Page 67 of The Bridges I've Burned

“Yeah, but I had no idea what to pack.”

“So, you brought my entire closet?” I packed less than this for international tours.

“No, Presley did that.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” I grabbed the handle of the largest bag.

He shook his head in disbelief. “So, it’s okay if she does it, but not when I do?”

“I trust her. At least I know everything matches.”

“How can it not match? All you ever wear is black.”

I looked down at my hoodie and jeans and just grinned.

He wasn’t wrong.

“So, tell me about your roommate.”

It had been several hours since the airport, and we’d just disembarked the ferry. It was Hendrix’s first experience using this specific mode of transportation, and he’d been enthralled, to say the least.

“Dude, this is, like, a real fucking ferry!”

I just stared at him, my eyes blinking. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

“I’m in a car, on a boat…in the ocean.” He said it like he was Bill from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and he’d just been introduced to time travel.

“You’re my roommate.” A very stoic answer.

“Okay.” He grinned as we headed down Highway 12. Sand from the dunes skated across the asphalt as the afternoon sun beat down on us. “Tell me about your temporary roommate. The extremely hot temporary roommate.”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell.” Also, don’t call her hot.

I could feel his eyes on me as I stared straight ahead, focusing far too intently on the road. “Really? Is that why you insisted on driving all the way back to Virginia today to pick me up rather than just letting me rent a car?”

“Is it a crime that I wanted to spend time with my best friend?”

“There wasn’t any other reason you wanted to get out of the house?”

I kept my expression blank. Or as blank as I could manage because when it came to Elena, I had a hard time controlling my reactions.

Or my emotions.

Or the raging hard-on I got whenever I thought of her.

When I’d walked into that house several days ago, I nearly lost my damn mind when I heard her through that bedroom door. I stared at the doorknob, so riveted, that I almost dropped the duffel bag I’d been hauling down the hallway.

God, the way she’d moaned…

Music to my fucking ears.

“Nope,” I finally answered. “Just wanted to welcome you at the airport and make sure you got in okay.”

I knew he saw right through me. He always did. But he chose to let it pass, which worried me a little. Usually, that came to bite me in the ass later on.

“How very kind of you.”

I made a sort of shrugging gesture as my hand gripped the wheel. “I’m a very kind guy.”

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