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“Ah, fuck.What a downer when we should have been flirting and packing,” Aiden said, pulling me against him.“It’ll be okay, baby.We’ll work it out.”He tilted his head.“Sleeping in the same cabin in the same bed every night sounds good, though.”
twenty
Aiden
Theweirdpeptalkfrom Matt and the question that he left hanging between us was a lot to add to the stress I was already feeling about the big sexual step we were about to take, but I tried to push it from my mind, reminding myself about how excited I had been to be alone with Jay.
But as we walked out to the parking lot and started up my car, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in over my head.Or like Jay was freaking out.He sat quietly in my car, eyes wide, taking in the full, embarrassing extent of my parents’ ostentatious display of wealth.
I’d begged them to buy me a normal car — a Subaru or something.Instead, they’d insisted on this Range Rover, and of course, it was top-of-the-line.And it looked it — being inside it was like being inside a spaceship, with screens and displays and switches everywhere.
“Interesting car,” Jay said.
I rolled my eyes.“My parents are insane.My mom is convinced that this is the safest car out there, because it was the most expensive SUV she could find.”
“Your parents forced you to drive a $100,000 Land Rover?Tough life.”
“Fuck off, it’s more irritating than it seems.People judge me for it.”
Jay nodded sagely.“If only you were an adult and could make your own automotive purchasing decisions.”
I laughed.“Sure.I’d like to watch you turn down a free car.Maybe, to make the scenario more realistic, we could have you try doing it with my mother breathing down your neck, lecturing you about how you should take an unpaid internship at the family company instead of working at the burger joint in town like the rest of the teenagers.”
“Oh my god, it costs more than $100,000 doesn’t it?”
“I’m not answering that,” I muttered.“Besides, how was that your takeaway from what I said?”
He waved his phone.“Just Googled it.Defender X, right?”
“This is so embarrassing,” I muttered.I started the engine, watching the screens and displays light up, along with Jay’s eyes.
“Most people who drive expensive cars brag about them.You cover yours in mud and hope people don’t notice.It’s kind of cute,” Jay said, grinning.
“The internship looked great on my resume, but the car is too much for me.What can I say?I just want to be a normal middle class guy,” I said.“And I know that’s not a real-world problem.”
“Explains why you’re so about camp,” Jay said, looking out the window as I pulled onto the mountain road that led to town and the ski resort.
“Camp, for a long time, was the only place where people didn’t really know who I was.I mean, Matt and Ben are from Eagle Ridge, so there were a few people who knew, but they never gave me shit.It wasn’t until I went away to college that I got to experience that again.And, again, I understand it’s not a real problem.”
“Hey,” Jay reached across and squeezed my hand.“It’s not a contest.You’re still allowed to have problems, even if you have ridiculous amounts of money.For example, I’m from a normal upper-middle-class household, but at least I got to pick my goddamn major in college and determine my own future life path.”He sat back with a sigh.
“Don’t say a word,” I said, shifting into drive.
“Actually, I kind of like the car.It’s really comfortable.I bet the back seats fold down nicely for some sexy hijinks.Plus, with these displays, we’ll never get lost.Ever.”He pushed a button, and I slapped his hand away.
“Don’t push that.It’s for off-roading.”
“Cool, so we can handle any kind of four-wheel-drive road if we ever need to escape zombie hordes by moving into the woods or something.”
“That’s the first scenario you come up with when you think of reasons we might go off-roading?”I asked.He cracked up, then pushed another button, and I growled at him.
“What?They’re all lit up and tempting.Besides, why else would you off-road?”
“I don’t know.Camping?Hiking?The great outdoors.”
“Oh.Right.That.”He slumped in the chair.How was Jay my boyfriend?
“You love camping now.”I glanced his way, waggling my eyebrows.“And now I’m terrified of what you’ll say when we get to my parents’ hotel.”
