Page 57 of Wild Like Us
When I come down, I wash my hands and throw on my clothes: clean underwear, turquoise boxer PJ bottoms, and a long-sleeve yellow top. Banks steps out, shutting off the shower. After he dries off with a towel, he gets dressed too. Jeans and his white tee.
The air is comfortable.
I squeeze out my wet hair. We slip each other smiles, and then the reality of where we are—a motel-stop, on the way to Yellowstone territory so I can free-solo—comes whirling back as we hear the squeak of a door opening.
The motel door.
The front door.
“Akara is back?” I ask Banks.
“Must be,” Banks says, slipping his phone in his pocket. SFO has mentioned that comms lose range at a certain distance, and since I’m the only one in Wisconsin, he’s not wearing a radio. He’d only have Akara to talk to on comms, and they haven’t been apart that much.
Banks is staring at the shut bathroom door like he can see his friend on the other side.
I just kissed Akara’s friend.My bodyguard’s fucking friend.
And Banks just kissed his friend’s client. Oh and I’m eight years younger than Banks, which I’m not sure how Kits will take. Considering he didn’t love that Will Rochester wasolder.And he wasn’t even that fucking old!
“Cumbuckets,” I say in a daze.
“What?” Banks looks me over.
“Kits is going to care that we kissed,” I realize. “You’re different—you’re hisfriend.He’s going to be so pissed…or worse,disappointed…like I did something wrong—”
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Banks tells me.
“Yeah,” I nod, believing this too. “It’s not like I’m married to Akara.”
Banks looks suddenly distraught.
“We’re not married,” I defend. “If we were, then he’s already cheated on me a thousand times—”
“Not a thousand,” Banks sticks up for Akara. And maybe it should hurt me that he does, but the fact that he values Kits like I do—it stings my eyes. Swells my heart and lungs. Makes me like Banks even more.
“A handful of times,” I correct softly, “which doesn’t make it any better. Cheating is cheating, and we were never married to begin with. I can kiss anyone, as much as he can be with Jenny or Jessica or fucking beautiful Patricia.”
Banks cracks a smile. “Never saw beautiful Patricia. What’d she look like?”
“Imaginary, I guess.” I add, “I made her up.”
He nods. “I got that.”
I want to smile, but it loses strength fast. “Fuck, what are we going to do? I don’t want to hurt him. It hurts me thinking about it.”
“We’re on the same front-line with that one.” He scratches the back of his neck. “But we have a whole road trip together. I’m not loving the idea of hiding this from him.”
I touch my lips in thought. “Yeah, it’d be better if we tell him right away.” How fuckingawkwardis the rest of the trip going to be? Being a third wheel blows. I’m in that seat when Akara and Banks do the whole “we’re best friends and guys and you just wouldn’t get it” routine.
I wouldn’t want Akara to be put in that position.
“Want me to handle it?” Banks asks.
“We should do it together, I think.”
He nods. “Alright. Let’s do it now. Better than sitting in hell.” He slips past me, turns the knob, and he stepsonefoot into the room and dead-stops.
I come up beside him.
