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Holy shit.
HOLY SHIT!
He’d passed! He had his ASE! He was a mechanic! No more pump jockey, no more stocking shelves, no more bullshit!
For a few minutes, he sat behind the wheel in his warming truck. His eyes were full and itchy, but he didn’t let anything come of that. Still, he felt so fucking good. His chest felt light, like he could really breathe. Maybe for the first time in his life.
He took a screenshot of the results and sent it, and only it, to Petra, Mom, Zach, Duncan, Pop, Eight, and Maverick.
Mere seconds later, Petra pinged him a confetti GIF. And then about two dozen noisemaker emojis. Then a long row of hearts. FinallyI LOVE YOU I’M SO PROUD YOU ROCK!Feeling absolutely giddy, Jay laughed and sent backI LOVE YOU!!!
Mom hit next:I knew you’d do it! I’m so proud of you! Celebratory dinner here tonight?
Duncan:DUDE! PARTY TIME!
Pop:That’s my boy. Good work.
Maverick:Excellent! Good job. We’ll get you in the bays next week. Talk to me at the clubhouse tomorrow.
Zach: aTop Gunhigh-five GIF andBRUH!
And finally, Eight:about fucken time—and about a minute later,good job kid.
Jay laughed at that. He felt no offense whatsoever. Eight was Eight—a crusty old asshole with a chewy good-guy center.
As he tried to decide which text to reply to first, his phone rang, and Petra’s gorgeous face filled his screen. He answered.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hey, Mr. Mechanic!” she cheered, beaming at him. “I’m on with your mom. She wants to do a dinner at their house to celebrate. You in? Whatever you want—the night is yours. Darcy and Max can run the bar tonight. It’s book club night.”
Normally, a celebration for him meant the Dawghouse, a lot of beer and whiskey, and hopefully some recreational violence. Celebration, consolation, or just a way to kill some time, that was his preferred entertainment.
But now, what he wanted most was Petra in his arms. And yeah, it would be pretty great to see his mom and dad and see them proud.
“What are you doing right now?” He could tell by what he saw behind her that she was at the fitness center, where she taught a couple dance classes and also did most of her dancing with Keisha.
“We’re finishing up here. I was going to do some Christmas shopping, but I can punt that. What do you want to do?”
“Meet me at home. I know how I want to celebrate.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she laughed.
“I’ll be there. What should I tell your mom, who is currently on hold over here?”
“Dinner with the ‘rents sounds okay to me. All my favorite foods? You bet. Especially since I mean to spend the afternoon working up an appetite. You good with dinner out there?”
“Of course I am. I love going to your folks’ house.”
Because his family was her family.
That was what love really meant, wasn’t it? Belonging. Acceptance. People who took you as you were and also challenged you to be as good as you could be. People around you who celebrated your victories and cushioned your losses.
And someone special among them to go home to. To be sad with, to be happy with. To be quiet with, to be wild with. To dance with.
To love.
Jay had struggled all his life to find the way to fit in, the place he could settle into.
He finally understood that there had always been a place for him.
And Petra fit there, too.
Together, they made a whole.
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THE END
