Page 47 of Tough Guy and the Show Off

He kisses my temple and I lay my head on his shoulder and try to will tomorrow not to come.

TWENTY-THREE

BEAU

Waking up with Trav wrapped around me is exactly how I want every morning to start, but that’s not in the cards. This is it. In a couple of hours, I’ll be on a plane to Chicago.

Without Trav.

My best friend.

My… so much more.

I lift his arm off my chest and slip out of bed, heading to the bathroom, then on my way back, I stand at the foot of the bed and watch him for a few seconds, my chest heavy with sadness. He looks gorgeous even with messed-up hair and his signature smirk slack with sleep. I want to crawl back in and hold him, keep this moment as long as I can.

“If I pretend I’m still asleep, the morning doesn’t have to start, right?” Trav murmurs.

“I can’t pretend.”

He sighs, flipping onto his back and sitting up slightly. “Can I beg you not to go?”

I shake my head. “It’s not up to me. You know if it was, I wouldn’t be going anywhere.”

“I know.”

“I gotta get my stuff.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“You should rest.”

“Dude.” Trav gets out of bed and gives me a hard look. “You think I’m spending our last hours together lying in bed by myself?”

His answer makes my stomach flutter with emotions I haven’t bothered to name. Trav has been the most important person in my life almost since the day we met. How do I even process this?

Pushing those thoughts aside, I throw on sweatpants and Trav’s shirt. He puts on clothes of his own and follows me across the hall to my apartment. This building is so popular that my unit will probably sell in a day. Some new person will live across the hall from my best friend. This is so fucking surreal. Maybe I don’t need to put it up for sale right away. There’s a lot happening, I can just wait for right now and deal with it later… maybe over the summer.

“I’m gonna miss you coming over whenever,” Trav says as I gather up a few final things.

“Me too.”

“What are you gonna do when there’s a storm?”

My stomach clenches. “Deal with it, I guess.”

“Maybe you’ll get a new best friend who lives across the hall.”

“Don’t say stupid shit. You know there’s no replacing you.”

Trav picks at the cuticle on his thumb. “I want you to make friends and be happy. I want you to like your new city and team.”

“I know.”

“But…” He doesn’t finish his thought. He doesn’t have to.

“I know.”

We’re quiet for a few long moments. The sadness is suffocating. I don’t want it to end like this.