I shake my head. “I’m the perfect amount of buzzed.”
Warmth coats my veins, and the noise in my head quiets a bit.
“So, how are you really doing?” she asks. “You’ve got a lot on your plate figuring out what to do with your house on top of an already stressful school year. You’re under a lot of pressure coming off a championship win last season, and now Landon is back in town. I just want to check in on you.”
“I’m fine.”
She drops her chin and gives me a look that saysbullshit.
My shoulders drop. “Look, am I stressed? Of course. This shit with my dad’s house is overwhelming. And I needed Landon to come back into my life like I needed another hole in the head. But it is what it is. I can’t control any of it, and I just have to roll with the punches.” I shrug. “No use complaining about it.”
“It’s not complaining.” Ivori’s eyes widen. “It’s called venting. Getting it off your chest instead of holding it all inside.”
I suck my teeth. “That’s what the gym is for.”
She shakes her head, but she’s smiling. “I think you should keep the house.”
“You’ve only told me ten times.”
“I think you could do it. Put the money into it for repairs. You can do some extra tutoring, or sell feet pics on the internet like everyone else seems to be doing.”
My chin jerks back. “Who’s everyone?”
“I don’t know anyone, but I see a lot of posts about it on social media.”
I rub my temples. “I really don’t want to see what your feed looks like.”
Ivori shoots me a wink. “Or do you?”
I laugh. “I would love to keep this house, but it’s a lot and I don’t know the first thing about repairs.”
My father paid off this house before he passed, and left it to me. At eighteen, I was in no position to sell it, nor did I want to let go of it. But I’m in my thirties now. Should I still be holding onto this house?
“Come on, we can totally go Joanna Gaines mode on this place.”
A laugh bubbles out of me. I’m definitely no Joanna Gaines. I can hammer a nail into a wall to hang a picture, but that’s about it. “I’d have to hire someone to help me. Evan said he’d help in any way he can, but I’m not sure what he’ll be capable of doing.”
Her eyebrow arches. “That man is not as handy as he thinks he is.”
“I don’t know. I think it’d be silly to keep this big house when it’s just me.”
“It won’t be just you forever.”
“You don’t know that.”
Mr. and Mrs. Stevens drive by in their dilapidated Buick, and we lift our hands to wave to each other. Black smoke billows out the back of the exhaust pipe, and I shake my head. “Dude, I can’t believe that car is still going.”
“I can’t believethey’restill going.”
I jab Ivori in her ribs with my elbow. “That’s terrible. They’re such a sweet couple.”
“I wonder if I’ll be that nice when I’m older.”
I snort. “I think you have to start out as a sweet person to end up as one.”
She scoffs. “Gee, thanks.”
“You’ll be more like Dr. Ruth, teaching your grandkids and all their friends about practicing safe sex, and showing them how to roll a condom over a banana.”
