Page 9 of The Professor
“Yo, Drake,” Liam yells, walking through the rusted gate on the side of the house.
“Hey,” I say, holding up a beer for him.
“Thanks,” he says, taking it from me. “This place really looks like shit.”
“Does it, asshole? I hadn’t noticed.”
He laughs and sits down next to me. “Hope you don’t plan on having a party out here anytime soon.”
I should have known better than asking him to stop by. I wanted a distraction from my thoughts of Emma, but he’s just pissing me off more.
“You just gonna be a prick the entire time or do you want to hear what I have to say?”
“Damn, relax. Alright let’s hear it.”
I take a sip of my beer and point to the property with it. “I want to get this place back to the way my dad had it, but more modern. The entire outside needs as much work as the inside. Since you’re a contractor, I thought I’d hire you.”
“Damn Drake, it’s not gonna be cheap. I’m gonna need to hire plumbers, electricians, roofers, landscapers, masons, and I’ll need to pay my guys. I’m willing to bet this house isn’t up to code on much so there are going to be expenses you don’t anticipate,” he rambles on, looking around.
“I never touched the money that was put in an account for me when my mom died. If that doesn’t cover it, I’ll get it. I want this done. The sooner the better.” I glance over at him and he’s staring at me. “Too many fucking memories man. I need a fresh start.”
He simply nods his head, there’s no explanation needed. He’s looking out at the trees behind my property. “Remember when we were kids and we used to hang out in the woods? I built that fire and when we couldn’t put it out and your old man found us and you took the blame.”
“Yeah I remember. I got my ass beat for that and had to do double the chores for weeks,” I say, staring off at the full, green trees.
“Why’d you do that? You could have told him it was me, he hated me anyway,” he questions.
Laughing, I turn my head to look at him. “That’s why I did it. If I told him it was you, he would have said we couldn’t hang out anymore. I would have rather been punished.”
“Damn, you liked me that much, huh?”
“Nah, I just knew I wouldn’t be able to find another friend that would do anything I said.”
We both laugh and get lost in thought for a few minutes.
“I won’t take pay from this one. I’ll keep it as low as I can,” he says.
“No, I didn’t ask you for that reason. I asked because I know you’re good at what you do.”
“Oh I know I am. Bro, you’ve covered for me more times than I want to remember. It’s my way of saying thanks. I mean I will expect a huge party when it’s done though, with lots of girls. University chicks that are willing to admire my hard work and dick.”
“Always thinking with your dick,” I say, laughing.
“Just like you. I mean wasn’t it you who told me you were thinking of fucking one of your students,” he dryly comments.
“You know damn well that’s not what I said.” Even if it’s what I was thinking I’d never tell him that. He gossips as much as a damn chick. “I told you there was a student who needed more of my attention.”
Lighting a cigarette, he blows a puff of smoke up into the darkening sky. “Same difference.”
We bullshit for a while, thankfully not bringing up my students. He does tell me that he’ll be back tomorrow to assess everything and give me a ballpark figure on what it’s going to cost. I have no doubt it’s going to be expensive as hell, but it’ll be worth it. Putting the past behind me and moving forward. It’s never easy, but fuck it’ll be worth a try.
Chapter 5
Emma
“Emma,what are you doing here so late?”
Looking up, I smile at Makena. “Professor Grayson gave me some amazing material to read over. I guess I hadn’t realized how late it was.”
