Party. My apartment. Noon. Basketball.
Those were the only words Jimmy had left on my voicemail. It was a Sunday in March and the March Madness basketball tournament was underway. I hadn't talked to Jimmy since I switched jobs. I hadn't talked to Kat either. Despite their general toxicity, as well as the ticking time bomb of my short term sexual affair with Jimmy, they were my first two friends when I moved down here. I missed them and thought it would be good to see them again. Surely, if Kat had any idea about the missteps Jimmy and I had made, Jimmy would not be inviting me to a party at their apartment.
In other news, my roommate and her fiancΓ© had moved out of the apartment and into a place of their own in early March. I had the apartment to myself until June 15th when my lease expired. I still had not found a place to live and time was running short. I packed that anxiety away for another day and hopped in the shower. It was already 1030am and I wanted to at least watch the early games with Jimmy and Kat before meeting Courtney for early evening drinks.
I arrived at Jimmy and Kat's apartment at 1230pm. I had done two shots of tequila before heading over as a remedy for my frayed nerves. I was dressed in a blue gators tank top, as my orange version had been ruined during my last visit here. I quickly noticed I was the only party attendee so far.
Jimmy was decked out in blue gator gear, sitting on the sofa by himself.
"Where's Kat?" I inquired.
"We're done. She moved back home two weeks ago," Jimmy replied.
Had she found out about me and Jimmy? Had she just had enough of him? Or did Jimmy break up with her? Questions were flying through my mind while anxiety was shooting through my chest.
I should've figured by the state of the apartment she was gone. It was a mess. There were beer bottles all over the table and what looked like a left over styrofoam container of wings on the floor near the television. There was an air mattress in the corner with a baseball cap and what looked like a pack of cigarettes inside it.
"Beer is in the fridge," Jimmy informed me without even a glance. The fridge was filled with beer bottles and only beer bottles. I grabbed one and returned to the living room.