Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Knowing Bryson was home had Jeremy slipping out the side door. His older brother’s room was directly over the foyer, and Bryson spent most of the year at Yale on eastern time. There was a pretty good chance he was already awake, and a better chance that his presence was why William was already on the clock. Jeremy would rather leave without his keys than risk a confrontation this early in the morning. He was far too tired and sore to put himself through that.
He got out of the neighborhood before calling for a taxi. He was promised a ride within ten minutes, and Jeremy stood on the curb to sip his coffee while he waited. Jeremy checked the clock on his phone, decided it was probably still early enough on the east coast he’d be considered rude if he called now, and settled in for a long conversation with his driver instead.
The coffee shop closer to Laila and Cat’s place wouldn’t open until six, so Jeremy picked one just east of campus that unlocked their doors at half-past four. Despite the hour and day there were already four people in there: one in the far corner who was tapping away on a laptop, a couple going over a map as they argued last-minute itinerary changes for their weekend stay in Los Angeles, and a bedraggled man at the counter asking if he could please just have a cup of hot water. Jeremy politely kept his distance until the man retreated to his table at the far wall.
He’d drained his coffee on the drive over, but it didn’t seem to be helping. “Enough caffeine I’ll see soundwaves,” he ordered, and bought breakfast and a gift card as well. The receipt went into the zippered back of his wallet so he could file it later; it was always best to have a paper trail when dealing with his mother’s bookkeeper. While his espresso shots were pulling and his sandwich was being heated, Jeremy carried the gift card to the patron who’d preceded him.
“Hey, good morning,” he said as he got closer. “Sorry to bother you, but I think you dropped this up there? I saw it on the floor.”
“Yeah,” the man said, holding out his hand immediately. “Thank you. Didn’t even notice.”
“No problem,” Jeremy said, and went back to wait for his things.
The other man waited until Jeremy collected his food and drink from the handoff tray before shuffling over and asking the cashier to check the balance on his new card. Jeremy hid a smile in his warm croissant and stared down at his phone, silently willing the hours to move faster. He went back to the register for a newspaper and bottle of water and idly wished he’d been brave enough to get his keys. He had a key to Laila and Cat’s house, so he could’ve sneaked in and stolen his usual place on the couch to nap until a saner hour.
At seven he risked sending Laila a simple “Awake?”
He honestly didn’t expect a response, but a minute later got “Define awake” as a response.
“I left without my keys,” he sent her. “Awake enough to get the door in 30?”
“It’s a good thing I like you,” she said, and he knew to take it as a yes.
He dropped his bottle in the recycle bin and his newspaper in a basket where anyone could comb through it after him. He swung past the register one last time to get a pound of beans. There was just enough room in the shopping bag for his empty travel mug, so Jeremy squeezed it in there and set off toward the neighborhood Cat and Laila called home.
The block had been converted into student apartments ages ago, with most houses set up to fit between seven and twelve students. Laila’s was the only one untouched, as it’d originally been used by the landlord and his team as an on-site office. When her uncle bought out most of the houses in the immediate area, he’d leased it to her at a ridiculously cheap price.
Jillian, the team’s only fifth-year dealer, had rented out the third bedroom for the last few years, but she was used to Jeremy camping over on the weekend. She also slept like the dead in the room furthest from the front door, so Jeremy knew he wouldn’t be bothering her by arriving so early.
He found Laila in the living room, half-curled up in her papasan chair. Jeremy set the beans down where she could see the blend and eased onto the couch cushion closest to her.
“Hey,” he said. “Did you even sleep?”
“A few hours,” she said with a listless shrug. “You?”
“A few,” he agreed. He waited to see if she brought up last night’s game, but the minutes dragged by in easy silence. Jeremy checked the clock on his phone and asked, “How early is too early to call someone? On the east coast, I mean.”