Chapter 47
Dean
My nose scrunched as I picked something up off of the floor. The backseat was covered in random shit, and it was insane to me that it didn’t seem to bother him.
Oli snatched it from me. “It’s just a yogurt top.”
“Why is it in here?”
He shrugged as he shoved it into the trash bag in his hand. “I was eating it on the way to class a while back.”
“When’s a while back?” When he didn’t respond, I grunted. “This is how things go rancid.”
“Joke’s on you. It was already rancid when I ate it.”
“Ugh. We’re getting you a little trash can for in here, and you’re emptying it every week.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shaking my head, I tossed a pile of hoodies into the trunk. “Why do you have so many of these?”
“I like to be cozy.”
“You can’t be cozy when they’re all in here.”
“Then I’ll just keep stealing yours.”
“Whatever you want.”
The smile on his face was radiant. With Remi staying here the past two months, we’d all been more stressed than usual, and it was good to see him looking so light.
They got along like brothers, which was both good and bad.
Remi was neat, whereas Oli set things down on every surface in the apartment, then forgot about them.
They played games too late, were loud as hell, and they bickered about the stupidest shit.
“Well,” I said once we’d finally cleared everything out, “now we can fit the bags in here.”
“We could’ve fit them before.”
“Doesn’t it feel nice having it clean, though?”
He cocked his head, pushing his lips out as he thought about it. “Yeah, I guess so. It looks brand new.”
Grabbing the cooler, I situated it in the backseat so it was within reaching distance. After getting the others in the car, I closed the door and headed to the driver’s side.
“You kids have fun,” Remi called from the breezeway. He lifted his coffee with a little smirk, though I had no clue what he found amusing.
Oli blew him a kiss, which Remi pretended to watch fly right by him. I just held up my middle finger until I was seated behind the steering wheel.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” Oli asked after he got in.
“It’s only two hours. Oh, and driver gets to pick the music.”
“I knew there was more to it.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I started up the engine. We’d barely made it to the freeway before he was reaching into the cooler. He came back with a sandwich and took a giant bite.
With a choking sound, he put a hand over his mouth. “What the hell is this, Broku?”
I glanced at it. “Peanut butter and jelly.”’
“It’s chunky.”
“It’s crunchy, not chunky.”
“It’s chunky.”
Lowering the window, he hung his head out of it, and I heard him spit. Like a disgruntled child, he grabbed his water bottle and chugged it for a solid five seconds.
“Chunky peanut butter is for psychopaths,” he grumbled.
I shrugged. “I like texture in my food.”
“I much prefer a smooth mouth feel.” He eyed my lap, looking like he was about to start salivating, if he wasn’t already.
“Two hours to Leavenworth,” I said, a warning in my voice. “You can make it that long.”
“What if I just . . .” He put a hand over his dick, drawing my gaze.
“Oli.”
With a huff, he brought his feet up onto the seat. “Fine. Two hours.”
“Put something on to pass the time.”
“You said driver picks the music.”
“Yeah, well, I’m picking whatever you want because I . . .”
“You what?”
“I like you a little bit.”
He hummed. It was only silent for a minute before he started getting antsy.
“Maybe we should’ve invited Remi,” he said.
“Absolutely not. The point is to spend time together. Just me and you.”
“But he’s probably lonely. And what if he calls Cole or something?”
“Oli, you have to put a little bit of trust in him eventually.”
“Yeah, eventually. That doesn’t have to be today.”
When I glanced over at him, he was chewing on his nail aggressively. With a sigh, I reached out to put my hand on his thigh.
“Text him, baby.”
His phone was out in half a second. Even though that bastard annoyed the hell out of me, I found myself smiling. There was no denying how much Remi cared about Oli. I couldn’t even pretend to compete with him, because they had a bond that went beyond love.
So, he was a part of my life now. If Oli and I made it a year and still wanted to move to New York together, we’d have to drag Remi with us, kicking and screaming if necessary.
I didn’t think it would be, though. The only thing holding him here was that bar, and I was pretty sure Remi was capable of picking himself up by the bootstraps no matter where he went.
He was resilient like that, just like Oli.
“I love you,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road.
I felt his gaze like a physical thing. When he suddenly lurched toward me, I tensed, but he just planted a firm kiss on my cheek.
“You’re hella far behind again, Broku.”
“Then why didn’t you say it first?”
“Because that’s terrifying.”
“You’re not afraid of anything.”
“Planes. Budgets. West.”
“Crunchy peanut butter,” I added.
“Pickleball.”
I laughed. “You’re so dumb sometimes.”
“I thought you loved me.”
Despite saying it just a minute ago, my stomach flipped. Squeezing his leg, I swallowed.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
“You think?”
“Just shut up and stop interrogating me.”
He chuckled, and a moment later, his music started blaring through the speakers.
“Oh.” He pressed his lips behind my ear, then ran his tongue over my skin. “I think I love you, by the way. I might have forgotten to say that.”
Gripping his thigh, I drew in a breath that felt different than the rest. “Well, I think you’re sort of rushing into things. You might scare me away.”
He bit down on my neck hard enough to make me jerk the wheel. I swore and focused on the road.
“Do you want me to get us there in one piece?” I asked.
“Maybe. Speaking of One Piece—”
“No,” I interrupted. “There are way too many episodes.”
“So, you don’t actually love me.”
God, he was going to be the death of me. I knew I would cave eventually, but for now, I wasn’t agreeing to any of his demands. Then again, this man was willing to move across the country for me. Maybe I could watch an absurdly long anime to make him happy.
Who was I kidding? I’d do anything to make him happy.