Chapter Six
JEREMY
September 2012
I love college. Even though I think bigger and better things are coming soon, I’m a little sad that my time at Glendale is coming to an end this year. I basically get paid to play the sport I love, and I still get to enjoy parties and hanging out with friends and, of course, the women.
Glendale College was my only choice. I had a few options on the table, including heading to the Midwest to play soccer with a friend of mine at a pretty well-known state school that has a few National Championship titles already. But when I thought about it, I wanted to be the big fish in a small pond. I’d spent enough of my life being the small fish at home, and I wasn’t about to repeat that if I didn’t absolutely have to.
“Hey, Jeremy!” I hear from my left. I turn and give a little wave to the group of girls sitting together, smiles huge on their faces as they eat their salads and bags of veggies.
I appreciate eating healthy – you have to find value in nutrition when your world revolves around your body’s ability to do what you want it to do – but man did I also appreciate Charlie’s ability to wolf down that big ass burger this weekend. I laugh just thinking about the absolutely massive bites she was taking.
I plop my butt down at an empty table, the same one my sister and I sit at every Monday for lunch, and rip open the sandwich I got from the sub shop on campus. Sometimes I stand in line in the Caf with Rachel and just grab whatever is available, but I’m not the one forced to be on a meal plan, and I just can’t stomach that cafeteria crap today.
But before I take a bite, my phone dings with an alert. Digging it out of my pocket, I smile when I see it’s from Charlie.
Charlotte (Rachel’s Hot Roommate): Yes! Lets definitely hit up the drive-in tonight. SO STOKED.
Me: You should be. They’re playing Die Hard. I figure we didn’t really watch it last time, so we could try again. *wink*
Charlotte (Rachel’s Hot Roommate): *blush* Yeah, we were a little preoccupied. Although looking back, I think watching Die Hard would have been more interesting.
I hit call the second I receive her text. It rings twice before she answers, and all I hear is laughter, which makes me smile.
“You think the movie would have been more interesting, huh?” I ask with a smile, knowing she’s just going to continue to laugh.
“Maybe,” she says, stretching out the word, then laughing again.
“You’re pretty cute, you know that, right?”
Her laughter fades off, but I can hear the smile in her voice when she just says “uh huh.”
“What time should I pick you up tonight? You wanna grab dinner first or should we pack a bag of goodies to take with us?”
“Ooooh!” she shouts into the phone. “Definitely a bag of goodies. I’ll take care of that. I know exactly what to bring.”
“Alright, well I’ll pick you up at 6, then. Sound good?”
“Yeah it does,” she replies. She pauses. “I’m really looking forward to spending some more time with you, Jeremy.”
My stomach tightens in the best way, and I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face. I’m pretty sure I look like a clown.
“Alright, pretty girl. See you tonight.”
I stare at my phone once we’ve hung up. This is… different. But, good different. I think. I can’t remember the last time I went on a second date. It’s definitely not happened in college, I can say that for certain. But I’m just… I can’t wait to hear her laugh again.
My good mood continues to grow when Rachel plops down next to me and I see the gross shit in her to-go container from the Caf. Thank sweet baby Jesus I grabbed a sandwich today.
“Hey dude,” she says, before shoveling some potato into her mouth. “What’s up?”
I laugh. “You know the shit they serve in the Caf is going to give you cancer, right?”
She just takes another monster bite and lifts her middle finger at me.
“Not all of us have the option of choosing whatever food we want, mister,” she finally says once she’s swallowed her bite of the chalkiest looking potato I’ve ever seen.
I roll my eyes. “I’d buy you lunch if you’d let me. We both know I have more money than you, and will likely always have more money than you once I go pro. So just give in, baby sister. Let me buy you something that doesn’t look like it came out of someone’s butt.”
She laughs. “Fine,” she says on a sigh. “I give in. Moving forward, just bring me something to eat on Mondays. Or maybe we could try eating off-campus.”
I nod. “Finally, you see my wisdom.”
We spend the next twenty or so minutes catching up on how school and soccer have been for both of us. Rachel is about two months in to playing for the women’s team here at Glendale, and she’s really enjoying it so far. But there’s some bitch on the team that gives her sass all the time. After she’s done complaining about one of her teammates, I decide to dip my toe into the water.
“So, how’s that roommate of yours doing? She get up to anything fun this weekend?” I ask.
Rachel always gets mad when I hook up with people she knows, and being an awesome big brother, sometimes I like to tease her a little. But this time, I want to test the waters and see how she’d feel about me and Charlie. Because if my instincts are correct, this very well could turn into something.
Which is why I’m shocked at the barely controlled disgust I see morphing on her face.
“You’re a 21-year-old senior in college,” she growls. “What? You’ve already stuck your dick in everyone your own age and have to move on to the barely legal? You’re so gross.” My mouth drops open and I scoff, preparing a response when she comes at me again, jabbing a finger into my chest. “You should be embarrassed that you have to troll for freshmen to get laid.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if I appeal to everyone,” I say with a shrug. But really, what am I supposed to say?
We’ve already done the deed, so you can’t be mad.
Yeah, I’m sure that will go over really well. “Besides, Charlie didn’t seem to have an issue with me.”
Rachel’s eyes narrow and I see her wheels turning. “She is completely off-limits.”
I just smirk at her. When has anyone ever been off-limits? That’s ridiculous.
“I’m serious Jer!” she cries out. “You’ve fucked and chucked enough girls this year. Leave. Her. Alone.”
I frown at her. “Hey, I don’t fuck and chuck, Rachel. That implication about my character is just rude. I’m offended.”
But she’s not done.
“Oh really? So Andi, Rebecca, Jennifer… they were serious girlfriends?”
I hide my smile as I remember the gorgeous seniors from Rachel’s soccer team. Yeah, they were still in high school, but I was twenty and they were eighteen and having fun on spring break. Sue me.
“You can’t pull out one example of exercising my right to get in some physical exercise from over a year ago and make it sound like that’s how I live my entire life, Rach.”
I pause trying to sound sincere without being obvious. “What if I really like Charlie? I can do the whole… dating thing.”
But she just closes her eyes and sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose like I’m causing her all kinds of problems.
“Jer, you know I have a hard time making friends. Charlie and I get along really well, and I don’t want anything to ruin that.”
Then she looks me right in the face with eyes that are so sincere, and a little bit sad, and I know I’m going to hate what she says next.
“Please. I am begging you. Turn your penis off for one minute and do your lonely, friendless sister a solid. Pretend. Charlie. Doesn’t. Exist.”
My stomach tightens again, but this time in discomfort.
Figures.
The first time I feel a real connection with someone, something deep and light at the same time, and it becomes something off-limits.
But what am I supposed to do? Tell my sister that I’ve already taken Charlie on a date? Let her know that both of us technically snuck around behind her back? I can’t promise her that things with Charlie will last – hell, I can barely plan out my week, let alone try to decide what things will look like in a few months.
So what can I do except agree?
I look back at Rachel, who looks so desperate to keep this friendship, and I let out a resigned breath.
“You have my word. From here on out, Charlie doesn’t exist.”
She lets out a sigh of relief and tilts her head back, whispering, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou.”
I smile a little, glad I was able to make my sister happy. But the smile isn’t completely genuine, since that pit in my stomach keeps growing.
And I can’t help but wonder if I’ve done the right thing.