I nodded. “So this is what college life is like, huh?”
“Guess it can be. You sorry you signed up for this?” Then she said with furrowed brows, “Why did you sign up for this?”
I didn’t really feel like getting into any of it now, so I just said, “A lot of reasons, really. And who can pass up a tiny one-bedroom that smells like chocolate chip cookies?”
“Clearly neither one of us.”
At the mention of the cookies, I offered to go down to the bakery and grab us a few, because once I had them in my mind, it was impossible to get them out unless they ended up in my stomach.
When I returned with a small bag of cookies from downstairs and two lattes from the coffee shop on the corner, Sophia was sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter, scrolling through her phone.
“I guess I should’ve asked if you drank coffee,” I said, setting the cup down in front of her.
“Of course I drink coffee. I don’t trust people who don’t.”
“Well, we have at least one thing in common.” I raised my cup to give her a casual toast.
“Make that two things,” she said, reaching into the bag of cookies before tapping her cup against mine.
There was a knock at the door a few minutes later, and after wiping the crumbs from the counter, Sophia said, “I’ll get it. Two of the girls are supposed to be bringing over some more of my things.”
The door opened, and three girls walked inside. Two carried boxes, and one carried nothing but a cell phone. “We brought the last of your stuff,” one of them said as she set the boxes on the floor.
“Thanks. But you also brought her,” Sophia replied, her eyes focused on the tall blonde who was heading toward me like a lioness who’d just spotted a gazelle.
“We tried to stop her,” one of the girls said.
Sophia’s eyebrows narrowed like she thought that story was unlikely. “Well, you obviously didn’t try very hard. She had no idea where I was going, so that means one of you must’ve either told her the address or given her a ride.”
“Emma drove me,” the lioness said without looking their way.
“Seriously, Emma?” Sophia said. “How could you bring Aamee here?”
Ahh, that makes so much sense now. “Aamee,” I said with a smile. “I’m Sophia’s brother, Brody. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’m sure you have,” she said. “But if it came from Sophia, most of it’s probably a lie.”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“Hang on. I just wanted to introduce myself and see your new place. So, you’re Sophia’s brother?”
“I am.”
“Sophia didn’t tell me she had a brother.”
This was the strangest family.
“And a cute one,” Aamee added. “So what was it like growing up with this one? Did you have to hide all the Twinkies and tell her how great she was constantly?”
“She was a great kid.”
“Not so much as an adult, though, huh?” Aamee tilted her head in a way that made me think she felt sorry for me. “Do you have any embarrassing stories?”
“I sure do,” I said.
Sophia glared at me like she’d cut off my nuts if I told Aamee anything of the sort.
In an effort to assert our sibling bond, I said, “But Fifi would probably kill me if I told you any, and I’m too nice of a big brother to do that.” I thought the nickname was a nice touch.
“Fifi?” Aamee and Sophia said in unison. Though their tones could not have been more different. Aamee was practically vibrating with excitement, while Sophia looked less than pleased, to say the least.
“Brody, you know I can’t stand when you call me that,” Sophia said much more sweetly than she obviously wanted to.
“Sorry.” I tried to give her an apologetic smile, but no apology could change the fact that Aamee had already heard it.
“Fifi,” Aamee said. “It reminds me of a small toy poodle.”
“All toy poodles are small,” Sophia told her.
“I think toy poodles are cute,” the other girl said.
“You’re not helping, Gina.”
Gina mouthed a Sorry to Sophia before addressing Aamee. “We should probably get going and let Sophia get unpacked.”
Aamee looked genuinely confused. “She owns like six things, and all of them should be donated to Goodwill.”
Of course that wasn’t true. I’d seen some of Sophia’s clothes already, and a few still had the tags on them. I wasn’t sure who would pay sixty-eight dollars for a tank top. Apparently those people existed, and I was now sharing an apartment with one of them.
I couldn’t say I was particularly surprised, though, because from what Brody had told me, the Masons were wealthy. Brody was set to take over his dad’s company if he could figure out how to finish his business degree. Hopefully I wouldn’t fuck all this up for him. Or myself. Or for Sophia, for that matter.
“All right, well, it’s been real… I’m sure Sophia wants to finish unpacking.” When no one budged, I added, “And I need to shave my balls.”
Emma started giggling like a second grader, and Gina and Aamee looked disgusted and were already heading toward the door. Since that was the point, I was proud of myself for my quick thinking.
“I guess I’ll see you around,” Aamee said to Sophia. “Though not at the sorority house, obviously.”
“Well, I’m still allowed there. I’m not kicked out of the sorority.”
“Right,” Aamee answered, and it looked like it pained her to do so. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Brody.”
The way she said “pleasure” gave me the chills—and not the good kind.
“Nice to meet you too.”
Once the three of them had left, I closed the door and locked it. Sophia and I didn’t say anything right away. We just looked at each other, both fighting back smiles until we couldn’t any longer.
“I’m not sure whether I should address the ball shaving first or the fact that you basically gave me a nickname that’s associated with one of the most annoying breeds of dog ever.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never been great under pressure.”
“I can see that,” she said, but thankfully she was still smiling. “This is going to be an interesting living situation.”
“You can always go back and live with Aamee.”
“Technically I can’t,” she said.
“Then I guess you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”
“Guess you’re stuck with me too.”
Chapter Three
D R E W
I opened the door to Brody’s apartment, only to find every light off and total silence. Sophia was either a hardcore partier or she was already asleep. My bet was on the latter. Not that I could blame her. I’d have loved to have been sleeping at almost three a.m., but I had a job to maintain.
While being Brody had some advantages—namely taking business courses for free and not paying rent—there was also a distinct disadvantage: having to maintain my job as a bartender so I could pay my other bills and feed myself.