Pete grabs me a beer from the cooler on the floor, Ollie opens the fridge and starts digging through the questionable contents, and Mickey wraps me in a bear hug even though I saw him earlier today.
I’m tired as fuck and all I really want is to take a hot shower and lie in bed with Maggie, but from the looks on my friends’ faces, I don’t think either of those things is happening very soon.
Ollie fishes a cardboard pizza box out of the fridge and drops it on the table. I eye it skeptically, but he holds his hands up. “It’s fresh, I swear. It’s cold, though. And we can’tuse the microwave because I saw sparks earlier when I was heating up a slice.”
Taking the stool next to Pete, I crack open the beer and take a sip. “So, how was everybody’s break?” I ask. Instead of answering, they all just stare at me, and that checks out. My holiday break has undoubtedly been more eventful than theirs. I mean, yeah, I heard Ollie got tossed out of a bar in Jersey for public nudity, but that’s definitely less newsworthy than the fact that Coach’s niece is upstairs in my bedroom. And that Coach and I aren’t on speaking terms. And that by the time graduation rolls around, Maggie and I will be parents.
“I heard Rosco had a merry Christmas,” I say because Ollie’s head’s about to explode and I love pushing his buttons. “Oh, and Van made out okay at Josie’s. When I dropped him off, I was a little worried, but it sounds like they managed to work things out. Anybody heard from Will? Did he and Mel survive the holidays with his folks?”
“Barely,” Mickey says, shaking his head. “Did you see his snap from this morning? They were supposed to leave this morning, but I guess his car had a flat so they packed everything into his mom’s minivan and the whole damn fam is making the trip.”
Pete lets out a whistle. “Shit. If his parents are on their way, we should probably try to clean this place up a bit.”
I look around the room and do my damnedest to hold back a laugh. There’s only one working light in this room, but that doesn’t hide the fact that this place is a total shithole. I get where Pete’s coming from, but the damage has been done. No amount of mopping or sweeping or tidying up is going to hide the fact that we basically live in squalor. I mean, there’s a toilet in the living room, the guys painted a motivational cock on the kitchen floor, and the steps leading up to our bedrooms are rotting out.
I hate the fact that Maggie has to stay here. Don’t get mewrong. I love that she’s with me, that I get to see her every day and sleep next to her at night, but this place is just nasty and there’s no freaking way we can live here once the baby comes. That’s the main reason I’m putting in as many hours as I can at the ExpressShip warehouse. The hours suck, but the money’s good, and manual labor has never bothered me. I’m trying to sock enough away that Maggie and I can get our own place sooner rather than later.
“What time are they getting here?” Pete asks.
Mickey shrugs. “Who knows. They should’ve been here a couple hours ago, but his mom and Mel found some big craft store outside of Pittsburgh, so they decided to stop. I guess they were in there for a couple hours, so they’re spending the night at a hotel, and they’ll get here around lunch tomorrow.”
Pete nods, flipping through his phone to find Will’s snap. I can’t take my eyes off Ollie, though. He’s practically shaking at this point.
“Are you guys shitting me right now? Are we just gonna sit around and yap about Will’s crazy mom and her obsession with fiber arts?”
Mickey finishes his beer and reaches for mine. “Oh, we can talk about Rosco, too. You know how his family goes on vacation every Christmas? Well, they always go with his parents’ friends, the Campbells. Anyway?—”
Ollie smacks Mickey on the arm and spits out the words he’s been holding back for ten minutes. “Holy freaking shit, Norris. Is it true? Did you get with Coach’s niece? Are you fucking stupid? Also?—”
Mickey smacks Ollie upside the head. “Fuck you, Jablonski. My best friend is not stupid. He’s in love. He didn’t ‘get with’ Coach’s niece. He’s with her. They’re dating. And her name’s Maggie.”
I pick up Mickey’s empty beer can and touch it to the pilfered one in his hand in a silent gesture of cheers. This guyalways has my back, and I know that won’t change even after we tell the team our good news.
Because it is good news. I’m honestly excited to become a dad, but we haven’t made the big announcement yet. It’s not something I wanted to drop in the group chat. I want to tell the guys in person. It’s a good thing break is over in a couple days, though, because our secret won’t keep for long. Maggie’s tees and hoodies might be oversized, but they won’t hide the swell of her belly for much longer.
Ollie’s eyes are bugging out of his head. “You’re dating Coach’s niece?”
I nod as Mickey shoots him a look.
“Maggie, I mean,” Ollie corrects. “You’re dating a girl named Maggie, who happens to be Coach’s niece?”
“Yep,” I say, grabbing a slice of cold pizza and taking a bite. “She’s staying here for a bit. And she’s upstairs waiting for me, so…I’ll catch you guys later.
I’m halfway up the stairs, and I can still hear Ollie bitching. Skipping the top two steps because they made an awful sound when I walked on them earlier today, I hop onto the landing and unlock my door.
Maggie’s curled up in a nest of blankets like I knew she would be. What I didn’t predict is that she’d be nearly naked.
Holy goddamn, Maggie’s beautiful. Even more so now, to be honest. She’s got a bra on and…well, the unmentionables I’m never allowed to name, and she looks so good that I take the world’s quickest shower before climbing into bed next to her. She stirs and lets out a little moan, and I wonder for a moment if her dreams and my thoughts are the same.
I don’t get the chance to find out, though, because my phone buzzes. I fumble it in my hand for a second, trying to silence it, but when I see the name on the screen, my blood goes cold, and all thoughts of cuddling Maggie leave my brain.
Griggs: Did you hear the good news? Curt’s parolehearing was moved up. Looks like you better make plans for a little family reunion.
I’m naked from head to toe, but I still break out in a cold sweat.
Griggs:You don’t feel like talking? That’s fine for now. But you can’t stay quiet forever. You’ve got some questions to answer, Jax.
I slip out of bed and back down the hall to the bathroom, where I step back into the shower. I let the warm water run over my body while I try like hell to calm my mind. How is Curt up for parole? The last I heard, that was a longshot. And I don’t have any answers, not ones they’ll want to hear anyway.
