“Interesting,” I say.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, it’s interesting that you see the proposal of me asking someone to Homecoming on social media, and you call me about it, yet you haven’t had time to call me all week. I even broke down and texted you twice. It’s hard to be BFFs with you when you don’t have time to respond. Good to hear from you, Dani. But I gotta go.”
And then I hang up.
Lacey is waiting for me by my truck.
She leaps into my arms and kisses me.
“That was amazing, Chase. Thank you. For asking me. For doing it up big. In front of everyone. On Senior Night. It was perfect. Really. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that before you went home.”
“You want to hang out tonight?” I ask her, totally breaking my usual routine.
“Like, at your house?”
“Actually, I thought maybe we could go out after the game. Celebrate. Any parties tonight?”
“Of course there are.” She kisses me again. This time more passionately. “I don’t know what has caused this change in you, Chase, but I like it.”
“I was always planning to ask you, Lacey. And don’t think this will be a habit or anything, but it’s a special night, right?”
“Yeah, Chase, it is.”
Always loved him.
Devaney
I’m staring at my phone, shocked that Chase just hung up on me. He’s never done anything like that before.
I know I should have called him this week or responded to his texts, but I really have been busy. And tired.
Alyssa wanted me to go to a frat party with her tonight, but I just wanted to curl up in bed and finally call Chase. I knew he’d be home after his game, like always, and I figured we’d actually have time to talk. In fact, I was going to suggest that’s what we do. Sort of make it a weekly thing. What I didn’t expect was to have his homecoming proposal pop up first thing on my feed while I was waiting for him to get home.
Or how bad it would make me feel.
I had such an epiphany on his birthday. I realized so clearly that I’d been worrying too much about impressing people I didn’t care that much about. And although I’ve been very careful about that during my short time here at college, only focusing on building relationships here with people I respect, I realize that I completely screwed things up with Chase.
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. I think I’ll just cry myself to sleep now.
But then my phone rings in my hand. It’s Chase’s mom.
“Hey,” I say, quickly answering.
“Dani, hi. I know it’s late, but I just got into town. And I was wondering, if you aren’t at some totally cool party, would you want to do something with me?”
“Uh, sure. I actually just got home. It’s been a long week.”
“Oh, well, this can wait until tomorrow.”
“No. What’s up?”
“I really need to just show you, if that’s okay. I haven’t shared my idea with anyone else yet, and I wanted to run it by you first. I can pick you up outside your dorm in about five minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll be ready,” I tell her.
I hop in the car when she pulls up. “What are you doing, coming up here this late?”
“I left after the end of the third quarter since the team was way ahead. I wanted to get here to try to figure some stuff out.”
She drives us a few blocks from campus to an area filled with restaurants and shops. It’s a busy area, but she seems to know exactly where she’s going, and she parks in a reserved spot.
When we get out, I’m surprised to find a realtor waiting for us. Jadyn introduces me, and we’re taken up over one of the restaurants to a new condo project.
The realtor starts talking, “Historical building. Wide-open loft-style condos. Two bedrooms each.”
Inside each condo, we find really cool spaces. Exposed brick, lots of old wood, but modern furnishing and fixtures.
“It would be so cool to live somewhere like this,” I say.
“I’m considering buying it,” she says. “We come up for most home games, and it would be really nice not to have to deal with hotel rooms for our families.”
“But how would that work? This only has two bedrooms.”
She laughs. “Well, I was thinking maybe you and Haley could eventually share one. Maybe one could be for Damon and Chase and a few more for when we visit. There are just five units, so I would have to buy them all. But I have a crazy idea that might work out better.”
“Do you want to go see the other building now?” the realtor asks.
“Yes, please,” Jadyn says.
“Just what are you up to?” I ask her as we walk across the street and then down half a block.
This area is actually just slightly closer to campus, if we’re counting steps.
“It’s a little rough,” the realtor says, “but it’s certainly got potential.”
Now, we’re standing in what looks like an old storage area. It’s run-down, and there’s possibly a hole in the roof based on some water on the floor.
“You want to buy this?” I ask.
“Yeah. Look at the bones of the place,” she says, a big grin on her face. “Exposed brick, old wood floors, crown molding. If I renovated this building, everyone would have their own spaces, and it would be custom-designed just for us. Private, secure entry. Rooftop outdoor space. It would have wings that could be wide open or closed off. But basically, if you, Chase, Damon, and Haley wanted to live here, you could. And we’d have places to stay during football and volleyball weekends. Haley is already being recruited and given them a verbal commitment. I could see a big gathering area. Like our own sports bar. Full kitchen. Lots of couches and televisions.”
“I’ve seen areas like that in big apartment complexes.”
“Yes, sort of like that. Only private.”
“And I could live here?”
“Well, that would be up to you. You all have to live on campus your freshman year. And you might want to live in the sorority house after that. So, it wouldn’t be required. But I will tell you that your father, Phillip, and I shared a townhouse from my sophomore year on, and it was some of the best times in my life. You’d have to put up with us during home game weekends, but for the most part, you’d have the whole place to yourselves. I also think it would be a great investment.”
“Could you put in an office?” I ask.
“Like for studying?”
“No, for Hierarchy.”
“Oh, they decided to change the name. But, yes, that’s a great idea. I heard the idea was conceived during the first trip to the Ozarks.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Any chance you’ll join us next year? We miss having you there.”
“Maybe. The four of us talked about doing the company together. I know they started it this year—without me—but maybe someday, I’ll be part of it again.”
She turns to the realtor. “Can we see the rooftop space before we go?”
“Of course.”
She takes us up there, and the view is pretty cool.