Page 109 of Study Buddies

Lucas examined the pool table, his hands on the smooth wood around the rim. “Where did this come from?”

“When we went to the storage unit to get Jay’s bed, and someone was getting rid of it. No clue why, but it seemed too good to pass up.”

“But how did you get it down here?” Lucas asked.

“With the help of half a baseball team,” Jayden said.

Wow. I would have kind of liked to see that.

It was hard to believe, but the basement looked good. Nearly half of it was a usable space. The other half still resembled a hoarder’s haven—boxes, bins, mismatched furniture, and stacks of books shoved against the walls. But how the hell had they done all this? We were just gone one night, and that made me worry.

Lucas was now examining the bedroom, while Jayden sat on the edge of the bed, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Like Kyle, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but his clothes were a lot looser. Still, he had on a light gray t-shirt that looked good on him.

I leaned against the pool table next to Kyle. Keeping my voice down, I said, “You were supposed to be working on your paper.”

He laughed. “I did. A lot. Jay is almost as much of a slave driver as you are. We got a lot done.”

“We did,” Jayden confirmed. “It’s actually in pretty good shape.”

“Really? You guys are amazing. You did so much.”

Kyle put his arm around my shoulders. “I figure if you and I spend some time polishing it up tomorrow, it should be good to go. I can’t work on it tomorrow night, though. I’ve got a date.” He winked.

Ignoring the fluttery feeling that radiated through my body, I bumped my hip against him and then got up to check out the rest of the new bedroom. “So this is your room, Jayden?”

He nodded.

“And Kyle’s got his room upstairs.” I moved over to Lucas and took his hands in mine. “It’s time for you to take your bedroom back. I’ll sleep on the sofa or hell, I’ll put a sleeping bag on top of the pool table. But you need your own space.”

“So do you,” he said softly.

“This is your house.”

“But you live here, too.”

“Do I?” I looked around, seeing confused faces. “I mean, is this what we’re doing for the rest of the semester or is it just for now? I thought it was just for now when I moved in.”

“We didn’t,” Jayden said.

“But nothing was planned. Within a matter of days, you went from two people living here to four. And we kind of never stopped to figure out the logistics.”

“Like what?” Kyle asked. He was idly twirling the pool cue. I wondered how well he played. He was good at many sports, not just baseball.

“Everything,” Jayden said. “She’s right. We’ve all been so busy with school that we haven’t ever really tried to figure this out.”

“Figure what out?” Lucas asked.

“Cooking. Cleaning. Groceries. Bathroom sharing and schedules. These are things that roommates or housemates should discuss,” Jayden said.

Kyle scowled. “So we’re going to regulate everything? Like chore charts and that crap?” Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of the idea.

“Not over regulated, but don’t you think we should have some semblance of a plan?” I asked. “And I’m going to pay rent, just like Jayden does.”

“That’s not necessary,” Lucas said. He was leaning against the support column in the middle of the basement, but he looked like he might start pacing at any moment. “Our householdexpenses haven’t gone up, and you already pay for your share of the groceries.”

“Probably more, since you eat so much less than we do,” Jayden added.

They were trying to be generous, but they were missing the point.

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