36. Jimmy
JIMMY
I finish off the dishes, then head up to my room to strip the bed and wash the sheets. I want to make sure all the spaces I used in the house are left the way I found them. Ben told me Mac’s got a cleaning crew coming in, but I still want to do my part.
I need to do my part. That’s how life works, right? You contribute. You make yourself valuable. I’ve spent my entire life trying to do that.
Neatly folding my clothes, I store them in my bag and then get to work on leaving the room spotless. When I walk downstairs with a bundle of sheets in my arms, I notice that people are still lounging around, not lifting a finger to right this place after the wild party.
Seriously?
Although, I’ve got to admit, they all look super relaxed and… I wonder what that feels like.
“Don’t worry about those, man.” Mac moves toward me. “I’ve got people coming in.”
“I know.” I nod. “Just trying to be helpful.”
Mac gives me a closed-mouth smile, then darts a pointed look at Charli.
She rolls her eyes and turns her back. I have no idea what that’s about, so I turn away to hide my discomfort, heading for the laundry room.
I jolt to a stop when I spot Darian leaning against the doorframe, staring into the space with a sad, angry frown and rubbing the spot where his eyebrow used to be.
I can’t believe Nix did that to him.
Makes me want to stay as far away from her as possible.
Clearing my throat, I indicate my presence, and Darian kind of flinches before standing tall and nodding at me. “Hey, man.”
“Hi.” I’m not sure what else to say, so I just hold up the bundle of linen in my hands.
Darian nods and steps aside, allowing me access to the laundry.
I have no idea why he was standing there staring, but he walks away looking all agitated.
Shaking my head, I load up the machine and get it running, wondering what else I should do before taking my leave.
A few of last night’s partygoers have gone now, and I’m not sure what everyone else is up to throughout the day, but I should probably go.
The longer I’m away, the more pissed off my parents will be, and I might as well get this storm over with so I can get back into their good graces and find some peace.
Clearing my throat, I head upstairs and gather my stuff, saying farewells to everyone on my way to the front door.
It takes me a minute to find Mac, but I make sure to say an extra thank-you as I stand on the back deck and watch him smoke a joint.
He snickers at me. “Stop being so damn polite, Jimmy Li. I’m your friend. You don’t have to do that shit with me.” Taking another drag, he holds it for a second before blowing that disgusting-smelling smoke out of his mouth.
I wrinkle my nose.
“Yeah, yeah.” He sighs, holding up the joint. “I know they’re not good for me. Just need a little help relaxing, you know?”
“You didn’t need them at the start of this year. I thought you’d pulled back on that stuff. What made you take it up again?”
His laughter is short and hard. “Summer.”
“Summer?”
“Moving back home.” He shakes his head. “Should have just fucking gone to Europe or something.” He taps his fingers on the railing, his legs twitching before he leans his forearms on the wood and stares out at the lake.
“I hate my house, man. I just… can’t wait to get back to Nolan, you know?
” He lets out a breathy laugh, but it sounds more like a sigh is being ripped out of his throat.
I know how he feels.
Kind of.
We come from families that make it impossible to relax.
And I love school for that reason too.
But school also equals vast amounts of pressure, and this year will surely be harder than last year, right? The workload will increase. The classes will be more challenging. It’s not like I can just sit back and cruise through the year.
Cruise? When have you ever cruised?
I shake my head with a sigh and murmur, “I’ll catch you on campus, then?”
“You will.” He bobs his head. “I’ll be on the court week after next, just like all these other assholes.” He flicks his chin toward the house.
I let out a soft snicker.
“So maybe we can meet up before practice or something.”
“Sounds good.” I give him a lame thumbs-up, then walk away before he judges me for it.
I’m nearly at my car when Charli comes running out to stop me.
“Jimmy, wait up!”
Spinning with a frown, I grip my bag and ask, “Did I forget something? Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” She laughs out the word, obviously confused by why I’d ask that. “You’re cool.”
“Okay.” I’m still worried because she hasn’t stopped walking toward me. Why does she want to talk to me?
“I just wanted to ask you something before you left.”
“Okay.” My shoulders tense.
“Well, uh…” Tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear, she smiles up at me. “Darian and I have access to a big house just off campus this year, and we were wondering if you’d like to be one of our roommates.”
My lips part in surprise. They want me to what?
“Only if you want to, of course. It’s gonna be me and Darian. Sawyer, obviously, and then we’re asking you and Ben and…” She swallows, scraping her teeth over her bottom lip before muttering, “And Mac. We thought we’d ask Mac.”
My eyebrows rise.
They want me?
Crossing her arms, she scuffs the driveway with her flip-flop. “We thought you’d be a good fit. But obviously no pressure. Just if you want to.”
“Uh…” My mouth opens and shuts a few times as I try to get over my surprise.
I never get invited to do this kind of thing. They want me to live with them? In a big house just off campus? That’s… that’s…
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course. Just let me know as soon as you decide. If it’s a no, I’ll need to invite someone else. We have to be able to cover the rent.”
“How much will that be?”
“I haven’t worked out the final cost yet, but probably around six-fifty per month, maybe a little more, and then we’ll just split the power and internet, all that stuff, six ways. I don’t have those details yet, but we will,” she assures me.
I nod, my brain churning as I try to imagine living with all the people she just listed.
Moving in with Mac would be good. It’d definitely make it easier to keep an eye on him that way.
“We’ll make sure we put some agreed house rules into place, like… no smoking inside.” She grits out the words with a forced smile.
It’s obvious she doesn’t want Mac in there. So why are they inviting him?
I kind of don’t want to join unless he’s definitely there.
“Is, uh… did Mac agree to definitely come?”
She nods, her voice strained. “Yeah, he wants in. Actually, Mac was the one who suggested we ask you, so…”
My lips twitch. I have no idea why that guy rates me. We’re so different, yet we seem to just get along somehow.
And I do like the idea of being able to watch him this year, make sure he doesn’t do anything too crazy. Living in the same house will make that easier.
“So, yeah, just, uh… let me know.” Charli smiles at me, and I give her a small grin in return.
“I’ll message you by tomorrow night.”
“Okay.” Her smile grows a little wider before she spins and heads back into the house.
I watch her walk away, my imagination thrusting me ahead into the college year and what it’d be like to live with all these people.
It’d be so different.
I currently live in a studio apartment by myself.
It’s quiet, for sure. But it’s also lonely.
Driving home, I think about it the entire way, which is a little exhausting. I know I have to make a decision. I can’t leave them hanging if they want to fill that sixth space.
But what should I do?
I can’t do anything to jeopardize my grades, but… the thought of living with people on the basketball team is kind of cool. It might improve our game if we get to know one another better.
You don’t want to improve your game. You need to stay under the radar.
“But it’d be fun,” I whisper.
Oh, like the fun you had this weekend? You hated it.
“Not every second. Sure, I felt out of my depth, but that feeling won’t last forever. If I move in with them, it’ll get less and less, right?”
My brain doesn’t have a quick comeback for that, so I give my head a sharp nod and keep talking to myself.
“I’m sick of being on the outside. I mean… I think I am.” I cringe and mutter, “I don’t know. I don’t know!”
I run a hand through my hair, wishing I didn’t make every decision in my life so damn hard.
I sigh. “They invited me. They want me. That’s kind of huge. I can’t just reject that. And I don’t want to live on my own anymore. These guys could help me lighten up, learn how to have some fun.”
Your parents will hate the idea.
And I have no counterargument for that, because they will.
And trying to persuade them to put their money toward that instead of my little apartment is going to be a really hard sell.
Although, the money I get from my athletic scholarship will be enough to cover the bulk of the rent.
Maybe I should just leave the money out of it.
My parents may be multimillionaires, but they’re tight asses too.
I can just dip into my savings, or heck, not even tell them and use the top-up money they send me every month toward this new place instead of the apartment they arranged for me.
Dude, you have to tell them. Stop being such a pussy.
The voice in my head is sounding just like Mac, and I shake my head. He’s right, even though my brain’s rebelling against the thought of having to be honest with them.
My parents don’t want to hear what I really think and feel… unless I’m agreeing with their choices for my life.
I guess it really comes down to… do I want to put in the effort it’ll take to convince them?
Do I have it in me to fight this battle?
Or do I take the easy route and just do what they want me to?
The second I pull into the garage, the internal door swings open and my mother is coming down the stairs demanding details.
“What did you do? What team-building exercises did you take part in?” She follows me back into the house, yapping at my heels. “Or was this some drunken orgy?”
My skin flushes. I am not about to admit to the blow job.