Just You and I

Chapter 28

*6 years later*

Jake

"Chill your horses Jeremy, I'm headed over there right now."

"I can't believe you're making your best friend wait out in the cold!"

"Hey, it's not like you're alone! Plus I told you, you could just wait inside for me!"

"And what -lose my amazing beautiful lover in this god-awful sea of hormones?! I THINK NOT! Now hurry up!"

I could hear giggles on the other side of the line, before it went dead. That man can be such a dramatic sometimes.

I gather all the books that were spread out on the table in front of me. I tend to get quite serious when it comes to studying, especially now in my third year of college. I would pretty much live in the library everyday after class hours, and well into the evenings. Many days, like today, I tend to get carried away and lose track of time. So much so that I'd completely forgotten I was supposed to meet up with Jeremy and a few others from school at our usual bar tonight: to celebrate Zachary landing his first corporate job. 

I shove my giant psychology books into my bag the best I could, and carry the rest along with my laptop. 

Even at this hour, the halls are crowded with students either coming back from late night classes, or sports. I joined the basketball team here in college too but I haven't been taking it too seriously since I wanted to focus on my grades. My dad wasn't too happy about it (claiming I've got so much talent and it would be a shame if it went to waste), but after three years in he seems to have forgotten about ever having such a thought.

I made my way through corridor after corridor, saying my goodbyes and goodnights to most of the juniors and seniors I'd gotten acquainted with over the years, until I finally got to my dorm room. 

I chose to move into a dorm in my second official year of college because even though it was barely a 30 minute drive back home, my tendency to work late into the night made me way too tired to be driving. So I'd gotten a room in the dorms to make everything a little bit easier for me. I made tons of new friends too, this way. Not to mention I simply had to ask, and managed to score Jeremy as a roommate. It was way easier to adjust to dorm living with him. Though I don't quite understand why he didn't want to just wait a few more minutes and go to the bar with me. 

Then again, 'its Jeremy' I thought laughing to myself.

I dump my bag and books onto the bed and rush through the bathroom. A quick shower is enough to make my hair seem more decent, compared to the bit a mess I've been styling the last few days. Deodorant sprayed on, teeth brushed and face washed. Then I put on the first sweater that comes to my hand and a clean pair of jeans, tie up my shoes, slip on my jacket, and in the next minute I'm out the door heading to the bar 30 minutes away from here. Maybe 15, if I floor it. 

I park the car in the only spot visibly available for a mile, and walk about a block towards 'Sugar Bar', and find Jeremy buried in his jacket and wool scarf. He was concentrating on his phone, so he was most likely playing Candy Crush. He had his hand linked with a smiling Jordan Ashik. Zach was beside them too, and was on a seemingly intense phone call. 

"JAKE!! Fucking FINALLY!" Jeremy yelled.

Everyone turned to me and I waved with a smile back. 

"I'm sorry Zach reallyyyy, you know how I lose track of time when I'm studying"