by SM Olivier
He was a good-looking guy, in a rugged sort of way, with black hair and bright hazel eyes. I could immediately tell he knew about his good looks. But even if I didn’t have the guys, I wouldn’t be attracted to him, no matter how cute he was.
Golden snorted. “Who’s calling who a pretty boy? You wear more gel in your hair in a day than I do a year!”
Crew laughed and walked forward to meet the guy, giving him a hug.
I rarely saw Crew click with anyone outside of our family, so his enthusiastic greeting surprised me.
“Got ‘em there,” Ronnie chortled.
The new guy gave Ronnie a disgruntled look before grinning at us. “We have three cars in the bay. I know there’s no way you’re all here to watch one li'l 'ol bike get painted.” He was laughing as he looked at us all, and then his gaze settled on me. His smile slipped for a moment.
I wasn’t naïve; I knew Lochlann had told them I was coming and had prepared them just in case, but it still made me feel uneasy. My face was plastered on all major networks for weeks. You had to be living under a rock not to recognize my face.
I braced myself for the look of pity or scrutiny.
He composed his features quickly before he gave me a sincere smile. “Painting a bike will be a first for us. What’s a pretty girl like you doing riding on that death trap?”
Crew grunted. “Says the man who rides. Stop flirting, Chad, and help get my girl’s bike off the trailer outside.”
Chad threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Can you blame me?” He leaned in towards me with a conspiratorial look. “If you ever want to upgrade and be with a real man, I’ll give you my number.”
I gaped at him for a moment before my lips curved up wickedly. There was something about him that made me feel the spark of my old self, along with the desire for that self to finally emerge.
I could see Paxton was attempting to push him away, but deep down I was appreciative that Chad obviously knew who I was and wasn’t treating me like fragile glass. It was so refreshing. In my brief forays in the real world, I felt like I was being pitied, or worse, when people were too awkward around me. As if they had to behave a certain way around me.
“If I’m upgrading to a real man, why would I need your number?” I mockingly tapped my mouth with my pointer finger.
Chad’s mouth dropped before the lobby erupted in laughter. I felt and smelled Kyler before I felt him tap my waist in a warning. His arms wrap around me from behind. He lifted me and kissed my temple, chuckling. “Burn!”
“It’s sad she met you for less than two minutes and already has your number, Chad. Not your phone number, though!” Ronnie wiped real tears of laughter from his eyes. “Now, get to work. I’m not paying you to stand here, and they want to leave sometime today.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Chad gave me a mock look of hurt before turning. “I’m hurt that you don’t see my potential, but I’m sure I can change your mind. Let’s go check out your bike. Loch let me know some of your interests, so I created a few designs. I hope you like them.”
When he placed a hand on the small of my back, for a brief second I tensed, but then I felt myself relaxing. It was nice to pretend I was normal for a few moments.
Chad chuckled wickedly as Crew nearly growled at him.
●
“Just like that,” Chad instructed me as I sprayed the primer onto my gas tank.
Chad was a flirt and seemed to take evil joy from seeing how far he could push Paxton and Crew, who were the only ones who had accompanied me back to the “painting booth.” Paxton was busy snapping away on the camera, while Crew seemed to be there to keep Chad in line.
Lochlann had gone up to the offices to discuss business with their business manager and Ronnie. The others were helping the two employees working on the three vehicles they had in the bays. Surprisingly, I had even caught Cooper getting his hands dirty, right after I had run out to retrieve bottles of water after we had sanded down the parts of my bike I was painting.
I was determined to do as much work on my bike as possible. It didn’t take long for Crew and me to strip it so the three of us could begin sanding it down, which also hadn’t taken long with the right equipment.
“This is going to look so hot.” Paxton whistled as he took a picture of the stencil we were going to use for my bike.
I had to admit Chad had an excellent artistic eye. He had designed a pair of pointe shoes with the ribbons morphing into musical notes and flames. It was a beautiful balance of being feminine but not enough to make it overly girly. I loved it.
Earlier, on his laptop, Chad had shown me the idea he’d had with the paint scheme. I chose black as my primary color, with the accents in several shades of blue. I was so excited to see the finished product. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to take it home with me by Sunday afternoon. The drying time and detail work would take at least a week.
I wouldn’t have minded picking her back up, but then I was reminded that I had my first competition next weekend. It almost made me have a panic attack with the thought of how my life was resuming on Monday. I couldn’t wait to get back to dance, but I didn’t want to see Bailey and her entourage. Sure, high school would engage my mind again, but then I’d have to see Madison and Leah.
It was hard to believe her suspension had gone by that quickly. Then again, it wasn’t like my life had been on the course it had been. Unlike Claire, David was allowing Leah to return to school. Apparently, she had taken her tutoring seriously and had all her assignments turned in, as well as her past work completed. Some of her teachers had even allowed her to retake quizzes and tests.
“Do you mind if I take pictures and post them on my social media pages once it's completed?” Chad asked as he buffed my bike’s pipes.
He primarily worked paint in the shop but was also known to help out in the main building from time to time. It didn’t take long for him to convince me that a buff and polish job on my chrome would complete the new look for my bike.
“I don’t mind,” I said with a shrug.
The longer I worked with him, the more I realized that Da had a hand in his “upbringing” too. He had reminisced, telling me many stories of Mam and Da as we worked, and it was the first time Paxton didn’t walk off. It warmed my heart to see him participate in the conversation with Crew and Chad.
According to him, Chad had never met his father, and his mother prostituted to put food on the table. By the time he was ten, he’d fallen in with the wrong crowd. He was determined to help his mother out by earning money as well. Unfortunately, his new friends had him stealing stuff for them. He had been in and out of juvie three times by the time he was sixteen.
When he got out the last time, his crew heard about a car shop with thousands of dollars of merchandise in their warehouse. Chad was sent in, assuming the shop was closed. Little did he know that the owner was there that weekend, with two of his sons and their friends. Da had called the cops, but instead of pressing charges, he worked out a deal with Chad.
“Awesome, no drips,” Chad broke into my wandering thoughts. “What do you think?”
He held up the sissy bar I was going to install on my bike. My old one didn’t have one, but after seeing how Crew and Kyler utilized theirs, I thought it would be a nice touch.
“I like it.” I smiled at the shine on it.
Chad gave me a grin and a wink before he pulled down his safety glasses. Once again, I marveled at how open he was about his past. There was no shame or embarrassment at the life he’d led before he was taken in, and he told his story so matter of factly.
Chad told me how he had to stop by the shop every day after school and help clean or do any other task assigned to him. If he didn’t show up, Da hunted him down. It took him a while to figure out what motivated him. Eventually, he found out about his mother and their situation.
Da showed Chad an apartment they owned near his old neighborhood, but it was clean, and the area had a low crime rate. Da made him promise t
o leave his friends behind and would allow Chad and his mother to live there for a fraction of the standard price. It had worked for a little while, but then his mother returned to her old life.
She wasn’t content working at the “normal” job that Da found for her. She didn’t like the rehab programs she was put in. She wanted the easy money prostituting afforded her. Plus, her clients frequently provided her with the drugs she was hooked on. Eventually, one of her johns killed her.
Chad had fallen back in with his old crowd once more, but Da didn’t give up on him. Mam and Da had even fostered him for some time. They would have adopted him, but Chad never wanted that. He just wanted a safe place to call home.
It was when Chad was living with them that Mam realized how artistically talented he was. She saw his drawings and his interest in graphic design and convinced Da to send him to workshops that revolved around design for high schoolers.
For a little while, he had thrived, until his old friends hunted him down. They wanted him to break into the safe of the only man that had given him so many opportunities and who had shown him what love really looked like. Chad learned he couldn’t straddle both sides of the fence. He confided in Da.
It was all history after that. It had been a process, and it wasn’t easy, Chad had said, but his old life was now in the rearview mirror.
He rose in the ranks at the shop, became the primary painter, and made more than enough money to purchase his quaint house on his town's outskirts. Listening to him talk and watching the way he held himself, I would have never thought he ever had it “rough.” It just showed me, once more, you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover.
“Maybe I should drop the bike off myself when it’s ready.” Chad wagged his eyebrows at me. “I’ll take you on a date, Peyton. Does Romano’s still have the best pizza around? I’ll take you there. My room still open there, Pax?”
The only time I saw Chad’s mask slip was when he discussed regretting not visiting more often. Even though he lived an hour and a half away, he admitted to being a workaholic, and since he worked with Da, and the others visited the shop from time to time, he never saw the necessity in visiting that often.
He barely knew Clay, and the last holiday he’d spent with them was Christmas. He visited his ex’s family for Easter, and now that they were broken up, he was upset that he’d wasted the last major holiday with them. Apparently, many of the adults who had been fostered by the Isaacs came back to visit on the major holidays.
It was a surprise to me, and it was clear that Paxton, Crew, and Chad were uncertain how Thanksgiving would look this year. It was evident that they liked the tradition, but without Mam’s driving force and Da helping where she needed him to, it might be something that would end for good.
“Peyton has a competition this Saturday, and no, your room is now the guest room, as it has been for years.” Paxton scowled at him.
“I never said next week. I can come later.” Chad grinned.
I snorted, realizing he was goading Paxton once more. It was time for my mic drop moment. “I’m exclusive to my boyfriends, plus you might be a little too old for me. But you’re more than welcome to visit if the guys want you to.”
Chad seemed momentarily taken aback.
The paint room doors opened, and Kyler came inside. He stopped to admire the gas tank I had just spray-painted. He whistled low. “She’s going to be beautiful like you.” He grasped my chin gently before placing a kiss on my lips.
“Thanks,” I said, mildly embarrassed as Chad faded into the background of my thoughts.
“Lunch should be here soon,” Kyler informed us next before taking a seat on one of the extended workbenches. “I forgot how much I loved working on those old machines,” he said to no one in particular. “Maybe I should open up a garage in town and start flipping cars on the side.”
Crew good-naturedly snorted before he shook his head. “Do you even have extra time, to begin with? You are currently working on three homes, and I know you’re going to a few auctions in the next couple of weeks for more homes.”
Kyler smiled smugly with a shrug. “Who says I actually have to be in the shop all the time? I’m sure I can find someone to run it most of the time.”
“You’re stretched thin as it is,” Paxton scoffed.
“Kitten?” he inquired as if he wanted my opinion.
“I think you should sleep on it,” I replied non-committedly.
I was touched that he was asking my opinion to begin with. However, I had to agree with Paxton and Crew. Kyler already had enough on his plate without adding more to it. He worked so much, and I was afraid it would catch up to him eventually.
He grinned at me and nodded. “True. I can be impulsive sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Crew mocked.
Kyler chuckled. “Most of the time,” he said with a careless shrug.
I really didn’t think he was that reckless. However, I had seen him jump on a listing and make decisions before his inspector had a say in it. Luckily, it hadn’t bit him in the butt yet. Yet being the operative word.
Golden came striding into the room next. “Lunch is here.”
He no longer had his button-up on, and his gray t-shirt was now covered in grease. His jeans were precariously hanging off his slim hips, and they were just as dirty. I found it sexy to see him so… messy. Since our discussion last night, I had a feeling we definitely were heading in the right direction. I hadn’t seen him on his phone once since then.
There was also a new light in his eyes. I knew some people might have thought I’d forgiven him too quickly, but how long should a person pay for someone else's actions? Plus, I understood why he behaved the way he had since my return. In a twisted way.
He stopped beside me, and I smiled as I removed the rag from his hand.
“Hungry?” he inquired.
He had a grease streak across his forehead. I gently tried to remove it, and he gave me a soft smile in return. The shadows were still there, but he was fighting them as hard as I was.
My stomach made a noise as if to remind me that it was in dire need of sustenance.
“Starving,” I admitted. I was so thankful for my returning appetite.
He leaned down and kissed me. When his tongue skimmed my lips, I readily opened mine. My tongue entwined with his, and I could taste the cheap coffee the shop had in their break room. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it did make me long for a caramel hazelnut latte.
When he grabbed the back of my neck to tilt it back, all thoughts of coffee were dashed away. I missed this. I missed him. I was so glad we chose each other. Again.
Our tongues tangled, and I felt a low burn begin in my stomach. I really, really needed to get laid.
“You’re fucking with me,” I heard Chad mutter loudly.
I pulled back and smiled abashedly. I forgot Chad was even here.
“Nope,” Paxton said a bit smugly. “She’s our girlfriend.”
“You share her?” Chad asked with a touch of horror.
I didn’t take offense at his question. It wasn’t asked in judgment or disgust. It was more with mystified shock. Our situation wasn’t normal and wouldn’t make sense to most people.
Chad looked at Paxton, then me; Kyler, then me; Golden, then me; Crew, then me once more. His jaw dropped.
“Don’t overthink it, bro.” Kyler chuckled. “It works for us, and it’s no different than when you were dating Stephanie, Stacey, and Heather a few years ago.”
“But they didn’t know about each other.” Chad shook his head in disbelief.
“Which makes it worse,” Crew stated before he took my hand. “We know and we’re okay with it. Let’s feed you, angel. Breakfast was hours ago.”
“Don’t make this awkward, man,” Paxton said with mischief in his eyes. “Otherwise Thanksgiving’s going to be super weird this year.” He almost seemed to take delight in unsettling the older guy, just as Chad had been doing to him all morning long.
“Time
out, two questions. One, we’re still having Thanksgiving this year?” Chad seemed excited about the prospect before he smirked at Paxton. “And two, how did she convince you all to share. Especially you, Pax. I still remember what a little shit you were. You used to hide everything on all the other kids. In fact, you were the only kid Mam and Da allowed to put a lock on their door so no one would touch your stuff without permission.”
Golden, Crew, and Kyler chuckled.
“Oh, he’s still a hoarding shithead,” Golden teased. “And she didn’t convince us. We convinced her.”
We all started making our way towards the breakroom. I took Golden’s proffered hand and let him lead me. He squeezed it and grinned at me.
“He stopped locking his door when we didn’t touch, or care, about his crap,” Crew smirked.
Paxton rolled his eyes. “I’m not that bad anymore,” he said in a disgruntled voice. “And yeah, I think we should do Thanksgiving this year. It will be… nice.” He seemed hesitant for a moment. “I’m sure we can find places that cater for Thanksgiving.”
“Or… I can cook,” I offered. “I used to help Yoon on the Thanksgivings I had over there. Mind if I invite Mickey and Lucas? I’m sure Grandpa has a full house and his own plans this year.”
“I’ll get Zane to contact the rest of the family,” Kyler volunteered. “Plus, Loch and I can be your sous chefs.”
“For what?” Lochlann asked as we entered the breakroom.
The smell of fried onions and green peppers met my nose before seeing the party-size sub and cheesesteak. My mouth watered at the thought of a cheesesteak sandwich. It had been some time since I’d had one.
“Thanksgiving’s gonna be at the house this year,” Golden explained as he picked up a plate and handed it to me. “Zane will reach out to the others. You and Ky are helping Peyton in the kitchen.”
“Are you sure?” Loch looked at me, then Paxton.
“Mam would want that,” Paxton said resolutely.
And as much as the thought of being in a crowded house with strangers made me wary, I realized how important it was to the guys. I nodded firmly. I hadn’t realized how much Mam and Da left a hole in other people's lives until today. Chad may not have been as close to the guys as they were to each other, but he was still family. This would be the first time in ten years that he had no “home” to return to on Thanksgiving and Christmas.