Chapter 3
THREE
CASEY
“Hey, guys.” I stepped to a booth inside Four-One-Four Pizza in Tempe and dropped into the gold vinyl seat next to Eli, one of our defensive linemen. A pitcher of beer centered the black table, and an empty glass rested next to it.
“Hey, Casey.” With a smirk, Eli slipped the empty glass toward me, his dark hair a messy mop and his brown eyes twinkling at me. “Malik and I were just wondering who this guy was you hooked up with?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just a dude from my app.
” I poured beer into the glass and scanned the dark bar and pizza joint, the crazy yellow floor with the red paint splotches and the almost black wall across from me with chalk sayings scratched across it.
There was nothing to say about the hookup, and I had so much better news.
With my pulse picking up, I said, “But I met this guy named Ryker. He’s a mechanic and owns an auto repair shop.
” And for whatever reason, I couldn’t get him out of my head.
“Uh-oh. Is he queer?” Malik, one of our running backs, sat in the chair across from me and raised his beer glass to his lips, his dark eyes focused on me and his straight brown hair cut to frame his face.
Lifting my chin, I said, “It just so happens that he is.” And he’s wound so damn tightly... My dick jerked. I sipped my drink, letting the cool bubbles coat my throat.
“Here we go.” Eli tsked. “How old is this guy? Is he a daddy? Like a hot, tattooed, grease-monkey daddy?”
“Naw, he’s probably a few years older than me.
It sounds like he’s taking care of his younger brother.
” I twisted my beer glass on the table. I could hear more about that story when I coached Wes.
“The brother plays football.” As my insides warmed, a slow smile played on my lips.
“Quarterback, and he’s got some talent. I offered to coach him over the summer. ”
“You didn’t.” Malik drank some beer and leaned back in his chair. “Have you ever coached someone before?”
“No…” I tilted my head, watching the tiny bubbles popping at the top of my beer. “But it doesn’t mean I can’t. In just the few minutes I spent with him, my insights already impressed him.” I could do this. I knew quarterbacking. How hard could it be to teach him what I knew?
“I’ll bet. Was he impressed by your moves on his brother?” Eli smirked and drank his beer.
“I didn’t make any moves on Ryker.” The edge of my mouth teased up. “Yet.” There had to be a way to overcome this guy’s defenses.
“What did you mean by he’s taking care of his younger brother?” Malik scratched his cheek. “How old is the brother?”
“It sounded like the brother, Wes, is heading into his junior year in high school. So how old is that, sixteen maybe? Or seventeen tops?” Sipping my beer, I shifted on the bench seat.
He should have had some summer football camps under his belt by now.
It sounded as if they lacked funds. “Their mom is in prison. I don’t know the duration or the specifics. ” Shit, should I have told them?
“Seriously?” Eli’s brows lowered. “Casey, what are you getting yourself into?” He edged in closer to me. “Sometimes kids with families like that are messed up. You can’t always help them. They might need professional help, you know what I mean?”
I studied Eli. He knew shit. He majored in psychology and worked with the queer hotline at ASU.
“They seemed like nice, hard-working people. The kid was smart, and the older brother?” I swallowed.
“He owns his own repair shop after working at BMW for a couple of years.” I’d made the right choice, hadn’t I?
I took a few gulps of beer. What if they had set me up to steal my car for parts?
My pulse quickened. No, I wasn’t that bad at judging character.
Barking a laugh, Malik said, “No wonder you let the guy touch your baby. I thought you only let the dealer work on it.”
“No, he let him because he thought the guy was hot.” Shaking his head, Eli sniggered. “Fucking Casey, man, you think too much with your dick.”
“My dick is a genius, though.” I touched my beer glass to Eli’s and drank some beer. Either way, I’d find out more tomorrow when I picked up my car. I’d be sure to clear my schedule.
Later that night, I sat on my bed, doomscrolling Instagram.
How hard would it be to find Ryker? He didn’t seem the type to have a social media presence, but whatever.
I typed in a search for Ryker Hart, and a few profiles sprang onto my screen.
After opening some, a photo of his likeness appeared. “Damn, there you are.”
I was in luck. His account wasn’t private.
I tapped through a few photos of him with cars, mostly dressed in flannel shirts, jeans and backward baseball hats.
A photo appeared of him with his arm wrapped around a petite blonde with red lipstick.
She didn’t look like his type, but what did I know?
She was pretty, but she was too…girly. He seemed like such a man’s man, and if he were bisexual, well, then he’d be just like me.
Sort of. I preferred my women to be tomboyish and my men to be…
fucking Ryker. What did that say about me?
A text popped up from an old hookup.
Davis
Hey, I haven’t heard from you in a while. Want to come over?
“No, I do not want to come over,” I said aloud to myself.
I wouldn’t respond, and maybe he’d get the hint.
With a soft scoff, I moved on, swiping my screen.
Images surfaced depicting him alongside an older woman, slender yet sharing identical dark hair and eyes.
She was much shorter than he was and dressed in a flowered dress.
I checked the date. The photo showed a date in May, about five years prior.
It could have been Mother’s Day. How long had she been in jail?
Was Ryker working for BMW then? I needed to know, damn it.
My phone buzzed, and Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train played — my ringtone for my mom. Why? She was a little crazy, but in a good, Northern Cali way. I answered the call. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, Casey. How’s it going out there in the pits of hell? I heard it got over one-hundred degrees today.” She chuckled.
Had it really gotten that hot? Maybe I hadn’t noticed because I’d been too busy drooling over the new eye candy. “It’s going okay. But my car’s in the shop.” I tapped the phone on speaker and set it on my thigh. “I was lucky enough to break down close to an auto repair shop.”
“Oh no. You’re letting a regular shop work on it?”
“Yeah, the guy said he worked at BMW for a few years and was certified.” But what if he lied? I twisted my lips. He didn’t seem like the lying type.
“Okay, well, I hope they don’t make it worse.” She huffed. “Anyway, your father is in San Francisco working on a fresh case for the week, and I’m—”
“Bored?” With a quick laugh, I shook my head. It was after nine, so her boutique in town would be closed by now.
“Maybe a little. I’m trying to find a new show to binge. Have you come across anything good?”
I tapped my finger on my lips, thinking. “The new season of Below Deck is out.” I’d stumbled upon the show about yachting a few summers ago and become obsessed. One of these days, I would charter a yacht with my besties.
“Oh yes, that works.” She inhaled. “How were your grades this semester?”
“Let’s just say I kept my 3.0 GPA.” Barely.
I fingered the edge of my phone. I wasn’t a superstar academically, but I did all right.
“Well enough that Dad won’t be upset.” Being a big corporate lawyer, Dad was driven, and he expected the same from his only son.
Only child really. There were no siblings to share the pressure with.
“And you’re training now, right? Getting rested and fit for next season?” she asked.
“I am. I’m headed to the gym in the morning and then the training facility after.
” There was so much running this time of year.
But a fast-sprinting quarterback was an excellent quarterback, and I aimed to decrease my times before camp.
Ironically, people considered this time of year a period of rest.
In a lower voice, she said, “And how’s your love life? Any new men or women you want to mention?”
Ryker? No…too soon. “Nope, not one. You know me, Mom. I’m just living my best life and staying unattached.” With a sigh, I leaned my back against the pillows covering the headboard.
“Okay, maybe that’s a good thing. You’ll head to the draft after this year and need to focus on football.”
“Story of my life…” I picked at a thread in the hem of my shorts. “Anyway, the repair bill on the car was under a grand. Let Dad know, so he doesn’t freak when he sees the bill.” He should be happy I wasn’t using the dealer.
“I will. What was wrong with it this time?” She freed a soft chuckle.
With a smirk, I said, “O2 sensor and last time it was just the brakes. That’s maintenance.” But what did she know about it?
“You know I’d never even heard of a 430i when you’d said you wanted one. I can’t keep all the numbers BMW uses for its cars straight. Why don’t they have normal names like Accord or Camry?”
“Because they’re German.” I snorted. Hell, I didn’t know. Or maybe it was a luxury car thing? “German engineering, Mom.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’m glad you didn’t get stuck in the heat today.”
“I would have called a tow truck and figured it out.” I glanced through my open door as JJ, our wide receiver, walked by, waving at me. “Hey, bro.” JJ, the lucky Desert Dog, had found love and a contract with the Arizona Cardinals this spring.
“You know it was nearly ninety degrees here in Redding today too. Honestly, it shouldn’t be this hot so soon,” Mom said.
“Yeah, I know.” Okay, she was prattling on now, because she was bored. “Hey, Mom, I’m going to bed now. I’m getting up early for the gym.” I straightened and rolled my head over my shoulders. How long had I been doomscrolling?