Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
RYKER
It was closing time at the shop, and then I needed to shower for Wes’s game, even though it would be hot as fuck out there. Still, I didn’t want to show up greasy and sweaty. I shut the door to the bay and glanced at Dylan, watching me. He’d done a lot of that today.
“Hey, dude, you good?” He threw a wrench into the open top of the toolbox.
I locked the door and strolled over to him. “Good as can be, why?” As I made my way inside the office, he followed me. I sat in the desk chair. Casey’s efforts had brought ASU football players in this week, boosting income with oil changes and maintenance.
“Because you’ve been quiet all week.” He strolled to the desk and skimmed his index finger along the top. “I haven’t heard you talk about Casey at all. Are you still together?”
My gaze flicked to his. “What? Yes, we’re still together. He’s coming to Wes’s game tonight, and tomorrow I’m taking Wes to his.” Though, I’d barely seen or spoken to Casey all week. But classes had started, and he’d been busy.
“So, nothing bad is happening between you?” He arched a brow and stopped in front of me.
“Not really.” I pinched my lips. Except…“They might release my mom soon.” Shit, I hadn’t wanted to jinx it, so I hadn’t told him.
“They will?” His brows flew up.
“Yeah, she has a parole hearing in a few weeks, and her lawyer thinks she’ll get out.” I stared at the black monitor in front of me. I’d already closed out the books.
“That’s good news, then, right?” He peered at me. “Or is it? What are your plans for when she comes home?”
With a twitch of my shoulder, I said, “I’ll stick around until she’s settled with a job and then find a place to live.” And get all my shit out of storage. And buy her a new car since we sold her old one to help pay bills. There was so much to do. “Hey, can you look for cars we can fix up for her?”
“Yeah, sure.” He side-eyed me. “You don’t want to move in with Casey?”
“I, uh…” He’d offered, hadn’t he? “He lives in Tempe and—”
“So? It’s not the other side of the valley.” He snickered. “If you lived with him and his buddies, your bills would be cheaper, and you could afford to hire another mechanic.”
Slumping my shoulders, I said, “Yeah, guess so.” Casey’s roommates were nice guys and, knowing Eli, he’d have dinners cooked when I got home from work. And they’d be healthy dinners. “He did, uh, offer it.”
“What’s there to think about then?” His forehead wrinkled. “Are you afraid of commitment?” He snickered.
“No, just um…” I sucked my upper lip into my mouth and released it. “I don’t know where he’ll be next year, and I—”
“He’ll be with you. Unless you break up before then because you’re too stupid to take a chance.” Crossing his arms, Dylan scoffed. “If I had a guy like Casey, okay, if I were queer and had a guy like Casey, I’d follow him anywhere he went.” He lifted his chin. “What are you worried about?”
“The shop.” I pressed my lips into a thin line. “What am I supposed to do? Close it down?” Plus, it was beginning to do well.
“You think you can’t start another one?” He stood and strode toward me. “And what about me? With an additional mechanic or two, I could run this place for you, and then you’d have two shops.”
My jaw dropped. Was he serious? I’d never thought about it. He’d managed the shop while we attended the Tontozona game and did well. Plus, I could trust him. “Uh, yeah, let me think about it.”
“Okay, in the meantime, train me on the books and the business side. I have skills beyond oil changes and tire rotations. At some point, we could have some time off without closing the shop.” He ticked his brows. “You know I’m right.”
“I didn’t know you wanted all this.” He’d dropped hints, though, hadn’t he? But I had to stay for Wes and Mom. “I still can’t follow Casey out of state.” A knot tied in my gut.
“Why?” He tapped his fingers on the table. “And you better make this good.”
“Because I can’t leave Wes and Mom. They need me.” I pushed my lips together. He would tell me I was full of shit. I knew it.
“Yeah, they need you. They need you to be happy and marry a fucking NFL player.” With a scoff, he paced the room. “Your family is not selfish enough to stand in your way.”
I gaped. Marry? We’d only been dating for four months.
Stopping and facing me, he said, “But you’re so selfless, you’d leave a fucking NFL quarterback to take care of your mom and brother.
” He stomped toward me. “I’ve got news for you, Ryker.
That’s your mother’s job. She needs to take care of your brother and herself.
You need to let her.” His gaze combed my face.
“And Wes isn’t some dumb kid anymore. He knows what he wants, and he’ll take it.
Hell, with Casey’s connections, Wes will have an easier time of it too. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
I darted my gaze around the room, ruminating on what he’d said.
He might be right, and if I planned for a future with Casey instead of fighting it…
fuck, could I? “Okay, every other Saturday, you run the shop, and I’ll take it off.
And I’ll find another mechanic.” If things didn’t work with Casey, I wouldn’t lose anything. My gut relaxed.
“About fucking time, bro.” He held his fist out and I bumped it with my own.
Casey drove me to Wes’s game in his BMW.
We needed to discuss living arrangements, but it could wait until Mom’s release.
I had time to coordinate plans behind the scenes for the shop and for Wes.
He parked in the lot outside the high school and I stepped into the warm evening, thick with late monsoon moisture and the buzz of a few lingering cicadas.
It was almost September, and cooler months were on the horizon.
I met Casey at the front of the sedan and wrapped my hand in his. “Wes is starting quarterback tonight.” He’d been so proud of the announcement.
“I know. He texted me.” A small grin teased Casey’s mouth. “If he hadn’t been, I’d have had words with his coach.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Will you be yelling at the coach from the bleachers?” Did I even have to ask?
Shrugging a shoulder, he said, “If they call shitty plays, I will. Hell yeah.” He kissed my knuckles, and we strolled across the walkway to the outdoor stadium and the bright lights. “That coach better treat Wes right.”
As we bought tickets for the game and walked toward the bleachers, my heart swarmed with emotion. Casey was so amazing. I had to keep him in my life. There had to be a way.
We sat on the bleachers toward the fifty-yard line, eating a bag of popcorn and sipping on Gatorades that the school sold.
Bats chased bugs flying around the tall lights over the field, and the school’s marching band entered, playing the school’s fight song.
The tubas swung, and the drumline waved their arms in unison.
Finally, the football players strutted onto the field, all padded under their blue jerseys and red pants.
Wes’s gaze shot to mine and the corner of his mouth lifted.
As his gaze flipped toward Casey, he saluted us and jogged to the bench.
We were playing the Liberty Lions from Peoria, and Wes had told me they were a great team. This could be tough on Wes if he lost.
“The Toros, huh?” Casey chuckled and dug his hand into the popcorn bag, resting between my thighs. “What is that, some bull thing?”
With a shrug, I said, “Guess so. I never questioned it when I was here.” I sipped my Gatorade as memories came flooding back. Except I was never on the field unless it was required for gym class, and I hadn’t gone to games unless Dylan wanted to go.
Casey glanced at me. “You went to high school here too?”
“Yeah. Where did you think I went?” Was it important? I ate some popcorn.
“I didn’t know.” He scanned the buildings at the end of the field. “Nice place. It’s big.”
“Yeah, but not too big.” I perused the field, the coach talking to the players in a huddle. “Dylan went to school here too. We’ve been best friends since…” I tapped my fingers on my lips. “Shit, forever. At least kindergarten.”
Nodding, Casey stood and pulled me up. “National Anthem.”
“Oh.” I set my drink and popcorn on the empty area of bleacher next to me and rose, putting my hand over my heart while we listened to it over the loudspeakers and then sat back down.
After the anthem and the coin toss, the players lined up for the kickoff with Mountain View receiving the ball.
Casey leaned into me, his knee bouncing beside mine. “I can’t wait to see how Wes does.” He bit his thumbnail. “Fuck, this is nerve-wracking. I don’t know how my parents did it all those years.”
I chuckled. “Stop it. You’re making me nervous now.” The other years, there wasn’t as much riding on Wes’s performance, but now…He could get a scholarship if he had two good seasons.
Liberty kicked the ball high and short, and a Mountain View player caught it and took a knee.
“Good job.” Casey thew popcorn into his mouth and chewed. “There he goes, my little dude.”
“Except you put about twenty pounds on him over the summer.” I sipped my drink. Wes’s whole body was thicker now.
“I did. Now watch.” Casey leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hand, his gaze locked on the game.
Mountain View lined up for the snap with Wes crouching behind the center. After calling to the team, he snatched the ball and stepped backward, his helmeted head swiveling.
“Throw the ball, dude. Fucking throw it!” Casey straightened.
A lineman breached from the left, barreling toward Wes.
With a sidestepping sprint, Wes dodged the lineman and threw a short toss to the running back, who bulldozed a few Liberty players before being tackled.
“Fuck, he had a guy open down the field and didn’t throw it.” Casey scratched the side of his head. “I don’t know. Maybe the receiver sucks and Wes knew that.”
“They got a few yards.” I watched Casey. He was all wound up. “Relax, it’s just—”