Page 29 of Laying Low

Wonder if Anthony has to worry about his own digestion.

Wonder if digestion comes up after two people have shared a shower.

Debate asking Val, Sal, or Dean the digestion question.

Decide not.Definitely not Sal.

Think about asking Chance, but decide not to.Chance either has too much information or faulty, worrisome information, and the day is already full.

The list usually started when he opened his eyes, and he had about half his day settled before his feet hit the floor.

This day’s list had… glitches.

Get up.Hit the shower.

Wait, is Anthony already in the shower?Oh my God.Anthony is in the shower.He is probably naked.

How can I hit the shower if Itoowill be naked?

I need to hit the shower.

I need to hit the shower, get dressed, go out and make sure everybody has food, and we have lunch packed, and we have a route planned.

Ohfuck,I was so up in my head I haven’t planned a route!Shit shit shit shit what was I thinking!

Do I need to text Dean about the route?Wait.He’s here.Why are we meeting in Vancouver when Blaine, Washington, is closer to the border crossing?Should we both plan to meet Val in Blaine?

Where’s phone.Did I remember to charge my phone?

Holy shit, what was I thinking.Shoving four adults in an SUV and taking them on a four-day trip?How will I pay rent?

“Reg!”Anthony called sharply.“Reg, are you with us?”

“Sorry,” Reg said, sitting up in bed and trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.“I was just planning our day.”

“I can see that,” Anthony said, coming out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist and using his other towel to dry his healthy brown hair.“Your eyes are bugging out like a cartoon character’s.Calm down.We’ll hash out some shit over breakfast.You good?”

“Yeah, uhm… oh.”Reg blinked.

“Oh what?”

“I only have two towels.”

Anthony grinned lazily, a certain amount of self-confidence curling out of his smile.“Don’t worry.You go get in the shower, and I’ll put the towels on the rack by the door.I promise not to look.”

Reg’s ears actuallyburned.“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“No, thank you—you’ve been more than hospitable.”

“I didn’t even check to see what clothes you brought,” Reg muttered.

“A balance—two pairs of shorts, two pairs of jeans, good socks, clean underwear.I’d say no holes, but you don’t have any with holes, so that was easy.Our denim jackets because it’s getting chilly up near Canada right now.We both had extras, so I grabbed one each for the boys, and some scarves and such.Don’t worry, Reg.I may not have grown up with five-hundred-million siblings, but Ihavefigured out how to be responsible for more than myself.Trust me.”

Reg nodded.“Okay,” he whispered.“Sorry.Just, you know, not used to—”

Anthony padded over to stand in front of him and then leaned over, placing his hands on Reg’s shoulders.He smelled like steam and Reg’s shampoo and clean man, and suddenly any worries about his daily checklist flew right out of Reg’s tiny little mind.

“We’ll cover your list of questions over breakfast, Reg.Trust me.I like a nice priority list myself, and we didn’t go into nearly enough detail.It’s fine.We’ll cover it together, okay?”