Begin to Begin

by Brown,A. S.

  Sonny: Call me I have a run

  "Fuuuuck!" I should have known he wasn't going to let up. But that's fine. I'll set up this run with him. Hopefully, it will be the last one and this entire situation will be long gone from my life. For good.

  Not even bothering to text back, I hit the little call button. He answers after the first ring.

  "Well, well, well. That's the quickest you have called back in a long time. You must be liking the work you have been doing."

  "Yeah, don't bet on it. What's up?"

  "I have a huge job for you. I would have J.R. do it but he would probably fuck it up. You may have pissed me off when you wanted out but you never fucked up a run … Well, except that one time last year but that wasn't entirely your fault."

  "Get on with it, Sonny." I don't feel like sitting here and wasting my time listening to his bullshit.

  "Fort Lauderdale. Huge run. Six figures." I can't help the raise of my eyebrows at the words six figures. Just a few months ago, that's all that I would be thinking about. Money.

  "That's a lot of money. What does this run involve, exactly?"

  "Custom SLR McLaren with a package to go along with it." This exudes another lift of the eyebrows.

  "Really? And where would you have acquired a machine of that magnitude, Sonny? That's not really either of our style." I don't bring up the package that goes along with the car. It's not unlike him to have his drug trades going on in the middle of a car run. I'm sure the package has something to do with drugs. Well, at least, I hope it does. That will make this whole process go a little bit smoother.

  "Don't you worry about it. Just a little something new I'm trying my hand at. And this car is a beauty, if I do say so myself." I hear him rattling around with something on his end. "So, I need an answer. Are you in or not?"

  Pausing for a moment, I think of the consequences if I tell him no. He isn't likely to accept that answer and then will be back on Marin's tail. It will also be harder to nail his ass to the wall.

  But, if I say yes, it could fuck up everything that I fixed with Marin. I don’t know if I can fix it if I screw up again. If she found anything out before I was ready to tell her, I know I would lose her forever.

  Letting out a long sigh, I give him the answer he wants to hear, "Yeah, I'm in."

  "I knew you would be," he answers gladly. He continues to rattle around with something on his end. "I'll have the burner phone dropped off for you tonight and text you in the morning all the information that you will need for pick-up and meeting point."

  "OK. I'm on my way home now so I will be there in about twenty minutes." I start my truck back up and pull back onto the road, hoping that Uncle Mel and Aunt Dot are fast asleep.

  "Good. And Dalton?" He pauses to make sure I understand his next words. "Don't screw this up. I still know where that pretty little friend of yours lives." He ends the call as a chill goes down my spine.

  I throw my phone on the seat next to me. Laying my head on my steering wheel, I ask myself over and over again, “What the fuck am I going to do?” I stay pulled over along the side of the road for a few more moments, coming to terms with all the decisions I have made over the past few weeks. Hell, all of my decisions over the past couple of years are running at warp speed through my brain. But these ones right now, they are all for her. She may not understand and she may not want anything to do with me after all is said and done, but at least she will have the answers that she needs.

  Hopefully she will be able to be happy again. Even if I’m not there to see it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dalton

  The next morning, I don’t do anything until I speak to Detective Merritt. I don’t even get my smelly ass out of bed and showered before dialing his number. I can only hope that everything he told me is the truth and that this is all going to work out as planned. If so, everything will be over soon.

  Once he knows all the details and I am somewhat confident that Marin will be safe in all of this, I shower and head down to the garage to go through some of the previous days’ paperwork. I’ve really been slacking on my garage management duties over the last week, and I need to get caught back up before Uncle Mel catches on and assumes the worst. Because he will.

  I don’t even make it to the bottom of the stairs when I see him waiting for me though. Great.

  “What’s up, Unc?” I call down to him.

  “We need to talk,” he huffs out.

  Wonderful. He’s already pissed. I guess we can just get this over with now.

  “I’m only going to say this one more time Dalton. If you fuck around with those thug assholes Sonny and J.R. anymore, you’re done here. I’m not going to have it bring this place down. Your aunt and I love you but she can’t deal with it anymore. It will break her heart. And quite honestly, I’m not going to stand by and watch you go down that road again.”

  The look in his eyes breaks me. I never cared before what anyone thought about my activities with Sonny and J.R. But something has changed in me. I feel and see the hurt it causes now. His eyes are pleading and disappointed as he continues his lecture. I almost want to tell him the truth. About everything. Marin, Sonny, J.R., and Detective Merritt. But I could be putting him at risk.

  “I saw one of those shit heads here last night. They dropped a package through the drop box. I didn’t touch it because god only knows what the hell is in it. I don’t want to know. Just end it.” He turns angrily to leave but I feel I need to give him some explanation. I owe it to him after all I have put them through. All the times they have bailed me out of jail. All the times that Aunt Dot sat with me and bandaged me up after a fight. All the times they had no idea if I was dead or alive.

  “Unc, wait!” I call. He pauses mid step but doesn’t turn. “I have to explain a few things to you. But … but, you can’t say anything. It could have major consequences if you did. But I owe it to you.” He turns to face me now. “Come sit down in the office, and I will explain everything.”

  Turning around, I walk into the office. I see the package lying on the floor that he saw get dropped off. I know it’s the burner phone I will need for the drop I planned with Sonny. The last drop. Though Sonny doesn’t know that.

  Sitting down on the crappy chair in the corner of the office, I drop my head to my hands and start to tell him everything.

  We talked for about hour. I told him everything and why I was doing what I was doing. He was silent the entire time. Never even tried to breathe a word.

  After I was finished, he stared at me. He then stood, crossed his arms over his chest, and only said four words before turning to walk out the door.

  “Don’t fuck this up.”

  He walks out with a huff but I can see relief replace the disappointment in his eyes.

  I look up and see Liam standing in the doorway staring at me. “What was that all about?” he asks.

  “Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just me getting myself into messes that I can’t get out of.” He gives a curt nod and then turns to leave. I know what he’s thinking, though; he doesn’t have to say anything. He doesn’t like Sonny and J.R. any more than Uncle Mel does.

  “Hey, Liam,” I call after him. He turns to face me again. “Want to go to a party at a bookstore with me tomorrow night?”

  “Depends,” he says with a smirk.

  “On what?”

  “Am I gonna get any pussy?” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes.

  “My guess is no. It’s at a bookstore, dumbass. Besides, is that all you care about? When is the next time you’re gonna get your dick wet?”

  “Um …” He looks from side to side. “Well, yeah. I mean, I’m a single guy. In my twenties. And pretty fucking hot if I do say so myself.” He rubs his hands down his chest like he’s some hot model or something.

  This gets another eye roll from me.

  “Like I said, it’s a bookstore, Liam. Not the fucking Diamond Club.”

  “Can’t get laid at the
Diamond Club,” he replies quickly, and I quirk my eyebrow at him. I don’t even want to know the story behind that comment.

  “Whatever. There will be women there. But it’s a going away party for Gwenn, Marin’s employee that is moving to New York.”

  “She hot?” I stare at him. I can’t deny that Gwenn is hot. Six months ago, I probably would have been more drawn to her than Marin. Well, at first, anyway. I probably wouldn’t have even wanted to get to know her. I don’t know her well but she seems nice and she’s got to be smart since she will be attending NYU. Way too good for Liam.

  “Yeah, she’s hot. Blonde, tall, leggy. You know, completely out of your league.”

  “Sounds like she’s completely my type. So when you picking me up?” He grins proudly.

  “Not sure yet. I have something to take care of tonight, but I’ll let you know. Probably seven or eight.”

  “Sounds good. I can’t wait. I need laid something fierce.” He lets out an animalistic growl, and I laugh as he walks back in the garage.

  I’m sure he isn’t lacking in the bedroom department. The dude usually has a line of chicks out the damn door. A different one every night if he wanted. He’s a player, but I think Gwenn could hold her own with him.

  I used to be just like him when it came to women. As long as there was a nice set of tits and a nice round ass attached to them, I didn’t care what else they looked like or whether they actually had a personality or not. I actually preferred if they didn’t. The less they talked, the quicker I got what I wanted and got rid of them. But Marin is different. Not only is she the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, she’s smart and funny and caring. Everything I never knew I wanted. She’s perfect.

  As if she can sense that I’m sitting here thinking about her, my phone dings.

  Marin: Just wanted to say hi. Hope your day is awesome :)

  I smile at her cute little smiley face.

  Me: It would be better if I was with you.

  I respond back thinking how much better her being here would actually make my day. She would make me happy but I’m sure that I wouldn’t be getting too much work done because when she’s around I lose all focus. My eyes are glued to her.

  Marin: Soon …

  Not really sure what she means, I decide not to respond. I have a car I need to finish up and I’m sure Sonny will be calling soon with the rest of the details. He will want to meet up tonight or tomorrow night to discuss the details of the new drop, and I have to make sure I’m available.

  The rest of the afternoon passes by uneventful but busy. After agreeing to go with me to the party, Liam promptly got back to work on the Ford Escape he was tuning up. Mrs. Gillman would be stopping in around closing time to pick it up, and I knew she would be in a hurry since she would be picking up her kids from daycare afterward. She’s been coming to the garage for several years now after we were recommended to her by her cousin Ralph. She gets along great with Aunt Dot and they exchange recipes and all that crap. So, we do our best to get her in and out of here to keep her happy.

  I’m working on two different cars. Mr. Hooper brought in his old Cutlass and said, “Fix it, it’s clunking.” It doesn’t matter that I have tried to tell him a million times that this car is a clunker and that’s why it’s clunking.

  I normally wouldn’t tell a person that they need to just go buy a new car because that’s bad for business. But in his case … he needs a new damn car.

  The other one is a Dodge minivan that was brought in for an oil and filter change by some older lady that my aunt Dot knows. I can’t remember the lady’s name but I will make sure I look at the paperwork before she shows up.

  Liam and I work silently, only humming along to the radio that screams and scratches the local rock station. Before we know it, people are showing up to pick up their cars and Liam is packing up his stuff to leave for the day.

  “Can I just change here before the party?” he calls before he walks out the door.

  “Yeah, sure. I’m sure you could even shower and change at Uncle Mel’s if you wanted. There’s more space there than in my place upstairs.”

  “OK. See ya tomorrow, D-Man,” he yells right before the door slams shut.

  I finish putting my tools away and am getting ready to head back in the office to close down there for the night when I hear a small knock on the door.

  Figuring that it’s a customer that stopped by too late, I slowly make my way over. When I pull the door open, I’m shocked by the sight standing before me.

  Marin. And she looks incredible.

  She’s dressed in skinny jeans, a form-fitting tank top and a small jacket over it. Not that she doesn’t always look incredibly hot but this look … Well, this look is over the top, blow the freaking roof off the building on fire hot. I have never seen her in anything but the conservative or what I would call “preppy” look. And to top it all off, she’s holding a bag of food.

  “Well, to what to I owe this surprise,” I ask as I step aside so she can walk in.

  “I thought you might be hungry, and well, I don’t know … I just wanted to surprise you,” she answers shyly.

  “Well, I am, and you did.” I reach over to take the food from her and sneak in a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you. This has made my night.” I’m awarded with a proud smile, and I would give anything to make her smile like that every day for the rest of her life.

  “Where would you like to eat? We can go upstairs or just eat in the office. I was getting ready to close up.”

  “I’m good here. But I understand if you want to get home for the night and head upstairs.”

  “Upstairs it is then.” I don’t tell her that I really just want to get her beautiful body out of this dirty garage. “Just let me run in the office and turn everything off.”

  Making my way around the office, I start switching off everything, and as I turn to leave, I see a light on the corner of the desk. “Fuck,” I say under my breath. Hurrying over, I glance down and see that Sonny wants to meet at ten tonight. I shoot a quick text back.

  “See you then.”

  I shove the phone in the drawer of the desk and decide I will deal with that when she leaves. I have plenty of time to figure out what to tell Marin. She will most likely be gone by the time I need to leave anyway. But, what if she’s not?

  What if tonight is the turning point in whatever this is that we have?

  What if she has decided that she is ready to open her heart to me but then I have to leave?

  What if tonight ends up being the night I lose her?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Marin

  Oh, my god. What was I thinking coming here like this? What if he had plans and I totally ruined them? I mean … he didn’t act like he had plans.

  Right when I’m about to talk myself out of whatever I am doing here, he walks back out of the office.

  “Ready?” he asks.

  Slowly, I nod yes and he softly takes my hand and leads me out the door. His thumb absentmindedly brushes across my palm and it sends a chill down my spine.

  I wish I understood what he was doing to me. Why my body feels the way it does when he’s around. I love it and hate it all at once. I feel guilty that I never felt this way with Benji.

  With him, it was a warm comfort. He was home to me. I’m starting to wonder if our love would have even lasted forever like we always said it would.

  I shake my head to rid myself of the thoughts I’m having. Of course we would have made it.

  All this is with Dalton is an attraction. Pure lust. Amelia helped me see that when I talked to her earlier today.

  “Really, Marin. It’s not a big deal if you screw him.” I about spit my coffee across the store at her words

  “Um … yeah. It kinda is,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “He’s hot, you’re hot. He wants you, you clearly want him. No one will think poorly of you. It’s been over a year. Because you need laid doesn’t mean you stopped loving Benji. Hell, no one eve
n has to know. It’s nobody’s business who you have sex with and when you plan on doing it. Well, except me, it’s totally my business.” She winks and continues on, “I mean, you have needs. It’s OK to fulfill them. Benji wouldn’t expect you to become a born-again virgin.”

  I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, I know you’re right. I know it in my head. It’s my heart that’s having a hard time understanding that concept.”

  After I left for the day, I don’t know what had gotten into me. I kept replaying our conversation over in my head, and the more I kept thinking of Dalton, the more I wanted him. Maybe I did need to get laid. So, I decided to throw on a sex kitten outfit, buy him some food, and head over to his place to seduce him.

  But there’s one problem. I have no idea how to seduce a man. I’ve never seduced anyone before. So now here I am second guessing myself and everything that I was thinking.

  The sound of Dalton’s voice brings me out of all the arguing with myself in my head.

  “Sorry about the mess.”

  “It’s OK. You’re a bachelor and busy with the garage; I wouldn’t expect your place to be spotless.” I walk over to the table and move a few muscle car magazines to the side to clear a place for the food.

  “Here, hand me the food and you go clean up. I will get everything ready.”

  “You sure?” he asks, uncertain. “You have already done plenty just by surprising me in this sexy as hell outfit and bringing me food.” He looks me over with a heated gaze.

  A blush creep into my cheeks and I smile. “Yes, I’m fine. Now go.” I shoo him away, and when I turn, I can’t help but smile again. I guess he liked the outfit.

  Busying myself while he’s in the shower, I find some paper plates and plastic forks. This should be perfect since I stopped and got burgers and cheese fries. I chuckle at his lack of dinnerware, though. He doesn’t strike me as a guy that would slave over doing dishes, so it makes sense.