Awakened

by Shey Stahl

  I had a feeling Josh had this happen a lot. My best friend in high school, her dad was a mechanic. I remember being over at her house and her dad, usually within minutes of meeting someone, was being asked to diagnose their car.

  “I can help you out with this,” Josh told her, checking out the wood she had in a pile off to the side of the poured concrete frame. “My guys would have this done in an afternoon.”

  Mom’s eyes lit up as she touched her band of pearls around her neck. “Really? You must have some hard working men.”

  Really, Mom? REALLY?

  Josh laughed off the remark and reached over to pull me to his side, a beer in his other hand. I relaxed immediately at the feeling of being pressed against his strong body and his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll have them come by next week and take care of it for you.”

  And that was how my mother fell in love with Josh.

  That was the day I thought to myself, Josh Daniel, I think I’m in like with you.

  Have you ever met someone and at first you think, this is cool. I like this person, the sex is great, this could be good.

  You hardly paid attention to anything around you, warning signs, and then you never see it hit you, how quickly you could fall when you weren’t even planning on falling in the first place. Especially not after a few weeks.

  It was that day—between smiles and winks—I realized I was falling for him. Whether it be liking him or loving him, I hadn’t expected it.

  But the falling part, I couldn’t have helped it even if I wanted to.

  Monday morning I arrived at work to see the kitchen and patio were completely finished. Shiny stainless steel appliances I’d never dreamed of having in my own kitchen, I now was surrounded by luxury. I was nearly giddy as I looked around, running my hands over smooth surfaces and sleek features.

  Too bad I didn’t look like luxury myself. I’d been up way to late last night and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror when I set my purse in the office. My hair was tangled in odd directions, makeup smeared around my eyes. It wasn’t a good look for a business owner. Looks like that were the reason Instagram filters were invented.

  As quickly as I could, I dug through my bag to find makeup and my hair brush. Josh had left early for work and it seemed when I was in his bed, I overslept and that left me scrambling every morning to get myself together for the day.

  I’d given Stevie the day off so she could take her mom to a doctor’s appointment. That left me alone in the shop most of the day. Monday’s were fairly slow and it wasn’t like I needed her there.

  Around two that afternoon, I sent Josh a text thanking him for last night, unsure of how he would reply but figuring he’d say something swoon-worthy as usual or even dirty.

  When we made it back to his house after dinner with my mom, we had sex in the hot tub and then again in bed. I couldn’t get enough of him. Even now, with my hands on my phone, trembling as I typed out the message, I thought of everything he’d said to me, words whispered in the heat of the moment and his dominating stare that had the ability to make me melt for him.

  Me: This all looks great! Thank you so much.

  Josh replied almost immediately.

  Josh: You’re welcome. Glad you approve. You coming over tonight?

  Me: Sure. What time?

  Josh: I’ll be at the house around eight.

  Me: Ok. I’ll meet you there. Want me to bring dinner?

  Josh: I’d rather have you for dinner.

  Me: You’re going to need your energy.

  Josh: Let’s just go out to dinner. Just know, I’m having you for dessert.

  Me: Looking forward to it.

  Josh: Damn. You got me hard and I’m heading onto a job site.

  Me: Sorry.

  Josh: No you’re not.

  Me: You’re right. I’m not.

  I was grinning ear to ear when the door to the shop opened. I didn’t look up right away but I did tuck my phone away. When I did glance up, Brevin was walking toward me in a gray tank top and a black hat shadowing his eyes.

  “Well, if it isn’t Ritchie Valens,” I teased

  With confidence in every step, he approached the counter with a piece of paper in the palm of his hand.

  “More cupcakes?”

  His brow lifted as he removed his hat and ran his hand through his dark hair. “Nope. It’s a thank you card.” He spoke softly, leaning toward me.

  “From you?”

  “No, Camdyn. She approved of the cupcakes.” His tone was cool and casual, like he was completely comfortable around me.

  Me, well, I couldn’t understand why my heartbeat sped or why my chest tightened when he was around.

  “Oh,” my voice squeaked, “that’s great. And what about you?” I too leaned forward, my hips pressing into the counter leaving a foot of space between us. “Did you enjoy them?”

  Holy shit, am I flirting with him?

  There was a long pause as I held my breath waiting on his reply.

  Brevin tipped his head, his brow scrunched together, his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip, and then he pulled it into his mouth and slowly released it. “I think you know I enjoyed them.”

  Fuck, that’s hot.

  “Well I’m glad you enjoyed them.” Stepping back, I had to create distance between us. “What part was your favorite, the icing, or the cake?”

  “All of it.” He breathed out, slowly. “I like to lick the icing off first,” watching my reaction, closer than I would have liked, a playful smile tugged at his beautiful lips, “and then bite the cake. What about you?”

  “I like the cream filled ones.”

  Holy fucking shit, I’m flirting with him. How did this escalate so quickly?

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were talking about something else entirely.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Brevin blew out a slow whistled breath, bringing his arm across his body to run his hand down the side of his scruffy jaw. “Uh, yes, I most certainly would.”

  Why is a man scratching his scruffy jaw sexy?

  “How’d the rest of the party go?”

  “It was okay. Same shit as always. My sisters trying to set me up with their ‘respectable’ friends.”

  The way he said respectable made me laugh out loud. It was as if he was disgusted or didn’t believe the respectable part. “And did they succeed in setting you up?”

  “Nope.” Stepping back from the counter, Brevin took a seat at the table next to the display case, relaxing like he planned to stay a while. “I’m done letting them set me up.”

  “So, they do this often?” And then I noticed, he should have been at work, right? Josh was. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  “No, I have Monday’s off. I watch my nieces for my sisters.” He smirked, as though he knew I’d find that adorable.

  Oh God, could he be any sweeter?

  “And yes, they set me up all the time. They think they know what I need. My problem is they set me up with their crazy-ass friends.”

  “Define crazy,” Moving around the counter, I took a seat at the table with him following. “I wanna see if I fit into any of the categories.”

  “I assure you—from what I know about you already—you don’t.”

  “Still, I’ve got nothing better to do. Entertain me.”

  “Okay, well, you asked for it.” Brevin relaxed into the chair, staring at his hands as he spoke. “Let’s see, Cortney set me up with this chick who after the first date, she basically moved in. Took all my clothes out of my closet and made room for hers.”

  “No shit?”

  His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen and then tucked it back into his shorts. “Yep.”

  “So how long did she last?”

  “Kicked her and her clothes out the next day.”

  I took a deep breath, feeling so relaxed I could have kicked up my feet. “Okay, who else?”

  Brevin
looked up taping his chin with his index finger. “Ah, yes, then there was Blaine. I should have known any girl named Blaine was nuts. She stole my dog.”

  “Your dog?”

  “Yep. Can you fuckin’ believe it?” His eyes went wide, swallowing hard. “I had this adorable pit bull named Bruno and she stole it.”

  I couldn’t help my fit of giggles. They weren’t just the silly giggles you had as a kid when you wanted to annoy your parents and wouldn’t shut the fuck up. No. This was the kind of giggles where I had to stop and put my hands on my knees in fear I’d fall out of the chair. It wasn’t even what he said that was funny. It was his expression of pure horror that someone would steal his dog named Bruno.

  “Did she give him back?”

  “Nope. Refused to. I thought about suing her but it was a stuffed dog and I didn’t think it’d hold up in court.”

  I snorted when he said stuffed, not surprised at all that he was referring to a fake dog as if it was real. “No, you don’t think it would?”

  Brevin shrugged, scratching the bridge of his nose, side-eyeing me at my witty remark. “Probably not. I’ve been in the Thurston County courthouse and most of the judges know me. They’d roll their eyes.”

  “I can’t understand why.” The thought of Brevin being arrested wasn’t shocking. Look at him, tattoos, brooding dark eyes, long messy hair in the front. It wouldn’t have shocked me if he had his dick pierced either. “So that was two crazy women, any more?”

  I wonder if he has his dick pierced.

  “Okay…after Blaine was this chick…” He thought for a minute, and then waved in my face. “Her name doesn’t even matter. She was certifiable crazy. She wanted to marry me after I went down on her.”

  “Maybe you were just that good at eating pussy.”

  His brow rose, his stare on his hands again, his knee bouncing nervously. “Oh, honey, I assure you I am that good.”

  “So why was she crazy for wanting to marry you after that? I mean, we say some pretty insane shit in the heat of the moment.”

  He leveled me a very serious stare, our eyes locking. “I can understand her saying something like, ‘oh, fuck, baby, that’s so good, marry me.’ Totally get that. But when you bring over a wedding planner the next night, nah, that’s crazy.”

  It was my turn to level the serious look. What kind of woman did that? “An actual wedding planner?”

  “Yep.”

  “All right, I’ll give it to you, crazy girls.” Standing from my position, I went into the kitchen and retrieved two bottles of water and then returned, handing Brevin one of them. “Have you dated any normal ones?”

  “Thank you.” Unscrewing the cap to the water, he took a slow drink before placing it on the wood table. “Not unless you count the third grade when I was head over heels for Abigale Anderson and she kicked me in the balls and stole my watermelon blow pop.”

  “The nerve of her.”

  He arched an eyebrow and relaxed, his arm casually draped over the chair next to him giving me a full view of his long lean body. I tried to force myself not to stare. “Exactly.”

  Brevin stayed as I helped a few customers and wrapped their half-dozen cupcakes.

  “How long have you worked for Josh?” I asked when I sat back down with him.

  He pocketed his phone in his hand, giving me his full attention, though his eyes remained down. He didn’t make eye contact very often. Which didn’t bother me because I found the ones that stared you down forcing you to make eye contact while talking to be annoying. “About a year.”

  “Is that really what you want to do?”

  “What? Construction?” He ran his fingers through his hair before settling his hand on the back of his neck.

  “Yeah…”

  “I really enjoy it. Someday I’d like to have my own company. I don’t like taking orders. I like giving them.”

  “I can see that.”

  “See what?”

  “You know what.”

  “Nope. Got no clue.” He was provoking me.

  “Giving orders. I can see you like giving them.”

  “See? Was that so hard?”

  “Yes.” My breath blew out in an exaggerated sigh. “It was excruciating.”

  “Baby, nothing with me will ever be excruciating.” He spoke slowly which only drew my attention to his lips, waiting on the next set of words. “Only pleasure.”

  “You’re pretty confident for someone who’s only twenty-four.”

  Another grin tugged at his lips as if he was holding a secret. “Age doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

  “I see that. So who taught you all this so-called pleasure?”

  His lips twitched at my question but his eyes remained low. “Self-taught.”

  “I’m sure.”

  My mind drifted back to Brevin strumming that guitar and the amount of passion he put into playing at a kids birthday party. There was definitely something special about this guy.

  “I can’t stop thinking about that song.”

  “Mmm.” My words pulled a laugh from deep in his chest. One that had both of us smiling. “I bet. Ritchie Valens gets them all.”

  For over two hours, Brevin sat there with me until it was nearing closing time. It was kinda nice to have someone there just to talk and feel completely comfortable around. “I need to start closing up.” I told him and began my nightly routine of boxing up the cupcakes that didn’t sell today and placing them inside the fridge.

  To my surprise, Brevin helped me, fascinated by the fact that I didn’t take them home and eat them every night. “I wouldn’t have that self-control.” He told me, licking frosting from a s’mores, one he said looked like it was lonely in the fridge.

  “I have to have self-control around cupcakes or I’d be huge.”

  Of course, Brevin looked at my body, from head to toe, as if he’d be the judge of that. “I think you look pretty fuckin’ sexy.”

  “Thanks.” I rolled my eyes, pushing past him to place the final box in the fridge.

  Brevin stepped back, tossing the wrapper from the cupcake in the garbage and then walked around to the display cabinet to close the lid for me. “We can talk…” With a chuckle, he stopped talking, as if he was deciding on how he wanted to say this next part. It was the only time I’d seen him struggle to say what he wanted to. “If you want.”

  I gave him a confused expression. “We did talk, for like two hours today.”

  He was silent for a moment. “I mean longer. Like over a meal.”

  Fuck, he was asking me out, wasn’t he?

  “I can’t…” I paused, unsure how to answer that because I myself wasn’t sure what was happening with Josh and me, but I did have feelings for him. When I realized Brevin was interested in more, it made me feel guilty that I’d sat here with him for so long. I’d probably be a little jealous if Josh had done this with another girl.

  “You’re with Josh,” he said, voicing the words I couldn’t say, so matter-of-fact that I almost wondered why he even asked the question in the first place.

  Just as I was thinking about Josh, he sent me a message.

  Josh: Leaving now. Meet me at Lemon Grass in 10?

  My hands trembled as I replied, a nervous flush spreading through my body at what Brevin was going to say next.

  Me: Leaving the shop here soon. Meet you there.

  Brevin gave an annoyed sigh, pushing his hand through his hair. “Do you love him?”

  It seemed like a silly question to ask someone. And why someone like Brevin would ask it. “I haven’t known him that long.”

  “Hmm…I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.”

  Jesus, this guy was deep, wasn’t he?

  “Who said that?”

  His brow scrunched, but his eyes seemed distant. “F. Scott Fitzgerald.”

  “You quote the classics, don’t you?” We were outside the shop now, standing near the street where my car was parked and Brevin’s bike was.

&n
bsp; “Sometimes…when necessary.” Brevin dropped his eyes and gave a casual nod to his bike. “Well, see around, cupcake girl.”

  “See ya, Ritchie Valens.” Taking my keys from my purse, I clicked the button on my car and climbed in, trying not to give Brevin another thought, or look. And I didn’t, even when I heard the rumble of his vintage bike roar past.

  My problem was those dark eyes wouldn’t let me go and though he was gone, those eyes of otherness, blackness, that saw the world a hell of a lot deeper than most, lingered. Some people were destined for greater things in life. You knew it, you saw it when you looked at them. You saw their soul in their eyes and with Brevin, I saw his soul strangely enough.

  I MET JOSH at the restaurant right off Interstate five in Lacey.

  A smile was plastered to my face as I locked my car and walked toward him waiting outside the restaurant. His brow raised as he reached for my hand leading me inside Lemon Grass. “What took you so long?”

  “Sorry. I was caught up talking to Brevin,” I admitted, holding the door open for a child who came running past us.

  Josh turned to look at me, some amusement in his features but there was a harder edge laced in the way his eyes focused on me. “Am I gonna have to fire that kid?” Josh couldn’t keep the possessiveness from his tone.

  “Don’t be silly. His niece made me a thank you card.”

  I wasn’t so convinced with my words and neither was Josh. The hostess lead us to a booth in the corner, somewhat quiet compared to the noise within the restaurant.

  After ordering, I decided I needed to get to know Josh a little more. In reality, we had sex. A lot. Not much talking went on.

  “Okay, so you left Olympia High School and then where’d you go?”

  Josh smiled, leaning back in the seat, seeming to understand where I was going with this. “Parents divorced. I moved in with my dad and graduated from North Thurston.”

  “Where’d you go to college?” The waiter came by to fill water glasses but left just as quickly.

  “University of Oregon.” Blue eyes trained on mine, watching my lips. “Where’d you go?”

  “University of Washington.”