Page 6

Chapter Six

Ryan

Coach Carter canceled rowing practice today.

Thank God. I had bought a newly released game this morning, one I’d been wanting to play from the moment it was announced years ago. I went to one class, skipped another, and bunkered down in the dorm with the new game. It was a fun multiplayer racing game with well-known cartoon characters driving the colorful carts, so I invited Colton over for a few rounds.

“Ah, not again!” Colton shouted as his character got hit with a lightning bolt and flew off the screen.

“Sorry,” I said as I whipped past him and took first place.

For the fifth time.

“All right, I need a break.” Colton put the controller down. “There’s only so many ass-whoopings a guy can take in a day.”

“I think you can handle one more.”

“Is that what you say to your dates?” Colton teased. He was straight but a complete ally, so I didn’t care about joking around with him .

“Depends on how much they’re shaking.”

“You’re wild, bro.”

I shrugged and smiled. “You asked.”

The door to the dorm opened, and in walked Jay, looking surprised as hell to see me there. Which was odd, considering this was my dorm too.

He looked cute today, wearing dark gray shorts, cuffed so that they sat a bit higher up his legs. His pink-and-black shirt was from a Lady Gaga concert he must have gone to, slightly oversized. Next to him was someone I only recognized from a few posts Jay had made on his social media. Not that I spent an afternoon scrolling through all his photos and posts like a creepazoid.

Nope. Not at all.

“You’re here,” Jay said, dark brows inching together. “Aren’t you supposed to be in rowing practice?”

“Canceled,” I said, my eyebrows mirroring his. “How’d you know that?”

“I remember things like that.” He turned on his heel and grabbed his pink-haired friend by the elbow. “Come on, let’s hang somewhere else instead.”

“Hold on, hold on.” The girl snaked her arm out of Jay’s grip and pointed at me, her brightly painted fingernails catching my eye. “Mr. Redpine Global in the flesh. You don’t look as airbrushed as your Insta pics show.”

What the hell? Was Jay talking shit about me? Also I didn’t Facetune. Except maybe one or two pictures…

“That’s my last name, yeah. Well, Redpine. Not Global. Whatever, why does it matter?”

“Well, because?— ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jay said, cutting her off.

I cocked my head, looking at Jay with a narrowed gaze.

“Okay, clearly there’s some tension here,” she said, moving her hands in a circular motion before holding one out. “I’m Maddy, Jay’s bestie.”

I crossed my arms. A little skeptical. “Hi, Maddy. This is Colton, my bestie.”

With introductions over, I noticed Jay was back to trying to get Maddy out of the dorm. But I had another idea. I waved one of the controllers in the air. “Hold up, you guys want to play a few rounds? I just got this game. The reviews all said four players is when the game’s the funnest.”

Maddy said, “Hells yeah,” at the same time as Jay’s “Fuck no.”

But Maddy already seemed to have made up her mind. She turned and whispered, “Sorry I’m a chaos demon,” into Jay’s ear, loud enough for us all to hear.

We gathered around the TV. It was a good setup, and it wasn’t long before we were all laughing and cheering when one of us would get first or another would end dead last. It was cool to see how quickly ice could be broken with a video game.

“Whoa, whoa, Ryan! Not another ink pot,” Maddy said, giving me a friendly punch to the shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m a competitive guy.”

“That’s why he’s played—and been good at—almost every single damn sport there is,” Colton added.

“Is there a sport for being the loudest snorer?” Jay asked.

I looked at him, my character driving off the track. “I don’t snore, man, don’t say that.”

“I’ve got you recorded. ”

“You recorded me in my sleep?”

It was Jay’s turn to drive off the track. “Not like visually, no. I mean I did an audio recording ’cause I knew you’d deny it.”

“I’m fucking with you,” I said, laughing. “I know I snore, I’m sorry. I think it’s genetic.”

Maddy interjected. “Ryan might snore, but Jay drools. A lot. I’ve seen him pass out on his textbooks before. They never look the same.”

“Maddy!” Jay’s face got cherry red. I started cracking up, my character crossing the finish line at number one.

It was really great to see how quickly the four of us vibed together. Even with Jay’s initial hesitation about staying, that was all forgotten. We continued to joke around and tease each other as the upbeat video game soundtrack filled the room, mixing with our laughter. We played a few more rounds before Colton said he had to head out and study for a test. Maddy said she had to do the same and left pretty much right after.

I turned the video game off and sat on my bed, cross-legged, facing Jay’s bed.

It was only us now.

“Why do you hate me because my last name’s Redpine?” I decided to ask it point-blank. That was it. Rip it off like a Band-Aid—that’s how my mom always taught me to deal with problems. Very opposite to what my dad tried to teach: bury my problems in money.

“I… You… I?—”

“The always-quick-on-his feet Jay is left speechless?” I crossed my arms and cocked a brow. “I really must have hit a nerve. ”

“No, Ryan. It’s not that I hate you . It’s that… I hate everything you stand for.”

“How do you know what I stand for?”

Jay stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Because I’ve read all the interviews. About your dad excited to have his son take up Redpine’s reins when he’s ready to step down. It’s not difficult to find. Would he really be giving it up to you if you didn’t at least show a little interest?”

I winced as if I’d accidentally grabbed a hot pan. “Me and my dad have a complicated relationship. I love him, I do, but I don’t really love the things he does. In fact, if I’m being honest, I’d… Forget it. Just know I don’t support his company.”

How could I tell him I wanted to go into game development when I couldn’t even say it to my dad?

Jay cocked his head. He studied me with those big puppy eyes of his. What was he thinking? Was I getting through to him? Or was he looking at weak spots in my armor, trying to figure out if I was lying or something?

I stayed silent, only looked at him. He was so cute, the way his neck started flushing all kinds of pink. I had him pinned. I pressed my advantage, holding my glare. He slumped back and sat on his bed, the springs squeaking.

Fuck, I wanted to make them squeak even louder.

But first, more silence. More pressure.

More pink.

“Fine,” he finally relented. “I don’t hate everything you stand for. I do stand against everything your family’s company does, though. There, that better?”

“We’re getting there.” I sucked in a breath.

Shit. I hated how my dad cast a shadow over me, even in my private life. “I really don’t stand for what my dad’s company has done. Yes, I’m a direct beneficiary of the masses of money my dad’s made, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty about it. And those interviews that you read are never done with me in the room. What my dad thinks might happen can be totally wrong.”

“Then what have you been doing to make things right?” His question was pointed and felt like it shot me through the heart. I was suddenly a balloon that was quickly deflating.

Because I knew immediately that I didn’t have a good answer for Jay. Not an answer he was looking for, at least. “I donate every year to different environmental organizations.”

“That’s… that’s fine. At least you’re helping put the money back into good hands. I just… Do you want to know why this is my first semester at FU? Because I was kicked out of my last school for organizing a protest against the exact type of things your family supports. The protest got way out of hand, and people got hurt. There was an entirely different group that showed up with BB guns and firecrackers.” He rubbed the back of his neck. I could see the shadowy reflection of that terrible day cross his gaze.

“Fuck, really?”

“Yeah. They wanted to cause chaos, but the firecrackers ended up causing a huge forest fire, and a few people were hit with BB pellets. Cops showed up—one of them got hurt, along with three protestors.” His expression looked strained. Scared. I didn’t like this kind of look on him.

At. All.

“Whoa, whoa.” I got up and put a hand out, as if I were approaching a wounded animal. “Is it all right if I sit next to you?” I could tell I wasn’t his favorite person in the world in that moment, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t make him feel uncomfortable in the slightest.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he said, his hands in his lap. He chipped away at his nails. I put a hand on his leg, stopping the bounce.

“Is this okay?”

He looked down at my hand. “Yeah.” Jay took in a deep breath. He already seemed to be calming down. Good. I liked him calm. “I take this shit seriously, okay? I don’t want to mess up again. I want to try and make a change, and sleeping across the room from the heir to a near-billion-dollar oil company is kind of wild to me.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be sleeping across from me, then?”

He shot me a look. “You’re right, I should be sleeping miles away.”

“I was thinking more like right next to me, but I guess we can work that out later.”

He rolled his eyes, but I could see the flash of a smile, like a light in the night. Reassuring. Good, we were on the right track. “I’m sorry. I really am. I wish I had some more solid shit to point to, but let me tell you that I fully don’t approve of what my dad’s company does.”

“Then make a public statement.” It was a short sentence, but damn did it leave a long-lasting effect. Like the tip of a paddle had been dropped in a quiet lake, ripples traveling outward.

“I can’t do that,” I said, moving my hand off his leg. “I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t much to ask, and at the same time, it was absolutely fucking everything. “I don’t like what my dad does,” I explained, not wanting to leave this conversation on such a shitty note. “But I do still love him. We have a good relationship, and a lot of my shit, my baggage, it comes from wanting his approval. Trust, it took me a couple years of therapy to come to realize that. It’s something I’m working on, but I can’t make that kind of statement. It would ruin him.”

He let out a deep breath. He was no longer red but also no longer smiling. Damn.

“I get it,” Jay finally said. “I need to get to rehearsals,” he suddenly said, getting to his feet. It was clear this conversation was over, no matter how badly I wanted it to keep going. I felt like I still had more to prove to Jay. I didn’t want him thinking I was some money-hungry asshole ready to burn down the Amazon. It felt like I was making progress on that front too.

Thankfully.

I stood up, meeting his gaze, seeing a flicker of warmth spark up again. “I’m going to prove to you that I’m not some evil villain. You’ll see.”

Jay paused at the door. He had a hand on the handle when he looked over his shoulder. “I already know you’re not a villain, Ry. Just prove to me you’re not a prince either.”

“I will,” I said. “I’m not my father.”

“We’ll see.”