My fingers pinch the smooth plastic in my pocket as I stroll across the asphalt behind Hot Spots. The boys thought they should come, too, just in case. After much deliberation, I conceded one could come but only if I got to drive my own car. I glance over my shoulder, seeing all three occupying my vintage Jeep. Well, I got part of my wish.
I round the corner to the office door swaying open and ignore whoever’s spraying down the car in the bay. Joe straightens at my approach, but I bypass him completely, heading straight for the stairs. I smirk as my sneakers pound up the creaky steps. That’s right, I’m going to talk to the big man. The owner. Joe’s boss. Coty called him this morning, claiming he wanted to meet about a collaboration for an upcoming event. Walter basically jumped at the chance to get his name out there and promised he’d be in his office today to go over everything. I would feel bad but the dirtbag he’s entrusted with running things in his long absences has shattered any sympathy I might’ve shown otherwise.
Walter startles as the door bounces off the wall.
“Can I help you?” he snips.
Of course he doesn’t know me. Why would he? He doesn’t bother himself with such menial tasks such as getting to know the faces keeping his business afloat.
“Probably not, but you will.”
Bushy salt and pepper eyebrows sink as the older man’s cloudy eyes narrow. Grayish blond hair feathers over his droopy ears with a rather large nose as the focal point on his weathered face while a rumpled joke of a suit hangs limply off his figure. What size is that thing? Also, are shit brown suits still a thing? Were they ever?
The whole office is covered with a half-inch thick coat of dust with papers strewn about on every surface. The desk he’s sitting at has an empty picture frame next to a knocked over jar of pens. The leather chair sitting opposite him has fissures like scratches covering the seat and I’m guessing they didn’t come from people visiting this office, but another from a time long ago. The place has a scattered, yet forgotten, vibe.
“Tell me,” I pull the flash drive from my pocket to set it on his desk, “how does a sexual harassment lawsuit against your company sound?”
As it turns out, Coty never stopped recording after his ride last night and managed to catch Joe’s late-night visit on camera.
Walter’s caterpillar eyebrows shoot to his hairline and I suppress a smirk, knowing I’ve gained his full attention. Dragging the tattered chair against the scuffed vinyl floor, I take a seat then start from the beginning.
* * *
“I still think you should talk to him about going in on a promotion together. The guy’s a little out of touch, but the wash is popular. Maybe it’ll bring both companies more customers.”
After coming downstairs to find all three of my guys standing outside my Jeep like my own security detail, we went out for a late lunch together—at their expense unfortunately, since I’m now unemployed. A surprised, but not completely shocked, Walter offered me a promotion but I refused. Joe was the biggest issue there but he certainly wasn’t the only problem at Hot Spots. As much as Joe protested, you can’t argue with video proof so he was fired on the spot. Steve, however, was able to keep his job even after everything I told Walter, but it was his word against mine and all that. Nothing new sadly, but disheartening all the same.
“We don’t need that tool’s help.” Marc speaks from the back seat. I glance at him in the rearview mirror through the stray hairs flying around my face. “Ours will be ten times better than his shit ever was.”
Frowning, I turn to Coty in the passenger seat. His knuckles gripping the roll bar tighten as he stares ahead, avoiding me.
“Your what?” When he remains silent, I quirk an eyebrow at Beckett lounging beside Marc, his motorcycle tee billowing around him. Eyes the size of saucers meet mine in the mirror before snapping to Coty.
“Bro, you didn’t tell her yet?”
Squinting at Coty again, I press, “Tell me what?”
Coty sighs, dropping his hands to his lap. Over his shoulder, he says, “We’ve been a little occupied, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Yeah, bangin’,” Beckett accuses.
Accurate? Yes.
Crass? Also, yes.
I catch Coty shaking his head out of the corner of my eye and sing-song, “No more sleepovers at your place.”
“Like that will help,” Beckett scoffs. “Angie sleeps with her windows open, everybody knows that. Just like everybody knows Angie also has sex with her windows open.”
Coty lunges between the seats, setting off laughs from the entire car. Marc separates the two, then Coty lands in his seat with a thud.
He notices me sneaking peeks, asking, “What?”
“I’m waiting.”
Blowing out a breath, he smooths his jeans before angling his body toward mine. My stomach constricts as my left knee starts to rock back and forth. “I didn’t want to do it like this.” Oh, shit. Has anything good ever followed that sentence? “I was going to tell you soon.” Oh my God! A million scenarios play through my mind as I pull into Creekwood’s entrance. “But we, the three of us, are opening a shop of our own.”
Parked in a spot alongside the Tahoe, the group falls silent. So, he’s not secretly married? And he doesn’t have a kid hidden away that he obviously never sees, making me have to break up with him for being such a horrible father?
I’m still playing catch-up when Beckett speaks again. “Tell her the best part.”
His child-like grin comes into view as I tune back in. He’s literally bouncing. Whatever Coty’s nervous to tell me is having the opposite effect on Beck. The guy is practically covering his own mouth to keep from spilling the beans. Marc is quiet though, giving nothing away.
“It’s not just a body shop, I mean we’ll be servicing everything with a motor, not just cars, but it’ll have a car wash, too. It’ll be built in on the side. Just one bay, but multiple electronic kiosks accepting payments, allowing for cars to go through faster.”
Three sets of eyes watch for my reaction. “Okay?”
“And I, well, we are wondering if you’d run it? The car wash portion.” My eyes widen and Coty rushes to add, “You know most of the positions anyway.” I raise a finger in Beckett’s face, silencing the remark undoubtedly perched on his tongue. “And since you’re going to school for business management, we thought you’d be the perfect person.” I open my mouth but he continues, “You’d call your own shots. We’d have a say over major decisions obviously, but mostly you’d be free to run the wash however you want. So, what do you think?”
I shake my head, calling over my shoulder as I climb out, “I think you’re insane.”
Huge arms lift me from behind. “Angie, did you hear that? You get to be your own boss. And you get to work with us every day. All your problems solved. Boom. You’re welcome.”
I smack his arms so he lowers me to my feet.
“You think that’ll solve my problems? Working for, not with, my neighbors? One is my, I don’t know, boyfriend or whatever.” I look to Coty for help, but he just scowls. “One is a giant man-baby, and the other barely even likes me,” I finish lamely.
“I like you as much as anyone.” Marc shrugs.
I throw my hands up. “You don’t like anybody.”
Beckett nodding, agrees, “She has a point.”
Snickering, I don’t dare look at Coty. I can feel his annoyance from here. He said it himself, we haven’t had much time to talk, so that leaves our current relationship without a label. If he thought differently, he should’ve informed me.
“Look, Coty’s my brother and if my boy loves you then I’m cool with you. We’re a package deal if you haven’t noticed. Just don’t fuck him over and we’ll be good.”
My head is shaking before he finishes. “He doesn’t-”
“Really?” Beckett interrupts, knocking his hand in Coty’s stomach. “Dude, you’re slacking.”
Coty ignores Beckett. “Angela.”
All eyes are on me again and it’s too much. The crazy job proposal. The L word. It’s all just too much, especially on sweltering concrete with boob sweat pooling beneath my bra. This is not how this conversation should’ve gone down. After an intense orgasm would’ve been much more preferable, at least the boob sweat wouldn’t be as embarrassing.
I turn for the stairs but Coty rushes forward, catching my hand. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
“No, I’m not going anywhere.” I hate the doubt I see there. The doubt I put there.
Beckett interjects, “Angie, I get it, that was a lot. We could’ve handled that better.” I snort. Understatement of the year. “But it still doesn’t change anything. Coty’s crazy about you. The kid’s been head over heels since you moved in. And we want you working with us. You’re the perfect woman for the job. You’re smart, damn good at what you do, and don’t take shit from anyone. We’d be lucky to have you. Anyone would.”
I blink away the mist coating my eyes.
“Just…don’t disappear on us again. We won’t pressure you. You can say no and still be in our squad.”
A watery laugh escapes as I meet each boy’s eye, then Marc and Beckett excuse themselves to the Tahoe, giving me and Coty some privacy.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I need to figure out how I’m going to pay my bills.”
His arms snake around my back and I wrap mine around his neck.
“What do you think about the offer?”
“Honestly?” He nods, watching me closely. “It sounds great, but-”
“Then we’ll figure it out,” cutting me off, Coty continues, “together.”
My lungs fill with more air than necessary.
“Can I think about it?”
A loose smile breaks free. “Of course.” He gestures over his shoulder. “I gotta go anyway. You’ll be here when I get back?”
“I might go to the library for a bit, otherwise I’ll be here.”
Coty reaches into his pocket and pulling out his keys, removes one, then hands it to me. “Make yourself at home. Use whatever you need. I’ll see you later.”
With a quick kiss goodbye, he joins the others and they peel out, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and decisions, and sweaty bra.
Walking into the boys’ apartment, I spot empty coffee mugs littering the counter. The reminder of Faye heavy on my mind, I decide to call her myself about the barista job.
The adrenaline from today’s events begins to fade, its absence making room for the panic at my current situation. If they’re serious about their proposition, then I’ll need something to hold me over until this new endeavor is a viable reality. I won’t wait around in the meantime. Sharks don’t stop when they’re tired and neither will I.
* * *
“Like what you see, Tom?” I crack an eye to see Coty standing on his balcony, grinning without an ounce of shame at being caught.
“Tom?”
“Peeping Tom,” Beckett guffaws as he and Marc join him.
Coty smiles at his roommates then looks back to me, his humor suddenly gone. In the next instant he’s up and over the railing—on the second level—then dropping to the ground and landing on his feet like a frickin’ cat.
I scramble up from the lounge chair I’ve been glued to for the last hour. After taking things into my own hands and calling the coffee stand owner, she hired me over the phone. I ran right over to fill out all the necessary paperwork before she could change her mind and I’ve been hanging here for the boys to return ever since.
“Holy shit. Is that how you guys always get down so fast?”
“Maybe. Only for things that are really important though.” He shrugs as he takes my vacated seat, pulling me into his lap.
“Things, huh?”
His lips trace the shell of my ear, tugging on a piercing he finds there. “People,” he whispers. “Person. Specifically, my girlfriend.”
I pull away as he travels down my neck. “Is that what I am?”
Coty’s breath blows over my bare shoulder making my skin pebble. “We can use whatever term you want, as long as you’re mine. And before you ask, yes, I’m yours. Have been since I laid eyes on you, babe. My beautifully broken neighbor girl.”
I scoff just as his teeth make an appearance at the base of my neck. Batting him away, I sit forward to face him.
“And you want to be attached to this mess?”
Coty’s face grows serious and his hands grip my thighs, rubbing soothing circles with his thumbs.
“We’re all broken in some way or another. That’s what binds us together, finding someone you trust enough to protect the pieces that need it most. I can’t promise you perfect ‘cause I’m not perfect. I can’t promise you easy ‘cause it won’t be. But I can promise to be here for you through it all no matter what, loving you in any way you’ll allow me for as long as I’m breathing. Whether that makes you my girlfriend or not is up to you, but my feelings remain the same. I see your wreckage and want to fix my own just so I can be the armor yours is missing. I love you, Angela.”
His intense gaze never breaks even as mine grows blurry. The L word was tossed around earlier but this is different. There’s no mistaking his intent this time. Coty loves me. The boy that taught me how to live is now showing me what it is to love. As much as my mind rejects the notion, my heart decides it’s time to take control for once.
I lean my forehead against his and whisper, “I’m not making any promises either but I fell for you, I fell so damn hard I’m still waiting for the ground to catch up with me and that scares me, so much. I trust you to hold my many, many broken pieces safely while I find my way though.”
“Find our way.”
“Together,” I agree. “I love you.”
His insistent mouth kisses me deep and rough, claiming what’s already his.
“About damn time you two make it official.”
Breathless, we pull apart.
“Did you think more about what we talked about, neighbor girl?”
Marc, still in work clothes, sits on the lounger next to ours, pulling out a cigarette while Beckett stands with his arms crossed over a gray shirt that says Does This Bike Make My Ass Look Fast?.
I twist in Coty’s arms, melting into him as he reclines. He brings his nose to my hair and kisses my temple.
“I did. But I have some concerns.” The tallest of the three motions for me to continue. “This is new for me. A relationship. Friendships. Trusting anyone in general, especially men. I’m bad at it. All of it.” I bite my lip, looking between Coty’s friends—my friends.
“And you think we aren’t?” Beckett bursts. “Look at us. We can’t rub together a healthy relationship between the three of us except the one we shaped from scratch ourselves. Nobody showed us how, we just did what felt right, making mistakes as we went. Hell, you’re the first girl we’ve ever had around for more than just fu-”
“What he means is, this is new for us, too,” Marc quickly interrupts. “But we’re willing to try because it feels right. The same way it did years ago at the track, riding without a clue as to what would come next but knowing it’d be okay with these two in my corner. You’re not used to anyone being in yours but know that from here on out, we are. This one’s taking up the whole fucking thing anyway and where he goes, we go.” He jerks his thumb behind me making Coty’s chest rumble.
“I think you mean where we go, he goes.” Beckett pretends to beat his fists on his chest.
Coty runs his hands up my sides before wrapping his arms around my middle. “Dude, it’s where she goes, I go. I’ve just been biding my time, waiting for her to show up.”
“So, what do you say, Angie?”
“All for one and one for all?” I joke.
“I’ll settle for a foursome.”
“Motherfucker.”
I’m set to the side as Coty makes a grab for Beckett. Marc hops up, tossing his cigarette butt and joins the others poolside. They play fight and trash talk amongst themselves, having momentarily forgotten about me. I sit back, watching their dynamic, the ease of it all. The love, the trust. They have each other’s backs, but like Coty said, it’s more than that. They respect the damaged parts in one another, never using it against each other, always keeping it safe from outsiders. Each man is strong on his own but together they’re a force to be reckoned with. One I’ve found myself in the middle of. The comfort and security I never thought would come has settled over me like a blanket on a cold night and I’m growing more and more fond of the refuge it’s provided. The three nosey neighbors refusing to give up on me has generated warmth where only cold previously lived.
Fighting to constantly stand alone was necessary but has left me tired, run down. These three provide a safe place for me to take a rest—should I decide to take one.
Today, though, is not that day.
Laughing, I walk over and shove the unsuspecting trio toward the water. Three different hands shoot out, latching onto mine and together we fall in giving Beckett a version of his foursome after all.
