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Barry dared him, “Bring it on.”
Camryn was just as friendly as his sister, if not more. Soon, he had Barry calling him Cam and even got him to reveal that he was an undercover Utah Jazz fan even though they all lived in Michigan.
“Don’t tell my sister,” Camryn advised as he and Barry stacked heavy boxes into Camryn’s SUV. “She’s a die-hard Piston.”
“She already knows.” Barry had mentioned it in passing while they were at the food festival.
“And she let you live?” Camryn’s gaze was filled with awe. “Damn, man! She must really like you.”
Barry smiled. “I like her too.”
Camryn’s eyebrows immediately shot up and he gave Barry a look.
That look was enough to make Barry rethink what he’d said. He stammered, “As a friend… I like her too… as a friend.”
Camryn stared at him for an uncomfortably long while. That silent stare had Barry wishing that the ground would just open and swallow him. But then Camryn burst into laughter.
“Relax, bro.” Camryn patted his back. “I won’t bust your balls over this friendship you have with Xolani. You seem like a good guy so it’s cool. As long as you don’t hurt her, we’re good.”
There were subtle hints in the younger man’s words that he didn’t believe that Barry and Xolani were just friends. Nevertheless, his tacit approval was enough to make Barry grin and say, “I won’t hurt her.”
“Hurt who?” Xolani called behind them.
Startled, both men turned to face her. She was standing there, carrying a black bag filled with oddities, and watching with them curiosity.
They hadn’t even heard her coming up behind them. How long had she been standing there? How much of their conversation had she heard?
“Hurt who?” she repeated, which answered the last question. She hadn’t heard much.
Struggling to come up with a good lie, Barry stammered, “Uh… uh…”
Camryn was quicker on his feet. “My cat. I told Barry I was getting a cat for my place. He said he’d come pick it up with me, but I was worried he might hurt it so_”
“A cat? You’re getting a cat?” Xolani shoved the bag into her brother’s arms as she berated him. “Are you crazy? You’re allergic to cats!”
“I’ll just take allergy meds and_”
“Allergy meds, my foot.” She scowled at him. “If you get a damn cat, I’ll come and toss it over a bridge myself.”
“You’re scaring me.” Camryn’s hand flew up to his chest as he tried to fake terror. “How can you talk about murdering my cat so casually? Are you a killer now? Do your friends know?”
“Keep talking and you might end up as my first victim.” Xolani gave her brother a toothy yet threatening grin before taking Barry’s hand. “Come on Barry, I need help getting some things from the bathroom.”
Her brother’s laughter followed them as they entered the building, and Barry couldn’t help chuckling too. The siblings’ playful yet caring relationship was enviable. Barry wished that he and his older siblings had that kind of relationship, but alas, there was too much water under that bridge.
Xolani’s apartment was just one of the places they needed to transport Camryn’s belongings from. There was more stuff locked away in a nearby warehouse. Xolani and Anika drove Camryn’s SUV to his apartment. Meanwhile, Barry and Camryn rode to the warehouse in Barry’s car.
Four of Camryn’s friends were waiting for them at the warehouse with a moving truck. After introductions, the men found Camryn’s storage unit. There was a lot to carry. Thankfully, there were many hands to help. It took them all less than an hour to load all the furniture and boxes into the truck. Afterward, they all headed to Camryn’s new apartment.
It was then that Barry realized just how annoying an uneven ratio of men to women could be. There were six men to two women, which meant that there’s always someone on Xolani’s tail trying to chat her up while they worked. Thankfully, Xolani only had eyes for him.
When Barry dropped off his first box in the living room, he felt a pain in left his arm and started rubbing. Xolani immediately noticed.
“It must’ve been so hard to move all those things,” she said while massaging his bicep.
“It wasn’t,” he assured her though he didn’t mind the massage at all. “I just overworked this arm a little in the gym yesterday.”
“You should’ve told me,” she scolded, but her voice was soft and filled with concern. Her fingers dug into his muscles, soothing them. “We wouldn’t have made you carry heavy stuff.”
