on my bed, legs crossed with an open Verti pizza box between us. She nibbled on a crust while I read over the last section of the final paper of my undergraduate career. It was about the relationship the black sheep of the family had with the golden child, or lack thereof. For Brick and me, we forged a bond against the will of my paternal grandmother and other relatives on my mother’s side of the family who thought he was no more than a thug. They didn’t understand how we turned out being best friends in spite of their mistreatment of him.
A hard snort blossoming into a giggle had my head lifting. Tori’s face was toward her lap, but eyes on me.
“What’s so funny?”
“I was pissed with you tonight,” she shared.
“Maybe I was mad as hell at you, too.” I wasn’t. Just a peg above annoyed.
It was hard to fully recall now when seeing her so comfortable, properly fucked, fed, and in my tank and boxers.
“But I only went because you wanted to.”
“I did. My frat, Nick, is on the production team. Since I’ve relinquished my role this semester with my fraternity so I could focus on getting ready for the Combine, I need to show up for AOPsi in any capacity I can.”
Tori tossed the picked over crust into the box. We’d demolished damn near the whole pie when it arrived after we showered. “But I didn’t invite your girlfriend and friends to sit with me.”
“You didn’t tell her to get the fuck on either,” I grumbled, typing a sentence I was temporarily inspired to ask.
“I’m not going to do that, Ashton.”
“Well,” I shrugged with my head. “you should. Aivery deserves worse from you.”
Things got quiet for a few seconds. “She asked who you spent your birthday with.” Tori wouldn’t look at me.
I lifted from the laptop and straightened my spine. “Why do you, like everybody else, think I’m already married to Aivery? Or that we’re Prince Charles and Diana, or some shit?”
Her face tightened. “Who?”
“Never mind. I just think people are making too much of two kids who are too young to be making a serious commitment anyway.”
“But you were,” Tori pushed. Bold little thing, she was. “You were going to propose to her.”
“And thank God, I’m not anymore.”
“Because of the guy?” She dropped her eyes. “Because of me?”
“Because of us. Because we’re not ready. Because we’re too young. Because there are other people for us to explore…to help shape who we are before we can say to one another, ‘I know who I am and I’m ready to share all of me with you.’ Because life just serves us fucked up pies every once in a while to reshape us, to reset us.”
And boy, had life just fucked me up with taking my best friend from me. What would life in the League be without him? We had plans to move him out of Newark. Now, I’d be leaving him right there.
“Who else?”
Huhn?
“Who else what?”
“Who else makes you feel pressured to propose to her?”
“Enough to drive me insane. Her family, everybody here on campus, including our friends, my grandmother…you.” I felt my eyes rolling away, sour as hell. “Shit. Even Brick.”
“Brick?” Tori was alarmed.
I shook my head. “I know this shit is about to sound like the straight jacket-level insanity, but I really did miss having you here this week.” My schedule was impossible this semester. I had three ‘social’ dinners with endowers and other BSU supporters this week. It was the rent I paid for the school’s support to me. “When you’re here, Brick visits me.”
Her mouth dropped and suddenly, I regretted sharing that shit. Of course, it sounded crazy.
“My Margaret Maureen hasn’t popped in to see me in years.” Her face held strong. Tori possibly felt as vulnerable as I did. “Does he at least talk to you?”
I thought about that for a second, my regard to the mostly empty pizza box. “I don’t think so. He laughs.” I found her face. “He just laughs.”
Tori’s eyes went wild. “Because you’re with a tomboy?”
I shake my head, thankfully finding some humor in this crazy shit. “No! I don’t think so.”
“Then why?”
I shook my head again, “I think it’s because…” I chewed on my lip. “The day of his funeral. When you came and sat next to me…I didn’t recognize you because I was in this mental flashback of him clowning me about wearing a suit to my wedding. The one with Aivery. He didn’t like