Conventionally Yours (True Colors 1)

“We will. And surviving two weeks on the road together, that’s got to be like four months in regular relationship time.”

“Ha. Let’s see if you survive a brunch with the moms.” He laughed before his expression turned more vulnerable. “If you still want to, I mean. And you don’t have to crash with Jasper or Payton either. I’ve got room.”

“Enough for me and the goat?” I gestured at the other bed where the goat had been that morning. “And hey! You got the goat a friend!”

A frog soldier plush toy now sat next to the goat. Alden looked away, blushing. “I thought he needed a friend. You said he can’t be an only kid. And you needed a prize for winning.”

“We can always use one more mascot. So, me, the goat, and the frog? You sure you want us to sleep over?”

“It’s not a huge place, but yeah, if you want, there’s room.”

“I totally want. And I’m more concerned with whether you’ve got a big bed than the rest of your place.” I winked at him. Funny how I’d gone from near homeless twenty-four hours ago to having all sorts of options today, but there was only one option that I truly wanted, and that was more time with Alden.

His blush said he was still unsure about believing me, but his kiss said he wanted to, and that was enough for me. I’d just dedicate myself to proving to us both that we were worth trusting in, that we’d make it, and that our future was nothing but bright.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Alden

“Is it wrong that I’m really happy to see this car?” Conrad asked as he carefully arranged the goat, the frog, and his giant trophy in the back seat.

“Me too,” I had to admit. We hadn’t even visited the car in the parking garage since our arrival on Thursday, and now, late morning on Monday, I was beyond excited to be nearing the end of our Las Vegas stay. I was ready to hit the road again, and yeah, Black Jack had totally grown on me, to the point that I gave the door a fond pat as I closed it.

“And I’m running out of shirts.” He grinned as he tossed his bulging backpack into the trunk. “I’m finding us a place near a laundromat tonight.”

“You are?” I held up my now-dog-eared folder of papers. “I thought I was in charge of navigation?”

“Yeah, but I’m the one with the cash burning a hole in my pocket.” He grinned as he headed for the driver’s side.

“You are the winner,” I conceded. “But you need to save—”

“And I will. Promise. But don’t you want to take our time getting back? Have a little fun? Remember Colorado?”

“How could I forget?” Despite the empty parking garage, I still blushed at the memory of all those kisses.

“See?” He made a pleading face as I slid into the passenger seat. “Admit it. You’re in no hurry to get back to our real lives.”

Real lives. I wasn’t even sure I knew what that was anymore. I felt more real right here and now, about to head out on another road trip with Conrad, than I had in the twenty-three years leading up to this moment. Was my real life back home? All the expectations and pressures? The feeling left out? The anxiety and worries?

And was real life for Conrad his friends and parties? The life he’d had before everything went down with his parents. Or was it the dead-end jobs and borrowed room? I wasn’t sure I liked either of those scenarios. I wanted to believe in this Conrad, the one I’d come so far with.

Something of my indecision must have shown on my face because Conrad frowned. “Or are you? You miss your moms? Your Odyssey online friends? Whatever else you had planned for your summer?”

I couldn’t lie to him, but my voice still came out as little more than a whisper. “You. You’re the only plan I’ve got for my summer. The only one that matters at least.”

His face softened. “Ditto. And I know we’ve got to get the car back to Professor Tuttle eventually, but he said last night to take our time. So let’s do that. There will be plenty of time for all manner of boring adult stuff waiting for us.”

“Adulting might be overrated.” I could say that after a morning spent having fancy breakfast with the Odyssey bigwigs and listening to their pitch to us for jobs. Conrad had proven to be a surprisingly shrewd negotiator, not leaping at their first salary-and-benefits offer and working out a flexible start date.

For myself, I’d left things more open-ended. I was tempted by the idea of working for the game I loved, but I also had a vision of myself in a classroom surrounded by kids, using the game to teach logic and reasoning, sharing some of my favorite books, being the sort of teacher I’d loved in school. The past week had given me that dream back, and I was reluctant to let it go, even for an opportunity this good.