Page 60 of Puck Drop
Sebastian wipes at his sweaty forehead as we both look around the now empty space. Even with Elizabeth not having all that much shit, as he put it, it still took a full solid day to pack it all up.
That was paused for a bit when she realized that she wouldn’t be getting her deposit back since she was breaking the lease. I had to explain to her how lucky she was that at least there was high demand for places to rent, and they already had a couple of people interested, that way the landlord wouldn’t be losing rent money as it sat empty.
“Just think of it as the deposit being paid to me now,” I said to her.
She cried harder. “So I’ll be out double the deposit?”
Me and Sebastian stood here, staring at her, both of us confused as all hell. It took a little bit of time to calm her down and explain that she wouldn’t be out anything, and I regretted even opening my mouth.
Now, we have a moving truck full of her stuff, ready to be unloaded at my house.
Sebastian drags his feet toward the passenger side of the truck. “Can we work on this tomorrow? I’m fucking beat. And I wanna go out tonight.”
“Tomorrow is great,” I jump to assure him. I’m done with this shit for today, too. “I appreciate all your help,” I make sure to tell him.
It all happened so fast once Elizabeth agreed to move in with me, I didn’t have any time to really think things through. Since I don’t know any of the locals, and I didn’t feel comfortable asking my other teammates for help, Sebastian was my only hope. Thankfully, he did not disappoint.
I get in the driver’s seat and start the engine, grateful when the cool air of the AC hits me in the face.
“Fuck, I can’t believe how hot it is. What if I never get used to this?”
It’s a legit concern. The heat is different than it was back on the east coast where I’d been for most of my life. It really sucks that I couldn’t get a contract in a cooler climate. Minnesota sounds freakin’ amazing right about now. They probably still have snow on the ground.
“I hear that,” Sebastian laughs. “I can’t wait to go back home next month. Smelling New York City has never sounded better.”
I bust out laughing. “Smelling New York City has never sounded good in the history of the city.”
“True that,” he snickers. “But at least I’m not gonna feel like I’m taking a deep breath of steam every time I’m outside.”
“When are you leaving for New York?” I ask him.
“Four weeks from yesterday,” he replies, sounding very precise with the information, then realizing what he did. “Not like I’ve been counting or anything.”
I snort at that and put the truck into gear, ready to pull out of the parking lot at Elizabeth’s apartment. She’s currently at my house, unpacking the clothes she took there in her car.
“Fuck, man!” Sebastian grips on the handle on his door. “Are you sure you know how to drive this rig? I’d hate dying in a head-on collision.”
I go over a small speed bump, which makes us bounce in our seats, and he presses a hand to the ceiling without letting go of the door.
“Getting into a car accident is one of my biggest fears,” he continues. “I need you to know that, so that it can hopefully help you focus and not get us both killed.”
In all honesty, I’ve never driven anything like this before, and I am a little concerned myself. We are so high up from the ground, all the cars around us look small and breakable.
“I’m more concerned about me running over one of these cars,” I tell him. “It’s like we’re in a monster truck.”
I turn on the signal, ready to turn onto the main road. Once that’s done, I press on the gas, ready to move things along.
“Fuck! Slow down, slow down,” Sebastian yells at me.
My eyes glance down to the dashboard but only for a second. I’m too scared to actually take my eyes off the road for long.
“I’m only going with fifteen miles per hour, asshole,” I tell him. “If I go any slower, we’d probably get arrested.”
The drive to my house is the longest I’ve ever been on, despite the fact that, geographically, it’s not very far. My entire body stays tense all the way there, and my hands feel clammy on the steering wheel.
“Fuck, what kind of men are we?” I wonder out loud when I finally stop in front of the house.
Sebastian must’ve thought the same because he already has an answer for me. “We’re God fearing men, that’s what we are.There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to die in a pile up on the expressway, surrounded by all your girlfriend’s things.”
