8. Warren
CHAPTER EIGHT
WARREN
I brush my teeth, finally ready to retire for the night after a long day of falling on my ass in the hot sand, but I notice Kyle standing in front of the sofa with a look of pure dread on his face.
There’s only one comfortable bed on the RV, and that’s because the king-sized mattress in the bedroom is brand-spanking new. I had to replace it. The other option is a lumpy pull-out bed with a suspicious stain.
“Just sleep with me,” I blurt out, and Kyle’s blond head whips my way, his eyes widening in surprise.
He’s wearing the same worn T-shirt he always does; the soft blue fabric has a lot of holes and stretches over his muscular frame like it’s a couple sizes too small.
“W-what?” Kyle’s cheeks go bright red, and I tip my head back, barking out a loud laugh at the way that sounded.
“Look, Ky. I know the sofa bed isn’t comfortable. It’s really not a big deal, just sleep with me.”
He seems so unsure, standing there chewing on his lip, so I keep trying to coax him. “There’s plenty of room, you won’t even know I’m there.”
Kyle gives me a hesitant little smile. “This isn’t just one night, Ren. We’re talking about sharing a bed for two weeks.” He pulls at a string in the hem of his shirt, wrapping it around his finger tightly until the tip turns dark red.
“ Exactly, ” I reply. He just proved my point for me. “I won’t have you unable to sleep for two weeks, dude.”
Kyle and I stare-off for a moment, but he knows I’ll win any staring competition, and deep down he knows I’m right.
He absolutely cannot sleep on that shitty couch for that long.
“Remember your neck this morning?” I remind him.
Kyle sighs, finally giving in. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Let’s go to bed then.”
I nod with a little smile, and he follows me to the bedroom, walking so close I can feel the heat radiating from his body. A strange flutter rolls through my stomach, like maybe I ate something bad, but I know I cooked the sausage long enough this morning.
Pulling the covers back, I place a couple of extra pillows in the middle of the bed, fluffing them up to create a wall.
“ There. I’ll keep my cooties on my own side,” I joke, glancing over with a smirk.
“Ha. Ha,” Kyle deadpans, pursing his lips before he grabs both pillows and whacks me with them like he wants to start a pillow fight.
A loud laugh bursts from deep within me as I dodge his blows, and he tries to chase me.
This feels like old times.
This feels like us.
Kyle tosses the pillows to the ground and falls to bed with a soft smile and gentle laugh. His chest rises and falls steadily as he lounges with an arm above his head and one leg bent.
I love seeing him happy and carefree.
My heart is hammering faster than it should be as I climb into bed next to him, trying not to stare.
Kyle rolls to his side and faces me, tucking his hands under his cheek. He looks so young and innocent like this, despite the fact that he’s six-foot-four inches of solid muscle.
“ Thank you, ” Kyle whispers earnestly.
I pull the bedding up to our necks, tucking us both in with a lopsided grin. “It’s nothing, Ky. Seriously. Just a bed.”
“I wasn’t trying to imply that you have cooties or anything,” Kyle blurts out, making me chuckle. “I just didn’t want to impose on your personal space.” His kind blue eyes dart to the side, and I know he’s feeling vulnerable and maybe even slightly uncomfortable.
But this is his home, too, not just mine.
He needs to understand that.
“Kyle. This RV is our shared space. You can sleep anywhere you want, including my bed. Okay?”
He doesn’t answer right away, continuing to space out, so I dip my head, catching his eye. “ Okay? ” I repeat.
“Yeah, okay.” His smile is crooked and boyish as we gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment too long.
My heart skips a beat, but I ignore the weird little pitter-patter.
“I should have said something last night. Don’t know why I didn’t,” I whisper.
We continue to stare at each other in silence, neither of us saying another word until Kyle’s eyes grow heavy and flutter shut. His soft breaths fill the space between us, and as I watch my best friend sleep, I’m pulled into memories from eight years ago.
Tears blur my vision as I bike across downtown Haven Creek and into Kyle’s neighborhood. As soon as I see his two-story house with the cream shutters on the corner, I hop the curb, letting my bike fall to the grass. I sneak around back and climb the old tree that reaches toward his bedroom window.
I’ve never done this before, so I have no idea if it’ll even work, but I have to try.
I need my best friend right now.
Once I make it to the largest branch that’s level with Kyle’s bedroom, I lie there for a moment, panting heavily as I try to catch my breath. The rough bark scrapes against my skin and I sniffle, wiping my nose on my sleeve.
I have to get Kyle to notice me somehow, so I snap off a twig and toss it at the glass. The dull thud gains his attention, and he opens the window, instantly spotting me clinging to the thick branch with tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Ren!” he whisper-shouts in alarm before sticking half his body out of the window to help me climb through. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head no, continuing to cry silently.
“What’s wrong? You can tell me,” Kyle insists. “You can tell me anything.”
He’s wearing his favorite Spiderman pajamas, while I’m in jeans, a T-shirt, and my rain boots. The first pair of shoes I could find.
“I can’t sleep there,” I whisper vulnerably.
He doesn’t even ask me why, he’s just there for me like I knew he would be.
“It’s okay, Ren. You can sleep in my bed.”
Kyle pulls his superhero covers back, and we slide into his twin-sized bed. Our foreheads press together as tears continue to fall silently down my cheeks.
“She left us,” I whimper. “She didn’t just leave Dad, she left Val and me, too.”
A keening cry pours from my lips, sounding more like a wounded animal than a human boy.
How could she do this?
I need my mom.
“Shh. Please don’t cry, Renny,” Kyle whispers, brushing my tears away with the back of his finger. “You can sleep in my bed whenever you need to. For as long as you want. You’re always welcome here.” He pulls me to his chest, hugging me tightly while I sob. “Always.”
Bright, morning light streams through the open curtains, waking me from a deep, restorative sleep.
Arching my back, I attempt to stretch, but I’m halted by a heavy weight across my chest. I crack one eye open to find myself tangled with Kyle. His big arm is pinning me down while his thick thigh is shoved between my legs, inches away from my morning wood.
Fuck.
This is bad. Really bad.
We have to share this bed for the rest of the trip, and if Kyle finds us like this, he’ll freak out.
I slowly scoot to the side, successfully slipping out of Kyle’s embrace without waking him.
That was a close call.
I definitely don’t want to ruin this trip before it even really starts.
It’s our last day at the dunes, and then we’re back on the road, so I quickly change into a pair of joggers, a black T-shirt, and another flannel. I bend over, gathering all of my hair onto the top of my head and tying it up in a knot.
I tiptoe to the kitchen, intent on cooking breakfast for a second day in a row.
Limited by the food we have from Kyle’s mom and the cooking capabilities of an RV kitchen, I do my best. I find a tube of biscuits and preheat the oven, popping them open as quietly as possible.
It’ll be a good laugh to serve him breakfast in bed the first morning after he sleeps with me.
As I’m placing the biscuit dough on the cookie sheet, a brilliant idea comes to mind.
I can use the cookie sheet as a sled.
Since I apparently suck at sandboarding, this will be perfect.
I scroll through the headlines and check my socials as the biscuits cook, making sure nothing crazy has happened in the last couple of days since we’ve been on the road trip, but also not really giving a shit.
It’s like Kyle and I are in our own little world out here.
When time is almost up, I get the ham and cheese out of the refrigerator and place them on the counter.
The silent alarm on my phone goes off, so I take the biscuits out, letting them cool for a minute, and sneak a peek at Kyle to make sure he’s still sleeping.
I cut the biscuits in half, layering the ham and cheese and making little sandwiches. I pop them back in the oven until the cheese melts, assembling two plates with a scoop of fruit.
Taking one to Kyle, I shout, “ Rise and shine! ” like I always do when he sleeps too long.
Kyle groans, popping one eye open to find me standing next to him with a warm plate of food in my hands. He smiles sleepily, and something in my heart trips over itself, skipping a beat.
“Time to eat. Breakfast in bed is served,” I tell him, setting his plate on the nightstand. “This is our last afternoon here, so you need to fuel up and shred these dunes, bro. And I need full energy to ride that cookie sheet,” I say seriously, hiking a thumb toward the oven.
I perch on the end of the bed with my own plate and take a big bite of my breakfast biscuit.
Kyle stretches and yawns, slowly waking up. He leans against the headboard, so I bend a knee to face him, continuing to eat.
“Did I hear you correctly when you said you’re going to ride that cookie sheet ?” Kyle lifts an amused brow, picking up his plate.
I wait in anticipation as he takes a bite, moaning at the simple goodness of it all.
“Yup. Need a sled,” I reply matter-of-factly.
It’s really not that crazy.
I pop a grape in my mouth, knowing full well that Mama Carol would be pissed if she knew what I was about to do with the cookie sheet she just bought for us.
Kyle shakes his head, reading my mind. “I really don’t want to explain to my mom how you were accidentally killed by her cookie sheet.”
I burst out laughing, biscuit crumbs flying out of my mouth and onto our bed.
“ Oh, gross. Come on, bro, ” Kyle complains. “We both gotta sleep here, remember?”
“It’s two crumbs, Ky,” I grumble with my mouth full, picking up the little pieces of biscuit with my fingers and dropping them onto my plate. “Chill out.”
Kyle shakes his head, trying to hide his smile behind another bite as we finish our breakfast in silence.
It’s time to give it one last go, and despite how he feels, I’m ’bout to ride the fuck outta this cookie sheet.