6. Jaxon
I stifle a yawn as I stare at the reports on my screen. Everything is becoming a blur.
Maybe I need more coffee.
I’m trying to get the monthly sales and expense reports to my accountant before the end of the day.
With a gentle shove from Dom, I took the entire weekend off. God knows when the last time I did that was.
I’m talking years.
My truck needs a tune up and a once over before the weather starts to turn. The winter roads around here can be treacherous. And I’m sure there are a few things I could take care of around the house.
I want to get started on expanding the master bedroom by knocking down the wall into that weird, tiny room that sits at the end of the hallway. I have no fucking idea what it could have been used for. It's creepy.
Trying to draw my focus back to my screen, I rub my tired eyes. This is not working. I need to get up and move.
I head out to the front to check on Mira, who is finishing up showing off the piercing display case to a client. I don’t have an appointment scheduled for another hour.
With Mira having been off the last 3 days, this place had quickly become a shit storm while she was gone. And judging by the look on her face, she does not seem happy at all.
“What?” I ask, as she finishes up, and the client takes a seat, waiting for Jasper to be done.
“Who touched my shit?”
“Jasper did it,” I say, holding up my hands in defense.
“Well, someone had to do it!” Jasper yells from where he was tattooing a small heart on the back shoulder of a young woman.
Mira raises an eyebrow at me. “Out of all the people to run the front desk, you thought it would be a good idea to give that responsibility to Jasper?”
He pokes his head out from behind the wall, his crazy black hair still all a mess. “She has a point.”
Jasper was probably not the best person, but Finn and Dom were booked solid while she was gone.
It's not that I don’t think Jasper can handle things. Jasper’s brain is a brilliant, artistic mess, but still a mess. There is no organization or structure. Jasper just goes wherever the wind blows him. Which makes him one of the most talented artists I know.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, it’s fine, it wasn’t that bad,” she says, narrowing her eyes at Jasper.
Dom walks out of his studio, followed by a client he’d spent all morning finishing a large back tattoo for.
“Here you go. Mira should be able to get you settled up.”
Dom turns to me. “I'm going to head out for lunch, do you want to come?”
“No thank you, I have a ton of office work to do.”
He rolls his eyes, “I’m grabbing you food and when I come back, you are actually going to take a break and eat.”
“Okay,” I say, looking him in the eyes. “I will take a break and eat.”
Dom was a man of few words, which makes him a man you don’t want to argue with. Well, except me, of course, but I don’t feel like pushing his buttons today.
By the time he’s back with food, I’m back in my office staring at the bane of my existence… spreadsheets.
“Here, I got you a BLT,” Dom says, placing the takeout box on my desk.
“Yes, finally. I’ve been wanting a BLT for days. I ordered it the night Alex’s place flooded but never got to fucking eat it.”
“I went to order for you, but Beckett said he already knew what you wanted.” He laughs. “Also, I’m supposed to remind you that you and Alex are hosting dinner tomorrow night.”
“Shit, that’s tomorrow?” It’s not like I forgot. I just didn’t realize it was tomorrow already. We talked about burgers or something, I think?
“I'll talk with Alex tonight.”
“Speaking of Alex, how is the new roommate situation going?”
“It's going good.”
“You have the boy who you have been secretly crushing on sleeping under your roof and all I’m going to get is, it’s going good ?”
“I'm not crushing on him.”
Dom tilts his head with a side of WTF. He's the only one who knows about my taste in men. And my growing attraction to Alex.
“It’s going fine, although we haven’t had too much time to talk this week.” I open my container of food, taking a bite from the sandwich of my dreams. It has to be the bacon, it has to be.
“I don't know,” I say, popping a few of Beckett’s homemade chips in my mouth and leaning back in my chair. “I'm worried about him. I can tell he's putting on a brave face, but I’m worried that he's keeping everything all bottled up and eventually he's going to explode. Losing everything and having to start over again can't be easy.”
“You might be right,” Dom says, taking a bite of his own sandwich. “I guess he was over at the cafe for lunch today. Spencer said he was worried about him, and he told me to tell you to hide the tequila.”
I chuckle, “Or give it to him, so he finally lets it all out.”
Dom sets his sandwich down and clears his throat.
Crap, it’s serious Dom.
“Listen, don’t you think it’s time to take something for yourself again? The shop can’t be your everything or you’re going to end up alone, and you and I both know that’s not the kind of person you are. You want that happily ever after. And you deserve that. I get what happened in the past, but Alex is not Ben. I’m telling you, you need to seriously think about it before it becomes too late.”
I’ve been thinking about it, every second of every day for the last 6 months.
I simply nod my head in agreement before arching an eyebrow. “Pot meets kettle.”
As I walk into the house that night, still deep in thought about my conversation with Dom, I’m met with an unexpected sight. Standing in the kitchen wearing one of my old t-shirts and a pair of basketball shorts, his hair all a mess, is Alex.
I don’t know if it's the magical glow of the fucking refrigerator light, or what, but just the sight of him makes my cock twitch and take notice. He's gorgeous.
I clear my throat as I pass through the archway. Alex turns his head as a genuine smile spreads across his face.
“Hey,” he says softly. “I was just going to make a sandwich. Do you want one?”
“Yeah, that would be great, thank you.” Now that I’m closer, I can see the big circles under his eyes. They don't have that spark and he looks more subdued. He has been up late every night this week working. He needs to take a moment to relax and breathe.
I help him pull all the fixings out of the fridge .
“Nice shirt,” I say, bumping him with my hip.
His face goes a pretty shade of red.
“Sorry, I should have bought more clothes,” he says, pulling at the shirt. “And I haven't had a chance to do laundry.”
“No worries, I will never object to seeing you in my shirt.”
If I thought his face was a pretty shade of red before, now it’s crimson.
“So, we’re hosting dinner tomorrow night,” I say, grabbing the bread off the counter.
“Ahh, yeah. The guys think they need a couple of pizzas on standby.”
“Well, there was that one time your oven exploded.”
He turns to face me, hands on his hips. His eyes narrow.
“Casserole.”
My hands go up. “Touché. But to be fair, I can grill. I just can't bake. Which is why we are making burgers.”
Alex nods in agreement.
We make our sandwiches. Mine with ham, turkey and cheese, his, just ham and pickles. Taking our plates, I motion for him to sit down at the table. I set down our food before going back to the fridge.
“Want a beer?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ll take one.”
I grab one for each of us and pop the tops before handing one to him and sitting down at the table, digging into my sandwich.
“So, how was your day?” I smile as the words roll off my tongue, realizing just how much I enjoy asking someone how their day was. It’s nice. And it’s Alex. I want to know how his day was. I want to know him.
“It was okay. I got a lot accomplished, but I still have a ton to do.” He sighs, waving his hand in the air. “It'll be fine.”
He takes another bite of his sandwich. “Oh, the building inspector called today. I’ll be allowed into my apartment on Saturday to see the damage and if anything is salvageable. Would you, um… would you be able to take me?”
“I have…” I start to say.
He slides his chair back, getting up from the table. “Nevermind, I'm sure you’re busy with the shop. Maybe Mira can take me, or Olly. I can always take an Uber or the bus for that matter. I haven’t gone for a walk in a while. I could always use the… ”
I chuckle, learning that Alex is a natural born rambler when he gets anxious. “I have the weekend off,” I finally say, cutting him off mid sentence.
I get up from the table with my plate. “The entire weekend. Dom went all Dom on me until I agreed.” I slide up next to Alex, whispering in his ear as I put my plate in the sink.
“I'm at your service.”
He stammers, dropping his plate and shattering it into a million pieces across the tiled floor.
Alex's eyes go wild. He scans the room, looking for something to clean it up. Before he can cut himself, I hold my arm out and stop him.
I laugh, “It's fine. I have a ton of plates,” I say, reaching for the broom and dustpan.
“I’ll clean this up. Why don’t you go start a load of your laundry?”
“Yeah, I’ll go do that. Umm, sorry about the plate,” he says before walking away.
My heart rate speeds up with each step as he moves further away. It feels like it's bursting out of my chest.
“I was thinking about watching a movie tonight, if you’re interested,” I say.
He stops, looking back over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
I nod my head and he heads up the stairs.
By the time I have the broken plate cleaned up, Alex is already making his way back downstairs.
“Here,” I say, handing him the remote. “Why don't you pick something? I'm going to change real quick.”
“Comedy? Action? Drama?” he asks.
“Surprise me.”
“That will always be the worst answer in the history of bad answers,” he grumbles.
I chuckle because he’s right.
Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, an old t-shirt, I quickly head back downstairs. I reach the bottom step and the smell of salt and butter hit my nose. Alex is sitting on the couch with a giant bowl of popcorn .
I grab a handful as I sit down on the couch next to him. “So, what did you decide on?”
“A musical. The Greatest Showman.”
“I haven't seen it.”
Alex stares at me quizzically. “What do you mean? How? I mean, you’re gay, right?”
“Still very much gay.” I laugh, giving him a wink.
Alex stammers, refusing to make eye contact. “Right, of course you are. I just meant, you know, um, the soundtrack is amazing.”
“Alright then, play me a song Mr. Piano Man.”
The movie is great, and he's right, the soundtrack is amazing!
I have a hard time keeping my eyes off of Alex as he bobs his head to the music, quietly singing along. It reminds me of when Alex, Spencer and Jules do their song and dances whenever any of their 400 favorite songs come on.
He does a little shoulder shimmy and I can tell he's dying for a fake microphone to belt into.
Every time his body moves, he gets closer and closer until our legs are pressed against each other and my body gives no signs of wanting to move over. He catches me watching a few times, giving me a shy, embarrassed smile as he tries to sit still.
Once the bowl of popcorn is empty, I lean back, settling into the couch, kicking my feet up on the coffee table and resting my arm across the back.
Alex settles in next to me, wrapping his arms around himself. I can see the goose bumps on his smooth pale skin, so I toss the blanket that is on the back of the couch over us.
He looks up at me, his soft brown eyes staring into mine. There is something in them, I just can't place my finger on it.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
I move my arm off the back of the couch to his shoulder. Squeezing him into my side, his head lands in the crook of my neck.
He fits perfectly.
I lean down and kiss the top of his head. God, he feels so perfect.
We both have ignored the elephant in the room. The almost kiss. My mind has been reeling ever since. Can I let myself go there with Alex? Does he really want me, all of me? I’m boring. I’m no thrill seeker. I love my motorcycle but I don’t do it for the thrill. I do it for the feel of life on my skin. The wind blowing against me. The reminder that I’m alive. Am I enough to keep him interested?
I cast my eyes down and see Alex’s head bouncing along to the next big song and dance number.
I feel alive right now…next to him.
His hand drops to my chest when the song ends and that is where it stays for the rest of the night.