Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
T he last of the pins finally fell after the alley had closed. Theo was biding his time and had planned to gently confront Dewey but Bryce handled that in his efficient, cut-the-bullshit manner as well.
Theo saw Bryce following Dewey back to the workshop and went to add his support but halted when he heard Bryce groan. “Seriously, Doob! Walter can stay but Theo has to go.”
“Theo? Why? He’s not hurting…much,” Dewey said and Theo’s head cocked warily, not liking how resigned Dewey sounded or that he was Bryce’s first concern.
“You promised me you’d find real help and he ain’t it! I think Theo’s a great guy and he’s awesome with the customers, but you need someone who can cover for you. Your condition isn’t getting better and you’re completely wrung out. I can tell it’s because you’re babysitting Theo and fixing his messes instead of doing less around here.”
“He’ll get it. Eventually,” Dewey muttered, earning a hard snort from Bryce.
“Eventually? After you hurt yourself and can’t work at all anymore?” he said dryly and there was a dismissive grunt from Dewey. Bryce made a sympathetic hissing sound. “Listen, I know how lonely you’ve been and that it’s…impossible to date up here. Like, at all.”
“What?” Dewey replied flatly but Bryce laughed and it sounded like he had begun to pace.
“We’ve all been worried and hoped you’d find someone cool. And I think Theo would be awesome, but I don’t know if he’s good enough or really interested in dating a decent guy like you.”
“What?” This time, it came out louder and Dewey cleared his throat, a warning Theo hoped Bryce would appreciate.
“Come on, Doobie,” Bryce urged in a whisper. “Mom said you were falling for him and I thought she was imagining things or it was wishful thinking, but it’s so obvious!”
It wasn’t to Theo. He still wondered if Dewey actually liked him or if he was just putting up with him because he needed the help.
“You’re both full of shit,” Dewey snapped back and Bryce laughed.
“You won’t let him touch a thing back here and it takes forever for Theo to ring people up because he gets confused by our coins. I don’t think he’s ever had a job before, but you don’t have time to break him in and you can’t afford to keep an employee who can’t do the work you desperately need him to do. ”
“It ain’t like that,” Dewey protested, but from where Theo was standing, it sounded exactly like that.
“Then, what is it? He’s been here for almost a month and you’re falling apart. He hasn’t gotten the hang of it and I can’t even tell if he’s taking this seriously.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“Have you told him?” Bryce asked, then swore and something was slammed. “You should have told him, Doobie!”
“Nah. It doesn’t matter and I don’t want him—or anyone—feeling sorry for me or thinking I’m helpless.”
“Nobody thinks—” Bryce started but Dewey cut him off.
“Because nobody but you and Cassie and my doctor knows and that’s the way I want it.”
That was Theo’s cue to reveal himself because he didn’t want to violate Dewey’s privacy any more than he already had and he really didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Hold on,” Theo shouted as he stepped around the wall, raising his hands apologetically. “I overheard some of that and I want to interrupt before you share something that Brooks should have shared himself,” he said to Bryce, then raised an expectant brow at Dewey. “You should have told me I was being that much of a burden. I came here to help, not make things worse. Why didn’t you tell me you had a condition?”
Dewey let out a weary, irritated growl as he scrubbed his face. “Because it’s not that serious and I don’t want your pity,” he said, causing Theo to rear back.
“My pity? I don’t want to take advantage of a man with a condition or a disability but it would appear that I have been, without knowing it,” he countered. Theo wasn’t accustomed to the anger and disappointment simmering in his gut, and much of it was directed at himself. He was upset that Dewey had kept him in the dark about something serious, but Theo was mad at himself for not seeing that he was a burden or that Dewey was hiding something else.
“Jesus, it isn’t terminal and he makes it sound like I’m in agony. I’m not and I don’t want people thinking I can’t handle this place anymore.”
“No one thought that when Grandpa Gerry let you or Roddy work here,” Bryce argued. “Tell him or I will. Theo needs to know what pulling his weight is doing to you,” he added and Theo’s jaw fell, he was horrified.
“What is he talking about, Brooks?”
Dewey threw Bryce a hard look before dropping onto one of the stools and scrubbing his face again. His tattooed hands shook as they dropped to his lap. “I have myasthenia gravis and rheumatoid arthritis. It started a few years ago with my eyes, they’d get droopy and blurry. Then, speaking and chewing got hard when I was tired. Eventually, it moved down to my arms and legs. They get weak really fast and I get a lot of pain and swelling in my hands and wrists.”
“You don’t notice the difference because you haven’t known Doobie long enough,” Bryce said quietly, his eyes shimmering as he watched his uncle and lifelong hero. “But Doobie used to juggle bowling balls like they were nothin’ and he could take apart and reassemble one of those pinsetters blindfolded. He’d do laps around this place on Friday and Saturday nights and he’d jump in if one of the teams was short a bowler. But he can barely pick up a ball these days and he’s afraid someone will catch on if they see him play.”
“I thought you were hiding a drinking problem,” Theo whispered apologetically, his brain finally connecting the dots. “The shaking hands and the occasional slurred word... I thought you were sleeping in the office because you were hungover.”
“You thought I was an alcoholic?” Dewey asked loudly, his jaw opening and closing as he blinked at Theo.
A snorting giggle burst from Bryce as he pointed at Dewey. “That’s way better than knowing you have an autoimmune disease,” he said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. “You’re so afraid of people thinking you’re weak or that you can’t run this place, and too afraid to tell a hot guy you’re sick, that you let him think you’re an alcoholic. Way to go, Doobie.”
“I didn’t do it because he’s hot, I—” Dewey said, squeezing his eyes shut and swearing. “And I didn’t know he thought I had a drinking problem.” He shook his head at Theo. “Seriously? You thought I was an alcoholic?”
Theo shrugged and held up his hands. “What would you think? This is serious, though, and Bryce is right: you need real help around here. Ruckzuck. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, but I do now and I’ll make this right. Let’s go, Walter,” he said, then tapped his brow, excusing them and heading for the exit with Walter marching after him.
It didn’t matter how much it cost, Dewey would have competent help by the end of the week. Theo felt like an oblivious, pampered arse as he took out his phone and began searching for bowling alleys in larger, nearby cities. He had a good list started by the time he reached the Winnie and let Walter in.
“Time for bed,” Theo told him and Walter happily curled up on his bed, under the table.
“Hold on, Theo,” Dewey called, jogging to catch up before Theo closed the door.
Theo turned and grabbed the top of the jamb as he leaned out. “I’m going to make this right, you have my word.”
Dewey waved it off. “Make what right? You’re not the best at…most of the things we do around here, but you’re trying and you want to help out. The kids I hired before you wouldn’t get off their phones and they had the attention spans of fruit flies.”
“No more wasting time. You needed help yesterday and I’m just making your life harder.”
“You're leaving?” Dewey asked, sounding alarmed before he swung away and muttered at himself for being a desperate idiot.
Theo didn’t like the thought of leaving any more than Dewey did and immediately dismissed it. “ Nee. Not for a while, but this isn’t sustainable. You never should have hired me.”
A hard grunt wafted from Dewey. He shook his head and kicked at a crack in the pavement. “It’s not like I had any other options and I haven’t minded the company,” he said with a shrug. His neck and his ears had turned red, another sign Theo had been oblivious too.
He’d assumed it was just regular, garden variety embarrassment or frustration. Theo assumed that a big bear like Dewey Brooks would be drawn to men who were more rugged and outdoorsy. If anything, Theo had assumed he was too pampered and incompetent to catch Dewey’s eye, and that he mostly got on his nerves.
“You could have saved us both a lot of trouble if you would have just admitted you liked me, Brooks. And you can admit you want to kiss me again,” Theo teased as he hopped out and Dewey spun back to him, a brow rising warily.
“I never said—” he started, gulping as Theo advanced on him. Dewey shuffled back a few steps, raising a hand.
Theo slowed, giving him a questioning look. “You don’t like me?”
“No.” It was a dry rasp and Dewey licked his lips, his eyes huge as they locked on Theo’s.
“You don’t?” Theo asked, earning a rapid, jerky nod from Dewey and he took a few more steps toward the bowling alley’s side exit. “Halt,” Theo commanded gently and braced his hands on his hips. “I have never chased anyone and I don’t intend to. Do you like me or not, Brooks?” he asked slowly and clearly.
Dewey shook his head again, but his eyes dropped to Theo’s shoes. “I don’t like you , Theo. I’m obsessed and my body aches for you, in ways I didn’t know about until you showed up. All I think about now is kissing you and I wish you’d put me out of my misery,” he added in a rushed mumble.
“Misery?” Theo whispered as he reached for Dewey’s beard. He started to back away again but Theo captured his jaw and his wrist. Theo placed Dewey’s hand on his chest, so he could push back if they got too close or he got overwhelmed. Theo shushed softly as he stepped closer and lowered his head, letting their noses and lips brush. “No more misery, I promise.”
“Okay,” Dewey mouthed weakly, but it was his lips that nudged Theo’s this time, and he was the one who pulled them together. His tongue swiped cautiously before swirling around Theo’s and Dewey shuddered and groaned, his naked yearning setting them both aflame.
“More,” Theo said, angling his head and taking the kiss deeper. He moaned in delight, astonished at how good it felt, touching and truly kissing the big, bearded grump.
His big, bearded grump, Theo realized as he backed toward the Winnie, towing Dewey with him. “Come,” he managed as he licked and sucked on Dewey’s lips. They were perfect and Theo already knew it would be just as easy to lose himself in the rest of Dewey.
Dewey made a ragged whimpering sound, nodding frantically as he fisted his hands in Theo’s shirt. For a second, Theo thought Dewey was going to push him away, until the front of his shirt ripped and he was kissed hungrily.
“Fuck!” Dewey laughed, tears spilling down his face as he trembled against Theo. “I’m scared, but I’ve never felt anything this good and I don’t want to stop yet,” he admitted hoarsely.
They stumbled up the steps and Theo shushed softly as he backed through the door. “I’m scared too,” he confided, reaching around Dewey to swing the door shut. “I always want sex because it’s fun and it feels good, no matter who you do it with. But lately, all I think about is you , when I’m in the mood to have fun and want to feel good. I’ve never been this nervous or afraid of messing up.”
Dewey drew back, a brow rising skeptically. “With me? Why would you imagine I’d be fun or good at…that? I wouldn’t even know if you messed up. I’ve never done anything with a man before, except this,” he said as he gestured between them.
A smile twitched across Theo’s lips as he took stock of the moment and his intentions. “I’m scared, but I can’t remember the last time I had more fun. It’s like riding a roller coaster,” he said and it was true. He was scared because he knew Dewey now and he meant something to Theo. This wasn’t a fun fling with a stranger Theo could kiss on the cheek and walk away from. Dewey had been off limits before, for a number of good reasons: they worked together, they were becoming friends, he was inexperienced with men, he was always tired and cranky from carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders…
Now, Theo found that he was drawn to Dewey for many of those reasons. Most importantly, Theo cared and craved Dewey’s comfort and happiness. Instead of getting off and moving on, Theo wanted to touch something deeper and heal Dewey from the inside.
While appreciating his outside, obviously. In the Winnie’s cramped galley, Theo was too aware of those broad shoulders, thick thighs, and Dewey’s big, strong hands. He wanted to tackle Dewey and get at whatever was under all that flannel and denim, but remembered to go easy. They could roll the little trailer onto its side if they got too rowdy and Dewey had a condition.
“Why don’t we slow down and just…try some things?” Theo suggested as he guided Dewey toward the bed. “I promise: there’s no pressure here . I can find a thousand ways to get off with you. But let’s go slow and see what you like, Brooks.”
The change in Dewey was immediate. His posture relaxed and a crooked, dreamy smile curved his lips as he hooked a finger under Theo’s chin and pecked cautiously. “Thank you for going easy on me. I’ve never felt this scared or excited about anything in my life, but I trust you.”