younger. They liked road trips. I’m not sure why we didn’t spend much time in North Carolina.”
I nodded. “It’s about thirty minutes from Asheville. It was hard to find something last-minute. I got really lucky there was a cancellation. Everyone wants to get their last trip in since the end of the season is October thirty first.”
“You didn’t have to put all that work into it. I told you I could have done it.” I couldn’t help it, I laughed, and he glanced at me before getting his eyes on the road again. “What?”
“Nothing. That was just about the most Griffin thing you could say. I shouldn’t have had to put the work into it, but it’s okay if you did? That’s the way it should go, right? Griff taking care of everyone else. I don’t know why I didn’t see this in you until recently.”
He shifted, his body tightening in a way that told me he was uncomfortable. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do, Grumpy G. We’re gonna fix that, you and me. I’m going to turn you into the most selfish motherfucker there is. You deserve that.”
“To be selfish? Isn’t that like saying I deserve to be a dick?”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re always doing that. Rolling your eyes at me.”
“First, you’re the one who’s always rolling his at me. Sometimes I think you don’t even like me all that—”
“I like you,” he cut me off. “And wait. At the bar you were telling me how much I like you, and now you’re saying I don’t.”
“Same difference.”
He turned to me again. “No, it’s really not. And what the fuck does that even mean?”
I sighed. “You like me, but you don’t want to like me. Or you like me, but you don’t totally agree with who I am or some of the things I do. But I don’t want to talk about that right now. My second point, which I was going to make before I was so rudely interrupted—”
“To tell you I like you! That’s not rude.”
“You just did it again!”
Griffin rubbed a hand over his stubble and groaned. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Nope, the life of you. Back to my second point, being selfish sometimes is okay. Everyone should be selfish sometimes. It doesn’t make you a dick; it makes you a normal human being. I’m going to turn you into a normal human being, Grumpy G. You don’t always have to do everything for everyone else. It’s okay to just think about you.”
His eyes darted to me and then back to the road again. “I don’t even know what to say to you.”
“You can start with a thank-you and follow it up with, Josh, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the funniest, sexiest, sweetest man I’ve ever known.”
“So you want me to lie to you?” Griff replied, and we both started laughing.
The cab of the truck turned quiet again after that as we both watched the scenery fly by, all the greens, oranges, reds. Fall had always been my favorite season, but then, all those years ago, everything had happened in the fall, and that made it hard too. It sure was pretty, though.
“Are you freaking out?” I asked, hoping to distract myself.
“What? Why would I be freaking out to go away with you? We’re just two buddies taking a trip.”
Okay, well, that wasn’t what I meant, but it was an interesting response, something I’d have to give some thought to later. “No, buddy, I meant leaving your bar. You don’t do that very often. And since when did we start calling each other buddy?”
Griff’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Since now, and you’re gonna have to give me a little more to go on next time you want me to read your mind.”
I chuckled. “Point taken.” I still thought it was interesting what he’d assumed I meant. But then, I also wasn’t sure how I felt about that, so maybe I would ignore it for now, letting myself dissect it at another time.
My phone buzzed, and I picked it up from my lap to see a notification.
“It’s eight in the morning. Does your Grindr ever stop going off?”
“How do you know it’s Grindr?”
Was it me, or did a slight pink dot Griffin Caine’s cheeks? “I have a gay brother…and all gay or bi friends, in case you didn’t realize.”
Oh, well, that made sense. And he was right about my notifications. It almost felt…stifling sometimes.