“Speaking of which, you remember my buddy Brock?” TJ asked.
“From the west side store?” I asked. TJ had started out years ago at a store on the other side of town, before he’d moved to work in the shop with me.
“Yeah,” TJ confirmed. “He left a couple years ago and started his own painting business. It’s been going pretty good. He said if I needed the cash, he could bring me in for some jobs. I’m gonna start next week. If you’re interested, I can throw your name in.”
I’d never been a painter, but if we were losing hours at the shop, I’d need to pick up a paycheck wherever I could. “Sounds good, thanks.”
“Brock is the dude that was hitting on Gaby at the New Year’s Party a couple years back, right? The stupid masquerade one at the bar?” Scott asked with a frown.
“Yup, that’s him,” TJ said with a chuckle. “Dude is smooth with the ladies.”
I remembered the party that Scott was talking about. Shelly and I had gone dressed in all black, with black masks. Scott was right, it had been a ridiculous party theme, but the girls had liked it, and Shelly looked totally hot. We’d ended up sneaking into the backroom and having sex on the manager’s desk. I smiled at the memory. I also remembered how much Brock had seemed to piss Scott off that night.
I turned to ask him about it, but the sound of my mom going crazy behind me had me turning to the field instead. I looked up in time to see the ball Craig had hit sail over the fence, and see his grin as he jogged slowly around the bases.
My mom was going apeshit. I turned to her with a laugh and said, “Calm down, Killer, you’re going to embarrass him.”
My mom turned to me, her face flush with pleasure, and said, “Oh … Shush.” Then she started clapping and screaming Craig’s name even louder.
I laughed at her exuberance, and joined in the cheering.
Once we’d calmed down, I nudged Scott and asked, “Hey, I remember that night. You and Brock seemed to get off on the wrong foot. What was that about?”
Scott kept his eyes on the game and replied, “Nothing. I just thought he was an ass. No big deal. It was a long time ago.”
“An ass?” TJ asked, surprised. “Brock is one of the most laid-back guys I know. I don’t remember you guys even talking that night. He’s a good dude.”
Scott shrugged and said, “Like I said, it was a long time ago. I’m sure he’s cool.”
I wondered what the real issue was. Scott wasn’t usually quick to judge, and he was a pretty easygoing guy himself. Usually got along with everyone. Maybe if TJ and I started working with Brock, we’d invite him to hang out sometime. I was sure that he and Scott would get along great, if they just took a minute to get to know each other.
I glanced at TJ. He looked like he was relaxed and enjoying the game, but I knew the troubles at the shop were getting to him. Not only did he love working there, but he lived in a little apartment off the back of it, so if things got as bad as the boss had implied and the place closed for a while, TJ was worried that he’d not only be out of a job, but that he’d also be out of a place to live.
TJ’d been raised by his grandparents, and they’d both passed away about a year before. They hadn’t had money, and the house they’d lived in for their fifty-plus years of marriage had been mortgaged to the hilt, and TJ hadn’t been able to save it. Stability was very important to TJ now, since he’d never had it as a child, and I really hoped that our boss was going to be able to keep his business afloat … for TJ’s sake. Yeah, I was worried about keeping the job myself, but TJ had worked hard to be where he was now, and I hated to think of him being forced to take a step back.
“You good?” Scott asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, brother,” I responded with a smile.
“Craig’s got a gift, man,” TJ said when Craig made a double play.
“That he does,” I replied, and I was going to everything in my power to make sure he took advantage of that gift.
Chapter 24 – Shelly
“Shit!” I exclaimed when my truck began to slow down to a stop, barely giving me enough time to pull over to the side of the road. I slapped the steering wheel with my hands and groaned.
I was going to be late for work.
I looked around the car, helpless, as if surveying the interior would give me some idea as to what went wrong.
I knew next to nothing about cars. I was married to a mechanic, it had never been something I’d had to worry about. Cal always took care of it for me.
I picked up my cell and dialed Sasha, without bothering to look at the time. Gaby had to be to the bakery early every morning, so I knew she’d already be at work. I had a better chance of catching Sasha.
“Hello?” a male voice said over the line.
I pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the display. It said Sasha.
“Hello, is Sasha there?” I asked.
“Uh … Yeah,” came the reply. The sound became muffled, so I assumed he placed his hand over the speaker.
“You Sasha?” I heard him ask.
I put my hand over my mouth to contain my laugh when I heard her reply, “You bet. Give me the phone, big guy.”
“Shel?” Sasha said sleepily when she got her phone.
“Hey, Sash, I hate to bother you,” I said with a barely repressed giggle. “But something’s wrong with my car. Do you think you could come get me?”
“I’ll be there in ten,” she replied.
I gave her the cross streets and hung up.
I loved Sasha more than I could ever say, but I never understood how she could handle the casual relationships she had with men.
I’d always been a one-man woman.
Whereas Sasha made sure that no man was ever around long enough to matter. The only people she let in were Gaby, Cal, TJ, Scott, and me.
She’d moved around a lot as a kid. Her parents were big in the world of fashion, so she’d spent her childhood all around the globe. Paris, Florence, England. When her parents divorced, she’d moved here with her father, and begged him to let her stay here to finish out high school. He had, but he’d never been around much. Sasha had been mostly left with the housekeepers, but at least she’d gotten to stay and graduate with us. Her dad moved soon after she graduated, but he’d bought her a townhouse, and she’d stayed.
Although Gaby and I always envied the places Sasha had gotten to see, Sasha always envied the fact that we had been born and raised here.
I was startled out of my thoughts by a knock on the window. Sasha managed to look fabulous, even with no makeup and her hair pulled back and covered by a hat.
I opened the door and got out, grabbing her in a hug before pulling back to say, “Thank you!”
“No problem, I needed that guy to hit the road anyway,” Sasha replied with a grin. “Hey, I knew you wouldn’t want me to call Cal, so I called TJ …”
“You did?” I asked with a frown. TJ was just going to run and tell Cal. I wondered if he would be upset that I didn’t call him.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but you know I’m even more inept than you when it comes to cars. Do you want to wait for TJ, or do you want me to take you to work?”
“I’ll wait,” I said with a sigh. “So, who was the guy?”
“The guy I was telling you about the other day, the one I sold the house to,” Sasha said with a shrug.
“Again?” I asked, surprised. “What’s his name?”
“Sean,” Sasha replied. “But don’t get your hopes up, it’s no big deal.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t help but get my hopes up a little bit. I wanted Sasha to settle down and be happy. I just wasn’t sure if she would allow herself to.
At the sound of a car coming up the street, we both looked up. TJ’s latest salvage, a beat-up old El Camino, came rolling up to a stop behind us.
“Where did you get that piece of shit?” Sasha asked when TJ got out of the car.
“Woman, this fine piece of machinery is a classic,” TJ s
aid with a grin, running his hand along the hood as he walked toward us. “When I get her fixed up, I’ll let you take her for a spin, and I guarantee you’ll eat your words.”
Sasha didn’t reply, just watched him walk toward us with narrowed eyes.
TJ stopped in front of us and pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head before giving Sasha a wicked grin. “Got an itch that needs scratchin’, Red?”
“Nope,” Sasha said with a popping sound on the p. “I’ve already had a real man take care of that for me this mornin’.”
TJ just gave her a wink, then turned to me, all traces of humor gone, and asked, “What seems to be the problem, babe?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling like a first-class idiot. “It just stopped working.”
TJ held out his hand and I dropped the keys in it, stepping back to give him access to the truck. He opened the door and sat down, putting the key in the ignition and turning it slightly.
I looked over at Sasha when TJ got out of the truck, eyes bright and looking like he was trying not to laugh.
“What?” I asked.
“When’s the last time you put gas in it?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No …” I said softly, mortification slowly taking over.
Sasha let out a bark of laughter, and before I knew it, we were all bent over laughing.
“Shit, Shel, even I know to put gas in the tank,” Sasha said, tears forming in her eyes.
“Shut up,” I managed to yell between breaths. “Cal always took care of everything with my truck.”
“Even the gas?” TJ asked incredulously.
I nodded, bringing my hand to my side as it began to cramp.
“Wow, that boy really was whipped,” Sasha said with a giggle.
I sobered instantly, suddenly feeling stupid and ridiculous. What was I doing? How was I going to move forward and get through life if I couldn’t even fill up my own tank?
TJ’s arm came up around my shoulder, and he pulled me to his side. “I gotcha, Shel. I have a gas can in my trunk. I’ll run and get some gas and we’ll get you to work in no time.”
I nodded and put my arm around him, pulling him close for a half hug. “Thanks.”
When he pulled away, Sasha wiped her face and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not your fault. It’s stupid that I didn’t think of it.”
“Hey,” she said, putting her finger under my chin so I was forced to look her in the eye. “You aren’t stupid. You’re just trying to figure out how to be on your own. You guys were together for six years, Shelly. It’s going to take some time. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
I smiled up at her, but couldn’t help but wonder … When was it going to get easier?
Chapter 25 – Cal
I’d been planning this night since before our anniversary. It was the gift I was going to give Shelly, but hadn’t had the chance to. I bought floor seats to the Hunter Hayes concert. She was going to freak out. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face. The look I should have seen on our anniversary, before I’d ruined everything.
I’d been thinking about our last date every night since. I couldn’t get Shelly out of my mind. Now that I’d had a taste of her again, I was more determined than ever to convince her that we had to be together.
When I pulled up to her place, I thought back to what TJ said yesterday afternoon at work.
“You guys love each other, bro. I’ve never seen a couple that belongs together the way that you do, you just have to keep doing what you’re doing, and have faith … I do.”
I ignored the nerves that were pounding through me and walked to the door.
When Shelly answered my knock, I was rendered momentarily speechless.
Her hair was fluffed out in a way that made it frame her face perfectly. Her eyes were smoky, her lips red, and the diamond stud flashed in the light. I let my eyes travel down, taking in her tight jeans, cowboy boots, and black halter top.
“Wow!” I said when I finally regained the ability to speak. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, inhaling the exquisite scent of her perfume, my body instantly turning rock hard.
“Thanks,” she said with a smile and flush of pleasure.
“You ready?” I asked, offering her my arm.
Shelly locked up, then linked her arm in mine. “Yup. Where are we going?”
“A concert,” I answered with a grin.
“Really?” she asked, excitement filling her voice. My girl loved concerts.
“Wait … Hunter Hayes is in town,” she squealed. “Is that where we’re going?”
I nodded with a grin, pleasure filling me when she jumped up and down on the sidewalk.
Nothing made me feel as good as seeing Shelly totally excited. It didn’t take concerts and trips, either; little things gave her pleasure. It was one of the things I loved best about her.
Shelly chattered excitedly all the way to the stadium. I listened to her with a smile, happy that I was able to take her mind off of everything she’d been dealing with, that we both had been dealing with, and give her a night to let her hair down and do something she loves.
We grabbed a couple beers and made our way down to our seats.
“Wow,” Shelly exclaimed when we found them. “These are great seats. They must have cost you a pretty penny.”
Her face looked worried at that, but I squeezed her hand and leaned in to say, “Don’t worry about it, Shel. Just enjoy the concert.”
She nodded and looked into my eyes, her mouth forming a big grin. “Okay.”
Shelly leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips before pulling back and saying, “Thank you.”
I didn’t say anything, but turned and faced the stage as my heart pounded painfully in my chest. I was suddenly overtaken by fear. Terrified that I was only going to get four more weeks with Shelly until she was no longer mine to touch, hold, or kiss.
Music began to play and I tried to shake the bad feelings off, and although I was able to enjoy the show, I couldn’t completely shake those traces of fear.
When Hunter Hayes came out to do his encore, I turned to watch Shelly, as I had throughout the show. She was on her feet, singing along, and smiling broadly. When Hunter sang about wanting crazy love, Shelly turned and her eyes caught mine. She kept her eyes on mine, and I saw them begin to fill with tears, so I got to my feet and took her in my arms. She held on as though her life depended on it, and we rocked together slowly to the music.
When the song ended, I pulled back enough to wipe the tears off her face. We didn’t say anything. I moved my hand down to take her hand in mine, and led her out of the stadium.
When we were in the car, waiting in line for the traffic to exit the stadium, I asked, “Did you have fun?”
“Yes,” Shelly said, a smile once more on her face. I wanted to keep it there. “He’s so good live. Thanks again.”
“No problem,” I answered.
We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything, and not moving more than an inch. Finally I turned to her and asked, “Hey, my family’s having a get-together for Craig’s eighteenth birthday. Dinner and stuff, nothing major, just the family, and I was wondering if you’d go with me.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Shelly asked. “I mean, your parents know about us, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think anyone’s said anything to Craig, and you know he loves you.” It was probably dirty of me to use my brother to get Shelly to spend extra time with me, but I was willing to use whatever I had at my disposal.
I could tell by Shelly’s face that it worked. “Of course, when is the dinner?”
“It’s on Wednesday night, on his birthday,” I answered. “I think he’s doing stuff with his friends to celebrate over the weekend.”
“I can’t believe he’s eighteen already,” Shelly said. “It seems like just yesterday he was turning thirteen and we were celebratin
g at the bowling alley. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah,” I said with a smile as I remembered my brother and I watching Shelly try to bowl. We’d had a good laugh over the way she’d stomp her foot whenever she’d bowled a gutter ball. Craig had always been a little in love with Shelly himself. “I can’t believe he’s about to graduate. Time goes by quickly.”
“It sure does,” Shelly replied softly. “Hey, speaking of the past … You are not going to believe what Gaby told me and Sasha today.”
“What’s that?” I asked, wondering if we were ever going to get out of this parking lot.
“She and Scott lost their virginity to each other.”
I forgot about the traffic, turning to Shelly with my mouth open. “Get the fuck out of here.”
Shelly laughed and shook her head. “I can’t … It’s true.”
“When? How? Why didn’t they tell us?” I asked, my mind totally blown.
“It was prom night,” Shelly answered.
“Shit, I knew that Scott lost his virginity on prom night, but he never said it was with Gaby. How the hell did that happen?”
“I guess Scott walked by when Gaby was telling Tom that she wanted to go home instead of to the hotel, and when Tom put his hands on her, Scott got rough with him.”
“Tom put his hands on her?” I asked, seeing red, even though there was absolutely nothing I could do about it now.
“Yeah, but Scott took care of it, then dropped his date in order to take care of Gaby, like the total sweetheart that he is … Anyway, after a few drinks they both admitted to having crushes on each other, and one thing led to another …”
“Wow,” I said, trying to wrap my head around this new information. “Scott and Gaby … Why did they never date each other?”
“She said that they were both about to leave for school, and that after that, one of them was always with someone else, so the timing was never right.”
“That’s too bad,” I said. Now that I knew about them, the two of them together made perfect sense. I remembered the conversation I’d had with the guys about Brock. “I bet that’s why Scott didn’t like Brock … He was hitting on Gaby.”
[Time for Love 01.0] 8 Weeks Page 9