Chapter 32

Brandon

M y nerves were at an all-time high as we stood outside of Andrew’s soon-to-be old apartment building. He still had a lot of things to pack and there was someone coming by to look at the couch. He didn’t need it since I already had one. Mine was more comfortable. We were going to keep his bed in the spare bedroom that I’d been using as a pointless office space.

Why the hell did I need an office?

“We better get moving if we’re going to be ready for everyone to help us move everything tomorrow.”

I swallowed down my nerves as we entered the building. Why the hell was I feeling like that? Maybe because it was such a gigantic step. Andrew and I had always gotten along well, and nothing had changed about that since we added sex to the equation. The only thing we seemed to suck at was deciding on when to tell people when this was official.

“I’m going to start with the bedroom stuff, if you want to start with the kitchen? You can decide what you want to keep out of it and we can donate the rest. It’s not worth selling it.”

I nodded as he put together a box and took it over to his dresser, loading his folded clothes inside of it.

The boxes looked easy to assemble when Andrew did it, but the instructions on the side looked like origami. How the hell had he done that? I opened the box and folded in the sides, but couldn’t figure out how to keep them from caving in. There was an extra flap at the bottom that I was sure was supposed to end up inside the box, but getting it there didn’t seem possible.

After my third attempt and an exasperated sigh, Andrew came over, laughing as he took the box from me. “You need to do this.” He demonstrated how to tuck that extra flap into the bottom as you opened the box and the box was magically opened.

“I swear you’re Houdini.”

Andrew shook his head, laughing. It felt good to see him smiling like that. The last few days had been rough, but we were slowly coming back to ourselves.

“Not a magician, just followed the instructions.”

“The instructions aren’t in English.”

That got me another laugh.

“They’re pictures. What do you mean, they’re not in English?”

“Pictures aren’t words. I understand basic instructions and this is not that.”

I knew I was being ridiculous, but it didn’t stop me. It was making him laugh. Instead of continuing to give me shit about the boxes, he assembled three more before he went back to his dresser .

A few minutes later, music filled the apartment. Andrew had his phone propped on the top of his dresser next to a Bluetooth speaker. His head bobbed to the beat, but I didn’t recognize the song.

“What is this?”

He grinned. “ Rainbow Kitten Surprise. I heard this song recently and really liked it.”

It was really catchy, and the beat was enough to keep us motivated while packing. I settled on keeping half of his pots and pans, as they were in better condition than mine. We packed up the dishes for donation since I didn’t need any of them.

Andrew finished packing his extra bedding and then came to help me in the kitchen because he didn’t have a lot of things. The music kept playing, and I really liked the vibe of the band he picked out. They were a little more mellow, but their sound was great.

He suddenly stopped, holding onto a mug. A smile spread across his face as he cradled it. “Do you remember this?”

I looked over his shoulder, and the memory slammed into me.

We’d been maybe ten at the time. Andrew’s dad had taken us to the zoo and while there, Andrew had tripped and banged up his knee pretty badly. He’d cried and in order to make him feel better, he’d gotten him the mug from the gift shop. It wasn’t something you’d normally get a kid to make them feel better, but he’d tried. It must have been sentimental for Andrew to still have it .

“I wanted the stupid stuffed whale, but Dad said I’d have to settle for the mug.” Andrew’s fingers trailed along the killer whale design on the side of the cup.

I took the cup from his hands, set it on the counter, and wrapped my arms around him. He rested his head on my shoulder as we stood and listened to the music that still filtered through the apartment.

“I know you struggled with your dad for so many years, but there are some good memories there. I think he just didn’t know what to do a lot of the time.”

Andrew nodded against me before pulling away. He picked back up the mug and wrapped it in paper, setting it in the box of stuff for us to take to my place. “You’re right. And I’m glad that my parents can at least be friends now.”

Talking about the situation was always hard. Andrew was still closer to his mom, but he didn’t talk to either of them much now. If anything, my parents had become like his second family.

While packing, we didn’t say much but would occasionally ask if something was needed or not. By late afternoon, the person came to look at the couch. They ended up loving it and had even brought a truck with them, so we helped them load it up. Things were happening really quickly, and it all felt unreal. Starting tomorrow, Andrew wouldn’t live somewhere else anymore.

“Do you want to order a pizza or something?” My stomach growled as I held up my phone .

Andrew smiled and nodded. “That sounds like a great plan, though now we’re going to have to sit on the floor to eat it.”

A laugh bubbled out of me, but I shrugged as I dialed the pizza place we liked to order from that was close to Andrew’s apartment. After placing the order, I sat on the edge of his bed. “We can either sit on the bed to eat or sit on the floor like a picnic.”

That caused another smile to spread across his face. “I have an idea.”

He opened a cabinet we hadn’t gotten to yet and pulled out a bottle and immediately I knew his plan.

Tequila.

“What’s a picnic if we don’t have fun drinks?”

I made grabby hands at the bottle. His glasses were already packed, but I didn’t mind drinking straight from the bottle. He handed it over and I twisted off the cap and took a quick swig, grimacing at the burn. It didn’t matter how much of the stuff we drank, it always stung.

Andrew took his own drink before recapping the bottle. He sat next to me, leaning into my side.

“I like this.”

“Like what?”

“That this is our thing. That we can find simple enjoyment in one thing.”

I took the bottle back from Andrew, or at least attempted to. He held onto the bottle, pulling me closer until I gave him a kiss as payment. I grinned against his lips as he released the bottle. It felt amazing to be back to being playful like this.

“If one thing never changes, this is what I want to keep,” I said, taking another swig.

We passed the bottle back and forth a few more times until the pizza arrived. Since neither of us had much to eat, the room spun a little as I walked to the door.

The room filled with the smell of tomato and garlic as I sat on the floor in the middle of the now-empty living room. Andrew plopped on the ground next to me, bringing the bottle of tequila. He tipped back another drink before handing it off to me and opening the pizza box to grab a slice.

Cheese oozed as he pulled the slices apart. It trailed back to the pie as he brought it to his mouth and bit into it. Andrew let out a sinful moan that had me falling over in a fit of giggles. It probably wouldn’t have been funny under normal circumstances, but after too much booze on an empty stomach, it was the most hilarious thing I’d ever heard.

Andrew grinned at me, waving his slice of pizza in the air.

“Just take a bite. It’s fucking amazing.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice as I dove in.

Another sad thing about him moving was that this place wouldn’t be close anymore. Cheese pizza was always a little boring, but this place had the best. They loaded it onto their pies without overdoing it and it basically melted in your mouth .

We finished out the day packing, eating amazing pizza, and drinking tequila until we couldn’t see straight enough to pack anymore.

That night we fell into bed, and I wasn’t so nervous for the next day anymore. The day had been more than perfect and exactly what I needed.