Page 49 of The Tryout

“...and then I came in and shit all over it.”

Avery’s heard my unspoken words loud and clear, then.

“I…I really struggle when you pay for stuff and I can’t pay you back. It feels like I’m right back in it.”

He nods.

“Okay. So we need some better guidelines moving forward. I understand that. Would you like me to return the couch?”

I appreciate that he’s even asking.

“I mean…it was pretty comfortable.”

He laughs.

“Yeah. I thought it would be a better place to ice than what we’ve got right now.”

That makes sense. And if he’d presented it to me that way, I’d have probably agreed.

“Okay. We can keep it. But in the future, anything that’s going to be shared I want to be part of the conversation.”

“Got it.”

“And you have to stop buying me food.”

His face falls at this.

“I just…I really like sharing good food with good people, and you seem to enjoy it so much.”

The problem is that I do enjoy it. I want to give in, but I know if I do, we’ll never get past this.

“I’ll make you a deal. If you let me pay you a hundred dollars a month for gas, I’ll let you include me in your dinner order once a week.”

I can tell he hates the deal, that he wants to tell me he doesn’t need my money. And he’s right, he doesn’t – but I do, and I’m going to hold to that.

“Okay. It’s a deal.”

I smile for the first time in hours.

“So you’re not moving out?” I can’t help but ask.

“No, buddy. I think you’re stuck with me.”

For the next couple of weeks, Avery is meticulous about sticking to The Plan. Almost every day, there comes a time where I can tell he wants to buy me something. Sometimes it’s small – a coffee or lunch. At least once, though, it’s a laptop, when he discovers I don’t have one. Still, slowly but surely, we get back to a good place – a better place, even, because I’m no longer constantly holding my tongue around him.

Then one Thursday, Avery pulls me aside after practice.

“Can you, uh, walk home tonight? Or grab a ride?”

His cheeks are a little pink, and it takes me a second to catch on.

He’s gonna meet someone.

“Oh! Uh, sure. Do you want me to get lost for a bit?”

So far, Avery’s been a considerate roommate. I know he hooks up – usually on the road, but sometimes at home – but I have yet to see any real evidence of it. And after our conversation, I feel like maybe he deserves a little compromise.

“Huh? Oh, no. I’m not hosting. In fact…could we do dinner tonight? Maybe 8ish? I’ll be driving right past a good sushi place, if it would be ok for me to pick some up for us both?”