Page 42 of Study Buddies

For some reason, he clinked his bottle against mine for the third time and took a long swallow.

“Besides, you paid for that handheld shower thingie.” The old showerhead had corroded and was unusable.

“I’ll try to install it tomorrow. I wish we had time to paint in there.”

I did too, though with so much going on, it wasn’t a priority. It was kind of fun to see the basement transform from the world’s most overcrowded thrift store into a usable space. Though there still wasn’t a big enough area in the main room to bring in a bed for Jayden’s.

I unwrapped my sandwich and he opened the second bag of chips, setting it on the tray in front of us.

As I ate, I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, I wanted to know more about him. “Tell me about your family in Florida, Uncle Jayden.” He’d mentioned something about that in our study group earlier in the semester.

He smiled, setting down his sandwich. “My brother and his wife moved there about two years ago. She’s five months along.”

“Are you close to your brother?”

“Yeah, we get along. But it’s a little harder to keep in touch now that he has a wife and a busy job.”

“Uncle Jayden… I can’t quite get used to the sound of it.”

“Tell me about it. I feel too young to be an uncle.” He grinned. “Too young and cool and good-looking.”

“Then you’ll be the cool uncle.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “But not young and good-looking?”

“Those too, of course.” I said it jokingly even though it was true. But it felt too direct to say that sincerely. Although maybe I could have said it to Kyle? In a weird way, that safeword he’d given me had been kind of freeing. As if I could explore some things I normally wouldn’t in a way that didn’t make me uncomfortable—because I knew there was an easy way out.

“Do you have siblings?” he asked.

“No. It was just me and my mom,” I said. At least it had been until I was twelve.

“She lives in Atlanta, right?”

“No, Macon.”

He cocked his head to the side. “That can’t be that far from Florida. If I ever get in over my head with uncle duties, I might have to call for reinforcements. Do you know anything about babies?”

“Not really. You?”

“Nope. But the internet does.”

“Thank god for that.”

He took a bite of his sandwich as he studied me. Finally, he said, “So what’s the deal with you and your mom?”

I took a bite of my own, chewing slowly before answering. “What do you mean?”

“When I asked about her, your shoulders stiffened. And you got a frown line right there.” He touched the pad of his index finger to a spot between my eyebrows.

“You’re very observant,” I said, still stalling.

He shrugged. “I feel like I’m getting to know you better, and I’m glad for that.”

“Me too.”

He smiled. “And okay, Ihavebeen observing you. You’re much more fun to look at than Lucas or Kyle.”

That was definitely a matter of opinion, and one I didn’t agree with. “You just like my hair.” That much had been obvious since the study group started last year.

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