11. Cole
CHAPTER 11
COLE
I grunt, pushing the barbell up. Teddy spots me, counting out loud.
When my arms start to shake, he yells, “Are you fucking weak, man? Push it up! I know you’re better than this!”
Groaning, I crank out three more reps before I’m done. I’m dripping with sweat as I climb off the bench. I grab my towel, drying my face.
Teddy adjusts the weights and then it’s his turn. I stand over him to spot, looking around the gym. I see Mascen near the end with Murray.
I need to talk to him, I know. Selfishly, there’s a part of me that wants to put all the blame on him and make him do all the work, but that’s not how friendship goes, and if ours has any chance of survival it’s going to take both of us working at it.
Teddy finishes up and I tap him on the shoulder. “I’m going to go talk to Mascen.”
“Seriously?” His eyes widen, noticing him at the other side of the gym. “It’s about damn time. Get to it.” He slaps my ass with his towel. “I’m going to shower. A few of us are going to Harvey’s tonight. You in?”
I ponder it for a moment. “Maybe.”
“Cool, text me later if you decide to come.”
I give him a nod and count silently in my head to ten before I walk over to Mascen and Murray.
“Mind if we talk?”
Murray clears his throat. “Play nice,” he jokes, walking off with a grin.
I sigh, rubbing the back of my head. I should’ve thought about this more before I walked over, had some idea what I was going to say.
“I’ve been a dick to you, I know,” I blurt it out there, getting it off my chest.
Mascen’s brows rise. “You haven’t been a dick, man. Sure, you’ve been distant, but fuck, I don’t blame you.” He pushes his fingers through his sweat-damp hair. “You know I’m sorry, and I’m not the type to keep repeating myself so I’ve chosen to keep my distance and hoped … I don’t know, that one day we could move on. I don’t want to lose you as my friend, but…”
“But Rory is more important,” I finish for him.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been living with Zoey for a month now, but I’m beginning to see how ridiculous I’ve been about this whole thing.
“Yeah, she is.” He gets a look in his eyes that’s impossible to mistake for anything except pure love. Who would’ve thought that out of all of us that Mascen would be the one to fall in love first?
I hold my hand out to him and he eyes it skeptically. “Let’s put this shit behind us.”
“You sure?” He looks skeptical, eyeing my hand like it’s a snake that might decide to strike at any second.
“Yeah.” I’m tired of holding onto a grudge that was dumb to begin with, dragging it out would be pointless and immature of me and I like to think I’m above such things.
He takes my hand. “All right, then.”
“Are you gonna be at Harvey’s tonight?”
“Yeah, we will be.” I know he means him and Rory.
“I’ll see you there, then. You’re buying my drinks.” I point a finger at him, daring him to say no. We both know he can afford it.
He laughs. “Sure thing, man.”
Tapping his shoulder, I walk away and head to the showers so I can get to the auto shop for a few hours this afternoon. Zoey’s supposed to be working too so it’ll be the perfect time to tell her I’m dragging her out with us. I know if it was left up to her, she’d stay in the apartment and study the majority of the time.
Thirty minutes later I walk into the back of the auto shop and pull on my coveralls.
“Cole,” Joe calls from beneath the hood of an old Buick.
I jog over to him. “What’s up, Boss?”
He wipes his blackened hands on an old rag. “Your girl is something else. Best thing I ever did was hire her. Do you know she asked me if I’d be willing to buy an iPad, so I did, and she got it all set up to keep appointments straight with alerts sent straight to my phone as reminders, even if someone cancels. Technology is amazing. I guess I shouldn’t have shit on it all these years.”
I laugh. “Glad she’s helping you out.” She’s been working at the shop for nearly three full weeks now, and all the guys love her—some a little too much, but Zoey is quick to put them in their place.
I don’t comment on Joe referring to her as my girl , because frankly I want to ignore the way I felt at the mention.
Finished with the conversation, I clock in and check out what’s on the whiteboard beside my name. That’s always been Joe’s idea of organization. I’m sure if Zoey has any say she’ll be reorganizing the shop area soon enough.
Putting my head down, I get to work. Oil changes and tire rotations are pretty much the only thing I do unless one of the guys needs an extra hand. I’m okay with cars, but when it comes to more complicated stuff, I know I’d invariably fuck it up.
It’s after six when I finish up and take off my coveralls.
Zoey is coming through the garage from the front, her purse slung over her shoulder. She straightened her hair today and the dark locks hang well past her breasts. She has a bit of makeup on, nothing outrageous, just eyeliner and mascara, and some kind of gloss on her lips. She’s wearing jeans and a shirt with the shop’s logo over her left breast.
I try not to let my thoughts go there, but I can’t help it. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
I reach out and gently grab her by the elbow as she walks past me.
“See you at home?” she asks me.
I jerk my head in a nod. “We’re going to Harvey’s after we change.”
“Harvey’s? Who’s Harvey?”
“It’s a bar.”
Her lips thin. “I’m tired. I really don’t want to go to a bar.”
“It’ll be fun. Just a few drinks, food, karaoke.”
“I’m not singing.” She points at me in warning.
“Don’t worry, Teddy will do all the singing for us.”
“Do you sing?” Her brow arches in inquiry as we walk out the back door. I toss my hand up at Joe just before we exit. He’s always the first here and last to leave.
“Not really.”
It’s a lie. I can sing pretty damn well, play guitar too.
Her eyes sparkle with a challenge as we stop beside her car. “How about this? I’ll only go tonight if you promise to sing one song.”
I frown, acting like this is the worst proposal ever. Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans, I ask, “Do I get to pick the song?”
She bites her lip, head swaying slightly side to side as she thinks. “Deal.”