Page 121 of Trust Me

“Get him a ticket. A nice one. The last thing he needs right now is to sit in the shitty back of the plane.” He shuddered, as if he was reliving some sort of trauma.

I brushed my thumb over the textured front of the card. It was heavy, like it was made of metal. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of money.”

“He’s got, like, fifteen thousand in his checking account,” Tilian said casually. “Don’t get me started on the savings account and the trust fund and the real estate and—” Brooks nudged him hard enough to make him stop talking.

“Wow.” Sitting on one of the benches, I pulled out my phone. “Thank you, Brooks.”

Brooks watched over my shoulder while I looked for flights. “Get two.”

“Why?”

“For you, obviously.”

My thumb paused on the screen. “For . . . me? No, it’s fine.”

“Don’t send him there by himself, dumbass. He needs emotional support. That’s you.”

“He’s not going to want me to go with him. We’ve only been together for a week.”

“And? What’s the holdup? I’ve met Tilian’s parents.”

“Has he met yours?”

The silence that ensued made me glance between them.

I guess that was a no.

“Brooks is right,” Tilian said. “If you care about my probably misguided opinion, I think it’d be good for him to have you there. It’s not like you have to announce that you’re dating. Dean’s really close to his family, but he deals with things by himself. You shouldn’t let him do that. Isn’t that part of being partners?”

“What if he gets mad that I want to go?”

“Too bad.”

“But we have class tomorrow—”

“We can deal with it. Mr. Pritchard will understand. Just stop bitching and hit add to cart.”

Even though it made me a little nauseous, I added two flights that would go out tonight. Seeing the total made it feel like I was doing something wrong, but Brooks didn’t say anything as I put in his information. He even forced me to add the VIP lounge and premium entertainment, as if we’d be able to enjoy anything like that. But maybe it’d be a distraction.

“Thank you,” I said again. “Really, I don’t know how to repay you.”

Brooks shrugged. “Don’t.”

“Bleed him dry,” Tilian whispered conspiratorially.

It was impossible not to smile just a little. “You guys are cute.”

Tilian grinned. “I know.”

“I should find Dean.”

Brooks stepped in front of me and flipped open his wallet again. I blinked a few times when I saw all the green inside. He pulled out a stack cash, then cocked his head as he thumbed through it. Pulling some more out, he added it to the pile and handed it to me.

I shook my head. “No, I have money.”

He rolled his eyes, then stuffed the bills in the band of my swim shorts. After patting the spot a couple of times, he winked.

“Let’s go, baby.” He wrapped an arm around Tilian’s shoulders, bringing him tightly into his side. “We have our own spring break plans to prepare for.”