Rigby

Chapter 5

I arrived home to an empty apartment. I got in the shower without a second thought to where the boys were. I begrudgingly primped. As much as I wanted to be annoyed at Jacob and blame him for the unusual care I took to look good, I knew I was doing this to myself. Jacob would probably not even notice a difference or, worse, use my effort as a reason to mock me. Still, the 'oh shit' voice that seemed to take hold of me when Jacob was near was driving my action. As the afternoon slipped into evening, I became annoyed that Matt and Joey were missing.

"Where are you?" I texted Matt.

"Hanging out with Jess and Michael." He typed back almost immediately, which was a sure sign that they weren't playing a video game.

"What? I wanted to come with you!" I let out an audible grunt at the turn of events, which was only compounded when my phone rang.

"I don't want to hear it," I answered.

"You don't want to hear it. Why the hell would you want to hang out with Jess and Michael?" Joey's voice was filled with agitation.

"Jacob said you all were practicing, and I wanted to hear you play." It wasn't entirely a lie.

"Jacob said?" He stuttered over the words.

"Oh, hey man, we went into Red Wall today; probably should've told you," Jess offered in the background.

"You've been seeing Jacob?" Joey growled into the phone.

"No, he just came into the store with Michael and Jess. While there, he mentioned you all were playing. He said you were really good." I was again annoyed with myself. I didn't need to explain whom I was speaking with to Joey.

"Well, you missed us," Joey managed through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I guess I did." I said nothing else; I just ended the call.

My phone lit up a moment later with a simple "sorry" from Matt.

I gazed at it for a long moment, willing my rational side to win, but it was futile. I knew where this was headed before I even unlocked my phone.

"Hey, I guess I can't make it tonight. The boys left before I got home. Maybe next time." A mixture of satisfaction and panic swirled in me as I watched the text bubbles blink.

"What is your address?"

I expected the reaction from Jacob. I could've just sent my address to start, but I wanted to confirm that he'd fall into my plans as much as I'd fall into his. I texted him my address and waited.

"A car will be there in two minutes." Jacob wasn't a pleasantries texter, but he was accurate.

As Rigby rose ahead of my Uber, I texted Jacob that I was there.

"I can stay until you get inside," the driver offered as he skeptically surveyed the house before him.

"No, it's okay. My friends live here," I absently spoke as I did one last check in my self-camera view.

"Are you sure? It looks pretty deserted."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks again."

I was about to ring the bell when Jacob opened the door.

"Hello," he offered. His expression already appeared to be hiding a joke.

"Hello, Jacob." I tried to hold my tone even. Despite my preparation, 'oh shit" still rattled through my brain.

Wordlessly, he shifted to the side to allow me to enter. As I passed through the doorway, I felt his hand on the small of my back, ushering me inside.

"Your friends are in the basement," he offered in a low murmur.