Steve chuckled. “Is it what size condom you need?”
Not laughing was impossible. “You mother fucker. It’s not like that.”
“Though you’d like it to be?” Steve stared at me.
Fuck it. “Yeah, I’d like it to be, but the guy gives off mixed signals. Anyway, I’m worried about what’s going on with him. Can you talk to Shelby and Homer about covering for me tonight? I’ll take the rest of the weekend for them.”
“Naw. I’ll cover it. I think I owe it to ya. You’ve covered for me when I was getting divorced, so I’ll take care of anything that comes in tonight, Holden.”
Steve’s ex-wife cheated on him and cleaned out their house and bank account. I floated him for a while because he didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t like I had anything else going on.
Steve was a great guy. Always had been and always would be.
“Thanks, Steve.”
We loaded up and headed back to the garage.
Was I ready for whatever Avery Langhorn wanted to discuss? Who the hell knew! I went back and forth regarding our brief encounters, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out if I’d done something to make him uneasy. I hoped not.
Friday afternoon was slow at the garage, so we were cleaning up the messes we’d made over the last few months. We always found something else to do instead of cleaning and organizing when things were busy. When we needed to gather tools for an emergency job, it took too long to get everything loaded to get on the road, so we were remedying that issue.
Steve was winding the compressor cord around the hooks on the side of the machine when he stopped and turned to Homer. “From now on, take the two minutes when you’re leaving a job site to wrap the cords, will you?”
Homer laughed. “You need to find a woman, Steve. You’re a cranky bastard.”
“Fuck you, Homer. Just for that, you’re gonna be on call with me tonight.”
Shelby, who was organizing wrenches, burst into raucous laughter. “He gotcha, Homer.” She continued laughing as she wiped off the work bench.
Steve turned to me. “Holden, go on home. I know you’ve got something going on tonight, so we’ll finish this up.”
“You sure? I can stay for a while.” I really wanted to leave, but I was an owner and owed it to my partners to do my part.
“Go on, Holden.” Homer chuckled.
I would eternally be grateful to my partners for their understanding when it came to me and my bullshit. They were a rare breed.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll see you on Monday. Thanks, Steve, for helping me out.” I truly appreciated everything my partners didfor each other. They were there for me when I needed them, which was a nice thing to know.
“Anytime, Holden.” Steve squeezed my shoulder.
Once I was home, I quickly showered and shaved. I wanted to look nice for the meet-up with Avery. I promised myself I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but that little voice in the back of my mind told me not to give up…yet.
I arrived at Pirates Cove fifteen minutes before Avery was supposed to meet me. The nerves were killing me, but I needed to get my shit together. I wanted to explore whether anything could happen between Avery and me, and this was a good chance to explore the possibility.
The parking lot was crowded, which was typical for a Friday night. After parking in the back row, I strolled into the bar side of the restaurant, looking for the man who had haunted my dreams and brought me to climax more than I wanted to admit. His eyes had kept me awake at night, but I didn’t hate fantasizing about what could be.
As I scanned the bar, I saw Avery in the corner at a high top, glancing around. Maybe he was searching for me? I made my way through the room and stopped at the table, surprised to see his worried expression.
“Avery, it’s good to see you.”
He jumped a bit as he met my gaze. “Holden, it’s so good to see you, as well. I’m sorry I didn’t each out—”
“No. No, people get busy, and honestly, we don’t know each other very well. It’s fine. How have you been?”
It was obvious something was off. Avery was an odd young man, just saying things out loud that I didn’t understand. I wasn’t about to ask if he was on the autism spectrum. It didn’t matter to me. There was something about him that drew me in and nothing else mattered.
“I’ve been busy, as I’m sure you have. What would you like to drink?” I held my hand up to get the attention of a server.
