I glanced over quickly before looking back just in time to avoid running into the back of a black SUV. The kind with tinted windows that made you wonder what was going on inside.
"You might grow on me eventually," I said.
"That's so sweet. I don't think anyone has ever said anything that nice to me," he said without a hint of sarcasm.
"If that's true, you need better friends," I said with a grunt.
"Nah." In the corner of my eye, he flapped his hand. "I already have best friends. Look at us, bonding. We're practically brothers already. This was a great idea."
This was a terrible idea.
"Sure," I said, because it was easier to agree with him than to argue. He'd made up his mind and continued to insist this was a stroke of brilliance on his part.
If I was honest with myself, there was a very small, minuscule, smaller than microscopic hint of relief that I wasn't going alone. I'd sooner actually drive off a cliff than trust my father, but I had to know what was going on down in the Hamptons.
If I knew anything, it was that Forrest Cross did nothing without a good reason. Since that good reason was likely to be very suspect, I could use all the backup I could get.
I wouldn't admit it, but Boner was starting to grow on me. Like mold on cheese. Still, I trusted him, and that was more than I'd say for most people.
"I know you'd like anyone else along with you other than me…" Boner started.
"Don't," I told him. "Don't start getting morbid and regretful. I don't hate you. I'm glad you're here. You know what you're doing. You won't hesitate."
"No, I won't," he said sounding more serious than I'd ever heard him. "You and me, we've got this." After a moment, he added, "What would our couple name be?"
"Couple?" I scrunched up my brow. "Why would we have a couple name?"
"If we're going to work together, we need a couple name," he said, sounding cheerful again.
"We don't need a couple name," I said.
"What about Joner?" he suggested. "Bules doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Or Bulius."
"Sounds like a load of Bulius to me," I remarked.
"Titmus the elder, did you just make a joke?" he asked.
"No, I said. I was saying it sounds like bullshit."
"Yes, you did," he said. "You made a joke, I heard you."
I sighed. "Fine, I made a joke. But we don't need a couple name."
"What about our last names?" he said, clearly not giving up on the idea, in spite of my protests. Possibly because of them
"Bittmus? Tonegard? I'll keep thinking about it."
"You do that," I said because clearly he wasn't giving up. Maybe it'd keep him quiet for a while.
"Can I ask why you don't have the same name as Forrest?" he asked.
"Because Zeus was Greek and Julius is Roman," I suggested.
"Huh. That's a good point."
I could almost see him frowning.
"I wonder why he didn't name you anything from ancient Greece. You could have been Achilles or Hercules or what's that guy's name? Iolus. Or better yet, Xena."
