“Working?” Aiden repeated with a frown.
“Oh yeah, once all your baby teeth fall out, you have to get a job,” I replied seriously, dropping my duffle bag on the floor by the door.
“He’s kidding, Aiden. You still have at least nine more years before I’ll make you get a job,” my older sister, Becky, said as she approached. She gave me an amused smile before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me to her. “We weren’t expecting you for another week! I thought your graduation ceremony is on Monday?” she said as she pulled away to look at me.
“It is,” I responded, my eyes glancing around the room. It hadn’t really changed in the last four years. Things had been added to it, like the newer photos of a growing Aiden that covered the mantel. “They’ll mail me my diploma.”
“Didn’t they ask you to speak?” Becky frowned, her forehead creasing with confusion.
“I said no,” I shrugged, ruffling Aiden’s hair again. The kid had shot up in height since the last time I’d seen him.
I avoided meeting my sister’s eyes—I knew she wasn’t happy I’d bailed out on the valedictorian speech. Both of my older siblings seemed to have no qualms speaking in public, but I did. I sounded like an idiot who couldn’t string two words together.
“Well, congratulations regardless, Braden. We’re so proud of you!”
“Thanks,” I said, uneasy. Her excitement for me made me feel uncomfortable. I know I should have been proud—hell, I’d done it. I’d graduated top of my class in the mechanical engineering technology program I’d taken, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread for the future. What now? I had the degree, and I was back in the small town I’d grown up in, hoping that the mechanics garage I’d left to pursue a career would hire me back. It would be like I’d never left.
The only difference between then and now is that I was a little smarter with a degree under my belt. Along with it, a crippling amount of student debt that I had to start paying off before the interest rose.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I thought bitterly. I’d wanted to better myself. I’d wanted to add something more than “mechanic” to my resume. Mechanics were a dime a dozen, and I wanted to be more than that.
“Well, go get cleaned up,” Becky said, her voice interrupting my thoughts. She eyed the scruffy beard I was sporting and my old, faded and torn blue jeans. “We’re going out for dinner tonight.”
“Still can’t cook, huh?” I joked, earning a glare from my sister.
“Actually, she’s gotten a little better. She still can’t bake though,” Aiden interjected with a toothless grin. “That's how I lost my first tooth—on a cupcake! It was harder than a rock!”
“Aiden!” Becky scolded, folding her arms across her chest as I laughed. “For the record, the dinner plans were already made. Brock asked us to meet him at the Dock in an hour.”
I shook my head, still chuckling over Becky’s bruised ego. “I’ll tag along. Give me a few,” I said, picking up my duffle bag and heading down to the basement.
I’d moved into the basement shortly after Becky brought Aiden home from the hospital. It had been too crowded upstairs, between my mom, Becky and her new baby. Aiden cried a lot and at fifteen, I hadn’t been able to handle it. Moving to the basement gave me more privacy and quiet. I could play music without disturbing Aiden, and I could sleep without his cries disturbing me.
Plus, it was really easy to sneak in and out. There was a door that led to a flight of concrete stairs, which would take me outside without ever having to walk through the kitchen. It was magical, especially when I was a teenager.
Everything was as I left it, aside from a few minor changes. The dirty clothes I’d left in discarded piles around the room were cleared away, the carpet vacuumed and my bedding looked washed and freshly made up. The room smelled cleaner, too.
I dropped my duffle bag on the floor at the end of my bed, my eyes scanning the room. They landed on the mirror above my dresser.
Six years ago, Elle had dragged my ass into the photo booth at the mall to take pictures. When we got back to my place, she slid those photos into the wood that framed my dresser mirror. I approached it, my fingers reaching out to touch it, my eyes lapping it up hungrily.
It was a set of four photo booth snaps. In the first frame, I was scowling. I hadn’t wanted to go in—I’d outright protested about it, insisting that it was lame as fuck. In the second frame, Elle was kissing my cheek and I was repressing a smile, working noticeably harder to keep the scowl in place. In the third frame, she was had a carefree smile on her face and there was devotion her eyes. In that one, I was smiling too. If I remembered correctly, Elle’s hand had slipped into my jeans.
In the final frame, my hand had tangled in her hair and my lips were crushed against hers, a passionate kiss forever frozen in time.
Not pictured was the quickie that followed these photos, thanks to the magic of dead small town malls and mini-skirts.
I closed my eyes, smiling at the memory, my cock stiffening in response. My hands ached to touch her again.
“Hurry up, Braden!” my sister’s voice called out, cruelly interrupting my trip down memory lane.
* * *
Clean shaven, freshly showered, and dressed in clothes that weren’t worn, I was ready to crash my brother’s dinner plans.
I followed Becky in my old, beat up Chevy S10 to The Dock. It was the restaurant that people went to when they wanted to celebrate something in Parry Sound. It was about as fancy as this small town got. It had beautiful exposed wood ceilings, high beams, and plenty of twinkle lights bathing the dining rooms in a soft, romantic glow.
Becky, Aiden and I walked into the restaurant. “We’re supposed to meet people here at six?” Becky asked the hostess, peering around. “Oh, there they are!”
