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“An exclusive, sexual relationship. No strings attached,” Scott repeated dryly.
“Yup,” I replied lamely.
“That’s kind of hard to do when you guys already have strings attached.” Yup, he definitely thought it was stupid.
“Look, it’s been great. The sex is out-of-this-world fantastic, and Sasha and I get along great when we aren’t teasing and fucking with each other all of the time.”
“I can see that,” Scott allowed. “I could also see that you guys looked pretty great together at dinner the other night. You make each other laugh and can’t keep your hands off of each other. So much so, that you snuck off to have sex at the restaurant knowing that we all knew what you were doing.”
I shrugged guiltily, picking up the whiskey he’d had yet to touch and taking a good swallow.
“It sounds pretty fucking great, TJ,” Scott said a bit angrily. “Why blow it off at the end of the week? Why not see where it goes?”
“Because we both agreed that we were going to end it, and that if either of us got too serious, we’d let the other one know about it,” I argued lamely.
“Who cares what you agreed on? How do you feel about her?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but was saved from doing so when Cal and his brother Craig shouted out that they’d arrived.
“Think about it,” Scott shot at me before turning to go out and meet them.
I was still standing there, whiskey in hand and thinking about it, when Cal walked up behind me and clapped his hand on my shoulder.
“Brother,” Cal began, holding up his hand to stop me when I opened my mouth to speak. “Hear me out.” I nodded and kept my mouth shut. “It was never my intention to make you feel like I was cutting you out of anything. I know you, man, and I know that you need stability. I know how hard these past few weeks have been for you, what with the shop shutting down and you losing your place, so my plan was to come to you with a finalized plan. To make you feel more secure, and see that it wasn’t just a dream, but a plan that I am actually putting in to action. I didn’t keep you out of the decision-making process because I didn’t want you to be a part of it, or to make you feel like I didn’t think you were good enough. I wanted to present you with the finished product. I wanted you to see that we could do this … together. We can open a shop, run a business, do what we love … And not have to depend on someone else to be the boss. I wanted to give you something that you can be proud of, and that will give you control over your life. But in the end, I was so excited to tell you that I fucked up the delivery, and ended up making you feel left out, and like I didn’t need you to make this happen. But I do need you, TJ, you’re the talent. Without you, this shop doesn’t work, and I hope I didn’t fuck it up too much, because I need you, brother. And together, with Scott and Sasha, the bank, and our existing clients, I know that we can build this shop into something that we can both be proud of.”
I felt all the last shreds of doubt and hurt leave me with each word that came out of Cal’s mouth. I pulled him into a hug, and prayed to God that I wouldn’t embarrass myself and start blubbering.
“Thanks, man.” I pulled away and pretended not to notice that his eyes were looking a little misty. “I should’ve given you a chance to lay it all out before I overreacted. I was taken by surprise, but I shouldn’t have walked out. I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I can’t wait to hear more about the shop. You know I’m in.”
“If you two are done crying like a couple of women, we’re ready to start playing cards in here,” this was yelled out by Cal’s little brother Craig, who was the spitting image Cal in high school, with his dark hair and eyes, and handsome, friendly face. He was becoming a regular at our poker games.
“I think he’s been hanging out with you too much,” Cal said to me with a chuckle. I laughed in agreement.
“Nah, it’s good for him,” I responded, clapping Cal on the shoulder as we walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll teach him not to take shit from anyone, and how to treat the ladies.” The last I said with a wink for Craig, who laughed happily.
“Yeah,” Cal said sarcastically. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
It was a good night. Hanging with the guys, playing cards, and bullshitting. A few of my favorite things. I was happy that Cal and I had cleared the air and everything was back on track, and I was excited at the prospect of opening a shop with my friends and being able to focus on restoration. If we could make it work, it would be a dream come true.
Later, I let myself into Sasha’s place, and was surprised to find her crying on the couch.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, chuckling when she jumped at the sound of my voice. She was so engrossed in the movie, she must not have heard me come in.
“Oh, yeah,” she mumbled, trying to covertly wipe at her eyes and nose. “Just caught up in the movie.”
I looked at the screen. “Ah, classic! I love this flick. I crushed on Watts so hard when I was younger, and, of course, being a guy who tinkered with cars and came from
the wrong side of the tracks, Keith was a character that I was totally in tune with.”
Sasha looked at me, tears still escaping and running down her cheeks.
“I was always more the Amanda Jones type,” she said, her voice sad.
I sat down next to her and grinned, “Yeah, I can see that.”
Then she surprised me when she started crying harder and sobbed, “I don’t understand why he doesn’t pick her. H-he’s going after her through the whole movie, being so s-sweet and stuff, and then when she finally see’s how wonderful he is, he leaves.”
I pulled her to me and held her while she cried. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that she’d relate to Amanda’s character, going so far as to seeing herself in that role. I’d never thought of it that way.
