Chapter Six
JEREMY
September 2012
I love college. Even though I think bigger and better things are coming soon, I’m a little sad that my time at Glendale is coming to an end this year. I basically get paid to play the sport I love, and I still get to enjoy parties and hanging out with friends and, of course, the women.
Glendale College was my only choice. I had a few options on the table, including heading to the Midwest to play soccer with a friend of mine at a pretty well-known state school that has a few National Championship titles already. But when I thought about it, I wanted to be the big fish in a small pond. I’d spent enough of my life being the small fish at home, and I wasn’t about to repeat that if I didn’t absolutely have to.
“Hey, Jeremy!” I hear from my left. I turn and give a little wave to the group of girls sitting together, smiles huge on their faces as they eat their salads and bags of veggies.
I appreciate eating healthy – you have to find value in nutrition when your world revolves around your body’s ability to do what you want it to do – but man did I also appreciate Charlie’s ability to wolf down that big ass burger this weekend. I laugh just thinking about the absolutely massive bites she was taking.
I plop my butt down at an empty table, the same one my sister and I sit at every Monday for lunch, and rip open the sandwich I got from the sub shop on campus. Sometimes I stand in line in the Caf with Rachel and just grab whatever is available, but I’m not the one forced to be on a meal plan, and I just can’t stomach that cafeteria crap today.
But before I take a bite, my phone dings with an alert. Digging it out of my pocket, I smile when I see it’s from Charlie.
Charlotte (Rachel’s Hot Roommate): Yes! Lets definitely hit up the drive-in tonight. SO STOKED.
Me: You should be. They’re playing Die Hard. I figure we didn’t really watch it last time, so we could try again. *wink*
Charlotte (Rachel’s Hot Roommate): *blush* Yeah, we were a little preoccupied. Although looking back, I think watching Die Hard would have been more interesting.
I hit call the second I receive her text. It rings twice before she answers, and all I hear is laughter, which makes me smile.
“You think the movie would have been more interesting, huh?” I ask with a smile, knowing she’s just going to continue to laugh.
“Maybe,” she says, stretching out the word, then laughing again.
“You’re pretty cute, you know that, right?”
Her laughter fades off, but I can hear the smile in her voice when she just says “uh huh.”
“What time should I pick you up tonight? You wanna grab dinner first or should we pack a bag of goodies to take with us?”
“Ooooh!” she shouts into the phone. “Definitely a bag of goodies. I’ll take care of that. I knowexactlywhat to bring.”
“Alright, well I’ll pick you up at 6, then. Sound good?”
“Yeah it does,” she replies. She pauses. “I’m really looking forward to spending some more time with you, Jeremy.”
My stomach tightens in the best way, and I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face. I’m pretty sure I look like a clown.
“Alright, pretty girl. See you tonight.”
I stare at my phone once we’ve hung up. This is… different. But, good different. I think. I can’t remember the last time I went on a second date. It’s definitely not happened in college, I can say that for certain. But I’m just… I can’t wait to hear her laugh again.
My good mood continues to grow when Rachel plops down next to me and I see the gross shit in her to-go container from the Caf. Thank sweet baby Jesus I grabbed a sandwich today.
“Hey dude,” she says, before shoveling some potato into her mouth. “What’s up?”
I laugh. “You know the shit they serve in the Caf is going to give you cancer, right?”
She just takes another monster bite and lifts her middle finger at me.
“Not all of us have the option of choosing whatever food we want, mister,” she finally says once she’s swallowed her bite of the chalkiest looking potato I’ve ever seen.
I roll my eyes. “I’d buy you lunch if you’d let me. We both know I have more money than you, and will likelyalwayshave more money than you once I go pro. So justgive in, baby sister. Let me buy you something that doesn’t look like it came out of someone’s butt.”
