Unsocial

by Dykes, Nicole

  I knew he went to college at OU from reading his file, and I also know he didn't finish. "So I assume your dad was happy."

  "Yeah, as happy as he could get. He told me he was proud of my decision but then made me feel like shit by adding he couldn’t believe I made the right one. Anyway, I went to school and was bored to tears in every class. I was so fucking miserable, but I wanted to make my dad proud, so I stayed. I didn't party much my freshman year and rarely missed class. Then at the end of my sophomore year, I got a part-time job at a local mechanic and body shop to help with expenses, and that’s where I met Jax. It was his grandfather’s garage.”

  I nod, "Ah that makes sense."

  "His grandpa was awesome. The shop was mostly mechanical, but occasionally we customized cars. I learned a lot there, and by the end of my junior year in college, I knew I wasn't going to be an architect. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

  "At least, you stuck it out for three years. That’s a long time.”

  "You're telling me. I guess I was just going on trying to get my dad’s approval. Which I know is pathetic.”

  "It's not pathetic. But I guess he didn't take it well?"

  He laughs coldly, "Not at all. I had already moved in with Jackson at the beginning of that year and continued working through the summer. Then a month before I was supposed to start my senior year I came up here so I could tell my dad in person that I wasn't going back. He was beyond pissed. So many things were said, and they were things that could never be taken back. For every hurtful thing, he said to me, I fired them right back.” This would have been five years ago, so I know there is still more to this story. “I ended up storming out of the house and going back to Oklahoma to work full time in the shop. Things were tense with my dad, but I kept in touch with the rest of the family. I even had Luke come down and stay with me for a few days that next summer."

  I recall when Luke mentioned a visit and a half naked girl in the kitchen. Dylan goes on, "So, Jax and I decided to start our own shop, and with the help of his grandpa we got a loan and opened one. We threw a huge grand opening bash to network for potential customers. We had already had some repeat customers that came through his grandpa’s shop because they like our work. These were some wealthy customers too, so it’s not like we were just going into this completely blind. We had some contacts, and they had some contacts. Our work was already getting recognition. I called to invite my dad, and he told me there was no way in hell he was going and had no plans on supporting a shop that he knew would be a failure in a year or probably less.”

  "Damn, that’s harsh."

  "I still sent an invitation hoping Sylvia and the kids would go, but she called me a week before to tell me they couldn't make it. She said my father forbid it and that she wasn't sure it was a good idea to go."

  I look at Dylan's gorgeous face with pain written all over it. That had to have hurt not to have any of his family’s support. "That’s terrible, Dylan."

  He shrugs it off again. "Like I said it was really stupid. I still had hope that they would show up, but they didn't. And yeah, I was hurt and probably irrationally pissed. Unfortunately, I lumped the whole family into my parent’s decision, which wasn’t fair to the kids who had no choice. Hell, Gabby was barely three. What did expect them to do, hitchhike?"

  I know he wasn't angry with her or any of the other children, but I know that would be painful. That was his dream, and he wanted his family there to share it.

  "I wasn't mad at them, but I was fucking livid toward my dad, and I guess with Sylvia. After that, I let hurt and anger and my fucking pride turn me into a selfish asshole. I didn’t call, write or visit. Fuck, I figured if they could ignore me by not offering me support when I needed it the most and make me feel like I wasn’t part of the family then I’d just step back.”

  I kiss the arm he has wrapped around me, "I'm sorry, I can't imagine how abandoned you must have felt, and I'm so glad you have a relationship with your siblings although it took a tragedy."

  "I will never forgive myself for those three years."

  "You should, though, I mean look at this year. Everything you've done."

  "Because I had to, because my dad and Sylvia died."

  "No. You didn't have to. You did it because you love them, and you are a good and responsible man."

  He kisses me, a deep sensual kiss that I feel throughout my entire body and whispers, "Thank you."

  I smile, "Thank you for bringing me here and trusting me."

  I lay my head back down on his chest, "I never thought I could share myself so much with another person.”

  I nod, "I understand why. The most important people in your life let you down.”

  In the morning, I wake up before Dylan and cook him a huge breakfast before he has to meet his client. He invites me to join him, but I choose to stay and explore the house. It is the most tranquil place I have ever experienced, and I want to soak it all up before having to return to long days and solving problems of the world one client at a time.

  Dylan returns with dinner before we pack up for our drive home. As Dylan grabs our bags, I take one last look around, and he grips my shoulder gently, "We’ll come back, baby. Maybe this summer with the kids."

  I look up at him with excitement, "I would love that."

  He grins, "Me too."

  I can't believe he's making plans for the summer. Who knew six and a half months ago, when I first met him that we would be a couple making summer vacation plans. He kisses and leads me to the car.

  We have a three-hour journey back to secrecy.

  Chapter 31

  Dylan

  I’m missing the fuck out of my girlfriend who I haven’t seen since Sunday evening when I had to drop her off at her apartment. I had every intention of walking her to her door, but when she spotted Alex’s car in the lot that put the kibosh on that thought. Instead, I kissed the shit of her behind the SUV as I was getting her bag out before watching her disappear behind her door. And just like that, we’re back to goddamn secrecy.

  Now it’s Tuesday morning, and the only thing that has me smiling is the thought that I get to see her this afternoon. She’s been under a lot of backlog from missing Friday afternoon, and I came back to work with a small stack of clients. Our Kansas shop is getting even busier, and I’ve been playing with the idea of having to send some of the work to Oklahoma to keep up with everything. I pull into my parking spot at the shop and head to Jax’s office. "Hey."

  He grunts at me from his desk, "I think I need a vacation now.”

  I laugh and sit in the chair facing him and put my feet up casually on his desk. "We have the races coming up at the end of March.”

  "Yeah, don't get me wrong because it’s fucking cool of Brooke to get those tickets for Luke, but it boils down to a day trip with your social worker. Not exactly what I imagine as a good time. I can't believe he invited her."

  I may have encouraged Luke to invite her, but she is the reason we’re going. Not to mention we are special guests of her ex-boyfriend, Adam Shriller, who I’m sure wants to see her again. I feel a chill go down my spine at the thought. I'm glad Brooke is going, but if he touches her, I don’t think I can hold back from tearing him apart. I snap back when Jax says, "Dylan did you hear me?"

  "Well, she did give us the tickets."

  "True, and I'm sure Thriller wants to see her.”

  There goes that chill again, but I can’t say or do a damn thing about it. Soon I'll be able to tell him that she’s mine. “I don't know about any of that."

  "Well, why else would he give her four pit passes? This girl fucks all the right people."

  I feel my eye twitch and sit up straight; Jax has no idea that Brooke is my girlfriend, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him disrespect her. Fuck that. “Don’t be a prick, Jax. They were together in high school and remained friends. Show some respect.”

  "What the fuck is your problem?”

  “I don’t have a problem except for the
way you talk about her. She’s never done anything to you for you to be such a dick.”

  “Fine. Moving on, so are we meeting her there?”

  He sounds like Luke. "I figured we would just all ride together.”

  “Why the hell would we do that?”

  “Why the hell wouldn’t we? We are all going to the same place."

  "Oh, I don’t know, maybe because we could pick up chicks without her being there to cock block us.”

  “Seriously, Jackson? Luke is going to be there. This is for him, not for us to get laid.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know, man. I think I need a few days away from this place.”

  “Why don’t you go to Oklahoma for a few days and hang with Lacey,” I suggest. She’s the woman who was a regular hookup for him; actually, she was his favorite.

  “That doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. Hey, I need to get out there and check on shit.” He stands and walks to the door. “Callahan’s cars got here yesterday. I’m gonna make sure the guys are ready to go on those. They know they’re a priority."

  In my office, I go about making sure everything is in order for Callahan’s cars as well as schmoozing some new customers. Before I know it, I’m heading home to wait on Brooke.

  When I get there, the kids are all inside sitting in the living room. Cassie on her cell phone, Gabby and Michael playing with Toby, and Luke flipping through channels so fast I doubt he knows what comes on the screen. It's crazy how much my life has changed this year.

  This time last year I would be coming home to an empty house before heading out to find random pussy. Now I come home to a domestic scene straight off a hit television show. As soon as I sit Gabby runs and climbs up next to before proceeding to tell me all about her day. This kid can talk now for damn sure. But I love it, and I owe it to Brooke.

  An hour later the doorbell rings, and Gabby springs off the couch hauling ass to get the door. I follow her, and by the time I get there Brooke is walking in through the door laughing at Gabby’s obvious excitement in seeing her. Gabby gives her a hug and pulls her toward the living room. I take her coat while she’s being pulled away by my little sister. "You have to see this new trick I taught Toby!"

  I walk in to see Gabby holding a treat up, and Toby up on his back legs begging. Gabby gives her command, "Speak!" The pup barks and Gabby giggles and gives him a treat. Luke taught him that in a week. He's been in a better mood since Sylvia’s party, another thing I need to thank my beautiful girlfriend for.

  Brooke laughs and encourages Gabby to do the trick again. She's on the floor with Gabby, and I take a seat next to Luke on the couch. Only a few more months and this can be several evenings a week instead of once every other week, and it for damn sure won’t be Luke I’m sitting beside. I smile at the idea of Brooke openly joining in this domesticity.

  Brooke finally asks about everyone’s week and makes sure everything is going smoothly, and it’s dire that it stays that way. I cannot afford for the judge to extend Brooke being our social worker; I need her title to shift to girlfriend as soon as possible.

  Brooke’s attention turns to Luke, which is frankly always a crap shoot. He seems to be in a good mood today, though. "So, Luke you ready to go to races?"

  He grins, "Hell yeah! I still can't believe I'm going to meet Adam Shriller!"

  I shift uncomfortably in my seat, something I know Brooke doesn't miss. The woman misses nothing. She laughs, "Well he's nice, but he's human. No big deal."

  Luke scoffs, "Yeah right, he's a freaking legend. I still can't believe you dated him."

  Cassie pipes up, "Brooke’s awesome! She can date anyone."

  Luke looks at Brooke, "I didn't mean it like that. I meant I can't believe I know someone who dated Shriller the Thriller."

  Brooke laughs, "I know what you meant.” Brooke meets my eyes for a second then changes the subject, "Okay, so you guys are doing great. Anyone need to talk to me privately?"

  Shaking their heads, they start filing out of the room to find things to do before dinner. I stand and walk toward the kitchen with Brooke following me, and by the quick fall of her steps, I can tell she’s excited. As soon as we’re in the clear, I grab her and kiss her. I don’t hide the fact that I’ve missed her and want her. Part of me feels like a pussy for feeling like this over anyone, but I don’t fucking care anymore.

  When we pull away, Brooke smiles at me, a big beaming smile, "I missed you."

  "Me too. I want weekly meetings back.”

  She nods and starts gathering ingredients throughout the kitchen. "I know, but doesn't mean I can't sneak in every week."

  "Or every night."

  She laughs, "I wish that were possible."

  I move closer and whisper, "Soon." Just the thought of having her every night thrills me.

  But for how long? I try to shake that thought. My fear of commitment and Jax’s warnings before I ever hooked up with Brooke run through my mind. We haven't had the “where is this going” chat that I hear most chicks want to have. Brooke is incredible and doesn't push me. We both seem to live day by day, and it seems to work for now. I'm not so naive as to believe we will never need to talk about it. But I feel like I need to lock shit up before this year is over, because once we’re in the all-clear, I’m not pussyfooting around anymore. I’m going to claim her ass loud and fucking proud. I'm not sure about all of the details, but what I do know is that I want Brooke, and I'm not letting her go without a hell of a fight.

  We have a nice family dinner and then Brooke leaves around 8:30. The days following we are both too busy to see much of each other, and it seems like our only line to each other is texts and calls. Even those are rushed because so much is going on at work.

  Three weeks later I'm in my truck with Luke and Jax, Jax in the front and Luke in the back, as we drive to Brooke’s apartment.

  I left Cassie in charge of Gabby and Michael as well as letting the lady next door who has three kids of her own that I’ll be gone for the day. She promised to check on them regularly as well as make sure they get dinner. Plus Cassie knows to call me if she needs me as well as our neighbor.

  I haven't seen Brooke nearly enough lately. I saw her last Tuesday for the meeting and dinner after, but she's been swamped at work and so have I. I've had two business trips, one to Chicago and one in Denver. Both times I tried to get her to go with me, but she couldn't miss work and knew it would seem suspicious to Alex. It was wishful thinking that she wouldn’t start wondering about Brooke all of sudden having so many social work conferences.

  But that doesn’t mean I'm not tense as fuck and need some time with her. I'm happy that Jax and Luke are going with us, but part of me wants to pull over and make them get out so I can have a day alone with Brooke. Fuck the race, I just want a nice hotel and my girl.

  I pull into Brooke’s apartment complex just after nine in the morning since the first qualifying race starts at ten. Luke doesn’t want to miss a thing, so it’s no doubt going to be a long day. I’m guessing she was watching for us to drive up since she comes right out.

  The morning temperature is mild, already in the low 50s and today’s forecast is looking for the low to mid-70s, but I damn sure wasn’t expecting her to be wearing cutoff jean shorts that have to be leftovers from high school if the well-worn look is anything to go by with a motocross sweatshirt.

  I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to watch races if I can’t take my eyes off her legs all day. At least, I don't see Shriller’s name on the shirt. That would make my blood boil. Yeah, I don't know how today is going to go. Not sure I'm ready to meet another ex.

  Jax gets out and climbs into the back letting Brooke have the front. Nice. I figured he was going to be an asshole and make her sit in the back with Luke. But this way I can look at those sexy thighs I’m always ready to climb in between.

  Brooke climbs in and greets everyone. "Thanks for letting me ride with you guys. I really appreciate it."

  I smile, "No problem."<
br />
  Jax nods, "We’re all going to the same place. Just makes sense." He sounds bored.

  Thankfully the drive is only a short 30 minutes, but finding a parking place is a whole different matter. Seems likely everyone in Kansas City is taking advantage of the mild weather to come out to the races.

  “This place is packed,” Jax says from the back seat.

  “Of course, they’ve all come to see the hometown hero,” Brooke says smugly. Not lying, I'm happy to spend the day with her, and who doesn't love a good motocross race? But I’m seriously not liking how proud she sounds of her ex right now.

  The place is packed, but thankfully our passes are waiting for us at Will-Call. I feel the adrenaline already listening to the sounds on the track while racers are running practice rounds. Luke also catches the fever, but I notice he’s also checking out lots of short shorts and skimpy tops. “Jesus H. Christ, would you look at the ladies here.”

  “Here to watch races, bro,” I tell him sternly.

  He grins widely at three girls prancing by who also eye the three of us and does an 180 to catch the other side. I have to admit if I was a single man my eyes, mind, and hands would be wandering.

  “Lucky for me I can multitask, bro.”

  Surprising all of us, Brooke reaches up and gets a hold of one of his ears to drag him behind her. She laughs, “Keep up, Romeo. Let’s push through and find our seats.”

  And the seats we scored are the best we could ask for. Of course, the first thing Luke wants to know is when we get to meet Shriller.

  Brooke answers him, "I’m not sure what qualifying he’s running in, but I can text and ask him.” She pulls out her phone and starts typing. A couple of minutes later she gets an answer. “Looks like he’s in the third heat, and he said we could meet him at his rig right after. He’s looking forward to meeting you guys.”

  My mind wanders to when the last time she saw him. All I know is she said it was early last summer. The mature thing would be to get past the fact that they used to be together, but then I think of their matching tattoos, and every primal, caveman, possessive feeling rolls through me. Fuck that shit. She’s mine now, and if he makes one fucking move on her I have a feeling our secret is going to be blown wide fucking open.