Page 177 of Trust Me

Chapter 47

Dean

My nose scrunched as I picked something up off of the floor. The backseat was covered in random shit, and it was insane to me that it didn’t seem to bother him.

Oli snatched it from me. “It’s just a yogurt top.”

“Why is it in here?”

He shrugged as he shoved it into the trash bag in his hand. “I was eating it on the way to class a while back.”

“When’s a while back?” When he didn’t respond, I grunted. “This is how things go rancid.”

“Joke’s on you. It was already rancid when I ate it.”

“Ugh. We’re getting you a little trash can for in here, and you’re emptying it every week.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shaking my head, I tossed a pile of hoodies into the trunk. “Why do you have so many of these?”

“I like to be cozy.”

“You can’t be cozy when they’re all in here.”

“Then I’ll just keep stealing yours.”

“Whatever you want.”

The smile on his face was radiant. With Remi staying here the past two months, we’d all been more stressed than usual, and it was good to see him looking so light. They got along like brothers, which was both good and bad. Remi was neat, whereas Oli set things down on every surface in the apartment, then forgot about them. They played games too late, were loud as hell, and they bickered about the stupidest shit.

“Well,” I said once we’d finally cleared everything out, “now we can fit the bags in here.”

“We could’ve fit them before.”

“Doesn’t it feel nice having it clean, though?”

He cocked his head, pushing his lips out as he thought about it. “Yeah, I guess so. It looks brand new.”

Grabbing the cooler, I situated it in the backseat so it was within reaching distance. After getting the others in the car, I closed the door and headed to the driver’s side.

“You kids have fun,” Remi called from the breezeway. He lifted his coffee with a little smirk, though I had no clue what he found amusing.

Oli blew him a kiss, which Remi pretended to watch fly right by him. I just held up my middle finger until I was seated behind the steering wheel.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” Oli asked after he got in.

“It’s only two hours. Oh, and driver gets to pick the music.”

“I knew there was more to it.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I started up the engine. We’d barely made it to the freeway before he was reaching into the cooler. He came back with a sandwich and took a giant bite.

With a choking sound, he put a hand over his mouth. “What the hell is this, Broku?”

I glanced at it. “Peanut butter and jelly.”’

“It’s chunky.”