Page 29 of Except You
“I bet.”
And I can believe it. Since meeting him, he’s been with at least three other guys that I’ve known about. He seems content with fooling around and then leaving. Nothing about him screams commitment and yet, he always makes time for me.
He even knows my name. He never forgot it. I could have easily become a Michael or Morton, but he remembered my name. He’s always remembered me.
That fact makes something deep within my chest start to shift. Something about Beau is different, and I can’t stay away. I don’t want to.
“So anyways, enough about that. We leave tomorrow night after work, okay? It will be about a four-hour drive, and it’s kind of chilly there, so pack warm.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“And be prepared to be bored because there’s like no nightlife or anything. So we will spend a lot of time just star-gazing.”
“That sounds…nice actually.”
“Yeah? You made for farm life, Max?”
“Maybe. Not that my dad would ever let me do that. He’s always wanted me to go into something respectable.”
“Oh, is that why you’re in finance?”
“Yeah, and I hate it. It’s really damn boring.”
It’s the first time I’ve admitted it out loud, and it feels good to finally speak those words.
“It sounds like it. Probably just as boring as my job. One day, we’ll be free, you and me. We can just travel around the world, being nomadic and eating really interesting food.”
It sounds nice when he puts it like that. I can see it, the two of us in a small camper, just driving around the United States before hopping on a plane to Europe. It would seem insane to an outsider, these thoughts I’m having. I’ve only known him a few weeks, and yet, I feel like he was made for me. Like we knew each other in a different life.
Perhaps that’s what this is? Maybe our souls have been wandering for far too long and we’ve finally reconnected.
“You look very serious, Max. What’s the deal? What are you thinking about?”
He leans over and runs a finger over the crease of my brow and then pulls his hand back. His usual floral scent permeates my senses, but this time, he also smells like strawberries and peaches. Like summer in the South.
“Nothing,” I say because I’m embarrassed to admit it. I’m sure he doesn’t feel the same. He probably thinks of this as just a fun friendship, and here I am, thinking about souls reincarnated.
We are not platonic soul mates. That’s not a thing.
“I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but I’m so curious.”
“Maybe I’ll tickle the curiosity right out of you.”
He gasps and then waggles his finger at me. “You will not. I will kick you in the balls if you do.”
“I’d like to see you try. I’m stronger than you,” I tease, thankful that this seems to have distracted him enough.
“You are, and it’s not fair. I may have to start working out more.”
I grin at him and he smiles back, taking a sip of his smoothie.
“I haven’t forgotten what I asked you. I do want to know what you were thinking about. And I’ll let it go, but I hope you know that you can tell me anything.”
“Yeah. I know.”
I don’t know, but then again, I’ll tell him anything just so he’ll be happy.
“Anyways, I have to get back to work. It’s been a real slog, but I have a date tonight, so hopefully that will keep my mind off how boring it is.”