Once they got Parker situated in the back seat of the truck, they headed towards Parker’s dormitory.
“You know the way to my dorm?” Parker asked as he stretched out on the bench seat, trying to get comfortable.
“It’s in the GPS,” Lance confirmed.
“I already texted a few of the guys who live on campus. I’d finished packing most of my stuff last weekend, so it should be easy to grab my shit and get back on the road again.” He hesitantly added, “So, is Tanner going to be helping with the move today?”
Tanner glanced at Parker in the rearview mirror, who looked back at him nervously.
“If that’s alright,” Tanner replied before Lance could say anything.
“Yes, of course,” Parker replied, a bit too quickly. “I just—you also seem injured, so I don’t want to—” he broke off, looking uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t want to make things worse.”
Tanner snorted.
“My leg is healed, actually. I’ve just got a limp,” Tanner informed him calmly, with a casual shrug.
Parker’s expression changed from embarrassed to sympathetic.
“Football accident?”
“Nah, I never played. I was in an accident,” he replied, and Parker’s eyes narrowed speculatively. He turned to Lance for clarification, but Lance didn’t offer any details. Parker obviously expected his brother to fill him in.
Stopping at a red light, Tanner glanced over at Lance, who was kicked back and looking chill. No help from that quarter then. Might as well bite the bullet.
“Your brother sold me a desk. We kind of hit it off when he brought it over to my condo. We watched your game the other night. That was some impressive shit you pulled out there on the field.”
Parker’s puzzled expression quickly morphed into one of extreme smugness.
“Our team made Ohio look like junior varsity 2ndstring in that game,” Parker proudly boasted.
“Just to keep the record straight, your team did get sacked four times though,” Lance pointed out as a reality check for his overly confident brother.
“Hey now! It’s not my fault that our offensive line kept letting those bastards through! I caught what I got sent!” he yelled, sitting up suddenly, having forgotten about his cracked ribs. “Shit! Jesus that hurts!” he groaned.
“Settle down, princess. We’re almost there.” Lance chuckled at his brother’s antics.
“You’re one to talk! You sprained your ankle one summer and refused to even try walking on it for a fucking month,” Parker reminded him with a mocking laugh.
“Oh, contraire, Mr. Know It All! It wasn’t sprained. It was broken. Except no one believed me when it happened, and I had to hop around without a cast for a full fucking month before I finally got an X-ray,” Lance replied.
Their dynamic reminded Tanner of babysitting his nieces. The relentless back-and-forth bickering that was entertaining right up until things escalated to screams and tears. He could only hope neither of the brothers would throw a hissy fit. He wasn’t sure he was up for that.
Tanner heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the sign for Parker’s dorm and found a visitor’s parking spot close to the main door. They piled out of the truck and Parker greeted his friends who’d already gathered some things at the curb to make loading easier.
Tanner helped out some, but his left arm was still weak from being in a sling for so long and his leg was achy and stiff. He carried some lightweight stuff like a desk lamp and school supplies, while the frat boys and Lance handled all the rest. By 12:00 p.m., they were done. Parker hugged and backslapped his pals and wished them all a great summer break.
Lance looked on with pride as his brother said his goodbyes. Tanner had to admit it was almostcutehow much he cared.
“He’s a good kid,” Tanner observed.
“He is. A great kid,” Lance confirmed with a nod.
Waiting in the truck with Lance while Parker wrapped up his goodbyes, Tanner ached with the need to touch Lance. While Tanner couldn’t exactly lean over for a kiss—the frat boys would have surely noticed—he still wanted to, quite badly. Lance must have felt the same because he reached over and grabbed Tanner’s hand.
Surprised, Tanner looked down at their joined hands and then up at Lance with raised brows.
“Thank you,” Lance said sincerely with a sweet smile.
