Chapter 48

The tall, athletic quarterback lowered his broad shoulders and powerfully made four lines of coke disappear. I looked at Jason and nodded in the direction of the blow. He gave a casual shrug and sauntered over to it. He did a couple rails, and I followed him.

"Fuck yeah, boys," I said, and we clinked our glasses again.

We made some small talk, catching up. Jamie was a good dude, but he wasn’t a huge talker. He was personable but shallow, a hedonist at heart and a good-times guy. I liked him. He told us that he and Katie had been dating for about five months, but it was more a matter of convenience.

"We have a lot in common," Jamie said. "We have a lot of fun. A lot of fun. She’s a good girl, but it’s not exclusive or anything. It really suits both of us perfectly. Low-pressure."

Then Jason surprised me by steering the conversation somewhere I hadn’t anticipated.

"So, bud," he said, addressing me, "I heard you