10.1
“I have tons of manners,” I protest, but it comes out more like mmph-mmph-mmph because my mouth is full of bread.
“You’re so gross,” Annie says.
“Your son’s angling to be the rich one,” I say, glancing at Nathaniel, who’s apparently too engrossed with what he’s doing on his tablet to pay attention to us. “I settled for my contract already.”
“He says he settled,” Mama Ashby says, rolling her eyes. She passes me in the kitchen, swatting me on the ass with a wooden spoon. “We should all be as lucky to ‘settle’ for getting paid millions of dollars to do what we love.”
“That did sound spoiled, didn’t it?” I ask, laughing.
“Uh, yeah,” Annie says. “Where’s my birthday present, anyway?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie.
“You stole my toast and now you’re reneging on my birthday present? Some older brother you are.”
“You’re awful quiet over there, Nathaniel,” Mama Ashby notes. Nathaniel looks up from his tablet and grunts before swiping something on the screen. When I cross the room to grab Annie’s gift from my bag, Nathaniel tosses me a dirty look, obviously still pissy about the whole Georgina situation.
I should ignore it, but what can I say? I’m an overgrown child and I like pushing Nathaniel's buttons. “He’s just in a mood lately.”
Now Nathaniel gives me an even angrier look. “No reason I can think of for that.”
“Are you two getting on each other’s nerves being roommates?” Mama Ashby asks absently as she reaches into the cupboard for dinner plates and hands them to Annie. “You’re only staying with him until your renovations are done. Right, Adriano?”
“Yeah, if I don’t kill him first,” Nathaniel growls.
“The two of you have always been so close, but you’ve also always been at each other’s throats,” the woman notes. “Everything is a competition with you boys.”
Nathaniel makes a grunting sound from the sofa. "Nothing's changed," he says bitterly.
Nathaniel and I have known each other our whole lives. Even before the Ashbys took Annie and I in, we were best friends. But our version of friendship has always involved a shitload of competition. It's that competition that drove us to be great at football.
Despite being competitive in sports, Nathaniel and I have never gone after the same girl. We’ve never had a reason to before. I’ve been perfectly happy with the girls I hook up with – mostly hot chicks just looking for a good time and nothing else. It’s not that I’m a player; it’s just that I’ve never much seen any reason to tie myself to one woman. I’d rather keep my options open.
Of course, I’ve never exactly been interested in a girl like Georgina Aschberg before, either. She’s way out of my league, that’s for sure – leagues above any of the women I’ve ever hooked up with – smarter, prettier, and just a hell of a lot classier.
Plus, she’s uptight and everyone knows that uptight girls are the wildest in bed. They just need a little push. And I’m the one to give her that push.
Unlike Nathaniel. On the surface, he seems like he’d be more Georgina's type – nerdy, smart, and way too damn serious – but that’s exactly why he’s not right for her. Besides, I can’t even remember the last time he got with a girl. He’s obsessed with football. There’s “work hard, play hard” - that’s my philosophy - and then there’s “work all the fucking time,” which is Nathaniel’s life’s motto.
A girl like Georgina Aschberg needs someone to help her let loose. So, competition? In my eyes, there’s no competition. This race is already won.
Mama Ashby eyes me skeptically. “What are you two competing over? You’re off-season and you’ve already signed a contract.”
“Is that my present?” Annie interrupts, unknowingly letting me dodge a bullet with Nathaniel’s mom right there. She doesn’t wait for me to say yes before she grabs the folder out of my hands and flips it open.
“Okay, help yourself,” I say sarcastically.
Annie looks down at the folder and then up at me. “No way.”
“That's not the real thing,” I explain. “The travel agent just gave me that so I’d have something to give to you so it would be less lame than just saying, ‘Here, I got you a plane ticket.’”
“A plane ticket? Where’s he sending you?” Bess asks, her hand on her hip.
“Europe!” Annie runs at me, slamming into me and throwing her arms around my neck before I can respond.
“I guess you're happy about it?"
“Are you serious? It’s like an open-ended ticket!” Annie yells. “Did you tell him to get it, Nathaniel?”
Nathaniel grins for the first time since we got here. “I didn’t. But I’m glad he saw reason and got it for you. You’ll have a great time.”
“Oh my God. I have to call Lucas and Avery. They’re going to be so stoked. They’re leaving in three weeks. Shit. The restaurant’s not going to let me go.”
“I already talked to your manager,” I tell her. “Besides, you’re going into senior year. You shouldn’t be working at a restaurant. You’re supposed to get something work-study, or at least something that’s going to help you get a job after college. That's what Nathaniel tells me, and you should listen to him since he graduated magna whatever-the-fuck.”
“Watch your language!” Bess yells. “Just because you’re all grown up, doesn’t mean you can drop the f-word in my house.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply, hanging my head.
“Magna cum laude,” Nathaniel corrects.
I snort at the word cum.
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