30. Dylan
Chapter 30
Dylan
J ake and I fell into bed after that shower, holding on to each other like we were afraid the world was going to steal away with one of us in the middle of the night.
I’ve never slept as soundly as I did with his arms around me and the mild soreness reminding me of what I’d done. What I let him do.
There’s something comforting, healing, wholesome, and addictive about being claimed by the person you love.
Perhaps because I know Jake has my heart and I have his, my lens has finally shifted and I’m ready to have a conversation with my dad about the future of our shop.
The reality is that I don’t want to work with anyone else either and I definitely don’t want him starting over with a boss after owning his own place for so long. He’s got too much knowledge and expertise to go back to taking orders as a new guy.
There’re so many thoughts weaving in and out of my mind, but being back at work after last night feels good. It feels good in a way it hasn’t for a while and instead of beating our heads against a wall, I’m able to see the opportunities before us to create something even better.
“I think we should move the shop.”
I toss it out there with no lead in and no warning. Dad and I are in the bay with the doors shut because it’s cold out this morning and the music is low in the background. I’m under yet another import when I hear the squeak of the wheels on my dad’s creeper as he rolls out from under the car next to me.
When I look over, he’s trying to hide a smile, but fails when he says, “I love that man, you know.”
“Who?”
“Jake.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m doing this for us , dad. Not for Jake.”
“I know that, but you can’t tell me whatever he said or did last night didn’t help put some things into perspective for you.”
I feel my skin heat. Oh, he put some things into perspective alright.
“Yeah, maybe.” My voice comes out hoarse and I feel my ass clench at the mention of last night.
“Okay, so we put the shop up for sale like others on the street, and try to find a new place. With as quickly as the other places have gone, I have no doubt ours will too.” He pauses, looking contemplative. “It’s been over thirty years since I applied for a business loan of any kind. I’m sure everything’s different now.”
“We’ll figure it out, Dad.” And although I hate needing the help, “I’m sure Jake can help walk us through it as well.”
We get about another hour’s worth of work done when the two officers from earlier show back up.
“Please tell me you aren’t here with more bad news,” I say, walking into the office with Dad and the officers trailing behind me. The active bays can be dangerous and there’s no need to risk injury when we can easily move into the safety of the office.
“No, actually, we came to tell you we’ve caught the shooter in the case of Glynda Waters. A low-grade, amateur criminal who only intended to rob the place, but didn’t anticipate anyone being there. She scared him and he overreacted. His words, not mine.”
“And the hit-and-run on Carl Rogers?” I ask, feeling annoyed that they’re acting like Glynda’s shooting was no big deal.
“Still looking for that one.” Officer Dowdy, says. While he and I talk, I can’t help but notice he keeps glancing around the shop like he’s looking for something.
“Can I help you find something, Officer? You seem awfully intrigued by our ceiling.”
He snaps his head to mine, his eyes hard. “No.”
The cops leave shortly after that and my dad heads back into the garage without a word.
“Well, that felt weird,” Cassie says from her stool behind the counter.
“I thought so too,” I admit, even though I can’t put my finger on why.
The proverbial shit keeps hitting the fan when Cassie says, “So, I think I’m going to move to Miami.”
“ Miami ?!” I practically yell. “What the fuck for?” She grimaces and I try to calm my attitude. “I mean, what’s in Miami?”
“Well, our cousins for one. I could try someplace new without having to be totally alone.”
“Have you talked to them about this?” It’s not like we’re close.
“Yes, of course I have. Rachel is close to our age and said I could stay in her spare room. I was thinking about becoming a certified medical interpreter.”
My stomach jumps to my throat.
When our mom got sick, we relied heavily on the interpreter. My dad speaks Spanish obviously, but medical terms are hard to navigate and often don’t have literal translations. Cass and I were teenagers and barely understood the English version of what was being said and our mom was still more comfortable processing the challenging conversations in her native language. The interpreter helped keep us all on the same page.
“That actually sounds really great, Cass. I think you’d be amazing at that.”
“Yeah, Jake pointed out that the field is probably pretty saturated in Miami, so I could change my scenery for a while, see what happens, and then come home. But at least I’d have some time on my own and I’d come back armed with some way to make money doing something I really love.” She shrugs like she’s saying what do you think?
“I think that sounds perfect.” I kiss my sister on the side of her head and walk back into the garage bay, trying to keep my rising panic under control.
Around five p.m. my cell phone rings, cutting out the music piping through the speakers.
Seeing Jake’s picture on the screen, I swipe to connect the call.
“Jacob,” I growl, uncomfortably hot and needing the kind of distraction from my day only he can provide.
“Uh-oh, what’d I do? You never call me by my full name.”
I drop my voice, aware that my dad’s still here. “For starters, you seem to have helped my sister put together a plan that has her moving to Miami.”
“Oh, that. I did point out that she’d probably want to come home at some point, though.”
“I know. I don’t love it, but if it’s what she needs, I support it. I also just wanted to try the growl out for later,” I whisper.
“Well, fuck, baby. If I’d known that’s how you were feeling I definitely wouldn’t have agreed to poker at Phoenix’s tonight.”
My stomach clenches and I feel the disappointment rise to the surface.
“Oh. Well, how long are you going to be there?”
“ We can stay as late as you want. Or I can cancel all together.”
Jake hasn’t seen the guys outside of the fire station recently and truth be told, it’ll be nice to hang out with them again, especially if Jake and I don’t have to hide what we are to each other.
“No, we can go. It’ll be fun.”
But not nearly as much fun as getting you naked and hearing you scream my name, I think to myself.
“Great. I told the guys we’d be there at seven. Does that work for you?” he asks over the line.
“Make it seven-thirty and you have a deal,” I counter, fully planning to use the extra thirty minutes to work him into a frenzy until he’s blissed out and needy for me in a way that has him begging to leave early so we can continue our own party.
“Seven-thirty it is. I’ll be at your dad’s around six. I need to run to the penthouse and grab new clothes.”
“Have you had a chance to talk to the guys since you and Cora’s interview?”
“No, but we don’t have to hide in front of them. It won’t change a thing with those guys,” he says reassuringly.
One final question looms in my mind. “Any word from your dad yet?”
“Surprisingly, no. It’s been business as usual today, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Maybe he’ll come around.” It’s one of those things you say even though you don’t believe it.
He huffs a laugh. “That’s unlikely. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“What about Martin?”
“I’ve spent a good portion of the morning combing through all the public records I can find from the sales, but everything seems legal and legit. His closing documents also didn’t have any obvious red flags, otherwise I would never have given those papers back to him.”
“Only time will tell, I guess.” I don’t mean for it to sound so ominous, but I recognize that it does.
“Also, I know this is more of an in-person conversation that we can continue later, but I want to sell the shop outright and move our location. I want to keep working with my dad even if we have to start over somewhere new, at least we’ll still have our name and our partnership. I’ve decided if he can learn to be okay with moving on, so can I.”
I hear Jake’s pen hit his desk as he lays it down and I can picture him steepling his fingers the way he does when he’s considering something.
“I support whatever decision you’re comfortable with.”
“I’ll need some help figuring out what steps to take next.”
“You know I’ll be there every step of the way.”
In the background, I hear his office phone buzz.
“Dylan, hang on a second.”
He must not cover the receiver because I hear his secretary tell him his dad is on his way to Jake’s office.
“Shit,” he mutters back on the phone with me. “Dyl, I gotta run.”
“Good luck. Stand your ground.”
“I love you,” he says and I feel every ounce of truth in that statement.
“I love you too.”
When Jake gets back to my dad’s after work, I’m on him as soon as he walks in the door. My dad stayed at the shop to work on his project car a little longer while Cassie reconciled the books since it’s the end of the pay period.
Which means Jake and I have the house to ourselves for a few minutes before we have to leave for Phoenix’s.
Jake barely has a chance to drop his work bag in my room before I tackle him to the bed, pulling at his tie and shoving his suit coat off his arms.
He laughs against my mouth. “Someone’s a little hungry.”
“Someone’s fucking starving. ”
The heat in his eyes shines brightly as he watches me start on the buttons of his shirt. His hands reach for the hem of mine and he sucks a breath through his teeth when his hands land on my skin.
“How are you so smooth and hard at the same damn time? I swear, you’re like marble.”
“As long as you like it.” I pepper kisses along that fucking square jaw of his — that is thankfully smooth again — untucking his shirt and opening the last of the buttons before standing up and pushing it off his shoulders. As soon as it lands on the floor, I start on his pants. When he chuckles at my impatience to have him naked, I squeeze him through his slacks as punishment.
“Oh, do that again, baby.” He thrusts his hips forward, seeking the pressure from my hand and I oblige because denying Jake only hurts us both.
I shove his pants and boxers to the floor when he frantically starts pulling at my own pants. I showered when I got home from the shop so I’m only in sweatpants, wanting something more comfortable than the stiff work pants I had on all day. The sweats easily slide down my legs, allowing my erection to spring free.
“I love when you make it easy for me,” Jake teases since I have no boxers on.
He climbs on the bed, pulling me with him and lays on his back. I straddle his thighs and lean forward to kiss him when he spits in his hand and reaches for my cock.
Wrapping his wet palm around us both, our dicks slide against one another as they’re trapped between our bodies. With the added pressure of his hand and the way his tongue is rolling over mine, I know this won’t take long.
I groan my pleasure directly into his mouth and he picks up his speed before letting go entirely. Throwing his arm overhead, he blindly searches for the bottle of lube. I stretch out above him, pump the nozzle twice and buck when his hand picks up where he left off.
“Can you come like this?” Jake asks, his breathing already ragged.
“Hell yes.” I was prepared to put his dick back in my mouth, but his reasons for wanting it like this spill out.
“I want to come together. Hard and fast.”
“Well, keep it up, and you’ll get your wish.” My orgasm is building like pressure inside a volcano.
We keep sliding against each other as Jake jacks us off, both of us moving our hips in tandem with his strokes.
“Oh, fuck, baby,” he whispers. “You’re so fucking hard. You’re going to come for me, aren’t you?” I am feral for Jake’s dirty talk.
“Fuck, yes. I’m going to paint your goddamn chest.”
“Hell yes. Give it to me. Don’t you dare hold back. Oh, fuck, I’m close,” he warns.
I can feel it. Because his dick is plastered against mine, I can feel the swell of his tip right before his release.
“Come with me, Dylan. I fucking need you.”
I reach between us and wrap my hand around his, adding pressure to our cocks as I contribute to our pleasure.
His dick jerks beneath my hand and I know his orgasm is imminent. As soon as I see that first rope of cum leave his body, I fall over the edge after him.
My arms give out and I plaster my chest against his, loving the feel of our cum and sweat mixed together beneath me. Riding out the last waves of pleasure, I rut against him a few more times before burying my face in his neck.
I only get to enjoy the post orgasmic glow for a single second because I hear the door from the garage open and my sister yells, “Dyl? Jake?” When we don’t answer right away, she stops right outside my door. “It’s a pretty dead giveaway as to what you two are doing when both of your cars are in the driveway and it’s radio-silence in here.”
“We’re just changing. Jake just got home from work, you nosy pain in my ass!” I yell through the door. Looking down at Jake, I shake my head. “I’m officially ready for a place of our own.”
And it’s true. Especially considering I’ve decided to move the shop and I know I’ll still get to see my dad every day.
“I don’t have anything to do with the pain in your ass, thank you very much,” Cassie cackles as she moves down the hallway.
I move off Jake and put my hand out to pull him up with me before I head for the bathroom to turn on the shower…again.
“How did the meeting go with your dad?”
When I see his face fall, I know no miracles happened.
Jake snorts, stepping into the shower. “Exactly like we thought it was going to go. Although, he did give me two whole weeks to wrap up my current projects, reassign my clients, let them know I’d be leaving, and clean out my office. I honestly thought all my shit would just be in boxes when I got to the office today.”
“Can he really do that?” I ask, rubbing my sudsy hands over my torso to clean off.
“Yeah. He can. To save face though, the official press release is going to say we’re parting ways because we have different visions for the future and we,” he holds his hands up for air quotes, “ don’t see eye to eye. That’s true enough I suppose. He had me sign a statement of resignation which I only did because it will allow me to prove I didn’t get fired, which will be helpful when looking for another job.”
The disappointment is clear in his eyes and it tells me that he was holding on to a small sliver of hope that his dad would come around and not force him to choose.
I pull his naked, wet body to me. “Baby, I’m so sorry.” He reaches under my arms and rotates his forearms so his palms land on my shoulders, his fingers digging in like he’s trying to keep his emotions at bay.
“Hey,” I whisper over the sound of the running water, “it’s just me.”
I feel his body wrack with a silent sob as his forehead lands in the crook of my neck. I rub my hands up and down his back, cradling him to me. Minutes pass before he’s able to speak.
“Stupidly I thought he wouldn’t disown me like he did Tim. It isn’t like I turned my back on his entire plan for my future, just the one part of it that should have belonged to me from the start anyway.”
I try to console him as best I can while we finish up in the shower and I’m glad we’re going to Phoenix’s tonight. Maybe getting drunk with the guys is exactly what he needs.
Although, we almost get derailed as we dress because the fucker puts on a lightweight sweater that hugs his fucking pecs and shoulders like a second skin. It doesn’t get any easier when I’m lusting after his ass in the dark, stonewashed denim jeans, but before I can unclothe him a second time, there’s a knock on my door.
“Yeah?” I call immediately, not wanting anyone else to point out what may or may not be happening behind this door again.
“Do you guys wanna catch a movie?” Cassie calls through the door.
“Oh, shit, sorry, Cass. We’re going to Jake’s friend, Phoenix’s, house.”
“Oh,” her voice falls on the other side of the door and I wince. Ever since Jake came in to my life, I haven’t made as much time for Cassie. No fucking wonder she wants to move to Miami.
I’m about to promise her whatever she wants for tomorrow night when Jake pipes up and calls through the door while I slip into pants of my own.
“Cassie, do you play poker?”
“I love poker!” Cassie squeals in delight.
“You’re welcome to come with us.”
I love that Jake wants to include my sister, but all I can think about are Phoenix’s words from the boat. I bet you’d make a hot girl.
I do, Phoenix. And you’d better not fucking touch her.