Home is a Four Letter Word

chapter thirty-two

The End of May

There was a gentle breeze in the night that filled Jake's lungs up with the lingering smoke of the firepit a couple yards away. The sun had set over the hill an hour ago, and now the fire lit up the space outside with just enough glow to cover the faces of those around it singing bad country music and playing a slightly drunken version of cornhole.

Five of those players consisted of Jake, Aaron, Hunter, and two freshmen from their team who Jake never got to know that well, but Hunter seemed ecstatic to be playing with.

"Come on!" Hunter shouted when Aaron threw a bag that knocked his off the board.

"Sucks to be you." Aaron shrugged proudly.

If there was one thing Jake knew about Aaron was that when the alcohol hit, so did his extroverted side—the rare appearance of Aaron's loud inner-personality that got to shine through. The only thing that ever happened to Jake when he drank was his increased will to go directly to bed and stay there until his body no longer felt numb and his brain could handle the burden of reality. This night was no exception, and God, these boys are draining. He took the last drink from his beer can and tossed it to the pile they had started next to the boards.

Jake was waiting patiently for his turn again—nearly falling asleep in his place—when his phone buzzed from inside his pocket. He pulled it out, blinking profusely as he quickly turned the brightness down to keep himself from being blinded. There was a message from Connor.

having fun? i think hunter is about to throw himself onto the board with the next one...

He glanced up, not realizing Connor was already at the party, or even at what time he arrived. Jake hadn't remembered seeing him earlier, but he quickly scanned the multitude of familiar faces around him until he found the one he was looking for. In a state of immense focus, he finally located him sitting in a lawn chair next to Kaylee, Katherine, and McKenna in front of the fire—coincidentally tilting his head in a smug smile once Jake finally found him. The girls were talking to each other, but Connor was sitting on the outside, phone in hand, texting out another message.

Jake looked down to his screen.

yeah, hi.

Hey, how long have you been here?

Jake grinned as he typed back, looking up to watch Connor's face as soon as it sent. He read Jake's message, his tongue tracing along his bottom lip—seemingly without a thought—as he started typing out his response.

long enough to see you tank that last round you played.

Jake shook his head as he looked down at his phone with a playful smile.

You think you could do better, then get your ass over here...

When Jake looked up to Connor this time he was nodding his head while typing.

yeah, so I can play against your friends? no thanks.

You scared of a challenge?

not exactly.

Not exactly, yeah, okay. You are.

you know what jake? keep it up and i'll show you a real challenge...

With that message, Jake looked back up from his phone to where Connor was sitting innocently with his phone in his lap, head tilted over with a mocking smile when his eyes met Jake's. Jake shook his head lightly as he and Connor engaged in a staring contest—a task that had become quite difficult when Jake's eyes were creasing up from smiling at that idiot out there in front of him. Just when Jake thought he was about to lose, Connor looked down, his smile fading into something else—something more serious. When he glanced back up at Jake, he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head over as if studying him, or maybe, taunting him. Jake mimicked his glare, becoming increasingly aware of the look in his eyes that asked 'are you just going to stand there and ignore me for the rest of the night?'