Yep, I could work with this just fine.
Chapter 11
Jameson
HEY, I’M HERE. Downstairs in the parking garage.
I hit send on the text to Ryan, pocketed my cell, then opened the tailgate on the rental truck I’d hired for the weekend. After sleeping off last shift, I’d packed up the first haul of things from my place and headed this way. It wasn’t going to take more than two trips with as little as I had, and when Ryan had offered to help me unload my things, I knew we would be able to knock it out for sure.
The first things out of the truck were my nightstands, then I started on the boxes. This one was full of clothes and shoes and not too heavy, and the next had towels and toiletries along with a couple sets of sheets—again, nothing backbreaking there.
I jumped down and stacked them one on top of the other. As I straightened, the elevator door opened and Ryan stepped out, and every single reason I’d thought this was a bad idea came rushing back in.
From the minute I’d agreed to this, I’d been second-guessing myself on whether I could keep my distance if I moved in. But somewhere between agreeing to be his roommate and seeing another eviction notice on my door had convinced me this would all work out fine.
As I stared at him now, however, I realized I was a fucking idiot, because Ryan looked better than anyone should in a pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt.
“Hey, how you doing?” He stepped down off the curb and walked over.
“Pretty good. Shouldn’t take more than two trips to the old place, then I’ll be done. Thanks again for offering to help.”
“No problem. I was happy to.” Ryan flashed that smile that seemed second nature to him as he gestured to the rest of the boxes in the back of the truck. “These next?”
“Yeah. I was just about to—”
He grabbed the side of the truck and pulled himself onto the back of the tailgate. The fabric of his sweats stretched tight across his phenomenal ass, and for a moment I lost my train of thought.
“You were about to what?” Ryan asked as he stopped halfway up the bed of the truck. Judging by his smirk, I knew I’d been caught.
Get back on fucking topic, Jameson.
“I was just about to grab the last couple of boxes.” I jumped up into the truck.
Ryan crouched to lift the box closest to him. When it barely budged, he looked up at me. “What’s in this thing?”
My lips twitched as he straightened and propped his hands on his hips. “CDs.”
“CDs?” He looked back to the box. “Really?”
“Yeah. Plus some books and a few DVDs.”
“A few? That box weighs a ton. Have you never heard of streaming?”
I chuckled. “Move aside, GQ. I got it.”
“GQ?” Ryan stepped out of the way and cocked his head, eyeing me closely. “What do you mean by that? The magazine?”
“Kind of.” I crouched down and hefted the box up. “But more the men in the magazine.”
“What about them?”
“You remind me of them.” Ryan opened his mouth like he was about to argue, until I gestured to the box. “Think you can grab this if I hand it down to you? Shouldn’t be as hard as a dead lift.”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Ryan jumped out of the truck and then reached for the box, and I paused. “I’m not going to drop your precious collection, I promise.”
“I was more concerned with it dropping you.”
Ryan scowled. “Give me the damn box.” I bent down a fraction and handed it over. “Where do you want this thing?”
“How about the nightstand? It’ll be easier for me to get a good grip on it when I move it to the elevator.”
“I’m glad you said when you move it.”
He walked over to the table, and I took a second to just stand there and watch him move. His t-shirt was stretched tight across his surprisingly broad back, and it outlined his trim body in a way that made my dick stir.
“Because I’m not carrying this thing any further than this table.” He slid the box onto my nightstand. “We really need to have a serious discussion about streaming services.”
I smirked but said nothing as we went back to unloading more boxes. I’d left the bigger items, like my mattress, TV, and a few other things, for the second and final trip. So for now I locked up, and we began loading it all in the elevator and moving it up to our floor.
It didn’t take too long. The worst part was that Ryan’s—our—apartment was at the end of a long hallway, so that meant several trips back and forth. When we finally got the last of the items inside, I let out a breath and relaxed for a minute.
“I’m surprised you didn’t make your friends down at the fire station come move all this stuff.” Ryan walked into the kitchen and poured us glasses of water. “Bet they would’ve done it faster than I could.”
“You’ve been fine,” I said as I shut the door behind me, not wanting to get into the fact that I didn’t have any friends down at the station.
“Fine, huh?” Ryan started to laugh. “Be careful with those compliments, Jameson. You might give me a big head.”
“You know what I mean.”
He frowned, but I said nothing more as I stacked one nightstand on the other and carried them into my new room. After I situated them, I turned to see Ryan leaning against the doorframe.
“So, what you think?”
“About the room?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I could’ve kicked myself in the ass. What else would he mean? Himself?
“Yeah, the room.”
“It’ll work.”
Ryan laughed and held out a glass of water. “You don’t say a whole lot, do you?”
I shrugged and took a sip. “Don’t have much to say.”
“Ah, so it’s not just me, then? You’re like this with everyone?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I walked over to the window and stared out at the park below. It was a cool afternoon, but that didn’t stop people from getting outside and enjoying it. “This is a nice view.”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty busy park. Lots of families come down here.”
I nodded and watched as a boy, bundled up in a coat bigger than he was, tossed a ball through the air for his golden lab to chase. It was a very different scene to what I saw out of my old window. Under the train tracks all kinds of things happened, but I’d never seen a kid throwing a ball to their dog.
It was a glaring reminder of just how different a zip code could be, and even though I was pretending for a while, I was well aware that I wasn’t from around here.
“Okay, I’m going to bring the rest of the boxes in and then head back to get the final load.”
“I’m not doing anything tonight, so I can help.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. But you’re going back to get your furniture—that’s the heavy stuff. Plus, how are you going to drive the truck and your motorcycle back here?”
Damn it, he had a point. But the idea of Ryan in my neck of the woods again made me antsy. He was a robbery waiting to happen.