Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“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. 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.