Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I find him in the kitchen a few minutes later. “What should we eat?”
“Are we hanging out?” I ask him.
“Don’t we always?”
“No. Not always. You go out with your brothers.”
“Well, not tonight. How about homemade pizza? I can go grab whatever we need from the store.”
“I actually have everything we need. I’ve been craving it.”
“Great minds.” He smiles, and I’m once again reminded why he’s my best friend. Sterling really is the greatest man I’ve ever met. He, too, is my favorite human.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Sterling
My cell phone vibrating on the nightstand pulls me from a deep sleep. Blinking my eyes open, I peer at the alarm clock, which tells me it’s just after seven in the morning. We’re not leaving until ten today because we can’t check into the rental until one in the afternoon. My bags are already packed, thanks to Alyssa, and we were just going to grab groceries when we got closer to the rental house. My plan was to sleep in. Something I don’t get to do often, but apparently, someone has other plans.
Grabbing my phone, I see my brother Ryder’s name on the screen. “What’s up?” I answer groggily.
“Did I wake you?”
“Yep,” I say over a yawn.
“Sorry.”
He doesn’t sound sorry at all. He also doesn’t sound like himself. “What’s up? Everything okay?” It’s not unusual for one of my brothers to call me this early in the morning, but they’re typically trying to wake my ass up. This isn’t one of those times.
“Yeah. Yes. Everything is fine. I just wanted to run something by you.”
“At seven in the morning?”
“Yes.”
He sounds nervous, which has me sitting up in bed, giving him my full attention. “I’m listening.”
“About the trip?”
“What about it?” I feel like I’m prying the information out of him, and he’s the one who called me.
“I want to bring someone.”
“Someone, as in one of the guys? Or someone as in a female someone?”
“Female. Definitely not one of the guys.”
“She must mean a lot to you.”
“I wouldn’t bring her otherwise.”
That’s something that he didn’t need to tell me. We’re all like that. Time with our family is sacred. You don’t invite someone to a family event unless our hearts are invested. Or if that person is your lifelong best friend like Alyssa is to me.
“So, what do you need from me?”
“Well, I was supposed to be rooming with you.”
“Ah, so you want me to sleep on the couch, is that it?” I laugh.
“No. I didn’t, actually. I just assumed you could share a room with Alyssa. She has one all to herself. It’s not like you’ve never done that before.”
He’s right. Alyssa and I have shared a bed before, but it’s been a long time. I think that the last time was right after we graduated from high school. We went on a vacation to Florida with her parents, and the hotel we stayed in had two queen beds. Now we have our own places and spare bedrooms when we crash at each other’s place, which also doesn’t happen as often as it used to.
“I don’t think that will be an issue. Let me run it past Alyssa, and I’ll call you right back.”
“Do you want me to call her?” he offers. “It’s me who’s making the change.”
“Nah, I’m sure she’s going to be fine with it. If not, I’ll sleep on the couch. It’s not a huge deal. Call your girl and tell her to get packed.” I end the call and immediately dial Alyssa.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you this early,” she answers.
“Ryder called and woke me up.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s all good. He actually wanted to ask me if you and I could share a room this weekend. He’s going to bring someone.”
“Oh, is it the girl that he’s dating? He’s been so secretive about her. All I know is that they met at the club in Harris.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s her. He’s hooked and is ready to bring her around the family. He and I were supposed to be sharing a room.”
“Oh, well, you can share with me. I can even take the couch. I’m not picky. I felt bad getting a room all to myself anyway.”
“I told him that if you weren’t okay with sharing with me that I would take the couch.”
“Um, no, you’re too big for the couch. You wouldn’t even be able to stretch out all the way, but I’m fine with it. We’ve shared a bed before.”
“That’s what I told him.”
“Yay!” she cheers, way too chipper for this time of the morning. “I’m excited to meet her.”
“Same. Since we’re both up, we’re going to grab breakfast. I need a shower and toss my bags in the truck. I’ll be there to get you in about forty minutes or so.”
“Dorothy’s Diner,” she tells me. “I want bacon and eggs, and hashbrowns, and maybe even a pancake. I’m starving.”