Page 17 of Minor Trouble
I laughed. “Ha, anything but. Perhaps he does take after me.”
“Give him a break. Today’s a good day. Tomorrow might not be. You’ll have to take this a day at a time. You don’t know how he’s going to be feeling in a week, a month.”
“Christ, Maddox, where do you get this stuff from?”
“Aunt Penny is full of it. You want any advice, just come on over.” He punched me on the shoulder. “I’m serious, Seth. You guys should come over for dinner this week.”
“That would be good. Thanks, buddy.”
The ball flew through the air and bounced on the tree behind me, dropping unceremoniously onto my head, then into my sandwich, splattering the contents all over my jeans. I chuckled. Noah’s face registered horror, and he stood stock still, watching for my reaction.
“Good shot!” I called, firing up my arm and pumping the ball back at him. “With a bit more practice you could actually hit me next time!” I grinned, and Noah’s expression relaxed in response.
“Try and be his friend, Seth. That’s what he needs right now.” Maddox looked between the pair of us. “Don’t try to do it all at once.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
Afterwards, we went to the mall just like I’d promised and got Noah the game he wanted. For the first time since he’d arrived, it felt like we were getting along. I didn’t want to mess things up by tackling the homework issue again, so I left it alone.
Eight
Ainsley
“You really landed on your feet with this setup.” Lyla gestured around the living area, now pristine after I’d spent the whole of Saturday unpacking boxes and trying to turn the place into a home. She sat cross-legged on the sofa.
As I was still without a car, I’d roped her in to helping me shop on Sunday for some essential supplies. We’d hit Bed, Bath & Beyond to get pans, plates, dishes, glasses, bedding, cushions, towels, and a small desk, which I’d set up in the second bedroom to double as an office. Now the apartment looked less like a student dorm and more like somewhere I’d enjoy chilling out.
“Thanks for putting me in touch with Marlena.” I poured us both a large glass of wine and handed it to her, while we waited for the pizza to arrive. Yes, Gino’s might have become my new obsession.
She clinked her glass with mine. “Helps to have friends around here, right?”
“Don’t know what I’d have done without you.” I grinned.
“You’d have had to get the bus to school with the kids.” Lyla let out a laugh. “Oh, I’d have paid to see that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. Don’t.”
“When do you get your car back?”
“Tomorrow.” I let out a hard breath. “Seth called me late Friday afternoon. I mean, he’s had the thing for a week, and it was only meant to be a simple job. I’ll have to mark them down on their review.”
“Hon, don’t do that. Cali Cross works on word of mouth. Any indication you’re not a happy customer and it could totally ruin their business.” Lyla shook her head. “Maddox doesn’t deserve that.”
“True. And I suppose it wasn’t him I was dealing with.” An image of Seth Hudson floated into my mind, all toned abs, the wife beater clinging to his muscled torso. The buzzer went, signaling the arrival of the hot pizza guy…no, wait, the hot pizza. Seriously, where was my mind at?
We ate, drank wine, and chatted about school. Lyla gave me an insight into the inter-staff gossip, who was seeing who, who to be friends with, and who to avoid. It was almost like being back at school as a transfer student.
“How did you find your first week?” she asked, slowly sipping the remains of her wine. “I’m trying to make this last. If I have another one, which issotempting, I won’t be able to drive.”
“Ha, you could get an Uber home, and I’ll pick you up in your car tomorrow!”
“Well, you don’t know where I live, and you know I like totryto be early, so we’ll leave the arrangement as it stands.” Lyla reached for the last slice of pizza. “Why does this always taste amazing?”
Before I could answer her original question, my phone pinged with a message. Expecting it to be my mother, I picked it up from the table and looked at the screen.
Unknown: I think I’m gonna need some advice about Noah. Can you help?
My eyes narrowed as I studied the words. I only knew one person called Noah.
