Chapter 10

Ten

Will

… Heeeere we go , Will thought, after waking up early the next morning. Today he and Jacob would begin their cross-country trek.

The previous night they had eaten cupcakes, done the last of the packing, and for once, Will had left Jacob's room before Jacob fell asleep. He felt good about it. They would get the road trip started off on the right foot, with no awkwardness. As friends , Will thought to himself.

He got out of bed and rubbed his eyes, waking up. He opened his door and walked out into the kitchen, where he found Jacob already preparing breakfast.

"Wow. You would still make breakfast right before a road trip. You're the best," Will said, smiling at Jacob.

"We gotta eat well before we get on the road! And hey, we're using up the rest of the eggs before we leave," Jacob said, cracking some fresh pepper into the pan.

"Alright. I'm gonna go shower and I'll be back in time for my egg sandwich," Will said. "Thanks so much, Jacob."

He went into the bathroom and started the water running. He got under the shower and let the hot, steamy water run over his body. He decided to quickly jerk himself off. He figured that if he was going to be trapped in a car all day with Jacob, he needed to get it out of his system now so that he wouldn't end up making things weird later on.

He finished himself off quickly, and couldn't help but fantasize slightly about the other night with Jacob, despite himself. But once he was finished, he swore to keep those kinds of thoughts about Jacob out of his mind for the rest of the day. He showered, got dressed and went back into the kitchen.

Jacob had set out their egg sandwiches and started eating his own.

"These look perfect," Will said, taking a bite while still standing up and then heading over to make a cup of coffee.

"I brewed a fresh pot, it should already be hot in there," Jacob said.

"What? Thank you! You don't even drink coffee," Will said, pouring himself some.

"Yeah, I knew you were gonna want it, though," Jacob said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

They ate and talked through the road trip a little more. Will was glad to see that Jacob seemed energized and excited about the trip. He had definitely noticed that Jacob was miserable last night after coming home from seeing his mom and sister. His eyes had been noticeably weary when he had first walked back into the apartment.

Will, on the other hand, was ready to leave New York. When he thought about being back in Arizona and unemployed in a little under a week, it terrified him. But he was excited about the road trip, so he was doing his best to push Arizona out of his mind for the time being.

When they finished eating, Will helped Jacob make the final rounds of the house, checking to make sure that they hadn't left anything behind. They loaded the last few boxes, their bags and suitcases into Jacob's car. It was a mini SUV, so it had the capacity to handle a good amount of cargo and still be comfortable up front.

Standing outside the front of the house, Jacob took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Well, I guess this is it," he said, looking at Will.

"Yup. Ready to get on the road?" Will responded.

"Let's do it," Jacob said.

Will got into the passenger seat as Jacob placed his house key in an envelope and dropped it in the mailbox as the landlord had asked him to do. Jacob climbed into the driver's side. He started up the car, and they were on their way.

The first hour or so was simple and unceremonious. They listened to music from Will's phone, and Will stared out the window watching upstate New York fly by. It was a sunny day, and hot again; Will angled the air vents in the car straight to his face.

Their first stop would be in Cleveland. The drive would only take half the day, but Jacob had said that he'd rather take their trip kind of slow and see more cities, rather than drive 12 hours a day and feel like a zombie the whole time.

Will was glad for that. The more time in between now and when he got to Arizona, the better. He looked over at Jacob, who was singing along quietly to the music.

"You like this song?" Will asked. "I didn't know anybody knew about this band other than weird art majors like me."

"Yeah, this band is awesome. I would listen to them sometimes at the gym. It's good shit!" Jacob said.

"Definitely, I saw them live back in high school," Will responded, nodding. He really does know about cool stuff , Will thought, surprised and pleased.

"So, you excited to be back home soon?" Jacob asked.

"Home? Oh, you mean Arizona? No, not really actually," Will said, trailing off.

"Why not?" Jacob asked, curious.

"I don't know. Going back home and living in your parents' basement isn't exactly the ideal," Will said, squinting his eyes and looking out the window. "And, you know, it doesn't help that my older brother works on Wall Street and was already making more than six figures his first year out of college. It's a lot to compete with."

"Damn. Wow."

"Yeah. My parents are obviously really proud of him. I am too, but I can't help but feel like shit compared to him. My parents had two sons and got one high-achieving, successful genius, and one gay artist who'll probably never amount to much," Will said, hearing his own voice turn slightly bitter. "But hey, at least I've got confidence, right?" he smiled a huge fake smile in an attempt to make a joke.

"Hey," Jacob said, "don't be so hard on yourself! You'll be okay, Will. You'll be more than okay. You seem like a great guy, and you're obviously smart, probably smarter than me. I'm sure any gallery would be totally happy to have you work for them."

"You're too kind, Jacob," Will said, sighing.

Jacob paused for a moment. Will thought he was finished, but a few seconds later he started up again.

"And don't compare yourself to your brother. He might have success of his own, but that doesn't mean you can't too. We just got out of college. We're starting our lives. The best is yet to come… and all that shit!" Jacob said, and laughed at his own mini-motivational speech.

Will laughed along with him.

"The best is yet to come? Now you're just being cheesy," Will said, but deep down he appreciated Jacob's words. He really appreciated them.

"You said your friend Maya is studying Art History, right? Maybe she can ask some of her professors if they know anybody in the field looking to hire," Jacob added.

"Yeah, maybe," Will said, as he looked over at Jacob. Jesus, the guy is truly a kind person , he thought. He felt a pang of sadness in him, hopelessly wishing again that Jacob wasn't straight. You'd be perfect for me if only you could ever love me back , he thought, looking over at Jacob's kind smile as he drove.