Backroom Boy: All American Boy Series

by Marika Ray

  “Okay, let’s focus, girls. We need to help Delta pick the main colors for bid week. That’ll get Ava off her back.” Anna, at least, was trying to help me.

  I sighed while they all launched into an argument over the two best colors to convey their excitement over the new recruits. It all just seemed so trivial and shallow. Only a month ago I would have been arguing with them, just as excited by the prospect of a party, but now, it just didn’t grab me. I wanted to talk about how I was making my software interface all pretty and ready to sell to the public. Maybe even chat about the possibility of falling in love at the tender age of twenty. The kind of stuff that made my heart pound.

  “Hey, girls?” I asked quietly, the rest of them quieting down immediately.

  The sounds of the restaurant faded into the background. I was going to break protocol and talk about something beyond parties, sororities, and the latest fashion. I wasn’t at all sure how they’d take it, but they were my friends. I should be able to share my life with them.

  “I wanted to tell you that I’ve been working on a side project and I’m really excited about it.”

  Natalie tipped her head to the side. “A new project?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I built some accounting software. And I think it’s good enough to start selling it.”

  The silence stretched out while I fidgeted in my chair. This had been a bad idea. Sharing my programming with this audience was just stupid. What had I been thinking?

  “Well, well. We have a boss bitch on our hands!” Natalie was the first to break the silence. “Congrats, girl. That sounds amazing. And confusing.”

  I giggled, relieved beyond belief that she supported me even though she probably didn’t understand why I loved programming. The rest of the girls congratulated me and asked some questions about the software, which I answered, my heart glowing with pride. I’d underestimated these friends of mine and now I knew exactly what everyone else saw when they looked at me. I bet each of my friends had way more going on under the surface too, and when I went back to school, I intended to dig into what that was.

  We also picked colors for bid week, sending that info off to Ava so she’d get off my back. The wait staff probably wanted us to leave so they could turn our table, but we all wanted to stay and catch up. I made a note to tip well to make up for hogging a table all evening. When we were just about to go, I decided to share one more thing with them.

  “So, you know Lukas?” At their nods and Natalie’s waggle of eyebrows, I continued. “We’re kind of seeing each other.”

  “What?”

  “Tell us!”

  “I’m happy for you, Delta.”

  They all talked at once. I beamed, realizing I’d missed this. Having good friends to share everything with. Sure, Lukas and I were a team, but it wasn’t us versus the world, like it seemed. I had girlfriends too who’d back me and not ask questions.

  I swirled what was left of my ice water, buying time just to annoy them. “Well…we’re keeping things a secret since he works for my dad, but he’s pretty amazing.”

  My eyes filled with tears, surprising even myself. I hadn’t truly realized what Lukas meant to me until this very moment. I’d never felt like someone’s most important person. My parents had always had each other and the winery to take all their attention, and though I’d had good friends in high school and college, I’d never had a true bestie. Lukas and I felt like an extension of each other.

  And I’d left him in my driveway by himself.

  “Ahh, Delta,” Anna oozed, leaning over to give me a hug.

  I set down my glass and stood quickly. “Guys. I gotta get back and talk to Lukas.”

  “Okay, honey. Let’s go.” Natalie stood too and grabbed her purse.

  Suddenly, there was nothing that mattered more than getting home and talking things out with Lukas. He needed to know me leaving him standing there hadn’t been because I didn’t think he was worthy of meeting my friends. It was because I was jealous and afraid they’d flirt with him and he’d dump me for someone prettier and new. I should have trusted him more, which meant I had some apologizing to do.

  When my car pulled into my driveway, my friends yelled at me to go find Lukas while they got settled in our guest bedrooms. They’d be here through the weekend, which left plenty of time to talk. I threw them air kisses and ran as soon as my feet hit the ground. I flew down the path leading to the pool house and grabbed the door handle, only to find it locked. I knocked and then called out to him.

  There was no answer. And no light on.

  I went out back to the tree, thinking maybe he was working out, but there was no Lukas, no speaker, and no sign of him anywhere. I retraced my steps and realized in my race to find him, I’d missed the fact that his motorcycle was gone.

  Oh, shit.

  I spun in a circle, my hands in my hair.

  He was gone.

  9

  Lukas

  I wasn’t the type to rage hot and fast, getting over it in the next breath. I stewed on things far longer than was healthy, letting it fester and build into something more than it was. And this little situation with Delta was no different. The second she dismissed me like the dust covering her fancy shoes in front of her girlfriends, I’d wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of Merlot.

  Not seeing any other choice, I called in sick for the following day, and if truth be told, I was definitely feeling off. Seeing Delta shrug me off like that after I’d started to come to rely on her and think that maybe we really did have a chance together, put me in a permanent funk. I packed a small bag and hopped on my motorcycle to head home for the long weekend.

  My parents, as conservative and as strict as they were growing up, were everything I needed to ground myself again. My dad was the town pastor and my mom was the stereotypical housewife. I didn’t want to live my own life struggling to make ends meet like they did, but I had to admit, they had a fantastic marriage that had served my sister and me well throughout the years. Mom fed me heaping plates of all my favorites over the weekend and Dad even took the afternoon off on Saturday to have a family beach day.

  My sister, Lenora, and her husband, Jayden, and their son, Red, met us down at the cliffs. Once their umbrella was pitched and Red had been slathered with enough sunscreen to stunt his growth, they settled down and joined the conversation. Their constant teasing and cajoling finally broke me out of my funk.

  “So, now that you’re speaking more than one word at a time again, want to tell us who the girl is?” Lenora shot me a look like she dared me to deny all this angst wasn’t about a girl.

  The thing is, Lenora looked all sweet and proper, but she ran a sex toy shop here in Auburn Hill and had the characteristics of a bulldog sniffing an unwatched cheeseburger. Denying my issue had to do with Delta wasn’t an option. Better to just be out with it now.

  “Her name is Delta and she’s the daughter of my boss.”

  “Oh, son. Really know how to pick ’em,” Dad muttered, his gaze firmly looking out at the sea. He didn’t like conflict, what could I say?

  Lenora whipped off her sunglasses. “Must run in the family, this attraction to bosses.” She winked at my brother-in-law and I tried not to vomit. He’d been her boss for all of a day before he’d fired her. He apologized, of course, and then gave her the whole company right after he asked her to marry him.

  “This is different though. Her family has owned this winery for decades. They’re one of the wealthiest families in Merlot. They’re not going to turn a blind eye to the poor guy renting their pool house for the summer dating their precious daughter.”

  Jayden sat up from where he was sunning on a beach towel. “I don’t know, brother. If they can’t see what a good guy you are, then maybe that’s their issue, not yours. Do you love this girl?”

  I ran a hand through my hair, uncomfortable with the question as it was the one that had been bouncing around in my skull all weekend long. Was I in love with her?

  “
Kind of feels like I am, but how do I know for sure?” I asked Jayden. He and my sister were nauseatingly happy together. If anyone could tell me, it would be him.

  Jayden got a soft smile on his face, reaching over to hold Lenora’s hand. “If you say something mean to her in the heat of the moment and it makes your throat burn to have said those things to her. Or if she winks at you and your heart stops beating. Or her laugh makes you feel higher than all the clouds in the sky. Or her eyes fill with tears and you’d literally do anything in the whole world to make her smile again. I’d have to say those are all indications that it’s love.”

  Lenora made some sort of weird peep and then she was sitting on Jayden’s lap, their lips smashed together. I groaned and my mom laughed. Dad’s face turned a mottled red even though he never took his gaze off the ocean. Red, having seen this a lot, barreled right into them, wanting to be part of the huddle.

  While they were occupied, I thought about what Jayden said. There was a lot of truth there, though it was Delta’s dimples that had me on my knees. Biting her lip made me crazy. And I liked her conversation and presence even when getting naked wasn’t on the menu. I even got that gushy feeling when I thought about her brain and how smart she was. If I was getting turned inside out over a girl’s brain, it had to be love, right?

  “Fuck,” I muttered loudly.

  “Lukas!” Mom chided.

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  When Jayden and Lenora came up for air, Lenora turned her attention back to me. “Hey, don’t let this get you down. You’re a good man, Lukas Murphy. You deserve a good woman who can see through the zeroes on your bank account. And if you love her, you don’t have to rush anything. Let everything run its course. You’re young yet. Talk, be honest with each other, and just see what happens.”

  I stood up and ruffled her hair like when we were kids. I knew she hated it and it was just the thing a younger brother does. She slapped at my hands, but there was a smile on her face.

  “Thanks, big sis. You’re not so bad at this advice crap.”

  She grinned and smoothed down her hair. “Glad you think that. Because I’m going to need to be good at it.”

  We all looked at her in confusion. What was she getting at?

  She looked at Jayden and he looked at her. At his nod, she exploded. “I’m finally pregnant!”

  Mom nearly fell out of her chair getting to Lenora and pulling her into a joyous hug. Dad was slower, but he made it over there too. I gave Jayden a hug, not surprised to see tears in his eyes. He loved my sister better than I could ever have hoped for. I gave him some shit when he fired her, but he’d come around and redeemed himself.

  “Congrats, Lenora.” I gave her a hug once Mom finally let go. “You know Lukas is a really good name for a boy.”

  She punched me in the arm and then we just smiled at each other. Jayden pulled her against him and kissed the side of her head like she was his whole world, Red held in his other arm. Dammit, my eyes started burning too. See? This was what I wanted with Delta. A whole life built together.

  I needed to get back to Merlot and see if she was on the same page. See if she was ashamed of me or if she simply didn’t know what to do when two parts of her life came together unexpectedly.

  The drive back early Monday morning was a good one. I’d left Merlot with anger thrumming through my veins. I was returning with cautious optimism. The way I saw it, I’d had the weekend to remember who I was. To solidify what I wanted in life. And if Delta wasn’t the one for me, it would hurt to cut ties, but I’d do it because I knew what I ultimately wanted.

  I headed straight to the winery, pulling up with exactly thirty seconds to spare before I was late for work. I ran in, grabbed an apron and got going on the dishes, ignoring Delta’s staredown from the inventory job she was doing.

  “When you’re done there, Delta, let’s have you work with Rosie in the tasting room.” John swept through the back room. “Lukas, let’s have you head over to the growers and get started on that side of things. You feeing better, by the way?”

  I nodded, feeling guilty for calling in sick on Friday. Taking sick days was a rarity for me. “Yeah, I’m good. Thank you.”

  “Awesome. Have a good Monday, guys. Let me know if you need anything.” John headed out to do all the other things he did besides manage the summer workers.

  “You were sick on Friday?” Delta said across the room, the clipboard forgotten. “Was it bad? You didn’t answer my texts.”

  “No, I’m okay, I promise. Maybe we can chat tonight after work?” I had a sink full of glasses that needed washing and I really wanted to get out to the field for the first time to learn that side of the business. Besides, our conversation might be a little intense and I needed more than a few stolen moments in the back room with her to say all the things I wanted to say.

  She sighed, but nodded. “Okay. After work for sure. I’ll meet you at the pool house?”

  “Sure.”

  When her back turned and she resumed inventory, I took a long moment to drink her in. The way she kept pushing a piece of hair out of her face while she concentrated. Her checkered Vans that said more skater girl than sorority girl. I’d missed her while I was gone. And I hoped like hell she was falling for me just like I was falling for her.

  I jiggled my keys in my hand while I waited for Delta. I was bursting with the knowledge I’d gained from working in the fields that day. My brain was in hyperdrive and a big part of me wanted to share it all with Delta, but we had to resolve things between us first.

  She came out the back sliding door of her house, a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a skimpy red tank top that highlighted her bronzed skin. She had simple flip-flops on her feet, and though she looked nothing like the sorority girl I met that first night, I thought she looked even prettier just how she was. I remembered what Jayden said about loving someone and realized he’d been right. More than anything, I wanted to put a smile back on Delta’s face.

  “Hey, Lukas.” She came to a stop in front of me, her hands twisting the little gold band rings around her fingers.

  I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “Want to go for a walk in the vineyard?”

  She nodded, her expression looking nervous despite her casual words. “Sure!”

  We headed out that way and I was aware of her beside me, her fruit scent tickling my nose. She stayed quiet until we got to the tree where I liked to work out. And then it was like she couldn’t stop, the words pouring faster than a bottle of the reserve merlot they kept in the back for special customers.

  “Listen, I’m so sorry for not introducing you to my friends and making things super awkward. It’s just Natalie, the one with the big mouth, she’s just so flirty and she said some things about you on your motorcycle and I just wanted to get them out of there. And then Anna was looking you up and down and I wanted to pull her damn hair until she screamed. I mean, I know you and I are a thing and you wouldn’t have flirted back, but just the idea of them all over you made me a little crazy. So, I’m sorry.”

  I put my hand on her arm and stopped her. “It’s okay. I get it now. I admit, I was hurt that you ran off so fast. Thought maybe you were ashamed to introduce me to your friends—”

  “No! I promise—” Delta interrupted.

  “But then I spent the weekend with my family and I squared things away in my head,” I finished.

  “And?” She looked so worried, like she had no idea how much I felt things for her. And yeah, I’d tossed around the L word over the weekend, and while it still scared the crap out of me to say it, it didn’t make it any less true.

  I tucked a hair behind her ear, drinking her in. “I’m in love with you, Delta.”

  She sucked in a huge breath of air, the inhale shaky and long. Then she burst into a smile and gasped, her dimples winking in the fading sunlight. “Oh, thank God! I mean, I love you too, Lukas.”

  She jumped into my arms and I caught her, spinning her around and almost taking out one of the gra
pevines. We both laughed and kissed, neither of us able to decide which we wanted to do more. I finally set her down on her feet and cupped her face.

  “I know we can’t be together like we want right now, but you need to know I’m all in. I’m into you in every way a man can love a woman. You got me? I want forever with you, even if we can’t get started on it until after you graduate.”

  A tear slid down her cheek and I caught it with my thumb. She nodded while blinking back tears. “Ditto. To all that.”

  I grinned and then kissed her again, showing her exactly how much she meant to me. Most girls might think making out in a vineyard with the dirt and plants and insects a gross thing, but Delta had been raised on this land. It was her foundation, and she didn’t mind spending time making out in the field while the sun set into the horizon behind us. When we finally pulled away, I grabbed her hand and we went on that walk together.

  She laid her head on my shoulder as we walked. “I told my friends about my computer program.”

  “Bet they were proud of you.”

  She nodded. “They were. They think I’m a bit weird, but they were proud of me just the same. I judged them a bit harshly, thinking they were all about the parties and boys, but they really care for me beyond all that.”

  “Everyone deserves to have friends like that.” I kissed the top of her head. “That’s Dante for me. He’s been my friend through thick and thin.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him.”

  “And I can’t wait to officially meet your friends,” I reminded her.

  She groaned.

  “What? Too soon?” I teased her.

  She poked me hard and we stopped to kiss because I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off her.

  Delta pulled back and asked, “Do you still see me as a spoiled rich girl?”

  “Do you see me as a poor kid with no prospects?” I countered.

  “No!”

  “Same goes for me. I may have teased you about the sorority girl thing, but you’re so much more than that, Delta. I’ve never met someone who I can share my every thought with. My hopes and dreams, and even my stupid ideas. And you amaze me every day with how much you know, what you can do when you set your mind to it. I’m so lucky to be with you, and though I don’t say it enough, I hope you always know that.”