Chapter 25 #2
Axel was full of questions about the work Bailey did, the race, and how many people were there. He was a little too interested.
Holden shook his head and stood. “I’ll go get drinks. Don’t encourage him, Axel. It could have gotten him in a lot of trouble.”
Axel’s smile went sharp at the edges. “I’ve been known to get into a little trouble myself. Maybe we’re not so different.”
Bailey leaned into me. “Holden’s pissed, and Axel’s proud. Does that mean they cancel each other out?”
“What about me?” Gray protested. “I’m not thrilled.”
Bailey sighed. “Well, it was nice while it lasted.”
Holden returned with a pitcher of beer and a soda for Bailey, along with menus.
“I’ll be glad when I’m finally twenty-one,” Bailey said with a sigh.
“One more year, and we’ll celebrate with shots,” Axel said.
Holden sighed. “Something else to look forward to.”
“Don’t worry,” I chimed in. “I’ll take care of the birthday boy.”
It was nice to think we’d be together next year—and every other year after that. I wanted to see all of Bailey’s birthdays.
We all took a few minutes to put in our food orders, then shot the shit for a while.
“How about a game of pool?” Axel suggested. “You can kick my ass and show off for your boyfriend without getting a black eye.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Oh shit,” Gray said. “Is that what happened that night?”
Bailey rolled his eyes. “It’s my birthday! You’re supposed to be nice today.”
“Which is why I’m letting you trounce me in pool,” Axel said. “Come on.”
“Come with us, Flynn.” Bailey grabbed my hand. “I don’t trust my brothers not to grill you while I’m gone.”
“Good idea,” I said with a chuckle.
Bailey played Axel, then followed with a game against Gray, beating both his brothers in quick order. Emory moved in, asking Bailey for tips.
“Hey, not cool,” Gray said. “You’re not supposed to be impressed with him, golden boy.”
Emory just grinned. “Gotta make sure I win the next time we make bets over a pool game.”
Gray’s eyes sparked with heat, making me wonder what kind of bets they played for. That could be fun—even if I’d always lose that game with Bailey.
Losing would be incredibly pleasurable if it ended with me on my knees for him.
The food arrived at the table, and we made our way back over to dig in. Shortly after, Nova, Bailey’s best friend from high school, showed up.
She gave him a card and a big hug that lingered long enough to make me wonder if maybe she wanted more than friendship. I wasn’t jealous. If Bailey were into that, it would have happened long ago. But I could relate to the longing in her eyes as she pulled away.
“I miss you,” she said, giving his shoulder a push. “You never text anymore!”
“Sorry,” he said. “You’re busy with school, though.”
“Not too busy for you.” She plopped down in an extra chair and leaned in to talk to him. “But I know you’re busy with school too.”
“Not that busy,” he admitted, casting a guilty look toward Holden.
“We should talk about that,” Holden said. “About what you want to do.”
“What I want to do?” Bailey asked, surprised.
“I’m done telling you what’s best for you,” Holden said.
Axel and Gray exchanged a skeptical look. But I appreciated that Holden was trying to let Bailey make his own choices, even if it was tough for him.
“Do you want to drop out of school?” Holden asked. “There’s a place in the auto shop for you as soon as you want it.”
Bailey cast me a concerned look. “What about Flynn’s job? I don’t want to take that.”
I rested my hand on his thigh under the table. “You’re the best mechanic. If it costs me a job, that’s okay. It’s your family business, and you love the work.”
Once, I’d panicked at the idea of not getting kept on permanently. But that was when I thought it would be because of my own failings. I’d happily step aside, start over somewhere else, if it gave Bailey what he really wanted.
“We’ve got enough business for you both,” Holden said. “I can’t promise that will always be the case. But for right now, it is.”
Bailey chewed his lip. “I don’t know.”
Holden cocked his head. “No?”
“What did I miss?” Gray asked. “Since when are you okay with Bailey quitting school?”
“Since he told me he didn’t want to be there,” Holden said. “I pushed him to go, and he gave it a chance. But if he’s getting involved with the wrong people, using that drag race shit to distract himself because he’s unhappy there, then it’s not the right place for him to be. I can see that much.”
“What do you want, Bailey?” I asked gently. “If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?”
He looked conflicted. “I want to be here, with you all. I want to work in the shop again. But…it also doesn’t sit right to just give up and drop out. I put a lot of time and energy into these classes. Maybe not enough, but…some. You know?”
“Do you want to be done with school, or do you just want to do it closer to home?” Nova asked.
Bailey pondered that as Leo called out, “Order up!” from the bar.
Gray and Axel went to fetch the food. Dalton still hadn’t arrived, but I trusted he’d show before the night was over.
“I don’t want to be an engineer or some shit,” Bailey finally said. “I want to work on cars. But I want to contribute to the auto shop in a real way, you know? Not just the day-to-day grind.”
“Riverton has a new auto body restoration program launching next fall,” Nova put in. “It made me think of you. Maybe if they’d had it last year, you’d have stayed.” She smiled wistfully. “It would have been nice to have you closer this year.”
“Really?” Bailey looked intrigued. “Huh. That’s cool.”
“Yeah.”
“I just don’t know. I already wasted so much money at Thurston. The scholarship and Holden’s savings. I don’t want to do that again unless I’m sure.”
“You don’t have to decide right now,” Gray said.
“But if you aren’t positive you won’t go back to school ever, it might be worth finishing the semester.
You can transfer those credits, and hey, even if you don’t, you’ll have learned something important about what you want in life. That’s not a waste. Right, Holden?”
Holden nodded. “That’s a good thought. It’s Bailey’s call, though.”
Bailey blew out a breath and gave me an uncertain look. “Yeah, as much as I’d like to just…stay and be with you guys every day—”
“Especially his dream man,” Emory teased.
“—I think I’d feel better about seeing this through and finishing out the semester.”
“Then that’s what you should do,” I told him. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”
“Yeah?” He smiled. “You’ll wait for me?”
“I’d wait all four years, if that’s what it took. Figure out what will make you happy, Bailey, and I’ll be there when you do.”
Bailey tipped his face up, brushing a kiss to my lips, and Axel catcalled.
“Shit, that’s weird,” Gray said with a laugh.
“So weird,” Holden agreed.
“Not as weird as seeing you cuddle with Shiloh, though,” Axel said. “That shit had my head spinning.”
“For real, though,” Gray said.
Bailey’s lips smiled against mine, and in that moment, I understood all too well why he’d never wanted to leave. His brothers, his family, had the kind of love that stood the test of tough choices, of conflicting goals. They didn’t have blood to bind them, but something even stronger.
They had loyalty.
They chose to be brothers every day, and it showed.
“Now, Flynn,” Gray said. “Do we need to have a talk about what will happen if you hurt my little brother?”
“Oh, shit,” Axel crowed with a shit-eating grin.
I smiled, because if they were threatening me, it meant they were accepting me as Bailey’s boyfriend.
“Let me have it,” I said. “Because if I ever hurt Bailey, I give you permission to bury me six feet under.”
Nova laughed. “That’s drastic.”
“He loves me,” Bailey said, wearing a smug little smile. “It’s the only birthday gift I need.”
“Oh good, we can all return what we got, then,” Emory teased.
“No way!” Bailey yelped, making grabby hands.
Emory held out a wrapped rectangle, looking a little shy. “It’s just something I threw together. It’s not much.”
Bailey tore the paper off like it was Christmas morning, then gasped as he revealed a photo frame containing a sketch done in colored pencil. Bailey stood in front of a car, smiling up at the big, crude man beside him.
Me.
“It’s gorgeous. You’re officially my favorite,” Bailey said.
“Hey,” Shiloh protested. “If you’re finishing school, finals are coming up. Who’s going to help you study?”
“Okay, you’re cool too,” he said with a grin. “But what do the rest of you have for me, huh?”
Dalton arrived just then, dropping a heavy hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “Pretty sure you got my gift last night.”
Bailey looked up at him, chastened. “Yeah, thanks, Dalton. I really appreciate it, even if the officer did call me spoiled because of you.”
Dalton laughed. “Well, kid, maybe you deserve some spoiling.”
“Don’t tell him that,” Holden complained. “He’ll be impossible to live with.”
“He’s a major brat sometimes,” Gray agreed.
“Hey,” I said, wrapping a protective arm around him. “Don’t say that.”
“Thank you, Flynn.”
“Only I get to call him a brat.”
He gasped, clapping a hand over his chest as his brothers laughed. “Rude.”
“That’s how you know he really loves you,” Emory joked. “He sees your flaws and loves you more for them.”
“One hundred percent,” Axel said, locking eyes with Dalton. “Otherwise, the sheriff would have moved on long ago.”
“Axel’s the real brat of the family,” Dalton agreed, taking a seat beside his boyfriend and tugging his hair playfully.
“You love it,” Axel said, not the least bit fazed.
“I sure do,” Dalton said in a low voice.
“I do too,” I murmured into Bailey’s ear. “Everything about you, baby.”
“Don’t you mean brat?” he said with a raised brow.
“Only in the very best way,” I said with a wink.
He laughed. “Good save, Flynn. Very good save.” He slipped his hand behind me, pushing his fingers under the hem of my shirt and stroking my lower back. “Maybe I’ll still give you that surprise tonight after all.”
He shifted in his chair, a strange expression on his face, as his fingers danced over my skin. A sense of anticipation rippled over me.
“If it’s your birthday, why do I feel like I’m the one about to get lucky?”
He smiled at me. “Let’s just say that the best gift of the night is for both of us.”
Fuck yes, I was getting lucky. I hadn’t forgotten what Bailey had said in the shower this morning. He wanted me to fuck him.
Was this surprise related to that? I hoped so. Whatever it was, Bailey’s smile promised it was going to be worth the wait.