Page 13 of Ancient Obsession

“Yeah, we are.” Demetrius sighed happily then stood. “Let’s go.”

Once he locked the door behind them, Demetrius headed for his truck and said, “I’ll meet you at Margie’s.”

“Yeah, see you there.” Oliver’s steps were lighter as he headed for his car.

CHAPTER FOUR

Dave hit the brakes hard. Again. The car jerked to a halt, and he flinched at the sound of tires screeching on pavement behind him. He felt no impact, so he released a breath, forcing his fingers to relax around the steering wheel.

Traffic inched forward. He craned his neck, trying to see how far he was from his exit. It wasn’t even in sight, and he deflated a bit. All he wanted was to be wearing comfortable clothes and sitting on the couch beside Oliver.

He thought about the wedding. It wasn’t going to be lush or extravagant, but that wasn’t the point. What they had planned reflected them as a couple. Neither of them liked overly fancy or expensive things. Oliver couldn’t afford them, and Dave tended to be more conservative with money. Their venue was a newly opened space barely over the line into Harriettville. It had once been a nightclub but had closed years before. The new owners, a married couple, were trying to attract business and gave them a great price.

Another sudden stop. Dave put his head back and closed his eyes. How many days now until the wedding? Seventeen? He lifted his head and was about to send that in a text to Oliver, but stopped himself. Was he being too pushy about it? Excitement for their wedding was absolutely ramping up for him, but was Oliver feeling the same way?

The car in front of him pulled ahead and Dave eased forward, finally able to see his exit. Once he got through this bottleneck, he’d be able to make better time.

His thoughts turned back to Oliver, specifically his bravery. And not just when they came face to face with a hard-to-explain case. He’d made the difficult choice to return to school and had followed through on signing up for classes. All while navigating the loss of sponsorship and dwindling visits to his blog. Dave’s heart ached if he thought about it too long. While he wished he could make some decisions for him, Dave knew Oliver had to do the work and come to his own conclusions. Dave could provide a sympathetic ear or another point of view, but in the end, the choices had to be Oliver’s.

Dave finally reached the exit and merged onto I-79, cheering quietly when he was able to drive at a steady speed. Traffic wasn’t yet flowing at the speed limit, but at least it was moving.

As he settled back into the seat, he tapped a button on the steering wheel and placed a call to Oliver.

“Hey there,” Oliver said. “You almost home?”

“No. Traffic’s snarled up. Another half hour, I think.”

“‘Snarled up,’ I like that description.”

“Thanks. You can use it, for a small fee.”

“Oh?” Oliver’s chuckle was deep and throaty. “If the charge is what I’m thinking it is, that’s no small fee.”

“Well, thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

Dave laughed. “You’re in a good mood. Classes go better today?”

“Classes were fine. But I had a talk with Demetrius at Margie’s. I brought you a chicken pot pie.”

“Oh my God, I may waive that fee.”

Oliver gasped. “Don’t you dare. I think you should double it.”

They laughed together.

“I’m really happy to hear you sounding better,” Dave said. “I know you’ve been wondering about what to do next.”

“Yeah, I have. I didn’t really know how to talk about it, sorry.”

“Talking with Demetrius helped you, and I’m glad.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk with you about it.”

“I know that. You can fill me in on things as I scarf down that pot pie.”

“Wow, you’re just full of descriptive words today.”