Chapter Chapter Eighteen
Amy
The next morning, the storm had cleared up. It was a good thing Knox had retrieved our backpacks from the campsite, because we could change into fresh clothes.
When we left the B I just wanted alone time with Knox.
My ankle was still tender, so I didn’t even attempt to make a case about going back to camp.
I could walk, but I was certain I couldn’t be on my feet for hours at a time, hike uneven terrain, or perform any of the other activities.
I’d probably have to take it easy at school next week, too, and sit down more often than I was used to.
I took off my shoes a few minutes into the drive and stretched my toes. “This is going to be a long drive, huh? Eight hours ahead of us.”
“Trust me, it’ll fly by.”
“Why is that?”
He grinned. “Because I’m very good company.”
I laughed. “That you are. I have to say, you made that bus trip yesterday seem like it was just half an hour or something.”
He frowned. “Huh?”
“The way you were with the kids. You had them all entertained.”
“I was just talking with them. They’re good kids and eager to learn. You’ve got some potential entrepreneurs in that group.”
That’s when it dawned on me. “Wait, you weren’t even trying to entertain, were you? It just came naturally to you.”
“I like talking to them. I feel like they really want to listen to what I have to say, which is strange for teenagers.”
“If they like someone, they’ll listen. You’re very good with kids, you know that?”
“Nah. They’re teenagers, as you said. They’re practically adults.”
“You said you spend a lot of time with Jeremy, and he’s definitely not a teenager.”
“Sure, but I’m his uncle. He’s programmed to like me.”
Clearly, he was vehemently against the idea of him being good with kids. I wondered if that meant that he really didn’t want any.
He just told you that recently, Amy. Why would he have changed his mind?
Sure, we got down and dirty, but that didn’t mean he was going to have a personality change. Then again, he did say that he wanted us to spend more time together, and that could mean a lot of things.
I had to relax a little. We had insane chemistry, but we still wanted different things in life.
Then I swallowed hard, picturing a distant future where he and I would have the lives we wanted...
apart. Him still an eternal bachelor, and me surrounded with children.
Would we still be friends? I couldn’t possibly imagine going back to our friendship the way it was before.
Not after being intimate with each other.
There was just no way. It would hurt too much.
“Do you mind if I call my mom? I want to let her know we’re coming to the pizza party too.”
“Okay.”
He called her through the Bluetooth, and his mom’s voice resounded through the car a few seconds later. “Hey, Knox. How’s the camp?”
“There’s been a mishap, Mom. Amy and I are returning to San Diego today.”
“Oh no. What happened?”
“She got bitten by a snake.”
She shrieked. “She what? Oh my goodness. How is she?”
“She’s fine, but she can’t be chaperoning a bunch of teenagers hiking around, so I’m bringing her back to the city. We can come to your house for the pizza party.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Though we actually moved things to Griffin’s house.”
“How come?”
“Well, to be fair, he’s got a lot more space.”
“He does,” Knox agreed. “What time does it start?”
“We said we’ll all be there at four.”
“We might need a bit longer. It’s quite a long drive.”
“That’s okay. Does Amy need medical attention?” she asked.
“I already took care of her.”
“Knox, darling, I don’t want to intrude, but is there something going on between you and Amy?”
Knox laughed. “What do you think, Mom?”
“Don’t you play guessing games with me, young man.”
“You’re already addressing me with ‘young man.’ Am I in trouble?”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
He winked at me. “We’ll chat later today, Mom.”
“There’s going to be a lot going on in the afternoon, and you’re very good at escaping uncomfortable conversations, so how about we chat now?”
He chuckled at that. “Mom, you’re on speaker, and Amy is listening to our conversation.”
She gasped. “Oh my goodness. Why didn’t you say so?”
“I was trying to, but you’re being very stubborn.”
“Hi, Amy,” she greeted me, ignoring Knox.
“Hi, Susan!” I was barely holding back laughter.
“Right. So... drive safe! Oh, how are you feeling, Amy, darling?”
“The wound still feels sore, but the doctor said that’s normal.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
“Likewise,” I said.
“Bye, Mom,” Knox cut in. “And don’t drive everyone crazy.”
“You’re so mean to me today,” she said right before hanging up.
I burst out laughing. “Oh, wow. That was a very insightful conversation.”
He glanced at me. “How so?”
“It just was. I’ve never heard your mom talk to you that way.”
“She doesn’t talk like that in public.”
“Why didn’t you tell her that she was on speaker right away?”
Knox shrugged. “Just felt like goading her a bit.”
I snorted. “You’re bad.”
“Not at all. I just woke up in a very good mood.”
“Is it because of me?”
“Sure as hell isn’t because of that shit-ass mattress.”
I giggled and then covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh, that was not a great mattress, I agree. My shoulders are stiff, and so is the back of my neck.”
Knox took a hand from the wheel, putting it right between my shoulder blades.
I half sighed, half moaned. “That is good.” Then I stiffened and swatted his hand away. “Hey. No touching me. You’ve got to pay attention to the road. We don’t want you having another accident.”
Knox groaned. “I will never live that down, will I?”
“No, you most certainly won’t. So I am absolutely not going to let you take your eyes off the road.”
“Challenge accepted.”
* * *
It turned out Knox was right. The drive didn’t feel that long. We stopped once for gas and to have lunch. It was almost five o’clock by the time we made it to San Diego.
I yawned. “Oh, goodness. I got all stiff.”
Knox grinned. “Want to drop by your house to change before we go to Griffin’s?”
“Oh no, that would make us really late,” I said.
“Just saying, I could help you unwind.”
“You just have sex on your mind, don’t you?” I teased, but secretly my thoughts were in the gutter as well.
“I like to make the best of every situation.”
“I’m seeing a whole new side of you.”
He laughed. “I’m seeing a whole new side of me too.”
I bit my lower lip and barely kept myself from asking him to elaborate. Did he want us to have a relationship? I was happy in his company, and I hadn’t been happy in quite a while. But when I was with Knox, I practically felt joy coursing through my body. And that was good enough for now.
“Where does Griffin live?”
“In the Wooded Area in Point Loma. Not very far from where Chase and Hannah live.”
“So, no one lives around you?”
“Nah. But it doesn’t keep us from seeing one another often.”
“I always found that fascinating about your family. You always hung around each other. You didn’t even need friends.”
“I never really had a best friend growing up. Finn and I were joined at the hip. Wyatt and Griffin were gods to us. We wanted to imitate everything they were doing. It was only in college that things started to change.”
“You were still joined at the hip with Finn,” I reminded him.
“Yeah. That hasn’t really changed to this day.”
“I was going to say that. I think that’s so cool. Though I have to say, growing up, I never really missed having siblings. I had plenty of friends, but friendships change during the course of life. Now I almost never see my childhood friends. Or college friends. Except for one sexy man.”
He smiled seductively. Yum...
“Most of my friends now are colleagues at school, but even so, they’re not truly friends. You know what I mean?” I said.
“I actually don’t.”
“If I were to change schools tomorrow, I’d probably see them once in a blue moon, and then I’d start having new work friends. But you and your brothers will always be together.”
“That has positives and negatives.”
“I only see positives.”
“That’s because you don’t have five siblings remembering thirty years of shit you’ve pulled,” Knox informed me seriously.
I started to laugh. “Never thought about it like that.”
“We forget nothing and hold it over one another’s heads forever.”
“Why do I have a feeling you’re the one holding stuff over everyone else’s head?”
He grinned. “Because you know me well.”
I did. Was it because Knox and I had known each other for so long that made being with him so easy? In a new relationship, I was usually overthinking everything—mostly what the guy would think about whatever I was saying. But with Knox, I shared almost every thought that went through my head.
Almost.
“By the way, I have an idea. Let’s buy some ice cream for dessert.”
“Why?” Knox asked.
“Because everyone likes ice cream, and I want to earn a few points with the family.”
“You’ve got a lot of points anyway.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because Mom’s been hinting at us going out for a while.”
My eyes widened. “Are you serious? Since when?”
“Ever since you brought the pie to her house. But apparently she thought about it before then. I was just told about it after that.”
“I did have a feeling that she was looking at me in a weird way.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. His mom thought we should date before we actually started going out? Why?
“I want to show up with ice cream anyway.”
“Your wish is my command, Amy.”
I wiggled my eyebrows. “Why does that sound like an innuendo?”
Knox pulled into the parking lot of a Target. After stopping the car, he leaned into me. “Because it so fucking is, Amy.” He pulled back. “All right, you stay in the car. I’ll get the ice cream.”
“Knox, I want to come with you.”
“No. I don’t want you to exert yourself.”
“That’s not an exertion.”
“Target’s huge. Swear to God, if someone has a ten-thousand-step-count-goal for the day, they can just start shopping in Target and will probably go over it.”
I laughed. “Well, that’s true. Okay. I’ll wait in the car, but under one condition: You send me pics of the ice cream you find, and I tell you exactly what flavors to buy.”
“Deal.”
I smiled as he turned off the engine and got out of the car, heading inside.
Half an hour later, we arrived at Griffin’s house loaded with two bags of H?agen-Dazs. Knox had done well. He had dutifully sent me pictures of the flavors, and I’d chosen all of my favorites. He’d selected a few that Jeremy liked too.
“Oh my goodness,” I exclaimed when Griffin’s house came into view.
It was different from Knox’s home. Not as big, but it was delightful nonetheless.
It was very modern, like a cube made mostly out of glass.
The property was surrounded by greenery, so I could totally understand why he wanted those big windows.
I’d want to take in the scenery as much as possible too.
Once again, I was reminded that the Sterlings lived a different lifestyle. The only ones who had a down-to-earth home were their parents, but I assumed the rest of the brothers’ residences would be just as impressive as Knox’s and Griffin’s.
“Let’s go make some pizza,” Knox said.
I practically jumped out of the car, both excited and a tiny bit nervous. I’d spent time with Finn in college, but I didn’t know the rest of the Sterlings that well, except for Susan.
Knox took the two huge bags of ice cream from the trunk and then put an arm around my shoulders. There were six other cars in the yard, and still space for more.
“Hello, everyone. We’re here,” Knox announced.
For some reason, I’d assumed his mom would tell the family I was coming today, but clearly she hadn’t. Finn was the nearest, and his expression was one of pure shock when he noticed me.
“We brought ice cream,” I said instead of hello.
Oh, I felt a little out of place.
“Not sure if Mom brought you up-to-date,” Knox said.
“She didn’t,” Finn replied.
“I just said you were going to drop by,” Susan said.
I immediately looked at his mom. Her smile was a bit smug. Oh, she’d done this as payback for putting her on speakerphone.
Well played, Susan. Well played.