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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?”
