Babysitting the Player

Chapter 18

"The boys are sleeping a little too well." Bryce rolls his eyes.

"Smart decision to make coffee before waking them."

"Agreed." Alyssa laughs. "I do not want to be the one to go down there."

"I don't blame you." Maggie shakes her head.

"Is Layla around?" Alyssa asks.

"No, she spent the night at her grandparents."

"Aw, I was hoping to see her. How is she handling the move?"

"She's coming around."

"Coffee's ready," Bryce says and grabs a bunch of mugs from the cabinet next to the fridge. "Who's having?"

"Me," Alyssa and I say together.

"And me," Maggie says. "And definitely Nick and Jacob."

"Of course." Bryce pours some coffee into four of the six mugs. "There's all different flavors of creamer in the fridge, you guys can help yourselves."

Maggie sets the bottles on the counter and I grab the dark blue mug and pour some French vanilla creamer into my coffee. Bryce goes for the hazelnut and Alyssa uses the caramel. Once our coffee is prepared, we go into the living room and sit back down on the couch.

"The house looks amazing, Maggie," Alyssa says.

"Thanks. I got a lot done but the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen still need a lot of work."

"Which we could do faster if you'd hire someone." Bryce points out. "I get doing other stuff on your own, but kitchens are no joke."

"If I hire someone, I have to cut back the budget for the cabinets and appliances. I don't want to cut corners, I want to redo the kitchen once. It's just not the right time."

"Should we wake up the boys?" Alyssa asks.

"Be my guest," Bryce says.

"Not happening."

"I'll do it." Maggie laughs and goes downstairs. "Wish me luck."

"So you're looking at colleges up here?" I ask Alyssa.

"Yeah. I've got some family that lives here so I might stay with them and save money on dorming."

"That's a good idea. You're still getting the experience of going away to school and being away from your parents without having the price tag of it."

"Exactly."

"Do you know what you're gonna major in?"

"Sort of. I'm still trying to decide between either teaching or nursing."

"Cool."

"What about you?"

"I think I'm gonna start at community college. I don't have a clue what to major in."

"I'm glad I'm not going that route." Bryce laughs.

"You're not gonna go to college?" Alyssa asks.

"Nope. School's just not my thing."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Not sure yet. Maybe trade school for a bit."

There's stomping on the stairs so I look over and see the boys making their way up.

"Good morning," Alyssa says.

"Fuck off." Jacob flips us off and Nick lets out a yawn.

"Someone's cranky." I laugh.