genevieve.” He barely glances up. His last high-school girlfriend. The one who messed him up. “Curly hair, very chatty.”
“Ah.”
“Sent you the link.” A sly look appears. “Wait till Sophie sees. Mark my words—her face will justify the price tag.” He stands and sets his laptop on his desk.
I throw some side-eye. I’d trust Levi with my life—and to read the mind of a girl—but I don’t talk to him about her. He’d never spill, but I know he must hate that I’m hiding my feelings from her. He had to wait so long before Kit was honest with him, and it nearly sucked out his soul.
He holds out a hand to catch the ball, settles into his desk chair, and throws it back. It’s bro time.
“Playing in Dontrell Wayne’s league again?” he asks. “When does that start up?”
“March. And yeah … If I’m still here.” Ball to him, ball to me.
“What’s the latest?”
“Coach says he can seal the deal. I dunno.”
“You don’t know if he can, or you don’t know if you want him to?”
“If I want him to. I mean, if it was any other school, I wouldn’t even consider it.
But this was always the dream—mine and my dad’s.
” I try to shrug. “I have another month to decide.” Pressure builds in my chest every time I think about leaving this place.
I bet Levi hasn’t even had to think about next year. He’s with Kit now.
“How’s KitKat?”
He lets out a breathy laugh and scrubs his face. Lovestruck.
“That bad, huh? Tell me about the meet-the-parents over break.”
“I only dragged her out there so she could meet Granny before—” He squeezes the ball, swallowing hard. “She and Kit are so much alike. But with everyone else … Kit fit right in, in the best ways, and she was appalled in the best ways.”
I can see it. Like Levi, Kit has the good posture and intelligent gleam in her eye. They could walk around with Harry and Meghan and no one would blink.
“We got out alive.” He sends the ball back in motion.
“She still nervous about all the money everywhere?”
I watch his face, hoping I didn’t step on his toes. He doesn’t talk about his trust fund or the castle he grew up in on the ocean. But nope, we’re good.
“Yes. But concern is warranted. She and I are on the same page about how we want to live moving forward, and she’s keeping me honest.”
“Moving forward? You think she’s The One?”
A quiet nod.
Man. I knew he was crazy about Kit, but I didn’t think he’d be this sure already.
“That’s big, buddy.” I step over to slap him on the shoulder.
He grins like he won the lottery. He’s not wrong. Kit’s crazy about him and even crazier about Jesus. I couldn’t pick a better lady for him.
“Want to hear a secret?” A rare privilege.
“Out with it.”
“Granny gave me her wedding ring. After she met Kit, she apparently moved things around in her will. Didn’t even tell me, but she called Kit out in the estate documents.”
“Dude, that’s epic. Tell that story to the grandkids someday.” I lower to my own desk chair. “Wait, where are you hiding it?”
“It’s at home. I’ll fly back for it when it’s time.”
I’m terrible, but my head goes swirly. I shake it, snap myself out of the jealousy spiral.
Levi is Mario cheering at the end of the track, while I’m Donkey Kong, driving like a maniac, about to hit a string of Item Boxes—except I dunno if they’re the good kind or the upside-down kind.
I’m trying not to rush it, but I can’t wait forever. Should I have Coach send in the game tape and be done with it? Should I bail on The Game?
“You’ll get there too,” he says. “God’s got this.”
Like he read my mind. He does that. “Yeah. So is Haymitch running soccer practices this year?”
“I’m pushing for that. He killed it last year.”
And we’re out of the touchy-feely zone.