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He laughed. “If you think I’m going to go into a public shower room to jack off, you’re crazy.”
“So you just had to suffer, huh?” she teased.
“Yes.” He buried his face in her hair. “I could hear all the guys around me and all I wanted was to be here with you. Tomorrow night is going to be torture.”
Drew expected her to laugh, but she didn’t. “I know.”
Neither said anything for a long time, but Beth finally broke the silence. “What’s your family going to think of me? Am I anything like the other girls you’ve brought home?”
He was grateful for the change in subject. “Yes and no. I’ve always been attracted to strong women, even in high school, so that won’t shock them. I think the biggest difference will be our relationship itself.”
Beth stiffened in his arms, and he knew he needed to clarify. “Not what we do in the bedroom. I’m talking about the normal stuff.” He laced their fingers together and held them up close to their faces. “Like the fact that I like to be touching you. It doesn’t matter if I’m holding your hand or if I have my arm around you.”
She squeezed his hand. “So that’s different. What else?”
“I’ve been thinking about sleeping arrangements. There is no way my parents are going to let us share a bedroom—they’re old-fashioned that way.”
“Mine probably wouldn’t either.”
Drew lowered their hands, but didn’t release her. “What do you think about camping?”
She raised her eyebrows. “I thought we already covered this.”
“True, but if you recall I presented you with an alternative that would make camping more appealing.”
“You did. Although I’m not one-hundred percent convinced,” she said.
Taking the plunge, he told her his plan. “Give me the chance to convince you. Sunday night you and I will camp under the stars. We’d be away from the house and completely alone. And best of all, we can share a sleeping bag.”
Beth kissed the hollow at the base of his collarbone. “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?”
“I think I’d go insane if I knew you were sleeping in the same house and I couldn’t be there next to you,” he confessed. Let her take that however she wanted.
“Your parents won’t get suspicious or want to come with us?”
“I don’t think so. Mom doesn’t camp. And Dad’s back gives him issues now and then, so I doubt he’ll want to chance it the night before the big party.” Drew paused. “The only one we really have to worry about is Seth.”
“You think your brother will want to tag along?”
Drew shrugged. “It’s unlikely, but maybe. You never know with Seth.”
“Do you and your brother get along? I know you’ve told me some about when you were kids, but what about now that you’re older? Does he still treat you like you’re his pesky younger brother?”
“I suppose we get along as well as most brothers do. He has his life. I have mine. We don’t exactly travel in the same circles.” Drew preferred physical work and getting his hands dirty. Seth was just the opposite. Drew was pretty sure the only time his brother broke a sweat was in the gym.
“So no meeting for lunch or dinner even though you both live in St. Louis?” she asked.
“Not really. As I said, we both have very different lives and we’re both happy the way things are. I think we’ve met for lunch a handful of times since I moved to the city.”
Beth sighed. “That’s kind of sad. I’m not very close with my siblings either, but that’s mainly because they’re so far away. Still, we e-mail about once a week just to see how each other is doing.”
He knew he shouldn’t ask, but that little voice inside wouldn’t let him leave it alone. “Have you told them about me?”
“Yes.”
Knowing she’d told her family about him made Drew smile.
“Don’t get all cocky on me.” She poked him in the ribs. “It’s not a big deal.”
