Page 84 of Just Forever

Let’s face it,New York City isn’t the ideal place to spend New Year’s Eve, but we’ve got a game on the second, so traveling anywhere would be even more of a headache. Nolan, one of my teammates, is throwing a party, so that’s where we end up. It’s a typical house party, if a typical house is an apartment in Lenox Hill with private rooftop access and a view of Central Park.

Kelly lets out a low whistle when we walk into the apartment.

“Oh, so you’re, like,richrich.” He tilts his head to the side when he looks at me.

“It’s not my place,” I say.

“You associate with the owner. I can fill in the rest.” His eyes wander up and down me, shining with mirth. “Yeah, I can see it now.”

“Keep it in your pants,” Lake says from behind us. “He’s taken.”

“Shh!” Kelly turns around and presses his forefinger to Lake’s lips. “Let me appreciate this moment.”

“Find your own moment.”

I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something off about Lake’s tone. He says it almost absently, like his mind is somewhere else.

“I haven’t gotten laid in three months. Let me have this one.” Kelly sends me one more look and winks, but then something else catches his attention. “Hell yeah, they have shots.” He disappears into the crowd.

Rachel hooks her arm through Lake’s.

“Champagne first because we’re classy, and then tequila because champagne hangovers are the worst.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lake says as he throws me a smile over his shoulder.

I follow them into the crowd.

The apartment might lookopulent as fuck, but when it comes down to it, the party isn’t much different from your regular frat parties in college. Somebody’s filled the bathtub with ice and bottles of alcohol. People are playing video games in one room and dancing in the other. I’m pretty sure I saw a keg somewhere. It’s loud and chaotic. The doors that lead tothe rooftop patio are wide open, but there are so many bodies packed into the apartment that the cold doesn’t even register.

I grab another beer—my second and last for the evening, or I’ll be useless tomorrow.

I’m leaning against the wall, eyes on Lake. He’s busy destroying some dude I don’t know at the pool table. We migrated to this room a little while ago. The music is quieter here, so you don’t have to shout to be heard over it. The view is better, too, with Lake regularly leaning over the pool table as he lines up his shot.

He’s drawn a bit of a crowd by now with how good he is, and since word seems to have spread that Lake is yet to lose, they’ve started making bets.

I’m both proud and turned on. Lake’s also laughing and talking to people, looking way more relaxed than he has been in the last few days, which is nice to see.

Kelly appears from the crowd and comes and leans against the wall next to me. He eyes Lake for a few seconds before he snorts into his beer.

“Let me guess. You didn’t have the courtesy to warn any of your teammates that you’d be bringing a pool shark with you?”

“They have money,” I say.

For a little while, we both watch the game silently.

“Can I ask you something?” I don’t fully intend to even say that, but the words are suddenly out there.

Kelly sends me a curious look. “I don’t see why you couldn’t.”

I hesitate for a moment because it feels distinctly like an invasion of privacy.

Then I spend an eternity trying to figure out how to ask what I want to ask, until Kelly rolls his eyes. “Just spit it out. I promise I won’t hold it against you. Unless you want to rent my colon to smuggle drugs. Then I’ll probably give you side-eye.”

I roll my eyes in return. “That’s your hard limit?”

“I draw the line at being an idiot. Come on now. It’s not New Year’s yet, so ask before the year is over, and if it’s offensive or shitty or something we can turn a new page in twenty minutes.”

I tilt my head to the side and frown at him. “What do you think I want to ask?”

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