Page 72 of Wandering in Darkness
He gives me a wink. “Oh, I’m sweet as sugar.”
“You’re a bit narcissistic too,” Audrey retorts.
“All I know is that I’m half on Grayson’s lap and half squished against the door, and whoever snags this man isn’t going to be disappointed,” Eddie says, since four of us had to cram into the back seat.
Audrey groans. “Jesus Christ, Eddie.”
“It’s not gay to size up your buddy’s dick, right, Cal?” Eddie asks.
“Uh… I feel pretty gay when I do so,” I say.
He laughs, and I glance at Grayson, who is simply shaking his head like there’s nothing wrong with this conversation.
“Here, Eddie. Let me help you out a bit,” Grayson says as he pulls Eddie fully onto his lap and wraps his arms around him. “Better, yeah?”
“I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before, both physically and emotionally,” Eddie answers. “Especially whenever Devon hits a bump.”
“I’m confused… do you want him to stop hitting bumps or hit more?” I ask.
Eddie hesitates before going, “I’m confused too,” which makes everyone laugh.
“You all are such a bunch of idiots,” Audrey says.
“You want to sit on Grayson’s lap? Is that what I’m hearing? Your jealousy is hitting me hard. I don’t really want to share. This is my lap now.”
“Fuck off, Eddie,” she says, but Eddie just cackles, pleased with himself.
“How long until we’re there? The unresolved sexual tension in this back seat is making me uncomfortable,” I comment as the buildings become fewer and fewer and desolate land takes shape. The hills are bare of life with only some shrubs here and there and cacti filling in a few spots.
When the truck pulls off the road, we pile out and I grab my rifle.
Grayson lifts the dog out of the truck bed and ties him to the side of the truck with shade as the hot sun beats down on us. The dog’s used to it. He was probably born and raised here in this hot landscape, but he enjoys the water I pour for him while we wait for the others to get ready.
“Are we set?” Devon asks.
“Set,” Grayson says.
“Let’s move out.”
We cross the road and then split up as planned.
Audrey, Grayson, and I head up the ridge while the others, carrying the case of money Devon said contains a tracker, walk down to make the deal. We just need to make contact with the people transporting illegal weapons, and once we’ve done that,we can move on and hand the information over to the higher-ups who will help put an end to it.
I walk a few steps before looking over at Grayson, but I can’t seem to figure out what to say.
He seems to notice me looking and smiles at me, and it just makes me even more confused. Will this man please use some damn words?
Then again… I apparently don’t know how to, either.
“You have class tomorrow?” Grayson asks.
“I do. I might skip my morning class depending on what time we get back, though. We never do anything in that class, and the professor just reads to us right out of the textbook and deems that learning.”
“Oh, those are the worst,” Grayson says as we make our way up onto a ridge that gives us a good vantage point of the area below us.
“Here we are,” Audrey says, so I assemble my gun and examine the ground for a good spot to lie down. I don’t want anything that will block my position, but I also want to make sure it’s not blatantly obvious that I’m up here. I find some brush that gives me some cover but allows me to freely see my surroundings, so I lay down my equipment before getting everything ready.
“Just don’t roll into anything unless you want to get stabbed with a cactus,” Grayson cautions.
