Let's Go

Gemma sat with her legs under her on her bed, waiting for Freddy to get out of the shower, absently scrolling through her phone while the bathroom fan hummed in the background.

Her screen lit up with a text from Tony. Good morning, Shortcake. Your brother owes me fifty bucks. I won the bet.

A small smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it. Bet? she typed back. What bet?

Kyle bet me they’d have to turn around and come get you before they even made it home.

“That asshole,” Gemma announced to the room.

Freddy stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, steam curling behind her. “Um… who are we mad at?” she asked, rifling through her drawer for clothes. She yanked the towel off her head and started aggressively drying her hair.

“My brother,” Gemma said, glaring at her phone. “Apparently he bet Tony fifty bucks that they’d have to turn around and come get me before they even made it home.”

Freddy snorted. “Okay, that’s actually kind of funny.”

“It is not,” Gemma argued, though she was already fighting a smile. “He didn’t even think I could survive twenty-four hours on my own.”

Freddy pointed the towel at her. “To be fair, didn’t you say you spent the entire drive out here talking about how you didn’t want to leave literally everyone and everything you’ve ever known?”

Gemma flopped backward onto the bed dramatically. “I was going through something.”

“You still are,” Freddy informed her.

Gemma groaned into Tony’s sweatshirt. “Yeah, well, apparently my emotional breakdown was profitable.”

Freddy laughed as she pulled on her shirt. “Text him back and tell him not to worry. I’ll take good care of you while you’re here.”

Gemma raised an eyebrow. “That sounds vaguely threatening.”

“It should,” Freddy replied proudly. “It’ll probably involve chaos and at least three terrible decisions.”

Tony text: And for the record, I never took the bet because I thought you’d fail I knew you wouldn't

Gemma stared at that one a little longer than she meant to, warmth blooming in her chest despite herself.

Gemma headed toward the bathroom, still looking down at her phone. Freddy watched her go, shaking her head with a little smirk.

“Yeah,” Freddy called after her, “just his best friend’s kid sister.”

“Rude!” Gemma called out laughing as she shut the bathroom door behind her.

A few minutes later, Gemma came out of the bathroom dressed in the jeans and shirt Freddy had tossed her earlier. She carefully folded Tony’s sweatshirt and placed it at the end of her bed.

Freddy watched her, eyebrows raised. “Why are you taking such care with an old sweatshirt?”

Gemma blushed. “It’s Tony’s.”

Freddy let out a laugh that echoed through the dorm room. “Tony, huh? The Tony who treats you like a kid sister. You just looked at your phone like you were in love with it that last text you got.”

Gemma nearly choked. “Oh my God, I did not.”

“You absolutely did,” Freddy shot back. “That was a full-on romance movie smile. ”Gemma stood looking at her. “Nothing to say? mmhmm I thought so."

“Freddy, I’ve known you less than twenty-four hours and you think you know me already?” Gemma laughed.

“I know enough to know you don’t think of this Tony as a big brother figure,” Freddy shot back. “That was not a sibling look—or at least, nothing I ever gave my brothers.” She pointed to the shirt Gemma had just folded. "And I sure as heck would never treat one of their sweatshirts like they were made of gold. Theirs are mostly stains and sweat."

"I..." Gemma started to say something then looked at the shirt. She laughed, "I suppose there was something there on my end but he doesn't think of me that way."

Freddy shook her head at her and said, "Lets go get an early dinner and hit the town and cause as much chaos as we can."

“Let’s go have an early dinner and then go out and cause some chaos,” Freddy declared. She hooked her arm through Gemmas and they walked out of their dorm room together.

They made thier way across campus to the little diner Gemma’s parents had taken her to. After they ordered, Freddy leaned back in the booth and grinned. “So, tell me about this Tony.”

“Tony’s just… Tony,” Gemma said, shrugging.

Freddy stared her down, waiting her out in silence.

Gemma sighed, giving in. “Okay. Tony and my brother Kyle grew up together—they were always causing trouble in our little town. He was at our house all the time. Out of all Kyle’s friends, Tony was always just… Tony. He looked out for me the way Kyle did, and then I think he started seeing me differently, but he never wanted to say anything. Now I’m here and he’s there. He’ll end up with someone else as soon as he forgets about me.”

“Tony’s just… Tony,” Gemma said, shrugging.

Freddy stared her down, waiting her out in silence.

Gemma sighed, giving in. “Okay. Tony and my brother Kyle grew up together—they were always causing trouble in our little town. He was at our house all the time. Out of all Kyle’s friends, Tony was always just… Tony. He looked out for me the way Kyle did, and then I think he started seeing me differently, but he never wanted to say anything. Now I’m here and he’s there. He’ll end up with someone else as soon as he forgets about me.”

Freddy turned serious. “So what about vacations, or other times you want to go home? He’ll still be there, right?”

“Yeah,” Gemma said quietly. “He’s part owner of KT Spirits with Kyle. But that doesn’t keep him from moving on.” She stared out the window, her thoughts drifting far away.