Page 162 of On His Schedule
“I have something to talk to you about.” I wave my hands. “Quick.”
Stanley puts a dish down. Blue dries his hands. Percy puts his phone face down on the table. Rowan closes the fridge.
Stanley takes one look at my face and rushes over. “You’re not pregnant, are you?” he whispers.
Percy comes over. “Are you?”
Rowan watches me, and Blue shushes them.
“No, we’re not.”
Blue says, “Let the man talk.”
The room quiets. I look at the four guys I’ve lived with for years. They’ve seen every good and bad thing about me. I would lay my life down for these guys.
Here goes nothing. “I’m asking permission from the Hawthorne House––” I look at each of their faces, “to ask Lucy to be my girlfriend.”
They’re all staring at me, speechless. Stanley opens his mouth and then closes it when he realizes I’m serious. Blue, Percy, and Rowan are staring at me.
“Reeve,” Stanley mutters. “That’s our number one rule of the house.”
Blue says quietly, “You haveVancouver,Reeve.”
I nod.
Rowan says, “You have Vancouver.”
Stanley says, “Do you understand that?”
I nod. “I understand.”
Blue says, “Do you know what I would do to be drafted to Vancouver?”
“I’m not thinking that far ahead yet, boys. Just taking it day by day.”
“What does Lucy think about it?” Percy asks.
“The draft?” I ask.
More than one head nods. “She said it’s cool.”
“It’s cool?” Blue asks.
I shrug. “She didn’t say it’s not cool. She didn’t say much about it. I told her that I’ll be leaving, but––” I run a hand through my hair now. “Is she going to reject me because I’ll be out of here in six months?”
They each shrug and say they don’t know in their own words.
When they’re silent again, I say, “I can’t let her go. I don’t want to, so I’m coming to you guys to make sure I make the right choice here.”
The kitchen is quiet.
Rowan asks, “Is this because of your sister?”
I look at him. “What? No.”
Percy says, “Don’t jump into anything fast because your sister kicked her out, man.”
I spread my fingers in front of me. “Everything is fine with my sister now.”
