Page 55 of Falling

“Ooh, this is a good one,” I continue. “Do you prefer a quickie or to take your time?”

“I don’t think that’s a fair question. There are too many factors involved. Do we only have time for a quickie? Where are we? If we don’t hurry, do we take a chance of being discovered? Or is it a lazy Sunday morning and we have all day? See, too many variables.”

“Are you already planning sex in the supply closet at the office?”

“Absolutely. We’re also having sex on Rand’s desk, then just hinting about it so it drives him crazy wondering.”

It’s my turn to laugh. Peter and Rand have spent their entire adulthood torturing each other. They’re closer than most brothers, which I’m convinced is why they do it. “Would you rather invest in experiences or objects?”

“Experiences,” he says.

“Huh, I thought being an architect you’d answer objects.”

“I’m more interested in the experiences the people that occupy those spaces have. If it’s a historical building, I envision the people in the past and how they used the building. It influences my design decisions.”

“See, I just learned something new about Peter Winsloe,” I say. “Here, you thought these were a waste of time. Psst. Would you say you’re more passive or confrontational?”

He’s quiet for so long that I begin to give up on getting an answer. I’ve seen him let things I would pitch a fit over roll off his back. I’ve also seen what happens if you back him into a corner.

What I’ve never seen is Peter remaining silent when someone takes a shot at one of his friends. There’s been more than one occasion when he came out swinging. We even got tossed out of a bar years ago because someone called me a bitch.

“How about this one? Are you more logical or emotional?”

“Probably emotional, as hard as I try to be logical. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t know myself as well as I thought,” he says.

“I do. I’d say you’re passive until you see an injustice. Then you confront the problem regardless of what it is. I also like that you feel so deeply. Sometimes you’ve had to feel for both Rand and I when we were too scared to.

“You’re introverted no matter how hard you try not to be. It’s obvious you prefer your drawings to people most of the time. And as much as you want to go with the flow, you like the structure of knowing what’s ahead.”

He glances at me with wary eyes.

“That’s why I call bullshit that you’re not already worried about how this relationship will go. You think you’re the only one that can see into someone’s heart. Make no mistake, I’ve seen yours for a long time.”

“What do you think you see?” His tone is a challenge.

“I see a man who values his family and friends above all else. Who charges into the rescue with no concern for himself. I also see how easy it would be to hurt a man like that. One that feels his emotions so deeply that he will wait a decade for what he wants. You have always been the best of us, Peter. And I love you for that.”

The car grows quiet. I don’t know if I’ve pissed him off or not. I close my magazine and toss it into the back. No more quizzes, possibly ever. I study him as he stares out the windshield. We left the ice miles ago. The only thing in sight now is miles of flat desert grassland.

“I love you too,” he says. His hands grip the steering wheel with purpose, but his eyes slide to mine. “The wait was worth it.”

“It was,” I say with a laugh. “I just wish we had done this earlier.”

“I guess we weren’t ready yet. I still don’t know what I’m going to say to your brother.”

“I vote we wait a while.” He doesn’t answer me. I know he likes things out in the open, but I want to keep this to myself just a little while longer.

“If that’s what you want,” he says quietly.

“At least for now.”

I stare out the window as the miles click by. I don’t ponder why I want to keep us a secret. That feels like too much baggage to unpack right now. The drama of the last couple of months is all I can deal with at this moment. Any more might send me over the edge.

“Do you think we’ll get to Austin tonight?” I ask a few miles down the road.

“We should. There’s not much between here and there anyway.”

“Good.” We ride in silence for another mile. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

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