Just Pucking Money [COMPLETED]

Chapter 38 - Ethan does math

Ethan

"You ready to head to practice?" Liam asks, and I look up from the video game I'm playing.

"Already?" I check the time. We don't have to be there for another hour.

He shrugs. "I just need something to do."

Smiling, I pick up the other controller and hold it out to him. He's been in a mood lately, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the equestrian from Rivers. She might be more than he can handle.

He sighs, but grabs the controller and sits down. I back out and choose multiplayer.

"I went by Lucky's with some of the new guys for lunch," he says as we load into the game.

"So?"

"Lily was there. Again. How does she even have time to study? She's like always there."

"Yeah, she works a lot." I contemplate this for a moment. "I thought maybe she was a gold digger, but I think I was wrong."

Liam laughs but cuts himself off when I glare at him. "Nobody who works that hard to survive is a gold digger." He tilts his head a little. "And everyone that works that hard is a gold digger."

"That makes no sense? Are you saying Lily is a gold digger?" I frown at the game.

Liam shrugs. "From what I've seen, Lily will always come out on top. She's the kind of person who's determined to improve her situation and prepared to work hard to do that. She reminds me of my mom."

"I guess." There's a sense of pride in me at the thought of Lily taking charge of her life and working for what she wants. "She just needs to work less. Sometimes she looks tired."

Liam shakes his head. "I sometimes forget how stupid you are."

"Hey!" I pause the game and give him an incredulous look. When did we turn to insults? "Who are you calling stupid?"

"Fine, not stupid. Ignorant."

"How is that any better?" I huff and continue the game.

"Because ignorance can be fixed by knowledge. Stupidity can't."

Shaking my head, as if that would make sense of what Liam is saying, I press pause again.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Liam takes a deep breath and turns toward me. "Why do you think Lily is a gold digger?"

I clear my throat. "I don't."

"But you suspected. Why?"

"It was just something Henry said. And my parents. About how women are going to use me to get my money."

Liam shakes his head. "It takes two minutes of conversation with Lily to see she's not like that."

"That's what I said. She's not a gold digger."

Liam turns back to the screen and I unpause the game. "In a way, she is, because she knows how hard it is to be without money, but she's the kind of person that would never use anyone else to get ahead. She's going to earn her own money."

"She's not your mom," I say, but I'm filled with pride at the thought of Lily being capable of great things. "I still don't see why she has to work so much. Especially when she should be focusing on her studies. She never even offers to take a day off when I want to do stuff. Or to come to a game."

"Well, yeah, because she earns upward of a hundred dollars a day when she works. Probably more if it's a game day."

My insides run cold. "Is that a lot?" A hundred dollars a day. That doesn't sound like enough.