“When we were little, Aaron and I were super close. He was my best friend and my protector. He made sure I went to school, had clothes that fit, and he would even bring home art supplies for me sometimes.” I let out a little chuckle, remembering. “When I was really little, they would just be crayons or markers he would swipe from his own classroom, but when he got older, he’d sometimes buy me things at the art store with money from his part-time job. Nothing fancy, but I always had a set of colored pencils and some blank paper so I could draw or sketch when I felt like it.” I pause to take a sip of wine, and Sam just gives me an encouraging smile.
“I was always into drawing and coloring and stuff, but Aaron always loved music; he’s super talented. He held off on his dream of moving to Nashville after high school so he could be there for me until I graduated, because he knew my mom wasn’t going to step up. He waited until after I joined the Army to move. It was a huge sacrifice on his part.” I swallow, knowing this is the part that might change the way Sam sees me.
“Anyway, things with our mother went downhill at lightning speed, and just as he was beginning to make a name for himself down there, he had to come back to Tacoma to deal with her. I was gone, so he was alone, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. At first, he thought it was just that she was drinking more than usual, but eventually, she got the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.”
“Oh, Tyler, I’m sorry,” Sam says, his eyes shining with sincerity.
“Yeah, well, don’t feel too sorry for me. I didn’t have to cope with her. And then when I did come home, I was still kind of fucked-up from the injury and stuff, and I didn’t do anything to help him.”
“But I’m sure he understands why,” Sam says. “I mean, you had a life-changing injury, plus PTSD. You weren’t exactly in a place to help.”
I shrug, not wanting to get into the gritty details of the horrible fight Aaron and I had a couple of years ago that still haunts me.
“Yeah, I had stuff going on, but it’s still not an excuse,” I say. But I don’t want to continue this line of conversation. “Anyway, once I started working with Derek as my therapist, things started turning around. He encouraged me to apply at HDH, and the rest is history,”
Sam smiles and takes my hint, not asking any more questions about Aaron.
“Oh, right, I forgot you came to us through Derek.” He smiles fondly. “He’s a great dude. Gracie May picked herself a good one.”
“Yeah, Derek pretty much saved me. I was totally lost when I first came home. And I was heading down a pretty dark path, making a lot of dumb choices. Derek helped me get back on my feet.”
Sam’s smile is full of pride, but there’s something lurking behind it. Before I can figure out what it is, he gets up from the table and busies himself with tidying up, the strange expression replaced by a cheeky grin. “Well, I’ll say this, Tyler Ritchie. However, it was you ended up here, Hot Dam Homes is damn lucky to have you.”
CHAPTER 16
SAM
“More wine?” I ask Tyler as I clear our dishes. I’m glad he’s happy working at Hot Dam Homes; it really is a great company. Mason and Dylan are building something special, and I’m proud to be part of it. I just don’t know if it’s a place I’m going to be able to stay, even though that’s always been my plan. But since Mason bought in as a full partner, things have been weird. The last thing I would ever want to do is put my relationship with Mason in danger. He’s not only my cousin, he’s my best friend, and I’d much rather find a new job than stay and damage our relationship. But the thought of leaving Hot Dam Homes, and even more, the thought of leaving Seattle, makes me slightly sick to my stomach. But I’m going to have to decide on the California job soon.
I top off both of our wineglasses, finishing off the bottle as Tyler and I clean up together. The silence between us is comfortable as we finish the dishes and make our way over to the couch. He Tyler sits at one end, and I take up residence at the other. Cable and internet access won’t be set up for a few days, and the cell service is too spotty to watch anything on our phones, so we sit, nursing the last of our wine, and keep talking. It’s strangely nice to sit with someone and have that “getting to know each other” conversation without the pressure of it being a first date. Since my last relationship ended, I’ve held off on dating. I’ve spent the last year or so trying to figure out what I actually want from my life. And now, with the weird tension between Mason and me, I keep wondering if the universe is trying to tell me it’s time to make a real change. Maybe that job in California is what I need to do. Fuck if I know.
We talk about everything and nothing for a long time, and I’m struck by how different our lives have been. Even though I’m an only child, I grew up surrounded by family, and though it was far from perfect, one thing I’ve never doubted is how much they love me. I’ve always wanted to have a big family of my own, partly because of the way I grew up. I would have loved a sibling, but my parents weren’t able to have more kids, so I ended up with the next best thing. On the other hand, Tyler’s next best thing was getting blown up in the Afghan desert. Even though he’s only in his twenties, Tyler has dealt with a lot more in his life than I have, at nearly forty.
The evening seems to fly past, and when we both yawn, I glance at my phone to see it’s well after midnight.
“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was. I’m ready to hit the sack. How about you?” I ask, and Tyler nods, unsuccessfully covering up another yawn as he does so.
“Don’t even try to argue that you’re taking the couch. It’s not happening,” I say with a mock threatening look. “I told Mason about the single giant-ass bed in here, and after he stopped laughing, he told us to get one of those fancy air beds. It will be easy to take it down during the day if we need to and put it up when I go to bed.”
Tyler hesitates for a second, like he might be thinking about arguing, but instead, he shrugs. A move I shouldn’t find endearing but totally do.
“Okay, well, if you’re that insistent about it, I won’t argue about taking the huge bed all to myself, sprawling out everywhere and rolling around in all that space.”
Our eyes meet unexpectedly, and there’s a weird moment of awkwardness while I imagine Tyler rolling around in the sheets. Only in my imagination, I’m right there with him, helping to make very good use of all the space in the huge bed.
He clears his throat. “What about tonight though?”
“For tonight, I am perfectly happy to make myself comfy on the couch,” I say firmly, getting up to grab the extra sheets and blankets I spied in a closet earlier. Tyler laughs and goes into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
A few minutes later, I’m finishing making up my couch-bed when I look up to see him coming out of bathroom looking delicious, all scrubbed clean and comfy-looking. He’s wearing loose plaid sleep pants, and I’m pretty sure he’s going commando under them. I can’t make out the design of the tattoos peeking out from under his short sleeves, but the bright colors are visible through his thin white T-shirt spreading across his chest. His shoulders are narrower than mine, but I know the hidden strength they hold. His body is the perfect balance of power and grace as he walks toward me, and my cock hardens so fast I feel like it’s about to bust out of my jeans with a “boi-oi-oi-oi-oing” sound.
“Hey, dude,” I choke out, desperately hoping he doesn’t have his hearing aids in so maybe he won’t hear the way my voice cracks.
“Hey,” he says. I swear his gaze lingers on my crotch a second too long, but he shakes his head, and the moment is gone as quickly as it appeared.
“Okay, well, I’m going to hit the hay, I guess,” he says, directing a shy smile at me.
“I’m right behind you. Going to get cleaned up, and I’ll probably be passed out in five minutes. If I snore, feel free to drop a pillow down on me or something,” I say, not really thinking about who I’m talking to. I start to stutter in embarrassment, but Tyler just chuckles.
