“Hey, sweetheart.” My dad’s voice filled the car as I turned down the music, and the last of the tension from the conversation with my mom melted away at such a normal interaction. “How’s your Sunday going?”
“Not bad, heading to the library to study a bit and check out some books since this week is spring break. Want to get the last of my schoolwork done so I can relax. How’s it going on the coast?”
“Pretty good. Having a taste test today with a few more brews as well as some of the barrels that are going to be pulled out for a wedding coming up in a few months. Going to be an extravagant event so we’re hoping to have the brewery up and running by then,” my dad explained, the soft music in the background telling me he was also driving.
“Fun! Going to have a big party to celebrate?”
“Nah, we’re just going to do something small with a few of the staff before officially opening. The opening itself will be pretty big, but we’re aiming to officially open to the public after the wedding.”
“Sounds like the wedding is a big deal. Who’s it for?” My jaw dropped when my dad named two celebrities. “Wow, that’s awesome! Hopefully not too stressful.”
“Ha, every big event is stressful, but I was calling because I was wondering if you would want to come out for the official opening. It’ll hopefully be before fall semester of college starts, so I figured it’d be a nice vacation. The boys can come too. I’d love to meet them.” I was speechless for a long moment, shocked by the offer.
“I would love to, and I’ll have to talk to them, but I’m sure they’d be up for it too. They’ll have to talk to Kingston’s parents about it though.”
“Mere and I will cover the costs of the flights if they want to come, but I’m pulling into the vineyard now, so I’ll let you go and get studying done. I love you, sweetheart.”
“Perfect timing because I’m almost there.” To Kingston’s house, but he didn’t need to know the specifics. “Love you too, Dad.”
Pulling into the drive, I threw the car in park and hopped out. King, Reid, and I did have plans to study and tackle the last of our assignments, but we weren’t actually going to the library for another couple hours when it was closer to the end of Jesse’s volunteer shift. Right as I was about to ring the doorbell, the door opened, Stella giving me a playful half-glare. Every time she tried, the twitch of her lips gave away that she wasn’t actually mad.
“No need to ring the doorbell, just get your butt in here before it rains,” she teasingly ordered, stepping out of the doorway. “The boys are up in Reid’s room.”
“Hey, guys,” I greeted after I reached the open door to Reid’s room, and I was pleased to see that the last of Reid’s things had been unpacked. “What’re you two doing?”
“Looking at college stuff,” Reid explained, leaning over the back of his desk chair so he could see me, his curls flopping off his forehead and hanging toward the carpet. “You look pretty today.”
“Thanks,” I beamed, leaning down to kiss him Spider-man style. Kingston waited patiently for me from where he sat next to Reid on a chair he must have rolled in from his room. “What exactly are we looking into for college?” As I asked my question, I shifted, giving Kingston a quick peck before chucking my bag onto the bed.
“Come and sit, explore the world of wonder,” Reid said dramatically in a deep, mock announcer voice, patting his lap for me. A giggle bubbled out of me at his silliness, but I obliged, eyeing the computer screen as I did so.
“Degrees and dorms?” There were two screens pulled up on the monitor, one half-filled with lists of programs and degrees, while the other was freshman living requirements.
“Yup, deciding on what I want to try and start with,” Reid mumbled, his attention focused intently on the screen. “We’ll all have gen eds we’ll need to do. I figured we could take a few of those together if we wanted, but I know I’ll have several extra math and science courses that I’ll have to take before any of the more advanced classes.”
“I’ll probably stick with gen eds for the first semester, try and knock out a bunch of those,” King added. “What about you, Babydoll? Have you had a chance to think about it?”
“Psh, I’m just trying to get to high school graduation at this point.” I sighed, flashing them a dry smile. “Though, gen eds sound like the best option. If I have prerequisites for something, I’ll probably do one of those just to get started on them. Don’t want to overwhelm myself though.”
“So it’s decided, classes together!” Reid bounced in his seat, the jarring motion making me laugh. “For living stuff, we’ll have to be on campus for the first year, but I was looking into rentals and apartments the other day… you know… if you were maybe wanting to do that sophomore year.” Although his excitement remained clear, his voice became a bit shy, even hesitant, as two pink patches bloomed on his olive cheeks along with his offer.
“I’d love to, as long as we’ll have enough money to cover it,” I added, leaning forward to scan the dormitory page. “Oh, that’s pretty cool! It looks like there are suites where you share a common space but the actual rooms are separate. That’s nice. Will the three of you guys put in for roommates?”
“Figured I would share with Jesse if possible.” Reid hitched a thumb to Kingston. “He’s the most level-headed one so probably would be best if he had someone new as a roommate.”
“I don’t mind meeting new people.” King shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ll probably be with you guys most of the time anyway.”
“What about you?” Reid asked.
“I’ll probably see if Aubrey and Zoey are going to UNL. I know they applied there and a couple other places. If so, maybe I’ll ask one of them, but I think it might be nice to meet someone new. Even if it’s kind of scary,” I murmured the end of my statement. It was nerve-racking, but I’d already moved cross-country a month into my senior year and I was surviving that, so I could survive a new roommate.
“Ugh, we should probably knock out the last of these assignments,” King groaned, pointing to the time. “We have about an hour and a half until we should head on over to get Jesse, and I foresee this essay taking a while.”
Oh joy, homework on spring break.
Ugh.
I flipped my book closed with a triumphant dance. Take that, chem homework. My celebratory moves must have been amusing, Reid and Kingston laughing as they followed suit.
“We heading to the library now?” I asked as I stuffed my book back in my bag.
“Not quite yet, I need to shower first. I meant to this morning but ended up sleeping in until I had to take Jesse,” Kingston said, getting up from where he’d been working next to me on the bed. “It shouldn’t be more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”
“We’ll be here,” Reid assured, his words muffled as he had his pen stuffed between his teeth, eyes focused on his bookbag. Kingston shook his head at Reid’s distracted response and headed to his room. As soon as he did, Reid popped up out of his office chair and closed the door quietly. A smirk curled his lip when he turned to me, his gaze heating when I gave him a confused head tilt. “Alone at last.”