Page 37 of Untouchable Player

“Could you find Nate for me please and check he’s okay? If he’s not at Katie’s place, he’ll be at the library.”

I agree, not just to be polite, but because it’s what I wanted to do anyway.

Jones throws his car keys at me.

“Take these,” he says, “Mom, you’ve got your car right?”

She nods.

It’s not the first time I’ve drove Jones’ car. Occasionally I’ll be the designated driver at a party, though people don’t usuallytrust me to do things like that. I’d never drink and drive, so it pisses me off when people think that.

I have no idea where Katie lives, so I drive to the library and park next to a beaten-up Ford Escort and lock Jones’ car.

The main part of the library is mostly modern, with floating shelves and colourful swivel chairs, but there’s a reading room that looks like something from a Harry Potter movie. All dark wood and stained-glass windows. For some reason, I can’t imagine Nate studying by the floating shelves when he could have that dark academia shit.

I’m right, and I find him sitting at one of the long desks by a window with a book open.

My shoes make too much noise as I walk behind the people sitting at the green lamps, bent over their books and laptops. He looks up before I reach him and I can tell he’s surprised to see me.

I whisper so I don’t piss everyone off. “Your mom asked me to check on you.”

“My mom?”

“I was with Jones… Harrison when he went to The Hilton to see her.”

A dark cloud comes over Nate’s face. “Is she okay?”

“She looked okay. Harrison’s probably going to take her to lunch or something.”

Nate looks down at his book.

“Want me to leave you alone? I’ll tell her you’re okay.”

He shuts the book a little more loudly than I expected him too.

“No, let’s go hit something.”

Nate isn’t surprised to find me driving his brother’s car. He hooks his phone up to the Bluetooth and asks me what music I want to listen to.

“I don’t care, you choose.”

“You don’t like all that shit Harrison listens to do you?”

No, I don’t, but I also don’t want to shit talk my captain behind his back. Nate’s his brother, it’s allowed. A different kind of bro code. Talking of which… should I really be going anywhere with Nate right now when I’m supposed to just be checking on him? That’s what I’m doing right? Checking on him.

“Come on, tell me what you like.”

I pass him my phone and tell him the password. “1 2 3 4.”

“Please tell me that’s not your password.”

“What? I don’t have anything to steal, or hide.”

Well, that last one isn’t really true, but I don’t have gay hook-up apps just open on my phone for people to find either.

“Go on Spotify and open the most recent playlist.”

I can feel my face getting hot, but I tell myself to stop being stupid. So what if he thinks my taste in music is lame?

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