“Yeah. She’s Abigail. She’s my friend.”
“Do you think you’ll become more than friends?” I keep my voice casual, my insides tossing and turning as thoughts of Dani hit me hard.
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I liked it when she held my hand.”
“That was exciting, right?” I grin at him.
“I don’t want to have the sex, though.” He shakes his head. “That’s your job.”
I snicker. “Why don’t you want to have sex?”
“It sounds yucky.”
I nod, suddenly deciding I don’t want to go there.
“But I know you… that you have sex and you like it.” He grins. “So you should… you do it.”
My laughter is dry as I shake my head, gathering up the Uno cards and shuffling them. “I need to find myself a woman for that.”
“What about Dani?”
I purse my lips. “We’re not together anymore, brah. You know that.”
“Yeah, but you still… you think about her all the time. I know you miss her. Just like… just… I missed you when you were away.”
“I know,” I have to admit.
“So, you should… go see her.” His face lights up, like he’s just come up with the best idea. “You go see her and she’ll see you, and you… you can have all the sex.”
I wince. “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t just…” I shake my head, my sigh deep and heavy. “She has to want me too, you know? That’s how it works. You both want each other. Youbothlove each other, and then you can be together.”
Cyrus thinks about this, then nods and leans back in his chair, staring at me like I’m overcomplicating things or something, but I’m seriously not.
“Hey, uh…” I check my watch and rise from my chair. “I don’t have time to play another round. I need to go and pick up that stuff for Mama, and then I have to get ready for work.”
Dad hooked me up with a job at the construction company he works for. It’s just some manual labor stuff to see me through the summer. I had my interview with his boss, and the guy is keen to take me on, train me up as a project manager… after the summer. So, I’ve been digging ditches and sweating up a storm on various construction sites. The heat has been brutal, which is why the foreman at this week’s job has been running early morning and evening shifts.
I’ll be working through until after 3 a.m., but I don’t mind so much.
“Okay, Ty.” Cyrus watches me walk out of the room as I call my dad, who tells me he’ll be home in an hour, so I don’t have to take Cyrus with me.
I’m kind of relieved. I love my brother so much, but I’m done for the day. And now it means I can collect Mama’s stuff from the store across town and have dinner out that way. I won’t needto come back home before my shift. I’ll just grab myself a burger and eat it in the car.
Cyrus will be okay on his own, but I text Mama to let her know as well. She’ll no doubt call him in twenty minutes or so to make sure he’s still in one piece.
Lacey’s at a sleepover tonight, so at least that’s one less person to think about.
Stepping into my room, I spot Rook curled up on a sunny patch of my bed.
“Hey, boy,” I greet him, kissing his head and giving him a little pet before getting changed into my work clothes. I pause by my mirror, gazing at the ticket shoved into the frame.
“Dani,” I whisper, wondering if she’s going to be at the concert.
Tobin texted me last week, reminding me about it, making sure I’d booked a flight. I gave him an ambivalent answer, not wanting to commit to anything. If I do go, I’ll drive up. Yes, it takes about twelve and a half hours, but I need the time to prepare myself. And I wouldn’t mind the peace and quiet of driving all by myself with no one to take care of but me.
I just want to hit the road, get some space. I’ll stop the night somewhere, probably sleep in the back of my car at a truck stop or something, I don’t know.
I’ve been meaning to do a road trip. I had grand plans of visiting both Zander and Wily, but they haven’t come together. Family commitments and work have taken over, and I’m trying to scrape together every penny I can.
