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“It’s done,” I said. While I knew Jamie’s assumption he was lying and he’d actually had the photos saved somewhere private was probably true, I still felt a little better about the situation.
Jamie got up to grab a beer from the fridge. “Hey, since I’ve got you both here,” she began as she pulled the tab. She took a long swig as she made her way back to her chair. “I’ve got a bit of news to share. I added another class to my schedule for the upcoming semester, and it’s… on campus.”
Daya’s back straightened, and she squinted at her. “What campus?”
“Uh,” Jamie said, her eyes shifting back and forth. “Indianapolis? Where else would it be?”
“You’re going to drive an hour to and from Indy? How many times a week are you going to do that?”
“Well,” Jamie said, staring down at her beer. “The thing is—I don’t have to drive back and forth. It’s a Tuesday-Thursday class, and I’ve worked out a place to stay in the middle of the week.”
“You have?” Daya hadn’t moved at all since Jamie’s initial announcement. She was frozen, keeping her eyes locked on my sister. Her stare was so intense that even I had to look away as I reached for the wine bottle. “With who?”
“Beth and Shelby. I’ve talked about them before. They’re cool with me crashing at their place.”
Daya was still stiff as a board and holding her stare, but now she wasn’t even asking questions. So I took it upon myself to fill the silence. “What about your job?”
Jamie slowly turned from Daya to me. “Well, nothing’s finalized, but it looks like I would be able to pick up some shifts at the Walgreens near campus while I’m staying there.”
“Oh, good,” I said, my voice coming out even more perky than I intended. I was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t help to remove the tension from the room at all. I licked my lips. “I mean, it’s just for a semester, right?”
Jamie didn’t answer. She was just waiting for Daya to say something. After taking a moment to reflect, Daya leaned onto her elbows on the table and took a deep breath before asking, “Why did you decide all of this without me, James?”
“I didn’t,” Jamie said, shaking her head. “Nothing is finalized. I wanted to get everything in order before I even brought it up to you—either of you,” she said, glancing at me for a second. “I knew you’d both have a bunch of questions, so I made sure I had answers for all of them before I shared anything. I don’t have to do this—but, I mean, I need that class, and this seems like the only way I’m going to be able to take it.”
It made sense. I knew Jamie’s absence wouldn’t affect my day-to-day that much, but Daya had worry etched all over her face. Their relationship had lasted longer than my last three combined, so I knew they could withstand a couple of days apart each week. Daya had nothing to worry about. “So, what class is it?” I asked, trying to ignore my phone buzzing on the table. Now wasn’t the time.
The way I was attempting to divert Jamie’s attention from Daya was taking me right back to my youth, when I would try to change the subject at the dinner table so my parents wouldn’t fight. I was practically a pro.
“Pharmacokinetics,” Jamie answered.
My face scrunched—I couldn’t hide my disgust. “Sounds… fun.”
“It is, actually,” she said with a laugh. Jamie loved being a student. So much, in fact, she’d spent most of her twenties amassing student loan debt while exploring different college majors and programs. She thrived in academia.
We couldn’t have been more different in that respect. ADHD combined with test anxiety made me glad to put my college years behind me. I much preferred being the teacher in the classroom.
“I have to get this class under my belt if I ever want to transfer to pharmacy school, so it’s super necessary,” she said, her eyes shifting to Daya again—she was saying this more for her sake than mine. She nodded toward my phone. “Anyway, what’s Axl Rose up to now?”
I tried not to smile as I picked up my phone.
Mason: Told you you’d be the one saying please.
“Oh my god,” I blurted, my phone slipping through my fingers and dropping to the table with a thud. I hid my eyes with my hands as though the text message wouldn’t be real if I couldn’t see it.
Jamie slid the phone toward her and Daya so they both could read the message.
My sister laughed, but Daya looked up in confusion. “What’s that mean?”
“It means he wants her to beg for the D,” Jamie answered.
I laid my head down on the table and moaned in agony. “You guys. This is the father of one of my students. What am I supposed to do now?” It was going to be one hell of an awkward year if Mason kept making comments like that. I knew exactly what he’d meant when he whispered in my ear before he and Finley left—he certainly wasn’t talking about the Room Parent gig. He was still flirting.
Yet there was some finality to his previous messages—telling me he’d see me next week at drop-off made it clear he understood our date was canceled.
“Just play it by ear,” Daya said just as Jamie muttered, “Maybe you should just fuck him anyway.”
I laughed, but I shook my head to let both of them know I wasn’t even entertaining the idea. “Believe me—I’d like to. He’s…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I knew very little about Mason so far, but something about him drew me in. In a way, I felt a bit of relief knowing we wouldn’t hook up—because I knew those blue eyes of his would pull me under. And getting involved with a man with a kid? I couldn’t see myself in that position. At all. “It’s just not going to happen.”
