Page 57 of Talk to Me

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Josh,” he said sincerely. “But I will watch that over and over while in bed at night, and laugh myself to sleep.”

I reached over and shoved him against the door. Theo laughed and raised his phone. He began to video the traffic we were stuck in and the snow that was slowly started to fall around us.

“Why aren’t you singing?” I slapped at his knee as we crawled through the highway traffic.

“I can’t sing!” Theo groaned.

“Obviously, I can’t either,” I said. “But there’s no one here to hear us, so…?”

Theo rubbed his hands along his jeans-clad thighs, as though wiping away sweat. He laughed nervously and stared out the windshield, as if deeply interested in the traffic that had nearly come to a standstill. Frowning, I applied the brakes as the highway slowed to a stop and we found ourselves stuck for the foreseeable future.

Turning my head to Theo, I said, “Don’t tell me the guy who does dances online for millions of people is afraid of singing with his friend in a car!”

He chuckled nervously, avoiding my gaze.

“Come on,” I said. “I won’t make fun of you. I mean, I will, but in a loving way.”

Sighing, Theo finally met my gaze.

“I have a horrible voice,” he said, blushing. “I hate singing publicly.”

Looking around dramatically as we sat in traffic, I pretended to be searching out the “public” he thought he was trying to avoid.

“Who’s here but you and me?” I asked, nudging his knee again.

He laughed and looked around at the cars surrounding us. The snow was falling lightly, but I found myself hoping it wouldn’t get worse before we got to my parents’ house. Driving in white-out conditions did not make me happy.

“Trust me,” I said. “No one is going to hear you. And the other people in those cars only care about the fact that we’re stuck on the highway. They don’t give a shit about two goofy guys singing at the top of their lungs in their car.”

He shot me a look, but I could tell Theo was unconvinced. I chewed at the corner of my lip and looked around at the traffic on the highway. Leaving the university at seven o’clock on the day before Thanksgiving had caused two problems. We were hitting holiday traffic and rush hour traffic in Des Moines as it began. Everyone who had to work the day before Thanksgiving was trying to get to work at the same time as many people were trying to get into and out of town to see family. Leaving at six would have solved the problem, or waiting an hour later would have changed things.

My departure time had not been my smartest move.

“You know what we need?” I asked.

“Faster traffic?” Theo quipped.

Laughing, I said, “This traffic isn’t going to lighten up for an hour. We need gas station breakfast sandwiches, coffee that a spoon can stand up in, and snacks for the road!”

“It’s a three-hour drive,” Theo said.

I looked at him, frowning.

“I was agreeing,” Theo said with a grin.

Whooping loudly, I steered us towards the next exit. Traffic crept along, but ten minutes later, we were pulling off of the highway and onto the side street. We hadn’t even gotten out of our first big town on the trip, but getting something to eat while traffic cleared up would be perfect. Even if we were delayed an hour, it would be worth it. I’d text my mom and let her know the situation.

“Okay,” Theo said, unfastening his seatbelt as I parked in front of the first Casey’s we passed, “I’m going to treat us to the snacks. You’re driving and you invited me for a free holiday, so the least I can do is pay for the road rations.”

“The bare minimum you could do, really.” I teased him.

“Get out and stretch, man!” Theo exclaimed. “I’ll be back!”

Theo leapt from the car and dashed towards the gas station. I managed to get out of the car quickly enough to scream at him before he disappeared inside.

“Lots of caffeine!”

Theo held a thumb up high above his head, then slipped inside the store.