Chapter 17

“Hang on. I’ll ask Tammy.”

Jay didn’t want to impose on his friends, but he needed a few days to process Drake’s rejection. Before he’d been given that brief look into what it could be like for them he’d been willing to just be Drake’s neighbor and friend. But everything changed when Ross told him Drake thought him pathetic. And then with the sex from yesterday, well, Jay didn’t know that he could just go on being Drake’s pathetic, lonely neighbor. The thought of running into Drake in the hallway or the parking lot made his stomach do flips.

His rent was month to month, so maybe he could just think about moving to a new place. He’d have to give thirty days’ notice, but—

“Tammy says it’s all right with her. We’ve got the spare room, so it should be cool.”

He smiled or tried to, anyway. “Great. Thank you. I’ll try to stay out of your hair as much as possible.”

“It’s okay, Jay.” There was a long pause. “You can talk to me, you know. Tell me what’s going on. I’m not going to judge you and I’m not squicked out by anything.”

That startled a laugh out of Jay. “I’m glad I don’t squick you out, Geoff.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, we’ll see. What time should I be over?”

“Whenever you’re ready. You might want to bring some tea with you. Not sure we have any.”

“Okay, see you soon. Thanks, Geoff.”

“No problem. Bye.”

Jay blew out a breath and got out of bed. He needed to get the duffel bag out of his closet and pack it with some stuff. Maybe Geoff and Tammy would know of a new apartment where he could move. They had a nice apartment themselves, though Jay thought it was probably out of his price range.

Shit, almost anything was out of his price range. He was getting a deal at this place because the building owner had gone to school with his dad. Jay wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise.

Before he left, Jay remembered to stop in his kitchen for the tea, which he also shoved in his duffel bag, along with the charger for his cell phone. Then, after checking to make sure he’d left nothing in the apartment on, Jay locked up and left Drake and his apartment behind.

* * * *

“That was so good, Tammy,” Jay said as he helped her clear the table. “Beats the hell out of leftover pizza.”

“Thanks, sweetie. You don’t eat that every day do you?” Tammy eyed him critically as she put containers of leftovers in the fridge.

“No. Maybe a couple days of week though.”

“What do you eat other days?”

“Salads, sandwiches, easy stuff. I don’t do much cooking.”

“Hmm.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Stop worrying, Mom.”

Tammy laughed. “Well, you’re too skinny.”

He shook his head. “I’m just right. Feel free to mother Geoff though.”

Geoff walked into the kitchen holding a box that looked suspiciously like a board game. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing much. Your girlfriend wants to fatten me up. What’s that?”

“Trivial Pursuit. I figured the three of us can play.”

He sighed. “You two don’t need to entertain me.”

“It’s entertaining us, too,” Tammy said, closing the dishwasher that she had just filled with their dirty dishes.

“I suck at board games. Especially Trivial Pursuit.”

Geoff snorted. “So do we. The three of us can suck together.”

“Oh, great.” Jay rolled his eyes. “We’ll be playing this game all night with none of us capable of beating the others.”

“It’ll be fun,” Geoff said. “We can laugh at each other’s ineptitude.”

He could tell they wouldn’t be talked out of making him play the game, so Jay went ahead and made himself a cup of tea and sat at a card table Geoff had placed in the living room to play. He only hoped neither Geoff nor Tammy would bring up his ill-fated date with Bobby. Knowing him, he’d blurt out everything.

They got through a few rounds, and he’d even managed to score a few wedges, and Jay had begun to relax. This was okay.

“Want some popcorn?” Tammy asked, as she rose after her last turn. “I can pop a couple of bags in the microwave.”

“Sounds good.” Jay had already finished his first cup of tea and was on to his second.

“Be right back.”

Geoff cleared his throat. “So, I thought you were going to see where it could go with Bobby.”

Oh, geez.

Jay pretended to be concentrating on moving his piece on the board. “Didn’t have chemistry. You know how that is.”

“Oh, really? Because he sure seemed in to you.”

Jay shrugged.