Twelve
Phoenix
Stopping at my parents’ for the night was the best idea I’ve ever had, because if there’s anything worse than being forced to share a house with the constant source of my misery for ten whole days, it has to be driving seventeen straight hours with him to get there.
My patience was already wearing thin before we stopped for lunch yesterday, so breaking it up into two days was necessary.
And I’ll admit, after overhearing Holden had lost his parents, spending the night at home with mine ended up being an added bonus. I hugged them goodbye a little longer than usual this morning because of it too.
“Dude, why didn’t you say you’re loaded?” Noah says as we pull out of the driveway to officially hit the road.
“My parents are loaded,” I correct him, not bothering to look up from where I’m scrolling through my playlist. But nothing sounds good to drown the three of them out for the next ten hours of driving.
“Typical rich person’s response,” Kason reminds me.
I glance his way, finding him already peering at me over his shoulder from the passenger seat. But he’s got a soft smile on his face that I know well enough to realize he’s poking fun.
My family’s money has never meant anything to Kason, even when we were growing up. In fact, it’s one of the many reasons we became so close, despite him coming from a completely different lifestyle.
Doesn’t mean he passes on the opportunity to troll me for being a trust fund kid.
“What do they do?” Holden asks, and my attention shifts to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror.
I silently debate how much to tell him before going with the watered-down version. “Dad works for a record label.”
Kason snorts, and I catch him shaking his head. “Try owns a record label.”
“No shit,” Noah muses beside me. “Country?”
I let out a short laugh and shake my head, since that’s what everyone assumes when they think of the music business in Nashville. “No, actually. More alternative rock and metal stuff.”
“Anyone I’ve heard of?” Holden pipes up.
“Doubtful,” I mutter, still focused on my phone.
Kason decides to join the conversation with, “He signed Icarus Ignites last year.”
“For real?” This comes from Holden, and I glance up to see him looking at me in the mirror for the eight millionth time in two days.
My eyebrows lift in surprise. “You know them?”
“Of course. They’ve exploded in the past few months.” A little smirk forms on his lips. “Well deserved, since their new album is a masterpiece. Nash Kaelin has the voice of an angel and the scream of Satan himself.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself—though I’m a bit taken aback by him having even heard of the band at all.
“He listens to a lot of the same stuff you do, Phoe,” Kase says. “Maybe it’s enough for you two to call a cease-fire for the rest of the trip?”
“Highly unlikely,” I say at the same time Holden says, “Absolutely not,” and our gazes lock in the mirror again.
At least we can agree on something.
“What do you mean by a lot? ” I ask skeptically, my interest piqued.
Rather than listing out his music tastes, Holden unlocks his phone and tosses it at me in the back seat.
I quickly scroll through his downloaded music and find out Kason is right.
There’s a ton of music on here that I already know.
A Day To Remember, I Prevail, and Bad Omens roll out his top three artists.
Bring Me The Horizon isn’t far behind—though I’m chalking it up to his sharing the same last name with the lead singer rather than having actual taste.
But as I keep searching the list, I’m shocked to see some obscure bands it took me years to find, Nerv and AVOID being two of them.
“Shit,” I whisper before holding the phone out for him. “You’re telling me Holden Sykes, campus playboy, and literal golden retriever, is a closet emo?”
Noah snorts out a laugh. “ Holden retriever.”
“That’s going a bit far with it,” he says as he takes the phone from my hand while ignoring Noah’s joke. Yet, from the flash in his eyes, I’m taking it as a yes.
Well, I’ll be damned.
“At least you’re not a closet Swiftie,” Kason says, and I watch him visibly shudder.
His nose wrinkles up in disgust. “Unless it’s a metal cover, I refuse to listen to her songs.”
Once again, he’s stolen the words right outta my mouth, which leaves me in nearly as much shock as his taste in music. Never in my lifetime would I have thought we would have that in common.
Truth be told, I never thought we’d have anything in common, yet here we are.
Add it to the growing list of things I’m learning about Holden Sykes.
God only knows how many hours we’ve been in the car now. It feels like close to an eternity, and after hitting multiple slowdowns through Atlanta and Tampa, I’m getting antsy for us to finally arrive at the condo.
We all are, if Noah’s constant tapping on his leg or Holden’s inability to pick a single song to listen to are any indications. The only person who seems relaxed is Kason—and that’s because he’s passed out yet again.
I swear, he could sleep through a fucking hurricane.
However, a buzz of excitement fills the car when we finally pass the sign welcoming us to St. Petersburg, Florida, giving all of us a burst of new life.
“I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight,” Noah says as he stares out the window at the sign.
“You haven’t seen the beach yet,” I tell him, grinning.
“Hope it’s worth it, ‘cause that ride was brutal, and I never wanna do it again.”
I glance at him, brows raised. “We get to do it all over again in ten days. Unless you forgot, we don’t get to stay here forever.”
He lets out a long, low groan. “Fuck, don’t remind me.”
“At least we’ll all be tired,” Kason pipes up, and I hadn’t realized he was awake again.
“That’s true.” This comes from Holden. “The anticipation is always the worst part, so it always feels a million times longer.”
Yet another thing we can agree on, as trivial as it might be. But I’m hoping it means spending these next ten days with him won’t be nearly as painful as I initially thought they’d be.
At least, here’s to hoping.
“So since we’re almost here, what’s the rooming situation gonna be like?” Noah asks, glancing between the three of us. “Because as much as I love you guys, I’m not looking to snuggle up with another guy the entire time we’re here. Homo or no homo.”
I roll my eyes before looking over at him. “There are enough beds for everyone. I get the master, but besides that, you fools can figure it out.”
“I already got my roomie,” Holden says, causing my attention to lift to the rearview mirror. His eyes are already staring through it, waiting to lock with mine, and he smirks before glancing over at Kason.
I’m not sure why I didn’t expect this to be the case. Of course they’d probably want to stay in the same room if they’re seeing each other—even with taking things slow . But it’s yet another unexpected twist to this vacation, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
The last thing I wanna think about is these two fucking while I’m under the same roof.
“Well, then, I hope you’re not a light sleeper,” I say, trying to act unbothered by the two of them pairing off. “As you’ve witnessed, Kason snores like a freight train.”
“That’s a mild exaggeration,” Kason says before shooting me a look over his shoulder.
“I can hear you through the wall back at the apartment,” I say, my brow arching in challenge. “You really wanna argue with me on this?”
“Considering you’re asleep when it happens, I have to take Phoenix’s word on this one,” Noah chimes in. “Besides, you were snoring like half an hour ago.”
I smirk when Holden looks at me again. “Hope you brought earplugs.”
“That’s okay,” Holden says, his eyes flaring with challenge. “I’ve got other ways of shutting him up.”
Kason chokes on his own spit, forcing Holden to smack him on the back several times before laughing out a gruff fucking God.
“Might be a little too much information,” Noah remarks with a half-hearted laugh.
“Just didn’t want Nixy back there worrying about my well-being.”
My teeth sink into the fleshy side of my cheek, once again finding myself irritated with Holden still being a step ahead of me in this fucked up little game we’ve created. But I’ve got ten whole days to cause as much mayhem and destruction as I can between them—all under the radar, of course.
After telling Kason I’d do my best to be supportive, the last thing I need is for him to find out about Operation Cock Block.
But it’s also become painfully obvious that I can’t do this alone, so if this scheme of mine is gonna work, I’ll need a bit of help. And as I open my texts, I know just who to recruit.
Me: What’s your ETA?
Theo: Less than thirty minutes. Why?
My eyes widen as I glance up at the GPS on the dash, noting we still have almost an hour left thanks to traffic.
Me: Holy shit. How fast were you driving?
Theo: It’s all Wyatt. I swear, he thinks the speed limit is just a suggestion.
A grin tilts my lips up, and not just because I can hear Wyatt saying that exact thing in my head. Their early arrival will actually work out, should recruiting Theo go according to plan at least.
Me: You’ll be there half an hour before us.
Theo: Is that a problem? We can pull off at a gas station and wait for you guys to catch up. Or we can swing by the store and get food and alcohol before you get there.
Me: No, it’s fine. I’ll text you the door code, and you guys can get settled in. Makes more sense for us to get the food and beer together anyway.
Theo: *thumbs up emoji*
I smile to myself as I type out my next text, feeling downright giddy about my plan seemingly falling into place. A tiny part of me feels a little bit guilty for it, but it’s quickly overshadowed by annoyance when I glance up to find Holden staring at me in the rearview mirror.
Lifting my free hand, I flip him the bird…and then I hit send.
Me: Can you also do me a massive favor when you get there?
Theo: What’s up?