Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Ah, not again!” Colton shouted as his character got hit with a lightning bolt and flew off the screen.
“Sorry,” I said as I whipped past him and took first place.
For the fifth time.
“All right, I need a break.” Colton put the controller down. “There’s only so many ass-whoopings a guy can take in a day.”
“I think you can handle one more.”
“Is that what you say to your dates?” Colton teased. He was straight but a complete ally, so I didn’t care about joking around with him.
“Depends on how much they’re shaking.”
“You’re wild, bro.”
I shrugged and smiled. “You asked.”
The door to the dorm opened, and in walked Jay, looking surprised as hell to see me there. Which was odd, considering this was my dorm too.
He looked cute today, wearing dark gray shorts, cuffed so that they sat a bit higher up his legs. His pink-and-black shirt was from a Lady Gaga concert he must have gone to, slightly oversized. Next to him was someone I only recognized from a few posts Jay had made on his social media. Not that I spent an afternoon scrolling through all his photos and posts like a creepazoid.
Nope. Not at all.
“You’re here,” Jay said, dark brows inching together. “Aren’t you supposed to be in rowing practice?”
“Canceled,” I said, my eyebrows mirroring his. “How’d you know that?”
“I remember things like that.” He turned on his heel and grabbed his pink-haired friend by the elbow. “Come on, let’s hang somewhere else instead.”
“Hold on, hold on.” The girl snaked her arm out of Jay’s grip and pointed at me, her brightly painted fingernails catching my eye. “Mr. Redpine Global in the flesh. You don’t look as airbrushed as your Insta pics show.”
What the hell? Was Jay talking shit about me? Also I didn’t Facetune. Except maybe one or two pictures…
“That’s my last name, yeah. Well, Redpine. Not Global. Whatever, why does it matter?”
“Well, because—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jay said, cutting her off.
I cocked my head, looking at Jay with a narrowed gaze.
“Okay, clearly there’s some tension here,” she said, moving her hands in a circular motion before holding one out. “I’m Maddy, Jay’s bestie.”
I crossed my arms. A little skeptical. “Hi, Maddy. This is Colton, my bestie.”
With introductions over, I noticed Jay was back to trying to get Maddy out of the dorm. But I had another idea. I waved one of the controllers in the air. “Hold up, you guys want to play a few rounds? I just got this game. The reviews all said four players is when the game’s the funnest.”
Maddy said, “Hells yeah,” at the same time as Jay’s “Fuck no.”
But Maddy already seemed to have made up her mind. She turned and whispered, “Sorry I’m a chaos demon,” into Jay’s ear, loud enough for us all to hear.
We gathered around the TV. It was a good setup, and it wasn’t long before we were all laughing and cheering when one of us would get first or another would end dead last. It was cool to see how quickly ice could be broken with a video game.
“Whoa, whoa, Ryan! Not another ink pot,” Maddy said, giving me a friendly punch to the shoulder.
“Sorry, I’m a competitive guy.”
“That’s why he’s played—and been good at—almost every single damn sport there is,” Colton added.
“Is there a sport for being the loudest snorer?” Jay asked.
I looked at him, my character driving off the track. “I don’t snore, man, don’t say that.”
“I’ve got you recorded.”
“You recorded me in my sleep?”
It was Jay’s turn to drive off the track. “Not like visually, no. I mean I did an audio recording ’cause I knew you’d deny it.”
“I’m fucking with you,” I said, laughing. “I know I snore, I’m sorry. I think it’s genetic.”
Maddy interjected. “Ryan might snore, but Jay drools. A lot. I’ve seen him pass out on his textbooks before. They never look the same.”
“Maddy!” Jay’s face got cherry red. I started cracking up, my character crossing the finish line at number one.
It was really great to see how quickly the four of us vibed together. Even with Jay’s initial hesitation about staying, that was all forgotten. We continued to joke around and tease each other as the upbeat video game soundtrack filled the room, mixing with our laughter. We played a few more rounds before Colton said he had to head out and study for a test. Maddy said she had to do the same and left pretty much right after.
I turned the video game off and sat on my bed, cross-legged, facing Jay’s bed.
It was only us now.
“Why do you hate me because my last name’s Redpine?” I decided to ask it point-blank. That was it. Rip it off like a Band-Aid—that’s how my mom always taught me to deal with problems. Very opposite to what my dad tried to teach: bury my problems in money.