“You seriously have issues,” I say with a laugh.
“What? They smell nice. You have good detergent. We’ll bring that along as well.”
“So you can sniff it?”
He chucks the boxers at me, and I snatch them midair. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll wash my clothes with your cheap detergent just so I can get off to the smell.”
“Fuck you,” I say with a smile as I grab another suitcase and continue packing. I should have done this sooner, but I honestly thought I’d put up more of a fight or that Coop would change his mind last minute. But he didn’t. He wasn’t kidding about moving in together.
And right now, he looks pleased as pie that this is happening. Why he wants me as a roommate is beyond me. I may never know what his motivation is.
“How about we bring your suitcases back to my place and then I can take you to dinner?”
“Sure,” I mutter as he bends down at the waist and zips it up, far more flexible than he has any right to be. I do not look at his round butt while he does it. My eyes definitely do not swivel down.
Mostly.
“Don’t sound too excited, might make me even more gay,” Coop retorts as he stands back up and swipes his hair out of his face.
I scoff and then shove at him gently, making him stumble back slightly.
“And if you start wrestling with me, I might bust a nut.”
A laugh booms out of me, and I shake my head. “You’re fucking ridiculous.”
“I am, but I’m also a rich prince, here to save my dude in distress.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it. You’re blackmailing me so I can eventually get a divorce from your sorry ass.”
He shakes his head as we skirt by the movers who are boxing my kitchen up. “I’m enabling you. Helping you have a better life while getting something in return.”
“And what is that?”
“Your glowing company. That’s all I want, Matthew. I’m a lonely man in need of companionship.”
I watch him as he pops the trunk of his car open and hefts my bags into the back. He does it far too easily. He’s stronger than he seems.
“I can’t believe you only have two suitcases,” he says as he slams the trunk shut and points to the passenger-side door. “You’re such a straight guy.”
“Yep. That’s me,” I say with a smile, slipping inside his car and letting him drive me out of town. He lives in South County, which is much nicer than where I live. But he’s right about one thing. My job is only about three miles from his place. I could easily bike that in the mornings with no issue. That means I could sleep in far later and maybe I wouldn’t be as tired, and then I’d get home almost forty minutes earlier in the afternoons.
This move could be life-changing.
Not that I tell Coop any of this. I’m sure he already knows, and I don’t want his head to grow any bigger. That would be a medical emergency.
After exiting the freeway, we pass through small beach streets, seagulls flapping overhead, the smell of salt in the air. It’s spring, so it’s still cool out and relatively empty, but in the summer there will be droves of people out here, milling about, and the sun will make the heat almost unbearable.
Coop pulls into a parking structure and maneuvers his car into a reserved space. I knew he lived close to the ocean, but I didn’t realize that he lived this close to it. I should have with how rich he is. I mean, only the super-rich can afford this place.
“You fucking live on the beach?” I ask, and Coop grins.
“You got it, baby. Wait till you see the sunset. You’ll never want to give this up.”
Fuck, well, he has a point, doesn’t he?
“Jesus,” I murmur as I grab my suitcases and drag them to the elevator. I don’t even want to know how much his rent costs. Probably more than my car when it was brand new.
Each. Month.