Page 59 of Same One
Whoever Bayen’s dad was, he was missing out. Bayen could be a pain in the ass, but today Tabian had caught a glimpse of the real him—the version of him that Tru probably adored. Tabian didn’t hate it.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Bayen griped.
Tabian shrugged and swallowed a bite of pizza. “No reason.”
Chapter Fourteen
Why was she so nervous?
It had taken her longer than she’d thought to pack overnight for her and Bayen, and then do the grocery shopping. That last part was on her though, because she had forgotten bread for their sandwiches and had to double back and run into the grocery store again. Then the line to pay out had been long, and she’d gotten more stressed the longer it took.
What if Bayen was fighting Tabian right now? What if he had Changed and was fighting him in the pizza place? She pushed the gas down harder and sped up the winding road that led to Tabian’s house.
When she pulled into the clearing though, she slowed at what she saw.
Tabian and Bayen were already here, and the closer she got, the more she realized they weren’t fighting, or even arguing. They were working together to get Tabian’s truck packed near his storage shed.
Tabian was pointing at something and explaining, and Bayen stood with his hands on his hips, watching him intently, then nodded and turned, picked up the box of supplies and loaded it into the back of Tabian’s truck.
Tabian’s truck was insane. He’d done so much customization to it, and under the camper shell, it was a world of camping supplies, all tidy and organized. Tabian was at the back, fiddling with something, but he turned and saw her, waved and headed toward her car.
She parked beside his truck and opened her door. Tabian was quick to pull her in. He kissed her and then patted her ass. His bright blue eyes had a wicked glint as he eased back. “You smell good.”
“It’s cherry hand lotion,” she said, relaxing under his touch.
“The bugs will love it too.”
“Oh, shoot,” she murmured, looking at her hands. “I can wash it off.” She wouldn’t tell him she’d slathered it all over her arms too.
“I like it,” he growled, leaning in to nip her neck. He patted her hip and opened her back door to grab the two duffel bags she’d brought for her and Bayen. Bayen had texted her and asked her to pack his tent and his camping backpack too, so she’d thrown those in the trunk.
“I haven’t been camping in forever,” she said excitedly. All of her stress was gone now that she knew Bayen was up for the trip and not trying to bleed everyone. “How can I help?”
“You want to pack the cooler?” he asked.
“Yes! I got three bags of ice like you said.”
“Atta girl.” Tabian pulled a polished black cooler from the back of his truck and settled it on the ground. It matched the rest of his camping supplies.
She didn’t know why, but she found his organization attractive. This would be way less fun if everything was chaos and stressful.
The cooler had wheels, so she dragged it to the trunk of her car and started packing the layers of cold groceries Tabian had instructed her to get, and ice. She put several sodas in there too. The orange ones that Bayen liked and a few beers for her and Tabian. The dry groceries she left in her handled grocery bags and hauled them to Tabian. He came over to help with Bayen’s tent and backpack, loaded up the cooler.
Movement caught her eye, and she looked up to find a tall man headed their way. The evening sunlight was saturated and beaming in her eyes, so Tru shielded her face and squinted, and waved.
The man waved back, but behind her, Tabian muttered a curse.
“You must be the new boo,” the man said as he reached them.
Tru couldn’t take her eyes off of a deep scar down his face. “H-hi,” she said, offering her hand for a shake.
He shook it and twitched his chin toward Bay. “Is that the kid?” Vic asked. “Boy, you sure stirred up a lot of chatter around here. I heard you took on Bridger.” He grinned. “Bout time someone tested him.”
Bay ducked a smile. “I didn’t mean to,” he mumbled.
“Tru and Bayen, this is Vic. The nosey one I told you about,” Tabian introduced them. “Vic, this is Tru and Bayen.”
“What happened to your face?” Bay asked.
