Or maybe that wasn’t the right word, but I’d been doing this endless cycle for so long, I didn’t know any other way. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll uninstall the app from my phone while we’re away if you promise to force yourself to have fun, to let everything else go and not worry about anything responsible like the bar or such. Just let me show you a good time.”
“Sure, but I didn’t say that because I care how often you hook up with people. That’s your thing. It has nothing to do with me.”
“You sure mention it a lot.”
“Because I notice it a lot, not because it has any effect on me.”
Okay, what in the strange-ass trip with my best friend’s brother was going on here? “I didn’t say it had an effect on you.”
“Yeah, but you—You know what? Never mind. Forget I said that.”
The fact was, I didn’t know if I could forget it, or why that was. Griff was confusing the fuck out of me lately, and I couldn’t figure out why that was from either side.
Still, I hit the Uninstall button and then shoved my phone in the glovebox. I turned to the side slightly and said, “Let’s play road-trip games.”
“Do we have to?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s going to be you who is the death of me and not the other way around. Yes, we have to. This is all part of the official Josh Westbrook experience. I don’t share this with people often. You should feel lucky.”
“The Josh Westbrook experience, huh? What did I ever do to be so lucky?”
“You sound like you’re mocking me, but I choose to ignore it. Shut up and play with me.” Well, hello there, sexual innuendo.
Griff let out a deep, and yeah, kind of sexy groan, but I wasn’t sure if it was because my words had sounded sexual to him too or because I was forcing him to play games.
“I wouldn’t want to miss out on any part of the experience.”
If he only knew what the real Josh Westbrook experience was. It would be fun to see Griffin lose control, to be the one making him lose control, which was not what I should have been thinking at all. Not about Kellan’s brother who, as far as I knew, was straight. He used to hook up with women occasionally, but from what I could tell, he hadn’t been with anyone in a while. It was none of my business, but I couldn’t help wondering why that was.
Shoving all thoughts of sex to the back of my brain—seriously, what the fuck was that? This was Griffin—I told him what we would be playing first.
And that’s what we did the whole close-to-six-hour drive to the mountains—played games and just…talked. Even though I’d known Griff for years now, we didn’t really talk like this, not for hours at a time, only the two of us.
His navigation continued to give us directions, and before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of our rental. It was a small, traditional-looking cabin, sitting on a more private part of the lake, tucked between nothing but trees and nature.
Griffin turned off the truck, and we both sat there for a moment. His eyes scanned the area around us, but mine kept finding their way back to him. He made me curious in this strange sort of way lately that I hadn’t experienced with Griff before. I wanted to know what he was thinking, how he felt. I hoped he was happy.
“So?” I found myself asking.
“It’s perfect. I think this is exactly what I need.”
This unfamiliar burst of…pride? Excitement? I didn’t know what it was, but it swelled in my chest. “That’s what I like to hear, Griffy.”
“Is it Griffy or Grumpy G?” He cocked a brow.
“Depends on how I feel in the moment. I like to keep you on your toes.”
He shook his head, but a smile curled his lips. “Whatever you say, Joshy.”
“Let’s do this.” We got out of the truck and grabbed our bags. I set mine down when I got to the door, looked at the code they’d given me for the lockbox on the door, which would have the keys inside, and typed it in. Once I had the key out and got it open, I stood back for Griff to walk inside. He did, and I followed him, until he stopped right in front of me. “Something wrong?”
“It’s a studio. There’s only one bed.”
“That can’t be