Gravity (Greenford #2) - Romeo Alexander Page 0,33

did it until we reached your house,” Caleb said, nodding over Samuel’s shoulder.

He turned and found that sure enough, they were idling by the curb of his front walk. Samuel had installed timers on his lights as well as the security system, so the house was brightly lit, spilling onto the lawn that was in sore need of a good cut.

“You know,” Samuel said, reaching for the door handle. “It would be simpler and cheaper for us both if you stayed in the guest room. We could both just head out in the morning, or afternoon, to get our cars at the same time.”

There was a pause long enough to make Samuel wonder if he’d gone too far before Caleb spoke. “We could do that. It would certainly beat having to pay for a whole Uber.”

Samuel noted that it was the first time Caleb had ever come close to admitting that maybe money was a small issue for him. Caleb had always been careful with his money, that was true, but he was always open about not wanting to waste money. That qualifier hadn’t come this time, and Samuel wondered if it was a sign or if he was once again overthinking things.

“Well, come on in, there’s water and food,” Samuel said lightly, opening the door and stepping out into the cool air. “And a place to rest your head.”

Caleb chuckled as he followed him up to the door. “You always did talk about having your own place. You wanted it so badly sometimes.”

Samuel rolled his eyes as he unlocked the front door. “I’ve lived with so many roommates throughout my life. I was practically starved for a sense of independence.”

“Oh yes,” Caleb said dryly. “You’ve lacked for independence, alright.”

“Feeling independent,” Samuel said, swatting the man as he opened the door. “Is not the same thing as living independently.”

Caleb looked around while Samuel busied himself with the alarm panel. “This is...about what I would have expected. Admittedly, a lot cleaner, though.”

Truly, Samuel wanted to take offense at the summation, but he’d be mad at the truth if he did that. Organization and tidiness had never been his strong suits, and even living with other people hadn’t done much to help him.

“I didn’t really get better about cleaning up until I moved in here,” Samuel said, snapping the panel shut. “My parents were right. I started caring about that sort of thing a lot more when I had my own place.”

“Funny how that works,” Caleb said, eyes drifting to the bookcases.

Samuel waved him toward them. “Help yourself to anything you like.”

“I’m not taking one of your books,” Caleb said with a laugh, taking off his shoes.

“I meant to borrow,” Samuel told him, walking into the kitchen to fetch them both some water. “God knows I have more than enough books up there, and my room...and the storage room. And probably my office now that I think about it.”

“Thank you,” Caleb murmured as he took the offered bottle of water. “And I’m actually more surprised that you didn’t make the transition to e-reader. A lot of people seem to be there, and you would have been someone I’d have pegged to be part of that group.”

Samuel chuckled, picking his e-reader up off the table beside the couch and holding it up. “I did, and I love it. I usually take it with me just about everywhere. But that doesn’t mean I don’t grab physical books now and then. Sometimes I just can’t help it, and sometimes the books are better in print.”

Caleb shook his head. “I don’t even want to know what your game collection looks like.”

“Digital,” Samuel said with a shrug. “Except for some old ones that I wanted to hold onto. No difference, I play the games either way.”

“Yet it doesn’t count with reading?”

“Nope.”

Caleb chuckled. “What does it say about me that I actually understand that non-logic?”

Samuel nudged him when he grew close, smiling widely. “It means that you’re beginning to understand the way my brain works. Careful, that’s a scary place.”

“Trust me, I’ve thought about how scary it must be from time to time.”

“And what have you come up with?”

When Caleb looked up at him, Samuel felt his heart skip to a higher beat. He didn’t know what he would call the flicker of emotion he’d seen behind Caleb’s eyes, but something in him knew enough to suddenly make him acutely aware of how close they were standing. Caleb, either knowingly or not, turned toward him, keeping their arms