Nice Guys Collection With Added Bonus Material

by Kindle Alexander

  Okay, so he had put space between them. What could that mean?

  Kreed tightened his hold on Aaron’s hand. No matter what, whatever he’d done over the last few days was definitely not him changing his mind.

  “I didn’t want you to feel like I was forcing you into anything. You’ve been through a lot over the last few weeks. It was all a new experience for both of us. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to stick with anything you said under all that stress. I want you to want this as much as I do.” The words were the truth, and his raw honesty even surprised Kreed himself. He hadn’t even realized that had been an issue for him until right that minute.

  “I’m not weak, Kreed,” Aaron replied, frustration in his tone.

  He’d been blaming Aaron for all the barriers between them when it was clearly him pulling away.

  “I didn’t say you were,” Kreed said immediately.

  “I’m not a kid,” Aaron responded in that same irritated tone.

  “Okay. I do call you that, but I don’t think you’re that either. I called you that in the beginning to try and give you a place other than the one I wanted you in. Believe me, I know better than anyone you’re not a kid. It just stuck. It’s now a term of endearment, just like church boy. I call you that and you don’t go to fucking church,” Kreed added, trying to figure out where Aaron was going with all that.

  There was silence between them for several long minutes. Kreed navigated onto the highway. They had gotten a call to stop by the house in Midlothian to pick up a few things left behind, then they needed to make a quick trip by the store before heading to the airport.

  “I don’t want it to get weird between us,” Kreed finally said in all the silence between them.

  “Then quit pulling away and making it weird,” Aaron countered. The kid had spunk. The only person on the planet who talked to him that way was Mitch, and he regularly put Mitch on the mat.

  “Okay.” Kreed nodded to confirm that thought before adding quickly, “Then don’t let me.”

  And the silence was back again between them.

  Kreed had made it as far as South Dallas, almost to the suburbs, before Aaron responded, “I haven’t ever done the relationship thing before, not even tested the waters. I guess this is probably part of it.”

  “Probably,” Kreed replied. He’d had what he’d thought at the time was a relationship, but it was a long time ago and mostly, as it turned out, was just in his head. The fantasy of finding ‘the one’ became a casualty of war when the guy ended up having a wife and a baby on the way. “So you’re taking us up a notch and shooting for a relationship?”

  “Well, no…” His always-confident Aaron stumbled on that question, and Kreed laughed out loud.

  “I’m totally kidding. I couldn’t help it. It’s all good and I agree,” Kreed said, still chuckling.

  “I just know that, back when we were staying at the house, you said we’d go away and see if this was real. I was just emphasizing that thought.” Aaron tried to correct his slip.

  “No, church boy, I got it. Truly. I was teasing you. Things got so tense with us the last few days…” Kreed drew Aaron’s knuckles up for a kiss. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say or do. I didn’t mean to cause doubt between us.”

  The kid got silent for a minute before he gave a little laugh.

  “Which is actually kind of funny. The last two days should have been a breeze. The case was over. And when we decided to go away somewhere, that shit we were dealing with was way more serious.” Aaron’s grin was infectious.

  “Yeah, I know, but you’re pretty hot. It’s hard for me to keep my head straight when you’re around. My brain gets all jacked up.”

  There was a moment of silence again while Aaron’s expression turned softer, smoothing out his handsome face.

  “That was a real good answer there, Sinacola. Keep that up and I’m pretty sure you’ll get lucky tonight,” Aaron teased.

  “Mile high club? Oh man, this nine hour plane flight just started looking up.”

  “Yeah…” Aaron started, then stopped before adding, “I’m not sure I want to be arrested today.”

  “I’ll be the air marshal on the flight. I guarantee I won’t arrest you,” Kreed added, grinning broadly.

  “That was pretty impressive—how you got us on that flight for nothing.”

  “Yeah, you need to stick with me, kid. I got the hookup.”

  Aaron barked out a laugh at that one. Whatever tension had built between them seemed to fade away once they were alone again. Maybe Kreed had caused this uncertainty between them, but it sure seemed like Aaron had also pulled away, at least a little. Regardless, the kid didn’t want to cancel the trip, and Kreed certainly wasn’t ready to end whatever they had going on. This time the silence between them wasn’t terrible. They drove the rest of the way to Midlothian, pulling off the highway in the same way the deacon had chosen to leave town. Kreed passed the site of the crash, right around the railroad tracks. The skid marks and soot stains from the fire still marred the road.

  “The town doesn’t seem so bad from this vantage point,” Aaron said. Kreed’s head was turned toward the accident, studying the marks on the pavement, and he couldn’t help but tease Aaron.

  “We have some extra time. Wanna grab lunch?” Kreed kept his head turned away to hide the smile.

  “Hell no!” Aaron had been propped up in his seat, leaning across the console to see out the driver window, but dropped dramatically back into his seat. “How does a town this size not grow? It makes no sense. There are more churches in this city than places to eat.”

  Kreed chuckled. That had been a sore spot for Aaron the whole time they’d been there. “It’s how lots of parts of Texas work. You have all these progressive cities surrounding this one tiny town, and you drive in there and it’s like the sixties. It’s all designed to help keep the cities’ values intact or some shit like that.” Kreed rolled his eyes at that one.

  “Yeah. I’m not buying it. I bet that undercover officer from the eighty’s family doesn’t think it’s too great a town.”

  “I didn’t say they were good values they were trying so hard to protect.”

  The church came into view. The whole place looked to be still under lock down. The local law enforcement was stationed out front and also at every available entrance into the building. That was one great thing about Midlothian. Kreed did have lots of respect for the local police force. Even getting involved late in that game, they’d been right on it, eager to help and lend a hand wherever they were needed. Apparently the church had been a thorn in their side for quite some time. Kreed pulled the car as close as he could to the house they’d used. Many other federal vehicles were parked out front.

  “How long will they be out here?” Aaron asked as Kreed rounded the hood where Aaron stood waiting for him. He reached inside his jacket to pull out his badge and extended a hand, motioning for Aaron to walk up the sidewalk in front of him. There was lots of activity in the house they’d used, probably a cleaning crew and someone removing the surveillance equipment. The bureau’s security guard out front, along with all the police presence, let Kreed know some agency still considered this a hot spot of activity.

  “They’ll probably stay like this until the rest are caught or they feel like they collected all the required evidence. Even then, it’ll stay locked down.” Kreed lifted his badge to the suit by the door, but the guy never looked down.

  “I know who you are, Deputy Sinacola. We’ve got a bag for you. It’s a few things they found left behind. A couple of shirts and a keyboard they don’t think belong here.” Kreed glanced to the bag at the guard’s feet. This wasn’t his first time packing quickly for an assignment, so he knew he had everything he’d brought to the house, and they weren’t usually this nice. Typically, if it was left behind, it got tossed. Kreed reached for the bag and looked inside. Yep, it was all Aaron’s things. His partner had clearly been more shaken than he’d admitted to not at lea
st grab the keyboard. The shirts he’d probably left on purpose. They were Aaron’s church-boy clothes. Kreed would take those; Aaron made a hot church boy. But the kid treated his computer equipment like gold, so he was glad they’d bagged the leftover belongings.

  Kreed handed Aaron the bag and shook the agent’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “Sir, can I speak frankly?” The formality of the FBI always made him a little nervous. He rarely liked what he heard when explanations started this way.

  “Maybe,” Kreed hesitated, furrowing his brow behind his sunglasses.

  “It’s not bad, sir.” The agent lifted his sunglasses.

  He wasn’t dressed in the standard issue men-in-black suit, but he suspected it was close underneath the long coat the guy wore. Also, he was younger than Kreed had originally suspected. His face turned handsome as he grinned at his words.

  “I followed your career for a couple of years now after I watched you make an arrest in Virginia.”

  The agent paused, looking deeply at Kreed, if that were even possible. For him, he’d made so many arrests that he had no idea what the agent might have seen so he said nothing, instead politely inclined his head, nodding as he waited. There was still a long pause before he finished.

  “You make things better for us, sir.”

  There was a slight stutter in the agent’s words. He must be gay but didn’t feel comfortable enough to even say the words to Kreed. Kreed nodded again, making sure he gave the signal that he understood. He did get it. Although lots had changed for gay men, it was still hard to function normally in their chosen industry. Kreed hadn’t fully come out until he was well into his twenties, and it had taken years to get to this point. Sometimes he still felt like he had to work harder and longer, perhaps even a little smarter, than his straight counterparts in order to be treated as an equal. He lifted a hand to pat the agent’s arm.

  “Thanks, man. We are who we are.” It was Kreed’s standard response, because honestly, words weren’t needed. Enough had been said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Kreed turned toward the car, lifted a hand in acknowledgement, and found he had to reach back, grab Aaron by the collar, and tug him in order to get him moving.

  “Do people do that to you a lot?” Aaron asked, immediately falling in step with Kreed.

  “It’s not always an easy path to find your way out, especially in this job,” Kreed said quietly a few steps away. “It’s funny though… Even in today’s world, when I meet straight guys in this field, they almost always have that look that you just know they’re thinking, ‘I wonder if he tops or bottoms.’ My record, then, doesn’t matter anymore. They just wonder if I take it up my ass.”

  Kreed dug his keys from his pocket, going around the hood to the driver’s seat. Once inside the car, he put the key in the ignition and waited for Aaron to get settled in the passenger seat.

  “How was your coming out?” Kreed asked.

  Aaron laughed a humorless chuckle. “I never hid it. My parents knew before I did, but they still don’t really think it’s real. They call me rebellious.”

  “Really? That surprises me,” Kreed said, putting the car in drive, but he didn’t pull away. Aaron didn’t talk about his family, but he assumed with as confident as Aaron was that he’d have been supported.

  “Why?” Aaron kept his eyes forward and pointed out the front windshield. “Shouldn’t you be driving?”

  “You don’t seem destructive. You seem self-assured and strong in who you are.” Kreed finally did start driving forward, his gaze shifting between the road and Aaron.

  “I guess I am. I don’t know. My family’s pretty accomplished.”

  Kreed picked up the hint of pain in Aaron’s words. That was even more surprising. Aaron was so bold. Hell, he’d had blond spikey hair tipped with black and purple when he’d picked him up from the airport. He seemed fine with who he was as a man. After making a quick U-turn in the road, Kreed took Aaron’s hand again, drawing those knuckles to his lips.

  “Well, I’ve got a special treat. You get to go to a small town Walmart. Lucky,” Kreed teased.

  “I keep telling you this town isn’t that small,” Aaron shot back. No matter what he’d said earlier, Aaron wasn’t a fan of the area.

  “And I keep saying it’s not the people count that matters. The town thinks they’re small. That’s enough.” They drove the rest of the way to Walmart in silence. The store was right off the highway in a prime location. He’d been in enough of these kinds of places to know the Walmart was everything to a town—a social meeting spot, a political hotbed, or a place people gathered to get the latest gossip. Like normal, the parking lot was packed.

  Kreed parked and headed inside with Aaron right on his heels.

  “Now, why are we here?”

  “I need to grab something,” Kreed said vaguely, looking around the store until he saw the signs for the electronics department.

  “I’m going to the health and beauty section,” Aaron said, studying the signs at the ceiling.

  “No, you gotta come with me first.” He grabbed Aaron’s arm and took off toward the area he intended. Aaron trailed a little behind, looking around amazed. Clearly the kid hadn’t spent too much time in a super-store, but Kreed was at home here. He grew up going to Walmart. He took a turn and went to the back of the store, scanning the aisles until he found what he was looking for.

  “Pick what you want,” Kreed said, once he got to the row of earphones.

  “What do you mean?” Aaron asked, somewhat confused. He’d been so busy people-watching that he hadn’t paid attention to anything else.

  “What headphones do you use?” Kreed asked patiently, pointing to the brightly colored packages, drawing Aaron’s eyes to the selection.

  “Bose, why?” Aaron asked, his brow furrowing as his gaze drifted back to Kreed.

  “Okay. Well, I don’t think Walmart carries those. What can get you by until I can get some of those?” Kreed asked, lifting the most expensive ones he could find. Of course, the kid would have something pricey instead of just the five dollar earbuds off the shelf. “Will these work?”

  “Still asking, why?” Aaron said, his eyes on Kreed, waiting for an explanation.

  “I was making the bed this morning and they fell off as I was moving. They didn’t hold up too well under my boot. I tried to put them back together, but, yeah…just get something here and I’ll replace those. It’s cheaper than a store at the airport.” Kreed gave a small smile and tried again to hand Aaron the earphone box.

  Aaron just stared at him. He didn’t look too happy, especially not with the scowl that was slowly forming on his usually handsome face.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m trying to make up for it, so that should count.” Kreed gave him his biggest smile and nodded his encouragement for Aaron to agree.

  “Do you have any idea how much those cost?”

  “Umm…probably not, but I said I’d replace them.”

  It still took a second, but Aaron finally turned away and scanned the choices, grabbing a cheaper version than Kreed had in his hand. Okay, maybe those Bose weren’t so expensive. He placed his choice back on the rack and followed Aaron, catching him just as he turned out of the aisle. His guy was angry, leaving Kreed confused. It was just a stupid pair of earbuds.

  “You should’ve told me when it happened,” Aaron said over his shoulder. Kreed trailed behind him, staying quiet. Of course he should have told Aaron, but they were in that tense place and he didn’t want to add to it.

  “I’ll replace what I broke,” Kreed finally grumbled. “Where can I get them? Maybe we can stop some place on the way up.”

  “They were a thousand dollars and custom made,” Aaron tossed back over his shoulder.

  “A thousand dollars for earbuds? Are you kidding me?” Kreed barked out, stopping in the middle of the main aisle, blocking traffic. It took Aaron a few seconds to realize Kreed wasn’t following him. A thousand freaking dollars for earbuds tha
t break so easily? Who did that? Those would have lasted about a day in his life before he tore the hell out of them. It was just too shocking to continue to move.

  “Come on,” Aaron called out, motioning him forward. “I’ve got a backup pair. I just packed them with my equipment so I’ll need these for the flight.”

  “You have two pair of thousand-dollar earbuds?” Kreed called out, barely able to move one foot in front of the other. Could the guy be serious?

  “They’re the best,” Aaron said once Kreed had caught up. “Come on. I need hair dye.”

  “What color are you going for now?” Kreed finally asked after he processed the amount of money being spent on something so ridiculous. Thank God his subconscious was working, and he was able to add, “I like the dark.”

  “You do?” Aaron asked, looking back over his shoulder. He wished he had a camera to capture that look. All thoughts of expensive earphones left as his dick plumped.

  “What’s your natural hair color?” Kreed asked. The kid was just gorgeous, stunningly handsome. Aaron would look amazing with any color hair.

  “Dark. I can keep it like that. Maybe add some purple. Purple looks good with black.” Aaron was looking down all the aisles, passing several before he turned.

  “You do this yourself?” Kreed asked, following along.

  “You’re gonna help,” Aaron added, looking at the rows and rows of hair color. An overhead announcement interrupted his thought before he had time to answer. Although he loved spa day, the activities of the spa always stayed there. He had no idea how to dye hair.

  “Chasity Clover, your car is ready in Automotive,” a woman’s voice drawled over the store’s paging system. Her voice had a deeply Southern accent tinged with a bit of Roz from Monsters, Inc.

  Aaron’s face lit up, his excited gaze shooting up to the ceiling, his smile bigger than anything Kreed had seen before. Yes, Aaron Stuart was absolutely beautiful, but Kreed wasn’t entirely sure what had him so excited.