Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
He barked a laugh. “Okay, whatever.” Derek had been the resident goth kid in high school, and we’d immediately connected one afternoon after noticing he’d also ditched the football rally. I’d sat outside with my sketchbook, him with his earbuds and phone—acting like a total e-boy—and a friendship was forged. He loved the skate park and sometimes carried his board around campus with him. He still had the spiky black hair and piercings but had toned it way down since then.
Derek stood up with his beer and motioned to Braxton, the hot bartender, that we were all set. Not that Braxton had ever given me a second glance. He only had eyes for his boyfriend, Tyson, a star lacrosse player. They certainly seemed an unlikely pair.
“No one says I can’t go bug my best friend’s baby brother.”
“Seriously?” I slid off the stool to follow him, my legs feeling like lead. This campus had become my free zone, and now Bailey had invaded it. Derek had always added levity by messing with my brother, but my queasy stomach warned me this setting might feel different.
“I didn’t know they allowed freshmen in here,” Derek teased as he reached my brother. I leaned over to steal a cheese fry from the center of their table, trying to play the part, but it still fell flat in my gut. We used to revel in mocking Bailey and his friends, but the past couple of years left me reeling.
“Great, maybe I should’ve thought harder about my college choices,” Bailey deadpanned. “Is this going to be like high school all over again?”
“Maybe.” Derek mussed Bailey’s hair. “Depends which part you mean.”
“That part,” Bailey said, pulling away and trying to put his perfectly styled hair back in place. Not that there was much to mess with, it was cut pretty short, likely to help his speed in the pool or something. He was so dedicated to the sport that I wouldn’t put it past him. “The part where you act like a pain in my ass.”
“Hey, it wasn’t all bad.” Derek sank down in the nearest seat, but I hung out behind him, not really feeling it. “At least no one bullied you guys, not if we had anything to do with it.”
“True,” Alex mused, possibly recalling the first week of their freshman year when a group of sophomores had called him queer and tried to bully him. They didn’t bother him again after we’d intervened and had some words. After that, he seemed to find his stride, growing more popular and accepted by peers. Being part of the swim team probably helped in that regard. I, on the other hand, preferred to remain on the outskirts anyway.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” Derek quipped, then looked across the table. “Who are your friends?”
I groaned inwardly, my knuckles tightening on the chair. Were we really gonna do this?
“That’s Tim and Dave,” Alex replied. “They live on our floor and are on the swim team too.”
“Is this your brother?” Tim asked Bailey, motioning to Derek.
“I wish,” Bailey muttered, and yeah, that burned. Alex’s eyes flashed to me as if to check on me. Bailey hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “No, that jackass is.”
“What a solid introduction.” I lifted my hand in a wave. “Hey, I’m Remy, and this is my roommate, Derek.”
“You guys are juniors?” Dave asked, and Derek nodded. So Bailey had talked about me to his friends. Or maybe Alex had.
“No fair, we can’t buy drinks yet,” Tim said, eyeing Derek’s beer.
“Maybe they could hook us up with some alcohol.” Tim’s eyes brightened. “Isn’t that what family does?”
Bailey winced. “Probably not the best ide—”
“If Bailey thinks you’re all right,” Derek said, “you’re free to hang out at our place if we’re partying. But you’d have to chip in.”
“Thanks for letting me have a say in my own house.” I scowled, folding my arms across my chest while Derek laughed his ass off. He was only doing this to piss me off. No way he wanted to hang out with a bunch of dudes from the swim team. Let alone freshmen. Though I maybe wouldn’t mind catching up with one of them. When my gaze met Alex’s, he wore a smirk, likely recalling what a jokester Derek could be.
“We’ve already been invited to a couple of parties,” Bailey grumbled. “Maybe there’ll be one at the swim house this weekend.”
That was a thing on campus, apparently, where different sports teams housed together—football, lacrosse, wrestling, and swimming. Sort of like high school but more spread out, thank God. It was enough that I had to see groups of athletes in bars like this, which made me want to find another, more obscure place to hang out. And don’t get me started on the frat dudes. Derek might’ve agreed if he didn’t like partying so much. He mostly smoked weed because, why not? It was legal in our state. And on nights where he partied hard, he thankfully didn’t have to get in the driver’s seat since most things were within walking distance. And now I just sounded like a dad, so I needed to cut that shit out.