“Knox,” he whispers into my ear again and again as he loosens the belt. I’m unable to do anything but hold on tight and remember to breathe.
I've only got another week of this.
My life is about to change forever, again. I'll start something new, and he’ll be a wonderful memory. And for the first time, I despair the reality of our arrangement. My tears flow in the darkness, and I wipe them away before he can see them.
Chapter10
Carter
If I thought Knox would have a eureka moment at career day and declare his desire to stay with me forever, I was wrong. It’s possible that I haven’t been dealing in reality.
Either way, the days have flown by, and now it’s somehow Wednesday, and I only have till Sunday to convince him that California is a bad idea and that he should stay here. Thankfully, California came through with a wildfire about twenty miles outside of Pasadena.
“Oh no, Knox. Did you see the fire that’s right by Pasadena?” I ask innocently, shoving my phone into his hands to ensure he sees how gray and hazy and unwelcoming it is.
He sighs heavily, shaking his head at the screen. “So many acres lost. Even the school I’ll be going to had to shut down for three days because of the smoke. Thankfully, wet weather is coming through in the next two days, which’ll take care of a lot of it. It’ll be all cleared out by the time I get to the area.”
“Thank goodness,” I say, trying to sound happy that there are no obstacles to him moving sixteen hundred miles away from me.
This is ridiculous. I met him just over two weeks ago, and yes, he’s great. Yes, he gets me. Yes, he’s beautiful. Yes, he’s kind. Yes, he’s funny. Yes, his dimples make me want to sign over every bank account I have. But he’s got goals, and I’m not one of them, and I need to get on board with this.
Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and make it harder for him to go.
“So, after this, you’ll be in Austin for a few days?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I think I’m a little bit over the big cities. I might find some cool little towns along the way to go to instead. I mean, yeah, I’ll be passing right through Austin, but I might just stop for lunch and keep on going.”
“Well, I was thinking…maybe if I play hooky today and we take your car into town, we can road test it. Make sure that it’s good for the journey across, you know, the Mohave Desert.”
“You’ll go with me into Austin?” he asks, his beautiful amber eyes gleaming.
I’d go with you anywhere.
“Yeah. I think it’ll be fun. And it’s been dang near two years since I’ve had even a single day off. Also, my dear, sweet employees suggested that maybe I shouldn’t show up today.”
“Sally put her foot down?” he asks, semi-gloating.
“Maybe.”
Truthfully, the whole team ganged up on me, so it’s possible I need to unclench about the shop.
As we pack up for our ride into town, he insists on showing me how he’s been traveling. I’ll be honest, when he picks out a jar of Goober Grape from the shelf at the grocery store and the cheapest white bread he can find, I’m deeply unimpressed. No wonder he was underweight when he got to us.
Thankfully, with the trip to the store, we miss most of the traffic on the way into town. Since his emphasis is on doing things that highlight natural beauty or are free, I first drive him to downtown Austin to get footage of the capitol building. I then take him to my friend’s pizza shop, and she insists on giving us free sample slices of her peach pizza.
“This should not taste as good as it does,” I say, taking another bite. “It’s a crime against nature that this is so good.”
Knox looks up, a little bit of peach on his chin. “Agreed. If she tells us that she sold her soul to the devil for this recipe, I’ll believe her.”
We spend a good part of the afternoon at Zilker Park, walking the trails, checking out Barton Springs, hiking through the runoff area, and stopping every four feet for Knox to say hello to every damn dog in the park.
Austin's a pretty gay-friendly city, and we see plenty of same-sex couples everywhere we go. Knox gets excited every single time. As we walk around Town Lake, now known as Lady Bird Lake, we run into a guy I’ve fucked a couple of times, and Knox is decidedly less thrilled.
“Roly?”
“Carter?”
Roly walks over, hand-in-hand with a gorgeous bear of a man, and gives me a huge hug. “Oh my god! I haven’t seen you in forever! This is my husband, Heath.” As we shake hands, Roly turns to Knox. “And who is this slice of deliciousness?”
