Ex-Con Times Two

by Jay S. Wilder

  Jake pushes my legs against my stomach and picks up his pace. He groans with pleasure and releases.

  With a caress of my cheek, Hunter clambers off of my face and drops onto the bed. Jake slowly lets my legs down and falls back on his haunches.

  “Fuck,” Jake says under his breath. He wipes some sweat from his forehead. “Now I’m hungry.”

  I giggle and ease up onto my forearms. “You and me too.”

  Hunter rolls onto his side and kisses my forehead. “You go take a shower and get comfy. I’ll get supper ready.”

  I rush through my shower. Not because I don’t enjoy it. I do.

  But I enjoy time spent with my men more than anything else.

  I dry my hair off and open up my drawer in the massive wardrobe. It’s where I keep pajamas and a few changes of clothes. I pull on some soft pants and a tank top and pad barefoot to the main room.

  Hunter and Jake are bringing plates to the table. The delicious smells of chili and Brussel sprouts fill the air.

  “It looks awesome,” I say as I walk over to my usual seat.

  There’s a knock on the door. Since I’m the closest to it, I whirl around and open it up.

  “Hey Katelynn,” John says.

  I lean against the door frame. “Hey. We’re about to eat. Want to join us?”

  He holds up a brown box. “Naw, thanks. I’m meeting Annette for Mexican. Just wanted to drop off this package for Hunter. It came in the mail today.”

  “Thanks, Man,” Hunter says from over my shoulder.

  I take the package from John. He gives me a crooked smile. “It’s good to have you around, you know.”

  His words take me by surprise. They also warm my heart. “Thank you, John. I love being here.”

  He keeps on smiling. “You might as well be living here, huh?”

  I glance over my shoulder at Hunter and Jake. They stop setting the table and look my way. Something shines in both of their eyes.

  I get the feeling John knows more than he’s revealing. He does live downstairs, and I haven’t claimed Hunter or Jake as my official boyfriend.

  “Yeah,” I slowly say, and turn back to John. “I might as well be.”

  “Have a good night, y’all.” He waves and heads down the steps.

  I close the door and put the package down. Hunter steps forward and pulls me to him.

  “What did you think of that?” he asks.

  On the other side of the table, Jake tilts his head and waits for my answer.

  “About what, exactly?” I ask.

  “About you living here,” Jake says.

  I bite my lip but it doesn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. “I wouldn’t turn it down.”

  Hunter sweeps me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist and laugh.

  “That’s what we want to hear,” he says.

  “Put her down,” Jake says. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

  Hunter sets me on the floor and we dig in. As we eat and talk, I look around myself and think for the millionth time that I’m lucky.

  Hell, maybe I’m not just lucky. Maybe I’m the luckiest person in the world.

  40

  Epilogue - Hunter

  I lower the garage’s lift and bring the jeep back down to the floor. With new tires and a wax, it shines like it’s fresh off the lot.

  “Looking good,” Jake says as he passes by.

  “Thanks.” I flex my biceps. “I’ve been working out.”

  Jake shakes his head. “You’re a professional comedian now, huh?”

  “You got anything better?” I ask him.

  “Jokes? Naw. I ain’t even gonna try.”

  “This is done,” I call to Ben. “You can take her out.”

  Our newest employee jumps into the jeep and drives it out to the parking lot. I reach my arms up high and stretch. July’s temperatures have been climbing all week and the big fans in the corners of the garage only do so much to help out.

  Jake snatches a bottle of water from the cooler and steps closer to me. “You know what tomorrow is?”

  “Saturday?”

  “Are you serious?”

  I scratch my head and think about it. “Fuck, Jake. It’s been too busy for me to even think about keeping track of the days of the week. Get off my dang back.”

  He rolls his eyes. “It’s Saturday, all right. But it’s also something else. It’s our anniversary with Kitten.”

  I stare at him. “Shit,” I breathe. “It’s been a year?”

  “Mm-hmm.” He leans against a pillar and grins.

  For the last year, Katelynn’s been telling anyone who asks that I’m her boyfriend. Beyond that, we don’t offer information about our personal lives. This is Texas. Conservative relationships are still in fashion just as much as flannel and cowboy hats.

  There are a few people who probably suspect Jake is more than a friend to Katelynn. John knows, for sure, though he’s never come right out and said it. Her being willing to live with both me and Jake in such a small apartment is probably the biggest giveaway.

  “A year,” I repeat. “How did twelve months go by that fast?”

  Jake shakes his head. “Beats me.”

  “We need to do something for her.”

  He straightens up and tosses his empty water bottle in the recycling bin. “Taking her out somewhere nice would be good, I reckon.”

  A red Toyota Tacoma pulls up to the garage bay and a middle-aged man gets out from behind the wheel. His wide-brim hat covers half of his face and his steel-toed boots clink along the garage floor.

  “How you doin’, sir?” I ask him.

  “Just fine.” He nods at me from behind his dark sunglasses. “I heard you boys do the best detailing in Amarillo.”

  “That’s a good rumor to have going around,” Jake says.

  “You reckon you can get my truck done today?”

  “We can have it done in two hours,” I promise the man.

  He pulls his sunglasses off. His gray eyebrows push together as he studies me. “You look familiar.”

  “Do I?”

  I can’t imagine where the man might know me from. I don’t get out much. The shop eats up almost all my time. When I do get a break on the weekends, Jake, Katelynn, and I go to the Amarillo Dragway to see races, but that’s about it.

  “Uh-huh,” he slowly says. “You do.”

  His eyes slide over to Jake. “You do, too.”

  The hair all along my arms stands up on end. My shoulders squeeze together and my lungs skip an inhale. If someone who’s never been to our shop is clumping me and Jake together, it can only be leading one place.

  “You two were in Seagoville,” the stranger says.

  He’s hit the nail on the fucking head, though for the life of me I can’t figure out how. A few customers have recognized Jake and me as ex-cons before. They all knew because of the local rumor mill.

  But they never knew just which prison we were in.

  I could deny it, but if this man already knows about our pasts there’s no point. Lying will just make me look worse.

  “Yes, Sir,” I agree.

  I can’t look at Jake. I’m too ashamed to be called out on our time served. I don’t really want to look at the man in front of me either, but still, I keep my eyes trained on his. I’m determined to not back down, to show him that the places I’ve been don’t decide the kind of man I’ve become.

  “We both left last year,” I explain. “And we’ve been running this shop ever since. That life is long behind us. We’re one hundred percent about our auto business now.”

  The man’s bushy eyebrows twist. He shakes his head. “Sorry, boys, but I ain’t dealing with any criminals. I’ll be taking my business elsewhere.”

  He turns without another look at us. Fire heats up my hands and face. A shout forms in my throat. I’m ready to call the man an asshole, a son of a bitch, a dumbass who wouldn’t know the most honest and good person in the world if he stood face to face
with them.

  But he hauls ass into his truck and drives away.

  “Fuck!” I spat.

  My nails dig into my palms. A toolbox nearby begs me to kick it. My foot itches but I resist the urge.

  “Don’t worry about him,” Jake says.

  I turn my eyes to my best friend. “How the fuck can I do that?”

  “He’s one out of hundreds of customers. Him knowing about us ain’t gonna matter.”

  “Yes, it will. He’ll tell all his damn friends.”

  Jake scrunches up his nose and seems to think about it. “Fine. He might, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

  I know what I want to do. I want to find the guy and demand he give me half a minute more. He didn’t let me prove that Jake and I aren’t the criminals he thinks we are. He just blew out of our shop like he already knew everything he needed to.

  Jake rests a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, we need to get back to work.”

  I grit my teeth together but move on to the next car.

  The man is on my mind the whole day. Customers have shown up knowing about our pasts before, but this time it really gets under my skin. It scratches at me something awful. I can’t focus or remember much of anything. I keep forgetting what I’m supposed to be working on or where certain tools are.

  The next day it’s the same deal. The only thing that brings me some relief is the promise of an evening spent with Katelynn and Jake.

  As we pack up to leave the shop for the day, Jake sends her a text telling her to get dressed. We haven’t mentioned our anniversary to her, and I won’t until we see her tonight.

  One year ago, she walked into this shop and changed our lives for the better. I didn’t know it then, but even though all that crazy stuff with Bennie Whispers was about to happen, the best days of my life were still in front of me.

  Just remembering seeing her that day cheers me up. It makes the man in the red truck unimportant. It makes everything else unimportant.

  There might be people out there who will turn the other way and have nothing to do with me and Jake just because of our pasts, but having Katelynn makes those times matter less. She knows us. She trusts that we’re good men.

  There’s nothing better than having someone on your side of the ring.

  Katelynn isn’t at home. Jake and I rush and take showers, wanting to be ready the second she does get back.

  I put on the one shirt I have that has buttons. I can’t leave the cowboy hat at home, though. I drop it on my head just as the front door opens.

  Katelynn comes inside. She wears a tight black dress and has a matching purse slung over her shoulder.

  “Where did you get to?” Jake asks from the couch.

  “I just ran over to see Annette for a bit.” She smiles at me. “Darn, you look sexy.”

  I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her in for a kiss.

  “Hey now,” Jake complains. “What about me, Kitten?”

  Katelynn breaks her kiss. “You look equally sexy, don’t worry.”

  I rub Katelynn’s lower back. The fabric of her dress ripples under my thumb. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s hit it.”

  She takes my hand and the three of us go out to Jake’s truck.

  “Where are we going?” Katelynn asks as the truck backs out into the driveway.

  “Told ya’,” I answer. “To supper.”

  She clicks her tongue. “But what restaurant are we going to?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Jake tells her.

  “Can I have a clue!”

  “Nope.” I gently run the back of my hand down her cheek. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Jake takes us downtown and parks alongside the street. I can see the tapas bar we’re headed for and, beyond its windows, the packed tables. It’s a good thing I made reservations.

  I hold the door for Katelynn and guide her across the sidewalk. Her shoulder brushes my arm and I look down at her. Her eyes sparkle like there are fireworks reflected there. Her plump, red lips turn up into a smile.

  “What?” she asks.

  “Just enjoying the view.”

  She knocks her shoulder against me but smiles wider.

  Jake stops at the door to the tapas place.

  “Oh my God!” Katelynn shrieks. “This is that new tapas bar. It’s supposed to be one of the best in the state.”

  “Then we made the right choice,” Jake replies.

  We cross a waiting room decorated in red and gold. I give my name to the young hostess, who smiles and grabs three menus.

  “Right this way, please,” she says.

  We follow her around tables and past a fountain set into the wall. Despite the number of people packed in here, the noise level is relatively low. Diners talk softly to each other across their lighted candles and silverware barely clinks.

  “This place is nice,” I hear Katelynn say to Jake.

  “Too nice?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” she sarcastically says. “I changed my mind. I want to go to McDonald’s.”

  A gurgled cry fills the air. The hostess stops walking and the chatter dies. I look around for the cry but can’t figure out where it came from. People start talking again, and the hostess keeps walking.

  I take one step to follow and then a full-out scream fills the place.

  A woman stands from her table, her hands shaking. “My husband! He’s choking! He’s choking!”

  The man sitting across from her slaps his hand against his chest. His face is pink and rapidly getting close to red.

  The hostess gasps. A few murmurs fill the air.

  The man bangs on his chest harder.

  “Oh my goodness!” Katelynn cries. She clutches my arm.

  I take a step forward… and stop. I recognize the man. He’s the one who came into the shop yesterday… The one who left because he knew about mine and Jake’s past.

  He pushes himself up from the table. His wife gets behind him and furiously bangs on his chest.

  “Call an ambulance!” someone cries.

  There’s no time for an ambulance. This man will be dead in a few minutes if whatever is lodged in his throat doesn’t get out right away.

  I move without thinking. My feet pound the floor and a crazed energy rips through me. It’s like being propelled by thunder and lightning.

  I land next to the choking man.

  “Let me,” I tell his wife.

  She looks at me with big eyes and steps out of the way. I get behind the man and wrap my arms around his torso. Forming a fist with one hand, I cover it with the other. I feel for the soft spot between his ribcage and navel. The thumb side of my fist facing in, I thrust upward.

  The man heaves slightly against the pressure. I deal his abdomen another thrust.

  “Oh God,” his wife cries from somewhere close by.

  There are more sounds in the restaurant, but it’s all turned into white noise. I test my weight, making sure it’s anchored, and give the man another thrust.

  His torso heaves and he jerks forward… and coughs.

  His breath comes out in a wheeze. I loosen my arms from around him and step to his side.

  He blinks and gulps in more air. His hands go out to clutch the back of the chair next to him.

  “Henry!” His wife touches his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  He nods. “I’m fine.”

  The man turns to look at me. His eyes rapidly blink. He seems confused and in shock.

  “Have a seat, Sir,” I tell him, and hold his chair out for him.

  He settles down in the chair. With his wife fawning over him, I step away from the table. A few people clap as I walk by them. I duck my head and ignore their stares. Being the center of attention, no matter if it’s for something good, has never suited me.

  Jake and Katelynn are right where I left them, the hostess still standing nearby.

  “You saved him,” Katelynn says with big eyes. She loo
ks at me like I’ve suddenly grown a second head.

  A siren whirs. Red and blue lights flash through the windows and across the dining room. The doors fly open and two medics come in. Someone points them to the table with the man who just choked.

  I step back against the wall with Katelynn and Jake. The restaurant patrons all freeze halfway through whatever they’re doing. Diners and waiters stay still and watch while the medics check the man out. They ask him some questions, and he answers with a raspy throat.

  “We’re going to take him to run some tests,” one of the medics tells the man’s wife. “Just to be safe. We need to make sure no damage was done to his throat.”

  She grabs her purse and follows the medics and her husband out the door, leaving the restaurant in a still frozen state.

  The hostess smiles cheerily at me, Katelynn, and Jake. “That was awfully exciting.”

  I don’t have the words to answer. The last bits of adrenaline are still running through me. I’m in almost as much shock as the man who nearly died.

  The hostess leads us to a table in the corner. I wait while Jake holds Katelynn’s chair out for her. With her situated, I take my own spot.

  “Fuck,” Jake says in a hushed voice. He slowly shakes his head. “Way to go, Hunter.”

  I shrug. “Anyone could have done it.”

  “But no one else did,” Jake points out. “I couldn’t think. I heard the woman scream and it was like my brain filled with fog.”

  “Mine too,” Katelynn says. “And I thought someone else would help him.”

  I grunt. “That’s the problem with these situations sometimes. Everyone thinks someone else will step up.”

  “But you actually did,” Katelynn softly says.

  “Excuse me,” a new voice says.

  The three of us look up at a man standing near our table. He extends a hand toward me. I stand up and shake.

  “I’m Luis Fox, the manager here. I saw what just happened and I want to thank you. Your party’s meal is on the house tonight. Order anything you like. A bottle of our best Malbec is on its way over.”

  I incline my head. “Thank you very much, but that’s not necessary.”