Roommates with a Player

Chapter Thirty Nine: Get Off the Bench, You're In the Game

Ricky’s P.O.V.

            “I need a venti coffee,” I mumbled, idly staring at the cute barista who was spending her time ogling at me.

            She suddenly realized that she’d been spoken to and snapped back to composure. “Oh, uh. Yes sir. W-will that be all?”

            I slapped a ten on the table and gave her a sly smile. “That’s all.”

            I watched with satisfaction as her face slowly turned to a bright red and she called out my order to the bar. I sauntered over to wait for my drink while casually flipping through my phone for something interesting to hold my attention.

            It felt good to be back in town. Yes, I’d already been here for about a month, but it was nice to be able to resume my place on the throne. I was king of the castle around here and I didn’t want to let go just yet. And with college out of the way, I didn’t have any pressing things to do at the moment. All I really felt like doing was drinking beers with my friends and checking out the new girls that had shown up since I’d been gone. And with my newfound maturity, I was reeling them in like a fisherman on a lucky day.

            “Ricky!” the cute barista called out and I took the coffee from her hands.

            “Thanks, Becky,” I eyed her nametag.

            And with my coffee in hand, I scooted out of Starbucks and headed straight for my truck. The sun was already up in the sky, melting away the last chunks of winter. I couldn’t wait for summer; that meant bikinis.

            I slid into the cab of my truck and jammed my keys into the ignition. The car revved to life and as soon as I was going to back out of the parking lot, my phone vibrated.

            I pulled it out and read the message on the screen.

            1 New Message from: James

            I hadn’t seen that name pop up on my phone in a while; I eagerly swiped it open.

            It’s spring break for me. I’ll be heading home soon! We need to catch up, buddy! And bring Emma with you.

            “Shit,” I mumbled.

            My failure to tell James about the Emma fiasco was about to bite me in the ass. Thinking that I’d never see that devilish face of his again, I didn’t find it necessary to tell him that Emma had gone and left me cold. And now he was flying home and I didn’t know how to confess.

            I thumbed a reply.

            All right, cool. Bring the beer. And btw…Emma died.

            There. That sounded like a pretty good excuse. No need for any explanations.

            A few seconds later, my phone chirped his response.

            WHAT?

            Okay, maybe that didn’t work as well as I thought it was going to.

            Just kidding. She moved out 5 years ago. Sorry dude. She’s long gone.

            I pressed Send and could feel my face bunching up into an expression of anger. I scrolled through my recent text conversations and clicked on Markus’. His last text made my head hurt.