“The Dodgers game is on. Pizza, beer, and what I assume will be a big-screen TV sound perfect.” He leaned across the console and gave Jeremy a soft punch to the arm. “And quit offering to do shit you clearly don’t want to do just because you think it’s what I want to do. First off, it’s doubtful that’s going to happen; I think we have the same idea of what makes a good time. And besides, I’m here to make things easier on you, remember? That means if we drag our asses off the couch, it’s because we’re either doing something we like, something we have to do for your work, or something that can get us killed.”
“Uh, you had me until the last one.”
“Have you ever gone bungee jumping?”
“No.” Jeremy shook his head.
“I’ve been doing a little research about things we can do on the tour stops where we have free time, and guess what we’re doing in Switzerland?”
“Bungee jumping?” Jeremy croaked.
“Yup.” Reg bobbed his head. “The Verzasca Dam. Night bungee jumping. I’ve never done that. It’s going to be totally awesome.”
“It sounds great, but, uh—” Jeremy gulped. “You can’t actually die doing it, right? I mean, a company runs it and makes sure it’s safe right?”
“Probably.” Reg shrugged. “Either way, you’re strapping on and jumping off.”
With a deep breath, Jeremy nodded. “Okay. Bungee jumping in Switzerland it is. What else do you have planned for our ‘can get us killed’ excursions?”
“Umm, let’s see. In Italy we’re going spelunking at the Sink of the Mughi, which is supposed to be amazing. In Mexico, we’re going scuba diving, but that’ll have to be after the tour’s over because we’ll need to get you certified.” He tried to remember all the ideas he’d written down. “Oh! Germany. Autobahn. Rented sports car. We’re so doing that.”
When Jeremy didn’t respond, Reg turned to look at him. “You’re a little pale, dude. What’s the matter? You’re not scared are you?”
“Yeah, I’m scared!” Jeremy chuckled. “I mean, I’ll do it, and I’m excited about it, but scared? Yes. Absolutely.”
Nodding in agreement, Reg said, “That’s what makes it so cool.”
“I think maybe you’re a little off-balance.”
“Could be.”
“I like it.” Jeremy waggled his eyebrows.
Laughing, Reg gave Jeremy another punch to the arm in thanks.
“All right. I have a serious question.”
“What?” Jeremy’s forehead crinkled.
“What do you like on your pizza? Because if we’re not compatible there, no way can we be pretend compatible anywhere else.”
“That’s a lot of pressure.” Jeremy licked his lips and tried to look serious. “What if I get this wrong? Does that mean we’re done pretend fucking?”
“Yup. Which would totally suck for you because I am awesome in pretend bed. So let’s hear it: favorite pizza toppings.”
Just as Jeremy had opened his mouth to answer, Reg flung his arm out and covered Jeremy’s mouth.
“Wait!” he said. “I have a better idea.”
“A better idea?” Jeremy asked, though it came out muffled through Reg’s hand.
“Yup. Wait until we get to your manager’s office, and then you text me your favorite pizza at the same time I text you mine. That way, nobody can cheat.” He looked at Jeremy excitedly. “Deal?”
“Yeah.” Jeremy nodded. When Reg dropped his hand, he chuckled and said, “You weren’t kidding about taking pizza seriously.”
“Pizza is the perfect food,” Reg said vehemently. “It’s the best breakfast-lunch-dinner-fourth-meal food there is.”
Quickly glancing over Reg’s body, Jeremy said, “You don’t look like you eat a lot of pizza.”
“Thanks.” Reg puffed up a little. “I work it off.” He shuffled in his seat. “Are we almost there? I want to see if you’re some sort of freak who eats onions and roasted peppers on his pizza.”
“How’d you guess?” Jeremy said, his voice overly dramatic.
“Ha-ha. How much longer?”
“It’s LA. Nothing here is close, and everything takes forever because traffic sucks.” He sighed. “But if we’re lucky, we might get caught up in a car chase,” he said sarcastically.
“Seriously?”
“Could happen.”
“Cool.” Reg grinned, looking excited, which made Jeremy laugh.
Though the car chase didn’t happen, the rest of the ride was fun, despite the stop-and-go traffic. By the time they pulled into Jeremy’s manager’s parking lot, they’d caught each other up on the previous few days.
“Did you already tell me why I need to meet your manager?”
“He’s a control freak when it comes to every damn thing I do, so he needs to meet you.” Jeremy turned off the ignition and pulled out the keys. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just Bill being Bill.”
He was starting to open his car door when Reg said, “Wait. We need to do the pizza thing.”
“Oh, right.” Jeremy smiled widely, liking how Reg turned the mundane into something fun. He grabbed his phone and started typing. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
“Now!” Reg stared at his phone, and when the text came in a few seconds later, he gasped. “Ho. Ly. Shit.” He stared at Jeremy. “Your favorite is mushrooms and black olives too?” He gulped. “You know what this means, right?”