For the week and a half leading up to the lake house trip, Jodie put so much effort into pointing out every single tree around Monument that changed color. Her enthusiasm was palpable when the temperature dipped into the low 50s, not only for the long weekend ahead, but because she could begin to wear her “normal wardrobe”. Mitch agreed since most of his clothes were jeans and long sleeves, and he always preferred to have a few layers on. Sometimes Avi shook his head and declared that they were out of their minds, but stopped when Jodie called him out for consuming pumpkin spice lattes like they were water.

Grocery shopping was handled the night before they headed up to Pisgah Lake, and Jodie and Mitch departed from Monument on Friday morning to get a good view of the foliage during the drive. It was particularly splendid past Vermont’s southern border, and the Green Mountain range that welcomed them was blanketed in a vibrant patchwork quilt of reds and yellows, oranges and purples.

“Missed this,” Mitch commented, eyes fixed on the road but able to admire the sweeping vista of mountains and valleys when the highway crested.

“What? Driving, or-” Jodie gestured with both arms. “This?”

“Both,” nodded Mitch. “Thanks for letting me take the wheel.”

“Wasn’t gonna go up in your car,” Jodie scoffed. “She’s a duct tape death trap.”

“You leave Beatrice alone,” chastised Mitch. “I mean you’re right, but don’t be rude.”

It was good though, to get onto open roads and away from the noise and congestion of Monument and Wickburg. The freedom to drive was also a gift in and of itself, which had a deeper psychological impact on Mitch than he realized. Back in France, having a car didn’t matter due to the renowned public transit systems, but that was not the case here and he couldn’t escape when he needed solitude. The independence would have been a blessing when he was dumped, but he also wondered if he would have just driven his car straight into the Nashua River. And although he was grateful for the ride from Avi, he simultaneously wished that it never happened because he let his guard down. They would have eventually gotten along well enough without being forced into contact for over 6 hours, but he could have kept some of the more vulnerable content locked away. Now there was a bond he couldn’t ignore, and through that opening the Spartans were able to slip past the walls.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Mitch was left with…feelings.

Feelings were complex and tangled and something that he was ill-equipped to handle in his present state. After Calvin, all that remained with the burnt-out shell of a man. It was too early to want anything since all of his energy went into getting to the end of the day without collapsing in on himself. The cherry on top was being forced to contend with the fact that he was dumber than a Trojan.

Still, he stewed. Not anywhere in that 6 hour car ride had a girlfriend been mentioned, nor in the last few weeks that they were practically inseparable. Not even hinted at! It irked Mitch, and he was confused as to how she never came up once. They hashed out relationship stuff constantly; so how did Avi spend all that time omitting that he himself was in one, but opened up about so much other stuff?

Maybe he had an inflated sense of self importance, assuming that of course Mitch would be attracted to him, and didn’t want to deflect that attention.

No, that wasn’t right. According to Ann, Mitch spent the last 5 years in a relationship with a textbook egomaniac. He assumed that by now he could recognize one, and Avi was nothing like Calvin.

Realistically, Avi was just being polite and did not want to brag. That made him somehow nicer than he already was, which annoyed Mitch even more. He didn’t need to be handled with kid gloves, he could deal with being happy on behalf of someone and their good fortune. Not that he was entitled to information, it was just odd to not be granted access to something that he freely gave early on.

“What’cha thinking about?” asked Jodie, dragging Mitch from his thoughts. Taking a quick glance in the rear view mirror, he noted that his jaw was firm and brow completely furrowed.

“Nothing.” He shook his head, rearranging his face into a mask of nonchalance. “Nothing at all.”