Page 59 of The Jock
“Shut up and help me. Please? I’ve been trying to come up with the perfect gift for days, but I don’t know enough about any of that to make a good decision.”
“Okay, I know a place.”
Colby put his car in gear and looked at Taylor expectantly. “Where to?” He smiled at the sound of Taylor’s amused snort.
“Where else would we go, Colby? The mall.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“It’ll be worth it. Trust me. What’s your budget anyway?” Taylor leaned forward and fiddled with the music, changing the satellite radio to a different, more Taylor-friendly station.
“I don’t have a budget. I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars or anything, but I have enough.”
“Good, because if you think I’m going to let you buy him some cheap twenty-dollar shit, you’re wrong.”
“Well, we’re in agreement then.”
“Good.”
“Good,” Colby said. They were quiet for a few minutes, almost mesmerized by the flow of traffic.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you.”
Colby sighed and turned the radio off. “I’m sorry I made your shit about me.” He reached over and gave Taylor’s shoulder a gentle punch.
Taylor rubbed his shoulder, pretending to be hurt. “It’s nice to know that you give a shit. Even if you’re annoying about it sometimes.”
“Only sometimes? I’m slipping.”
Now that they’d apologized, Colby’s perspective on the situation had improved. It wasn’t that Taylor didn’t want him to be there for him, which had been Colby’s secret fear. Like maybe Taylor had gotten sick of him or something. But it was Taylor putting Colby’s needs first.
Colby parked at the south entrance of the mall and killed the engine. “Are you sure there’s no other place we can shop? Like online or something?”
Taylor pressed the button on Colby’s seatbelt, freeing him from the restraint before doing his own. “Come on, lover boy. Isn’t Milo worth a couple hours of moderate discomfort?”
Taylor scrambled out of the car, leaving Colby to chase after him. “Hours? What do you mean hours?”
He half jogged until he caught up to Taylor, who definitely had the whole speed walking as a homosexual hobby down pat.
“What do you mean, hours?”
Taylor shot him a mischievous grin. “I mean that your boyfriend is worth a little pain. Suck it up, buttercup.”
In a word, the mall was torture for Colby. Always had been. He wasn’t the kind of person who enjoyed shopping or had much of a desire to look around. He wore athletic clothes ninety-seven percent of the time and he bought the same kind of shoes over and over, eliminating the need to try anything on.
“You really hate it here, don’t you?” Taylor asked about thirty minutes and two stores in.
“It’s so…people-y.”
Taylor herded Colby into another store. Colby had already decided that he was not going to buy Milo sexy lingerie with his baby brother present, offering his opinions. That’s what had Colby leaving the first store like his ass was on fire.
“It’s not so bad.” Taylor led Colby through a maze of aisles. He wove them down through the cosmetics section until he reached the perfumes.
Rows of bottles and boxes in various shapes and colors lined the shelves and Colby’s courage shriveled to the size of a walnut.
“Perfume?”
“Yeah. We were talking when he was doing my makeup and we talked about a lot of stuff. And he has a favorite. But it’s expensive.” Taylor turned to Colby and batted his eyelashes. “And you said you didn’t have a budget, right?”
