Gabe kept glancing over at me as he drove down the interstate but didn’t push me to tell him what was on my mind after that first comment about me being quiet. That was good because I still hadn’t sorted out my thoughts, so there was no way I could tell him I suddenly had doubts about what he called the natural progression of our relationship. He’d sold me on attending UNC Wilmington, even though I’d dreamed of going to Duke. But Gabe didn’t have the grades for Duke, which meant it was either UNCW together or try and make a long-distance relationship work. Neither were valid options.

Now that we didn’t have to worry about being caught in the act, I was beginning to rethink this plan. The only thing that scared me more than being with Gabe was losing him. He was a part of every single memory I had from childhood. Our mothers were best friends too, so much that our grandparents teased that they couldn’t do anything without the other, including pregnancy. To hear my grandma tell it, Aunt Gwen told everyone she was pregnant at Christmas dinner, and Mom broke down crying. Everyone thought they’d had another miscarriage until she confessed that she, too, was pregnant. Joint baby showers, joint baptisms, joint birthday parties since we were born three weeks apart. You name a celebration, and we were there together. I’d be lost if we got to Wilmington and Gabe realized we’d made a huge mistake.

I knew he’d want me to tell him what was bothering me, but then he’d try and find a way to calm me down. He’d tell me I was borrowing trouble, but I wasn’t so sure I was. Mom and Dad kept encouraging me to spread my wings, told me what a great opportunity college had been for them, how much they’d changed between their first day of school and their last. What if the same happened to us?

The Jeep slowed and Gabe eased off the highway. There wasn’t much in this part of the state, so it made sense to stop and stretch our legs when we could. Him more than me, since he always complained there was no legroom in the Jeep. There was, unless you were a mutant with Stretch Armstrong legs. I was confused when Gabe didn’t pull into the gas station on the left but, instead, drove into a vacant lot. He parked the Jeep and unbuckled, turning in his seat.

“Okay, now that we don’t have to worry about anyone eavesdropping, tell me what’s on your mind. For real, this time,” he insisted.

A lump formed in my throat as I remembered I’d never won a battle of wills against him. Gabe was a stubborn ass at times, but this time, it was because he was worried about me. About us. About this thing we were doing together. “I’m scared, Gabe.”

He curled a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him. I closed my eyes and inhaled his spicy cologne, the scent I’d grown to associate with home since he’d gotten his first bottle for Christmas one year. “Talk to me, babe. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

“There is. What if we get down there and realize we don’t work when we’re constantly in one another’s space? What if you decide you can’t deal with me obsessively straightening the room or I get sick of you leaving your dirty laundry wherever it falls?”

“You see those as things that’ll drive us apart, but we’ve got a leg up on everyone else,” he reassured me. “We already know everything about one another, so I know to try and pick up after myself, and maybe you’ll learn to overlook my messes.”

“Not likely,” I quipped. For the past decade, I’d been picking up after Gabe every time we hung out at his place. As much as I loved the man, I despised his mess. I couldn’t understand how he could function in such chaos.

“You know what I mean, smartass.”

“But what if we hate each other once we’re constantly in each other’s space? What if you feel like I’m stifling you?” I asked. This was serious. There was more to it, but this was what I felt comfortable sharing with Gabe. The rest wasn’t a conversation to have in the Jeep on the side of the road, because there was a good chance Gabe would take it the wrong way and we’d wind up in our first real fight.

“Relax, Trevor.” Gabe massaged the back of my neck because he didn’t play fair. He knew this was one of my hot spots. If he kept that up, I’d agree to almost anything.

“I can’t help it,” I told him. “You like to do things by the seat of your pants. I worry. What if—”

Before I could continue with my list of all the reasons our relationship was going to implode once we were in Wilmington, Gabe tenderly pressed his lips to mine. My entire body relaxed, held up by the press of his chest against mine. With one hand anchored at the base of my neck, the other roamed down my side, tugging at the hem of my T-shirt. My back arched against his touch, the feeling of his flesh against mine searing like a brand. “Want you so bad, Trev. You’re all I can think about. The only thing I want. I care about you too damn much to let stupid shit pull us apart.”

I wanted so badly to believe him. Wanted to take everything he was offering me and beg for more. But I was still guarding that last sliver of my heart, trying to find a way to make sure I didn’t fall completely for him. Too dang late for that, that nagging voice in the back of my mind scolded. You were in love with him long before that first kiss.

“Gabe, we can’t do this,” I objected, the breathless rasp of my voice betraying my desires. It felt so good to have his hands on me, but we were in an empty parking lot just off the interstate. The copse of trees shielded us from passing traffic, but we didn’t need a cop pulling into the lot and catching us with our pants down, which was exactly the state he’d find us in if Gabe kept dipping his fingers beneath the waistband of my shorts. I pushed him away and righted myself. “Another hour and we’ll be in Wilmington.”

“And then we have to dick around with registration and unpacking the Jeep,” he complained. His argument would’ve held more weight if he wasn’t pouting.

“All necessary evils.”

“If you think I’m unpacking all the totes and setting everything up tonight, you’ve lost your damn mind,” he informed me. “I’m looking forward to a quiet night without Mom barging in to make sure I haven’t forgotten to pack anything.”

“She worries about you,” I told him, same as I did every time he complained about her hovering. “You’re sitting there thinking about how awesome it’s going to be not having them in your business all the time, but think about where your mom and dad are at. For almost nineteen years, you’ve been there. Now, you’re not. I think they call it empty nest syndrome or something. And at least your mom wasn’t drilling the dangers of college life into your head.”

“Small miracles,” he agreed. “But really, don’t you get sick of it? You know I love your mom, but if she had her way, I’m pretty sure you’d still have the umbilical cord attached.”

I shrugged because there wasn’t a good response. Yeah, it annoyed me when she tried to act like I was still a child, but I knew her heart was in the right place. Mom and Dad had tried for so long to get pregnant, suffered repeated miscarriages, and then I came along. Mom always made sure I remembered I was her miracle baby. If anything happened to me, it would kill her.

“Admit it, you’re looking forward to being able to sneeze without your mom running into your room with the thermometer and a box of tissues,” he continued as he pulled across the road and into the gas station parking lot.

“Believe me, when I think about the reasons I’m glad to be getting away from home, a case of the sniffles isn’t anywhere on that list,” I teased. It was wrong of me to go there when I was still so conflicted about pursuing a real relationship with Gabe, but I couldn’t help myself. He’d gotten me all worked up and then let me slam on the brakes, the way he always did. I didn’t have to worry about Gabe pushing me out of my comfort zone, but if we were going to do this, I needed him to do exactly that. I needed him to get me so turned on I couldn’t think straight and just do it.