than I could ever remember. Hours and hours of practice nearly every day. Four years of higher education. This is my life, Bàba. I’d appreciate it if you’d allow me to live it.”
Silence descended on the table. Jasmine didn’t care. She was tired of being made to feel like she was a fool for returning to the path she’d been on for most of her life.
Now that she was this close to her goal, how could she not try to reach it?
Chapter Fifteen
On the day of the benefit, Will hired a chartered car to drive him and Jasmine to and from the event. He knew there would be a bar and he intended to have a couple beers throughout the evening. He also didn’t want Jasmine to have to climb up into the Dodge in a dress. Unlike many of his teammates, he didn’t own more than one vehicle. These days he lived a more practical lifestyle.
As the car pulled up in front of the duplex where Jasmine lived, Will studied the building with an assessing eye. It was hard for him to remove his property investment hat when he visited somewhere new. Although he’d been to Steamy Beans a few times now, this was the first time he’d been to the duplex. He estimated it had been built in the nineteen-eighties based on the postmodern elements he saw in the architecture. The two sections of the home were nearly identical boxes. The right-hand side was recessed slightly from the left-hand side, easing the rigidity of the structure. A single horizontal porch roof slashed across the middle of the buildings, casting the two front doors into gloom.
Although he saw the potential in the property, he noted at least five things he would change on the exterior alone as he walked up to the left-hand door and depressed the doorbell. He intended to keep those opinions to himself, however, knowing they wouldn’t make the right impression on Jasmine’s sister.
It was May who opened the front door to greet him. “Hi, Will,” she said, standing back to allow him entrance. “It’s nice to see you again, especially in that suit.”
He instinctively straightened his tie. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a pale gray shirt and blue-gray tie that he’d been told matched his eyes.
“Thanks,” he said. “Good to see you too.”
“Jasmine’s almost ready.”
“Not a problem. I’m a couple minutes early, and it’s never fun being the first to arrive at these things.”
“You got time for a beer?” she asked, moving into the family room right off the small entrance area. He assumed she was heading to the attached galley-style kitchen. “We’ve got Miller Lite and Bud Light.”
“Really?”
“I know. The classic beer battle. It’s the one thing Danny and Tobias argue about. Thank God they usually go for wine.”
He’d met Jasmine and May’s roommates once at Steamy Beans and found them highly entertaining. “I’ll have a Miller, thanks.”
“You did not just say you’re going to drink a Miller Lite,” came Danny’s voice from the top of the stairs directly in front of the door.
Will glanced up and saw Danny coming down the stairs at a jog. Will took a few steps to his left into the family room to avoid being run down. When Danny reached the bottom, he paused and looked from Will to May in the kitchen. He lowered his head into his hands at the sight of the Miller Lite she held.
“Oh, no,” he said, his voice muffled. “Tobias will never shut up about this.”
Accepting the beer from May, Will said, “If it helps, I’m really more of a craft beer drinker, so I’m not officially siding with either of you.”
Danny lowered his hands. “I’ll have to cling to that. Thanks.”
“Come on in and have a seat, Will,” May said, reaching for the glass of wine sitting on an end table next to one of two overstuffed chairs.
He waited until May sat down and then chose a spot on the couch across from the chairs. “Is Tobias working then?”
“Yep,” she said. “We’re usually on alternating shifts.”
“Ah. Does that make it tough for you, Danny?”
“Not really,” he said from the kitchen. His head was in the fridge. “I’m a freelancer, so I set my own schedule.”
“That’s cool.” Will took a drink of his beer and looked around the room. “You’ve got a nice place here.”
The warm brown leather sofa contrasted in a pleasing way with the ocean blue fabric of the chairs. A well-worn wood chest served as a