Page 6 of Tastes of Him

“We’ll see. I’m sure he’ll want me to drive some, and I’m not sure if I’m up to that.”

“I’m sure he’d be fine driving the whole way himself if you asked him to,” Cameran replied. “He was planning on doing the whole drive himself, anyway.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “He said he wanted one last hurrah before starting work. I know he’s been planning this out for years, but I’m sure it’s nerve-wracking. Our parents were a little iffy about him driving across the country all by himself, but dad couldn’t get off work to join him.”

I could see where their parents were coming from. The thought of Rod driving all alone for days across the whole damn country didn’t sit well with me either. I knew he was smart and wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks or deliberately stop where he had no business being, but isn’t that what people who disappeared always had said about them?

“Julie and I told him we didn’t mind joining, but he’s taking a U-Haul and said there wouldn’t be enough space in the cab for us all to be comfortable. Plus, he already reserved a room for each stop, and as much as I love my brother, I don’t want to share a room with him ever again.” She glanced over at me. “He snores.”

That tidbit of information forced a laugh from me, and I could tell by Cameran’s smile that was what she was going for. Her cell phone rang before I could reply, and I knew without a doubt it had to be Rod. The man had an uncanny ability to know exactly when someone was talking shit about him.

“Roddie, we landed. Julie is grabbing our bags, and then we’re headed to the pickup area.” She glanced over at me with a wide smile. “Yup, he actually got on the plane. I’m standing right beside him.”

I snorted before leaning over toward the phone. “I’m billing you for my therapy as well as pain and suffering.” Rod’s deep laughter floated softly through the air, and I couldn’t help my shiver as the sound of it washed over me. Although he and I occasionally talked on the phone, our correspondence for the past year or so had been mostly over email and text. His hectic schedule meant I would often wake up to a series of messages that I would respond to, only to get radio silence until the early evening.

Still got excited every time you saw he texted, though.

My inner voice was an asshole, no matter how right it was. My soft spot for Rod was unfortunately well-known. Didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying, though. Julie coming back with our two suitcases pulled me back out of my own thoughts.

“Julie got them, so we’re coming out now. We love you too.” Cameran hung up the phone and looked up at me with a big smile. “I included you in that.”

I rolled my eyes as I took my suitcase from Julie. “You always do.”

“You do, though.”

I didn’t deign that with an answer, instead choosing to follow the signs to the exit. Each step forward had my heart rate increasing. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen Rod the last time he came home to visit, but that was over two years ago. This was different. This time I was in unfamiliar territory with the knowledge that soon, I would be seeing him more often than I had in years. I wasn’t self-centered enough to think that I would see him every day, but I knew that with how enmeshed Cameran’s and my lives were, Rod would be right there, ever-present in the foreground.

“You guys made it!” I only had a moment to prepare for that voice to trickle over me before I was swept into strong arms I refused to admit I missed. There was no defense against this. I’d thought I was ready, but as the scent of peppermint and home flowed around me, I could freely admit that I had made a serious miscalculation.

“I’m so glad you made it.”

Defenseless, I dropped my bag and wrapped my arms around Rod in return, closing my eyes as I pressed my face against his shoulder.

“Me too.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Sean

My skin still tingled with the feeling of having Rod in my arms only moments ago. Even now, as he led us to his car, I couldn’t help but be highly aware of him, and I found myself glancing over instead of paying attention to where I was walking.

“So, what would you guys like to check out first?”

“Probably the back of my eyelids,” Julie replied as we all walked toward the exit. “I don’t think I got a chance to really close my eyes even once on the plane.”

Rod glanced over his shoulder. “Damn. Still couldn’t find anyone to handle things while you’re gone?”

“Nope. Thankfully I was still able to get away as long as I put in some work remotely. Now, though, I kind of need a nap.”

“Well, feel free to catch a few hours when we get back to mine. My roommate has already moved out, so the guest room is all yours.” Rod looked over at me, and my heart sped up when I realized what that meant. He lived in a two-bedroom apartment. If Cam and Julie had the second bedroom, that only lefthis.“I’ll take the couch so you can set up in my room.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting, and I frowned, not understanding. “If your couch pulls out into a bed, I don’t mind sleeping on it,” I said. We paused at the walkway and waited for the crossing guard to let us across the street. Rod didn’t reply until we had gotten to his car.

“Don’t worry about it.” He grunted loudly as he squeezed the luggage into the trunk. When he closed it, he straightened up and gifted me with a wide smile. “It’s not a couch bed, but I’ve fallen asleep on it a few times when I couldn’t make it to my room. I’ll be fine.”

I was not about to put him out of his own space when I knew he still had to work as well. “I can take the couch,” I said before walking around the car and opening the front passenger door. I slid in without waiting for him to say anything. If I knew him—and I did—he was going to say some self-martyring crap about being fine on a lumpy old couch. Sure enough, once he had gotten in, he turned to look at me.