Page 19 of The Bro Pact
My eyes widen in excitement, mirroring his, and a slow smile curls my lips. “No, I did not.”
Mom and Dad must have spent three hundred dollars on all of this. I can’t thank them enough.
We assemble our portable, cold pizzas and eat them in silence.
When we’re done, Ren stuffs everything into a trash bag and switches off the lantern, bathing us in a sea of darkness.
We get lost in the relaxing atmosphere, losing track of time, until suddenly the inky sky is filled with stars.
I have no idea what time it is, but it doesn’t even matter. We have no school, no work, and no girlfriends to worry about.
It’s just the two of us and this RV on an epic fucking road trip.
“This is some top-tier stargazing.” Ren’s smooth voice pulls me out of my buzz.
I take another swig of beer, leaning back on my elbows. “Low humidity, a cloudless night, and absolutely no light pollution,” Isay, thinking back to my meteorology class senior year in high school.
Ren grins at me. “It’s perfect,” he whispers.
Billions of tiny lights twinkle above us, and there seems to be so many more than I’ve ever noticed before.
“Out here, there’s nothing obscuring our view. The stars have nowhere to hide,” Ren murmurs, and I turn my head to find him staring at me. “Everything’s exposed.”
I don’t blink until he gazes at the sky once again, and I follow suit, letting his words sink in.
Everything’s exposed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
WARREN
Ibrush my teeth, finally ready to retire for the night after a long day of falling on my ass in the hot sand, but I notice Kyle standing in front of the sofa with a look of pure dread on his face.
There’s only onecomfortablebed on the RV, and that’s because the king-sized mattress in the bedroom is brand-spanking new. I had to replace it. The other option is a lumpy pull-out bed with a suspicious stain.
“Just sleep with me,” I blurt out, and Kyle’s blond head whips my way, his eyes widening in surprise.
He’s wearing the same worn T-shirt he always does; the soft blue fabric has a lot of holes and stretches over his muscular frame like it’s a couple sizes too small.
“W-what?” Kyle’s cheeks go bright red, and I tip my head back, barking out a loud laugh at the way that sounded.
“Look, Ky. I know the sofa bed isn’t comfortable. It’s really not a big deal, just sleep with me.”
He seems so unsure, standing there chewing on his lip, so I keep trying to coax him. “There’s plenty of room, you won’t even know I’m there.”
Kyle gives me a hesitant little smile. “This isn’t just one night, Ren. We’re talking about sharing a bed for two weeks.” He pullsat a string in the hem of his shirt, wrapping it around his finger tightly until the tip turns dark red.
“Exactly,” I reply. He just proved my point for me. “I won’t have you unable to sleep for two weeks, dude.”
Kyle and I stare-off for a moment, but he knows I’ll win any staring competition, and deep down he knows I’m right.
He absolutely cannot sleep on that shitty couch for that long.
“Remember your neck this morning?” I remind him.
Kyle sighs, finally giving in. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Let’s go to bed then.”
I nod with a little smile, and he follows me to the bedroom, walking so close I can feel the heat radiating from his body. A strange flutter rolls through my stomach, like maybe I ate something bad, but I know I cooked the sausage long enough this morning.
