Beautiful Goodbye

by Heather D'Agostino

  “You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?” I shook my head at her. “This is what you were laughing about all shift.”

  “Maybe a little,” she shrugged. “Maybe I have a bet going with J here,” she shrugged again as she tossed the wireless controllers in our direction.

  The TV came to life just as Jamie giggled and looked in my direction, “Ready?”

  “Bring it,” I teased.

  “Oh, it’s been brought,” he laughed harder as he hit start and ran me off the road. The little shit laughed as his avatar took off, leaving me in the dust, and all I could do was follow.

  I stayed well into the evening before my stomach growled, telling me I needed to eat. I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, and I don’t think Jamie had either. Jordan had popped in a few times to laugh at us, and J’s mom had gotten a real kick out of watching us battle it out. She’d claimed that she couldn’t give him much competition and it was nice to have someone who would spend time with him. I didn’t mind. I loved hanging out with the kids when I could. “Well, I gotta be going,” I yawned as I set the controller down.

  “Already?” Jamie pouted.

  “I gotta eat. Sugar’s low,” I smiled at him. “Maybe next week I can stop by. I do have a day off.” I stood and stretched.

  “Deal,” he grinned as he too yawned.

  “I’m working with the same patients tomorrow, but I’ll stop by to see how you’re doing. Ok?” I smiled as I started for the door.

  “Ok,” he yawned again as he began lowering the bed. I knew he was tired and needed to rest, and me leaving was the perfect excuse for him to give in to sleep.

  “See ya buddy,” I waved as I stepped into the hallway. I staggered slightly, my body giving me the sign that I needed to eat just as Jordan breezed by.

  “Here,” was all she said as she placed a banana in my hand.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as I began peeling it and walking toward the elevators. A few of my coworkers called out to me, but I was too tired to really respond. I lifted my hand in a wave as I stepped onto the elevator, and made my way down to my Jeep. I needed to get home and rest.

  Rachel

  It had been a few days and I hadn’t heard anything from Ryan. We’d texted back and forth a few times, but I wouldn’t really call it talking. It was more of a ‘I miss you’ type thing. He was working crazy hours, and I hadn’t really expected to hear from him, but as I was finishing up an oil change I realized that I really didn’t know much about him. I mean, he’d told me about his past, his job, dealing with his diabetes, but I didn’t really know much else.

  I didn’t know where he lived, and I didn’t know the small things like what was his favorite food? Favorite color? When he was little what was he like? Where did his parents live? Why were they so mean to him when his brother died? It wasn’t his fault; not like they were making it anyway. How could a parent do that to their only remaining child?

  It had been a fairly quiet day at the garage. I’d had to let Dan go last week, and now it was just me. I’d been working more to stay busy, and hoping that I’d have enough saved to make a payment on the mortgage. I stopped counting the number of notices I’d received telling me that I needed to pay or I was going to lose the place. It was denial, I know that but I didn’t know what else to do. It was the only thing I had left of my father. I couldn’t tell that part of him goodbye too. What would I have then? Nothing but memories.

  After pushing the thought as far from my brain as possible, I went back to work. I still had to drop the lift and move the car I was working on back out into the parking lot. Mr. Allen was coming by in the morning to pick it up. Then I needed to clean the mess I’d made. When I’d pulled the oil plug, my hand had slipped, causing me to lose my balance on my creeper. I’d kicked my foot out to stop from rolling and in the process dislodged the oil pan from where it was sitting, causing oil to slop all over my leg and the floor. I’d cleaned myself off the best I could, but I still had a mess on the floor.

  After wiping my hands, I grabbed some Quik Dry from the storage bin next to my office and began sprinkling it on the puddle of oil. I was just heading back over to drop the scoop into the bin when my phone chimed from my workbench. I had no idea who would be calling me this late. Ryan had told me at lunchtime that he was working late and probably wouldn’t be able to talk tonight. I shook my head as I ran my dirty hands down the front of my jeans. They were already filthy, a little more oil wouldn’t make a difference.

  I rushed over to grab my phone, almost tripping over my own feet in the process. The chime had turned into a ring at this point and when I placed it against my head, I couldn’t help but sound a little breathless. “Hello,” I gasped as I tried to slow my breathing.

  “Hey beautiful,” Ryan’s voice filtered through the line. “Whatcha doin?”

  I rolled my eyes as I glanced around at the mess in front of me, “Not much. How’s work?”

  “Busy,” he sounded tired and I felt bad that it had been so long since we’d seen each other. “You got any plans tonight?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I teased.

  “I would,” he flirted back. His voice sounded odd. Not the tone, or the way he said it, but it sounded almost as if he was talking down a tunnel or something. I could swear that I heard traffic in the background.

  “Are you on break outside?” I leaned back against the workbench trying to relax as I mentally calculated how I was going to clean this mess and whether I wanted to put it off until morning. Now that it was just me, I didn’t have to worry about people seeing the place in such a disarray but my father had always taught me that you cleaned the place before closing every night.

  “Maybe. You’ve got quite a mess going on in there huh?” I could hear the smirk in his voice, and as soon as the words registered, my head snapped up.

  I glanced around quickly and finally caught him staring through the door from outside. He waved as he grinned at me. “I thought you had to work?” I squeaked out as the knob jiggled.

  “I did. I just got off. You gonna let me in?” he cupped his hand around his eyes as he peered through the glass.

  “Hang on,” I clicked the phone off and placed it back on the workbench before rushing toward the door. We hadn’t spent much time together, but after all the phone conversations I felt like we were closer. “Hey,” I swung the door open and wrapped him in a hug.

  “Hey,” he grinned as he pressed a kiss to my cheek. He began moving into the garage, causing me to walk backwards before he wrapped me in his arms and gave me the kiss I’d been waiting for. “You’re kinda dirty,” he released me as he looked down at where I’d gotten oil on him as well.

  “Had a little accident,” I shrugged as I turned away from him. “Wanna help me clean?” I glanced back over my shoulder and nibbled my lip. “I’ll reward you when we’re finished.”

  “Maybe,” he reached for a broom. “How about you take those jeans off and reward me with the view now?”

  “You’re terrible,” I laughed as I tossed a rag at him.

  “Only around you,” he winked before shaking his head. “Only around you,” he muttered under his breath before pushing the broom toward the Quik Dry.

  Chapter 9

  Rachel

  The cleaning went faster with Ryan’s help, and when we finished I felt better about locking up for the night. I hadn’t wanted to leave the place a mess, but after my day I just wanted to shower and climb into bed.

  “You wanna come upstairs?” I smiled as him as I locked the door to the garage and turned toward the stairs that led to my place.

  “I thought we already established that I do,” he smirked. “I earned it after working all day, and then coming here to work for you. Aren’t you gonna pay me?”

  “I think we can work something out,” I grinned as I began climbing the stairs. “I can’t wait to get out of these jeans,” I muttered as I pushed open my door.

  “I can’t wait either,” he groa
ned from behind me. “I’ve been staring at this for the past half hour. It’s like a cruel joke,” he ran his palm over one hip before squeezing lightly.

  “Careful. You might get oil on those scrubs. We can’t have that, or you won’t have anything to wear,” I teased.

  “I’m totally ok with that,” he murmured as he shoved the door closed behind him. His fingers deftly worked the lock closed before grabbing my shoulders to hold me in place. His head tipped down, claiming my mouth as he starting advancing forward, causing me to step back.

  We were moving blindly through my small apartment attempting to make it to the bathroom. We’d almost cleared the living room when Ryan broke the kiss. “I don’t know where I’m going,” he panted. His chest was heaving; eyes wild with lust, he licked his lips before brazenly scanning my body.

  “Are we done waiting,” I gasped as I reached out and pushed my palms under his scrub top. I flattened them against his abs, causing the muscles to tighten. I blinked up at him and watched his eyes close. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed tightly before he glanced down at me. I pushed my hands farther up toward his shoulders and finally saw his resolve break.

  “Fuck yeah, we’re done waiting,” he reached behind his shoulders and yanked his top over his head, tossing it to the side in the process. I don’t even think it had time to hit the floor before he began working my shirt up my stomach. It followed his before he leaned in and claimed my lips again.

  “It’s the first door on the right,” I mumbled between kisses. “The bathroom,” I began turning us in the right direction as we stumbled down the hall. I didn’t know how we were going to stop long enough to get clean, or if that was even a priority anymore. Right now all I wanted was to have this man mark me. It had been too long since I’d been this attracted to someone that I might care about. I wanted to lose myself in him, I wanted him to make me forget all the problems I’d been facing lately and just feel for a change.

  Once we made it into the bathroom, Ryan reached in the shower and turned the water on. “Come here,” he motioned to me as a smirk slid across his face. “It’ll take it a few minutes to warm up. In the meantime, I’ve got something I want to do.”

  “And what’s that?” I placed my hands on my hips. I should’ve just done what he asked, but instead I challenged him. Big mistake. Ryan could go all alpha, and I never even knew it.

  “Rach,” his eyes narrowed. “Just for that I’m not gonna let you come,” he shook his head as he grabbed my wrist and hauled me to his body. I crashed into him with a thump before he leaned down and growled next to my ear. “I’ve had a long day, and I’m still trying to remember why I turned you down the last time. I must’ve been out of my fucking mind because I want to fuck you…hard, and I plan on delivering tonight and maybe tomorrow too.” I shivered as his words sunk in. Where the hell had this come from? He was so sweet and sensitive one minute, and then he goes all alpha Dom the next. Every time I was around him I got a new piece of his personality.

  “You think it’s that easy, huh?” I tipped my head back so I was staring up at him. I watched something flicker across his face. It happened so fast I couldn’t place it, but then his lip curled up on one side, and he began to move. He spun us as he reached down and went to work removing my jeans. They were plastered to my legs from the oil, and Ryan released a frustrated growl as he yanked.

  “I’m about to take a pair of scissors to these if you don’t get them off now,” he stepped back and started to turn.

  “The hell you will,” I scoffed. “These are my favorites.” I pushed at them, and stomped around using my feet to get them off before kicking them to the side. Ryan’s eyes flared as he appraised me there in only my bra and panties.

  “Who knew that was under a pair of old jeans,” he chuckled as one finger pulled at the lace, causing it to snap against my hip.

  I shrugged, “So I like the fancy stuff.”

  “Oh, I like it too,” he paused as he reached in to test the water. It had been running awhile now and steam was beginning to fill the room. “I like it right over there,” he pointed at the floor before he shoved his scrub pants along with his boxers to the floor. His cock sprang free and stood proudly, pointing right at me. I couldn’t help but stare. Ryan was not lacking in that department at all. “See something you like?” he chuckled as he reached down and grabbed himself. His grip tightened as he stroked himself a few times before leaning closer to me. “Keep staring and I’ll make you wait longer. Panties off…now!” he demanded. I swallowed as I moved achingly slow. Two could play this game, and I was kinda having fun.

  I reached behind my back and released the clasp of my bra. I let it fall down my arms, and tossed it to the side. I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of my panties and slowly inched them down over my hips. His eyes flared as he took in my form. I kept myself in shape and had done a little grooming since our picnic at the lake. I’d been waiting for this and did not want to disappoint.

  “What’s this?” his voice lowered and came out strangled. He stepped closer and reached for me. His index finger made an excruciatingly slow pass over me before dipping inside, causing him to curse under his breath. “Fuck this,” he hissed before lifting me, and placing me on the counter. “I wanted to wait until I could do this in a bed, but I can’t. I can’t stand here and look at this, and not want to be inside you. This perfect body,” he swallowed and I watched his restraint shatter into a million pieces. “You are so beautiful,” he leaned in, forcing his tongue between my lips. My hands wrapped around his neck and threaded into his hair as my legs wrapped around his waist. I hooked my ankles behind his hips and rocked forward. His stiff cock brushed over me, causing both of us to groan before he broke the kiss. His lips slid along my jaw as he licked his way to my ear before he paused. “Please tell me you’re on birth control. I don’t have a fucking condom,” he growled. “I never do this, but I wasn’t planning to come here tonight. I needed to see you though.”

  I nodded vigorously, “Yes, I’m on the pill.”

  “Thank fuck,” he swore as he tugged me closer and rammed into me. Any other time and an invasion like that would have hurt, but Ryan had me so worked up that I’m sure a puddle was forming underneath me. “Shit!” he hissed as he paused for a moment. “You feel so fucking good. I’m never gonna get enough of this,” he pulled back before rocking his hips forward and seating himself all the way to the hilt.

  “Oh god,” I groaned as I let my head fall back. I released my hold on his hair and braced myself against the counter. The new angle allowed him to sink deeper, and when I tightened my walls around him, I watched his eyes snap to meet mine.

  “Do that too much and this won’t last,” he warned. I grinned as I bit my bottom lip, and did it again.

  “Fuck me like you mean it, Ryan Mitchell,” I demanded. “We’ve got all night.”

  “You don’t know what you’re asking me,” he groaned. “I wanted to take my time with you.”

  “Take your time during the next round,” I rocked my hips up to meet his and let my eyes flutter closed. As if I’d given him the permission he was looking for, he began to slam his hips into me. My body jerked backwards slightly as I slid back from the force. My hands slapped blindly at the edge of the counter as I attempted to brace myself better. Ryan was staring unblinking at me as his abs and arms flexed. His restraint was slipping with each rock of his hips and as I started to spiral into mindlessness, I saw him let go of the last piece. “Fuuuuck!” he roared as he pushed in one last time and held himself there. His entire body shivered as his head dropped onto my shoulder. Sweat dripped from his brow as a low chuckle sounded. “I didn’t come here planning this, but goddamn I’m glad it happened.”

  “Me too,” I giggled as he lifted his head and smiled at me. “Want to switch venues? I think we’re gonna run out of hot water if we don’t get in the shower soon.”

  “Sounds good to me; although after that workout, I might need to cool down,” he laughed as
he helped me down off the counter.

  “I don’t think so buddy,” I winked as I stepped past him and pushed open the shower curtain. I glanced back to see Ryan leaning against the sink. He seemed a little more winded than he should, but I brushed it off as a long day at the hospital. “You ok?” I tipped my head to the side.

  “Yeah, just give me a sec ok? I need to catch my breath,” he laughed. “You really worked me over there.”

  “You sure?” I started to step in under the water but paused before pulling the curtain closed.

  “Get in the shower, Rach. You need to get clean so I can dirty you up again,” he glared at me teasingly.

  “Yes Sir,” I saluted him as I stepped under the hot stream and closed my eyes. Something was different. Ryan never looked winded after our makeout sessions. He seemed to be hiding something, but I wasn’t sure what. I pushed the thoughts away, and began running my fingers through my hair as I felt the curtain breeze open. My eyes were closed but I could sense him there. He was watching me, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t turn me on that much more. “You gonna help? It’ll go faster that way,” I teased just as two strong arms wrapped around me from behind. One went to my breasts while the other trailed down my stomach and sank lower.

  “I’ll help, but I don’t know how clean you’ll be getting,” he whispered as he pressed a kiss to my neck. His hands began their slow torture and knowing that I couldn’t fight it, I leaned back against his chest and surrendered.

  Chapter 10

  Rachel

  The days began to blur together as Spring melded into Summer. The weather became scorchingly hot, and I spent more and more time avoiding the inevitable demise of my business. I hadn’t seen much of Ryan the last few days. He’d been working late, and the few times he called, he’d been yawning so much that it was as if he was ready to crash. I’d told him to stay home and rest. I wanted to see him, but I also felt guilty making him come to my place. I’d yet to see his and if I’d been in the right frame of mind that may have concerned me, but I’d been dealing with other bigger problems. I’d received final notice on the garage, and as much as I wanted to deny it, the end was coming. I had two weeks to get out before the bank had me removed.