“Fresh meat on your six.”
I look up to my friend Jordan shaking my head. “You do know my six is behind me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Exactly how do you expect me to be discreet when I have to turn around to get a good look at her?”
Jordan glances around the quad as though the answer’s out there somewhere, then just shrugs. “I have no idea, but she’s hot. A solid ten with those sure-thing good time eyes.”
“Yeah, no, that’s too much effort this early in the morning. Besides, women are not on my list of priorities this year. I’ve got a lot riding on my
acceptance to Stanford Law. If I mess anything up, I may as well say adios to that and the cushy corner office at my father’s firm.
“I thought the job with your dad’s firm was a done deal?”
I nod. “It is, but I still have to keep up the pretenses that the other applicants have a fair shot, which means, walking in with anything less than a perfect GPA and a diploma with Stanford Law inked across the top, just won’t do. Besides, my father may have the final say, but he’s still very much about business, and if I show that I’ve allowed some hot side piece to distract me, he’ll cut me loose; son, or not.”
“Hard, man. My dad’s just happy I’ve managed to maintain my grades enough not to get kicked out,” Jordan says.
Jordan and I have been friends since before I can remember. His father’s a huge real estate developer and has done well for himself, which also means he isn’t around much, much like my father. However, unlike mine, Jordan’s dad, to make up for his absence, has always been lenient with him. My father calls him one of those liberal types—personally, I think he’s a pretty decent guy. He’s always been there for Jordan when it matters, not something I can easily say about my father; actually, I can’t say it at all. Whenever there was something parental that he was obligated to do for my brother or me, he would just call up Connie, our housekeeper, to take care of it.
Shit—is that the life I’m headed for?
“You know what, a little distraction never hurt anyone.”
Jordan lets out a laugh and leans over to pat me on the shoulder. “Now there’s the Dylan I know and love.” He tilts his chin in the direction of the girl sitting behind me. “Maybe she has a friend, or better yet, a twin sister.”
“Jord, we both know it’s a sin to break up a set, not to mention a long-standing unbreakable rule.”
He looks to me, his brow perched high. “What do you propose we do?
“Coin toss,” I suggest, and with a slight nod from Jordan, I pull the coin from my pocket.
Cupping the coin in one hand and laying it on top of the other, I call heads.
“Why do you always get heads?” Jordan asks.
“Because it seems to always work for me. It’s my thing.”
He looks to me suspiciously. “Well, what if I want heads?”
“Call up Lily Miller. Now stop complaining like a little girl.”
I toss the coin up then catch. When I lift my hand, Jordan lets out a groan. “Every
bloody time. I swear you have a horseshoe lodged up your ass.”
I shrug. “You can’t fight fate. What’s meant to be is meant to be. Isn’t that what you
always say?”
Jordan lets out a defeated sigh. “Whatever. You better hope for your sake she’s not a fraternal twin, and the other half’s a dude.”
“Why would you even say that?”
“Just reminding you that it’s your rule not to break-up sets,” he mentions with a smirk.
I shrug. “Maybe he’s got a hot girlfriend he can bring along.”
“Dude, that’s just all kinds of unfair. Why am I even your friend?” Jordan stands, walking from the table.
Looking down, I let out a chuckle as I open my hand holding the coin.
My lucky coin.
My two-headed coin.
It’s the same coin I’ve been using for years with Jordan to settle our disputes, and he’s yet to catch on.
I tuck it back in my pocket and grab my bag off the table. As I swing my legs over the bench, I see the woman of the hour—fresh meat—hello!
That’s one thing I’ll give my best friend; he certainly has a keen eye for spotting the finest of creatures—a keen eye indeed.
Chapter 2 Velyn
I wake to the sun beaming through the sheer shade, barely covering my bedroom window. Usually, I would just roll over and pull the comforter above my head, but today’s a whole new kind of day. Today brings new beginnings—college. Sure, it’s two years late, but with the reality that is my life, I had no other option than to postpone for a couple of years.
I graduated high school on the honor roll and had some great perspectives for out of state universities. However, that all changed when my mother passed away the summer before what would’ve been my freshman year. Everything changed that summer. My father decided he no longer wanted to cope with the mundane day to day functions, leaving me to carry the responsibilities that were once his as he turned to nights of burying his sorrows in a bottle and his days passed out on the couch in our living room. It got to the point that he wasn’t even able to hold down a job. I was devastated when they let him go, and I hate admitting this, but even as his daughter, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same. He was a mess, and slowly with each drink he was starting to take everything and everyone down with him.
Within
