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“How about we all go for dinner?” Trent suggested. “And Natasha stops making up lies?”
“As long as we’re walking,” Jimmy said, eyeing the U-Haul suspiciously. “I can’t be seen with the two of you in that.”
We settled on La Casa Del Taco, a small, brightly decorated Mexican restaurant near campus. It was bustling with students, but we managed to snag a table in the corner of the room. A giant jaguar was painted along the wall.
“The beer here is great,” Jimmy said, picking up his menu.
“Been here before?” Trent asked.
“A couple times.” His gaze snapped in Trent’s direction, and he ducked his head sheepishly. “I mean, not that I’ve tried the beer. Some of my friends have. The ones old enough to drink. It comes highly recommended.”
“We’ve all been there, Jimmy,” Trent said. “I’m not gonna lecture you. Just be careful, like we talked about.”
I agreed it was better not to pretend Jimmy wasn’t drinking with his friends on campus. He was underage, but when had that stopped college kids? The waitress came and dropped off some tortilla chips and salsa before taking our orders.
“Anyway, I also took a girl on a date here,” Jimmy said.
“You’ve already been on a date?” Trent said, his eyebrows arching. “How? You’re only a month into term.”
“Because some of us actually have game,” Jimmy insisted, laughing when Trent’s jaw dropped in mock indignation.
“Oh, is that how it is?” Trent swatted at him, but Jimmy was quick and dodged.
“That’s how it is,” he taunted.
Trent flicked a piece of tortilla chip at him as Jimmy snickered.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Jimmy was sweet and funny and fun, bringing out another side of Trent. It was similar to the way Trent was with his friends, but there was more sweetness to it. More tenderness and protectiveness.
“Where’d you meet this girl?” Trent asked.
Jimmy waggled his brows. “Study hall.”
“As if.”
“No, like we actually met in the library.”
Trent snorted.
“Seriously. I’m in there every day. One night, I was studying late, headphones in, and I didn’t realize they’d started to lock up. She was there too, both of us running for the door. That’s how we started talking.”
“In the library every day?” I asked. “That’s a lot of studying.”
“I need to,” Jimmy said. “If I fall behind, I won’t be able to catch up. You know we started the term and immediately had readings due? And assignments that first week.” He shook his head likehestill couldn’t believe it. “There was no time to settle in or anything.” He started drumming his fingers on the table, cycling between that and picking apart the wrapper his drink straw came in. He tore it up into tiny pieces without noticing. “It’s just go, go, go with the work, and some of the readings are so long, man.”
“I mean…I think it’s okay to take a night off every now and then,” I said, glancing at Trent, worried. No wonder Jimmy had been crying when we’d gotten here, if this was the kind of pressure he was under.
Jimmy sighed. “There’s no way I could do that. I knew there was gonna be a jump from high school to college, I just didn’t realize how big of one. It’s almost impossible to get ahead. It used to be so easy for me.”
I wanted to reach across the table and squeeze his hand. As sweet as Jimmy was, it was clear he was a little bit of a mess too.
“Well, tell me what else you’ve been up to,” Trent said, obviously trying to take his mind off the intense academic expectations.
Jimmy shrugged. “That’s literally it. Just classes and the library on repeat. Unless I’m out with friends. But I’ve got to cut that down.”
“Been out more than usual lately?” Trent asked.
Jimmy’s smile flattened into a thin line.