Defenseman No. 9 - Xavier Neal Page 0,23
on not contributing much to other subjects.”
Sounds exactly right about Peck.
I’ve only spent the last day and a half with the dude and already know if it doesn’t involve their beloved sport, he doesn’t have much to say.
I get the vibe that the chicks he hooks up with are either die-hard fans or do all the talking.
“Still,” I pull at the legs of my tropical print swim trunks, “I’m sure he’s mentioned the program idea at least once.”
They each shake their head.
“Seriously? You guys aren’t fucking with me?”
They shake their heads once more.
“He’s seriously never brought up the fact his major was originally pre-med or-”
“Cheeseandrice!” Tatum interjects in outrage. “Did you say pre-med?! His original major was in pre-med?! Do you have any idea how low the percentage is for those who enroll in that program and actually finish it is?”
“Uh…no? But I get the feeling you do.”
“She knows a lot of math shit,” Mo jovially informs.
“Depending on the data you use will depend on the number you get but at Vlasta, the number of pre-meds students that switch majors is sixty-three percent.” She swings her legs to the edge of her chair to let her body completely face me. “The fact you said originally informs me Rhinehart is one of those individuals that makes up that dishearteningly high statistic.”
“Yeah, but not because he couldn’t handle the presh.” A proud grin grows on my face. “It was because he discovered his fascination wasn’t with all of the human body so much as the relationship between the human body and food. He didn’t wanna waste hours dabbling in other bullshit when he could focus everything he had on doing shit he was passionate about.”
“I think we all can all relate to that,” Poppy quietly sighs.
“Hugo prefers to only dedicate his energy to tasks and people that matter to him. And, that list, unlike my best friend, is pretty fucking short.” I slyly state on a smile. “But, you can all rest assured, your asses, and your boyfriends’ asses, are on it.”
“Whoa whoa whoa,” Mo sharply turns on her chair to completely face me too, “you can’t just say that shit and not give us details.”
“You knew about us?” Poppy nervously questions. “Like before yesterday?”
“I’ve known about you,” I casually point to her, “since an air hockey competition sophomore year,” my finger moves to Tatum, “you since the Risky Business ensemble I was hella jealous I couldn’t pull off,” my gesture moves once more as does my frame, “and you since you threatened to bear mace his other best friend at the gym.”
“You did what?!” Poppy and Tatum squawk in tandem at the same time they turn to her.
“Long story.” Mo cockily chuckles it off. “Let’s skip that one and find out how you know all this shit about us, but we don’t know dick about you.”
“Well, let me start by saying my dick is fabulous, and one of the most beautiful things about me.” I lightly chortle and lean back onto my palms. “And, if I had to venture a guess why I know all about you and you don’t know shit about me…I’d say it’s because you probably haven’t asked.”
The three sets of brown stares on me narrow in scrutiny.
“Hugo doesn’t exactly volunteer personal shit out. You wanna know something you gotta ask. Invest time in talking to him. I swear he’ll never just take your investment and run. He’ll always wanna help those he cares about. That’s just the kinda guy he is.” Another smirk saunters onto my face. “Always been.”
Mo tosses me an incredulous nod. “You’ve known him even longer than G, huh?”
“Since we were ten.”
More questions instantly flood their eyes; however, I’m no longer interested in oversharing my best friend’s soul to people he may not be ready to share all his beautiful shades with.
“Quick quesh for all of you…” I steal a swift glance of the water where the boys appear to be wiping out left and right. “Am I really the first person he’s brought around or are you all just doing that thing where you’re trying to make me feel special? Because I don’t need that fake shit. I prefer real talk.”
“Oh, that’s gonna be a Poppy question,” Tatum quickly replies. “She’s been around the longest.”
“Ohmygod, I have!” Her excitement is echoed by the wiggling of her nose. “That’s so crazy! I swear we’ve all been hanging out for like forever.”
“What’s crazy is the amount of dog clothing you own,” Mo mumbles not so