* * *
How far out are you?
If Daniel wanted to ride my ass about glancing at my phone while I drove, maybe he shouldn’t be the one texting me. And how in the fuck was I supposed to respond? I might have a bad habit of looking at my notifications instead of paying attention to the road, but that didn’t mean I’d text and drive. Fuck that noise. My life was a disaster, but that didn’t mean I wanted to wind up a smear on the highway.
I ignored the message and stepped on the gas. I was over halfway back to Annandale and the gloom of my morning with Dad was finally lifting. Soon, I’d be back in a world that made sense, even if that meant hiding shit from my roommates.
Do you want me to see if they’ll let me check you in? I’m sure you’re going to be wiped when you get here.
A lump formed in the back of my throat. Daniel was oblivious to how it felt when he took care of me. I spent a hell of a lot of time trying to play it cool. If I was unaffected, he wouldn’t get close to the core of my truth. Iwantedto be honest with the guys. So many times, at the end of last year, I’d considered apologizing to both Chase and Matt. They were the suitemates who endured my jealousy, but as far as they knew, it was just me being an utter dick.
Before I could pick up my phone to call Daniel, it chimed again.Don’t answer that. I’m going to get your shit. I’ll text you our new suite number when I’ve got it.
Fuck. I’d forgotten we weren’t going to be back in our suite this fall. Chase had asked if we’d be okay with his brother moving in with us. After everyone else said they were cool with it, I’d have solidified my place as the grand-champion dick if I’d said no. I hoped the kid wasn’t as easily upset as his older brother, because it would take me a bit to get into the groove of being back at school.
My stomach rumbled with an hour left in the drive. I considered pulling off the interstate for a bite to eat, but decided it wasn’t worth it. With Matt and Brandon not moving in until tomorrow, we could gorge ourselves on pizza without listening to Brandon bitch about how much food we could have bought for the same price. The man was a god in the kitchen, but some situations called for a slab of greasy, carby goodness.
My bladder threatened to explode by the time I rolled into town. Traffic was a bitch, with all the loving parents escorting their kids to school. On the third cycle of waiting to get through the same fucking traffic light, I eyed a dodgy looking gas station at the corner. I might need to visit Campus Health for shots just for looking at the detached bathrooms. It wasn’t good when you could see the grime from the road.
No, you can fucking hold it. Just a few more minutes.
Daniel hadn’t texted back yet. I picked up my phone and scrolled down to his contact information. The phone didn’t even ring before Daniel’s melodic voice echoed through the speakers. “Hey, worried I forgot about you?”
“Nah, but I have to piss like a racehorse. Think you can meet me out front and watch the car when I get there?” If I left the car unattended, they’d have it towed in a heartbeat. No one had a sense of humor during move-in.
“Whatever you need.” God, that was so like Daniel. Even if he was in the middle of unpacking his shit, he’d drop what he was doing for me. I seriously didn’t deserve him. “How long until you’re here?”
It was hard to tell with the snail’s pace of the line ahead of me. Maybe I’d have been better off parking in my assigned lot and waiting until tonight to unload my car. It wasn’t as if I had to deal with it now so my family could get back on the road. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a gridlock and I couldn't get out.
“Probably at least five minutes before I’m in the fire lane,” I told him. My bladder protested holding off that long. I pressed my thighs together, hoping I wasn’t about to piss myself. It was seriously that bad.
“You still have the Kia?”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, I had the same car I’d had since my junior year of high school. The only way it’d get replaced was if the engine blew. “You know it.”
“I’ll come find you.”
“Thanks, man.” I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. It’d sound gay as hell if I admitted how much I missed him, right? I bit down on my tongue hard enough I tasted the coppery tang of blood.
“Anything for you.” I’d heard that promise from Daniel so many times, and it never ceased to fill me with hope that there could be something more between us. But I couldn’t tell him that.
I turned up the stereo and tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, trying to keep from getting annoyed with the families ahead of me in line. Every time I saw a mother or father pull their student into their arms for a heartfelt farewell, it felt like a knife twisting in my chest. Just once, I wished that could be me. I wanted nothing more than for my dad to give me any sign he’d miss me while I was gone, and not only because I wasn’t there to dust the random crap cluttering his store.
The ache in my chest eased when I caught sight of Daniel’s lithe form jogging down the walk, weaving his way through the crowd. I gripped the steering wheel tightly to keep from jumping out of the car and yanking him into a tighter than socially acceptable hug.
I jumped when Daniel flung open the driver’s side door. “Thought you needed to take a leak?”
“Uh, yeah.” My fucking hands shook as I tried to unbuckle my seat belt. If this was how the year was kicking off, I couldn’t wait to see what level of freakish mess I’d be by the first day of classes. I needed to get my shit upstairs, and then maybe see if I could fuck this desire out of my system before I did something I couldn’t take back. “Sorry to interrupt you getting settled in.”
“Don’t sweat it.” The person behind me laid on their horn as I got out of the car and I glared at them. Daniel caught my arm as I tried flipping them off. Fuckers could be patient for ten seconds. It wasn’t like any of us were moving ahead quickly. Daniel draped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in for a quick hug. By some miracle, I resisted the urge to turn my head so I could draw in a whiff of his citrusy body wash. I may or may not have bought myself a bottle for the house so I could smell him even when he wasn’t around.
I was so screwed.
The impatient driver behind me honked again, this time muttering something I couldn’t understand even with their windows open. “I’ll take care of this. Grab your check-in packet while you’re in there and we’ll get your stuff out of the car.”
“Yeah. Cool.” If anyone else took charge like that, I would have told them to fuck off, but with Daniel, I felt more of the tension leaving my shoulders and back. I didn’t have to worry about everything because he was always there to keep me from fucking up my entire life. I took a step back, holding the door while he slid into the seat. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking up at me. The fucker was going to say something stupid; I just knew it. I pushed the door closed and thumped on the hood as I rounded the front of the car.
I could do this. I just needed a bit of space.
