The drive from L.A. to Ann Arbor would have taken a sane person at least three days, but when it came to Brooke I wasn’t exactly what you would call sane; in fact, I leaned more toward the term ‘out of control’. When I told Dek that I was driving out to help Brooke haul all of her stuff to California, he had been all over coming along. The incentive of seeing Jade again had worked greatly in my favor. Once Chris got wind that Dek and I were planning a road trip, he wanted in on the action, so he decided to tag along. Then Travis, not wanting to miss out on the fun, jumped on the bandwagon, after getting permission from Natalie, of course. And that’s how it came to be that a tedious three-day drive had turned into thirty-six hours of fun.

So, here we were, driving cross-country in a rented Escalade to bring my girl home with me. To say I was happy would have been an understatement. I knew how fortunate I was that things had worked out in my favor with her being offered the opportunity of a lifetime to work alongside one of her culinary heroes. To put it mildly, I was one lucky son of a bitch, and I knew it.

After thirty-four hours of driving, with many stops and naps for everyone around, we were finally nearing the Michigan border. Every mile marker I passed brought me that much closer to Brooke, and it took everything I had within me not to push the speedometer past ninety in order to get there faster.

Each of us took turns driving and managed to grab a few hours of sleep, but for the most part we were wide-awake, wired on caffeine, and slap happy. Music blared out of the speakers, as it had the entire time, and, for the most part, we had all agreed on the music selection. I was currently behind the wheel, and when the intro of the next song came on, I turned it up and began crooning along with Maroon 5 as Adam Levine belted out the words to their current hit Sugar. It wasn’t long before Dek was harmonizing, with Travis and Chris beating out a rhythm behind us. We got into it too. I mean, we were right there with Adam, reaching all of the high notes, hand motions came into play, and by the time we reached the second run of the chorus, I was in my element. I looked over at Dek and caught a car full of college-aged girls riding along beside us, watching us as we put on our show. When they finally realized who we were, or at least who they thought we might have been, their mouths hung open in mid-scream and they held up their phones, trying to catch a photo of us. I sped up the SUV, quickly changing lanes and avoiding their flashes. At that moment I had never been so thankful that my exit had me veering off to the left, away from their hormone-filled sedan. Chris laughed so hard at my reaction, telling me I damn near got us killed out of embarrassment. Needless to say, the rest of the ride was filled with music but no more shows. I didn’t think my ego could take another hit like that.

The final two hours seemed to take longer than the first thirty-four, and when I pulled in front of Brook’s complex, I had never been so happy to get out and stretch my legs. She had no idea I would be here this early, or that the guys had decided to ride along with me, and I couldn’t wait to see her gorgeous face when she opened the door.

When we reached the main entrance, I caught one of her neighbors leaving the building and slipped in before it closed behind him, avoiding the use of the security system altogether. I bounded the three flights of stairs, Dek hot on my heels, and chuckled as Chris and Travis pulled up the rear, both grumbling about having to haul all of Brooke’s things down that many floors. The guys quietly moved around to the other side of the door in order to surprise the girls, and I let out a heavy sigh before reaching my hand up and rapping on the door, hopeful that I wouldn’t have to wait too long before she answered.

The door swung open, and before I knew it, Brooke had launched herself up into my arms, small limbs wrapping aggressively around my body and warm kisses covering my face and neck.

“How did you get here so soon?” she shrieked, covering my waiting mouth with hers, not giving me a chance to respond. As the kiss went deeper, I forgot that we had an audience and backed her against the wall, my hands gripping tightly at the flesh just beneath her rear. After a few beats, I heard someone clear their throat, causing Brooke to flinch and break away from my mouth.

“What the hell?” she snapped, their faces not immediately registering with her. Jade came running out into the hall to see what was going on.

“Oh my God, Dek? What are you doing here!” She threw her arms around him as he bent to kiss her.

“Um, guys, I think we need to take this inside. We’re starting to draw a crowd,” Travis stated, running a hand through his unruly hair. I looked over my shoulder and saw that several doors had opened and a crowd had started to gather. We quickly moved through the door, and it wasn’t until we were all the way inside before Brooke slid slowly down my body, still keeping her arms around my waist.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow night,” she gushed.

“Well, when I told them I was driving out, they all wanted to tag along.” I shrugged, allowing her to move away from me and hug everyone.

“We all wanted to be here for you, sweetie,” Chris told her, giving her a brotherly hug and kiss on the cheek. When she moved to Dek, he gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead and told her he wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but Brooke saw right through that and called him out on it, allowing everyone to see her playful side.

“No way, Dekklan. I see right through your motives. I know you only tagged along so you could put the moves on my best friend,” she harassed him.

“Guilty.” He shrugged, pulling Jade in for a kiss that would make any girl’s knees weak, a fact I only knew because Brooke later told me that’s what a kiss like that would do to a woman, a little tidbit I stored away for later.

“Of course we’re here to help. We’re badass rockers,” Chris quipped.

“Yeah,” Travis guffawed, “more like the not so bad boys of rock.” It took Brooke and Jade a good five minutes to stop laughing at that remark, and when she finally pulled it together, there were black streaks running down her face where her mascara had run. Now it was my turn to laugh.

“Ha, you look like a raccoon!” I spat out, pointing my finger in her face. She smacked it away and pulled her body flush against mine.

“You’ll pay for that later, Miles,” she purred.

* * *

The moving truck pulled up bright and early at seven as I had requested. Brooke had marked all of her boxes according to rooms and the items stored, which didn’t surprise me considering how hard she worked to keep everything organized in her life. We carried down box after box, sometimes waiting by the door while Brooke decided which one to send next. We took a couple of breaks yet still managed to pack everything into the truck or SUV in just under two hours. Before we headed back into the building, I offered to take everyone to breakfast, which they happily agreed to since they had just worked up one hell of an appetite making all of those trips up and down the steps.

Brooke directed me to a small restaurant located just off the busy section of town, a place well known for their great service and over-the-top breakfast platters. After waiting in a long line to be seated and doing our best to make ourselves look like typical college grad students, we were led to a booth near the door. When the waitress came over, she did a double take and then narrowed her eyes at me, opening her mouth to say something but deciding against it at the last minute.

“Are you ready to order?” She smiled, giving me a slight wink before writing down everyone’s choices. Once we had completed our meal, I made sure to leave a generous tip in the center of the table. We made our way to the door, and I heard a loud gasp followed by a shaky voice.

“That guy just left me a two-hundred-dollar tip on a forty-dollar check.” I smiled knowingly. The peaceful eating experience she had offered me by not calling attention to us had been worth far more than that.

* * *

BROOKE

Having all the guys here to help me load everything up had been beyond amazing. It would have taken Sebastian and me hours to accomplish what we had now pulled off in just two, even with Jade’s help. Going out to breakfast together had felt so normal, despite Sebastian being on edge about getting spotted after waiting in such a long line. Our waitress did give them all a funny look as if she suspected they were famous, but she never let on further than her initial loss of speech when she’d first approached the table.

The plan had been to leave first thing in the morning to get a head start on getting back to California, but since there were so many capable drivers, we decided to leave tonight, a decision that left Jade feeling very despondent and uncharacteristically grumpy.

“I don’t see what the rush is. It’s not like you have anything pressing to get back home to,” she pouted.

“Aw, baby, you’re going to miss me, aren’t you?” Dek grabbed her from behind and pulled her into his lap.

“It’s not fair that you’re taking my best friend and I’m going to be left behind here to watch television and knit.”

“Since when do you knit?” I laughed, placing my hand over hers. “I’ll miss you too, you know.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll be too busy playing house to miss me.” She gave a half smile.

“I don’t know why you’re getting all sappy. Just come with us, babe,” Dek offered, looking quite pleased with himself for suggesting such a thing.

“What do you mean?” Jade looked back over her shoulder at him.

“I mean, why don’t you pack a bag and join us for a week, and then I’ll fly you back home?”

“You want me to come with you?” She flushed, bringing her hands up to her face.

“That’s a great idea. Sweetie, you have to come with us. It will make the ride back much more bearable for me.” I clapped my hands together in excitement.

“Hey,” Sebastian argued, “I thought being with me would make the ride bearable.” He kissed my temple before resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Nah, there’ll be way too much testosterone in that car. I’m going to need all the extra help I can get.” I elbowed him gently in the ribs.

“Oomph!” he grunted and rubbed at his side. “Damn, those boney elbows are lethal.”

* * *

The drive back took a little longer than their whirlwind trip to get me. The guys grumbled every time Jade and I made a request to stop and use a restroom. Chris even suggested it would be quicker if we could just squat behind a tree. Needless to say, after a well-placed boney elbow, he didn’t make that suggestion again. Instead of everyone taking turns sleeping in the car, I convinced them to get a few hotel rooms so we could get a good night’s rest before hitting the road again. I, for one, was exhausted. Sebastian must have been as well, because when we made it to the room, we climbed into bed and kissed good night before falling asleep in each other’s arms.