Chapter seventeen

It’s been a few weeks since Ryder and I started hooking up, and it’s been amazing. We haven’t told anyone, but the guys on the squad know what’s going on. Perry particularly likes to tease me about always having a goofy smile. Which I totally can’t help. I think anyone would have a goofy smile if they were getting railed multiple times a week by the love of their life. Yeah, okay, he doesn’t realize he’s the love of my life. We’ve just got some weird sort of friends-with-benefits thing going on where we don’t actually talk about what we’re doing. I am living in the moment and taking what I can get.

And if this is all it will ever be, then I guess that is what I’m taking.

I’m much more okay with it than I thought I would be. I guess it’s the constant endorphin rush. Or is it a dopamine hit? Maybe both. Either way. The result is all the orgasms with the man of my dreams equals a happy Lexi.

I turn the corner and see Garrett’s shop, which is where I’m heading. I left my phone in my Ryder’s car this morning. It wasn’t actually after spending the night with him. He decided to come and pick up Kait and me. More likely, Kait asked for a ride this morning because she couldn’t be bothered to walk the ten minutes it takes to get to campus.

“Ryder, looks like you’ve got a customer,” Garrett says, winking at me as I walk through the lot. Ryder looks at his uncle quizzically and then across the garage to me. His face lights up with a smile. I challenge anyone to not fall in love with that adorable face and his sexy lip ring that feels so good when he swallows my cock. It’s impossible.

“Hi,” I say as I walk up to him.

“Hi yourself,” he says, pulling me to him by the zipper of my hoodie, his mouth immediately on mine in a very unchaste kiss. I sigh into his mouth, but all too soon, I pull away, remembering we have an audience.

“I get off in an hour if you don’t have any plans and want to hang out with me during my shift,” he says, his hand still fiddling with my zipper.

“Yeah, sounds fun.”

“Just remember to maybe not touch anything.” He kisses me on the nose, walks over to the reception desk, and grabs a chair, dragging it over for me.

“What do you mean to not touch anything?” I fold my arms, ignoring the chair. “I could help.”

“I’m sure you could. But remember, I’ve known you for years. I watched you help your pa change a tire,” he says, making me blush.

“It was one time. I could definitely fix a tire,” I mumble.

“Ryder, your boyfriend doesn’t know how to change a tire?” Garrett asks, walking over to us, mouth agape. “We need to fix this now. You carry on with the Chevy. I’ll deal with Lexi. Follow me.”

I look at Ryder, who just smiles and shrugs. “You heard the man.”

I say nothing and catch up with Garrett, who is walking through the back of the shop, where he has another garage full of cars in different states of being. He leads me over to one that has both back wheels missing and is propped up on bricks.

“This is the one. She’s a beauty.”

She’s missing a windshield and all her seats.

“I’m going to show you the whole process first, and then you can try.” I listen as he explains every step, pausing after each one to see if I have any questions. His passion and love for cars shines through. It’s not hard to see where Ryder got his love of all things vehicles. I like that it’s something we’ve got in common. Enjoying the same passions as the men who raised us.

“Do you want to try now?” Garrett asks.

“Yeah, thanks. I really should know this for when I get a car.”

“You don’t have a car?” I keep shocking this poor man. He’s only in his mid-thirties, but I think I add twenty years with each admission.

“No?” It comes out like a question. “I mean, no. I just Uber everywhere or catch a ride with a friend.” I shrug.

“Okay, we’ll fix that soon.” He looks at me, assessing. It’s the same look he gave me when I covered for Kait and Ryder after they snuck out to a college party in high school. “You’re good for him, and I think he’s good for you.”

“I-I mean we…no, I,” I splutter out.

“Do you need a glass of water?” he asks, eyebrows scrunching in concern.

“No, thank you.” I take a deep breath. “We haven’t talked about what it is we’re doing. But I know I want to keep doing it. Him. I mean, I want to do whatever it is I’m doing with Ryder, always.”

I’m an idiot.

“You’ve loved him for a while, huh?” The shock must be clear on my face because he continues. “I think the only person who hasn’t realized is Ryder.”

“He’s so easy to love,” I whisper.

Garrett’s whole face smiles, and he pulls me into a brief hug. “Perfect for each other.”

Having Garrett’s blessing is a great feeling. Garrett and Kait are the two most important people in Ryder’s life and now they both like me. Well, I hope Kait will still like me if she ever finds out about Ryder and me sleeping together.

I know Garrett liking me doesn’t automatically mean that Ryder will want me as a boyfriend and declare his undying love, but it’s definitely a plus.

I just realized Ryder never corrected Garrett when he called me his boyfriend earlier. Does that mean something? I try not to, but I fucking hope it does.

Raised voices come from inside the garage. The tire is abandoned as I follow after Garrett to see what’s going on. Ryder, with a hard, cold look, is staring at a man who looks like an older, beardless, washed-out version of Garrett.

Ryder’s dad.

“What are you doing here, Gerald?” Garrett demands.

“I’m here to see my son,” Gerald sneers. “Go back to your office with your skanky little boy toy.”

“What the fuck did you call him?” Ryder asks, his voice like icy daggers.

“Don’t get too attached to your uncle’s lovers, Ryder. Surely you know they never stick around.”

Ryder lunges for him, but like he was expecting it, Garrett moves at the same time and catches him.

“Lexi is mine, you motherfucker, and don’t you dare talk to Garrett that way. He is a better man than you will ever fucking be.”

“He’s brainwashed you. I knew I shouldn’t have let you go with him.” His dad says in a sad voice, shaking his head. He genuinely believes the shit he’s spouting. “I have been trying to call you, and you haven’t answered. Your mother and I want you to come home.”

“Why?” Ryder spits out. “Why now, after all these years, do you want me back?”

Gerald steels himself. “Well, you see, we have a new pastor. And he says it’s okay to be gay. And your mom’s hair stylist mentioned that we have a gay son. All the people at church would love to meet you.”

This piece of shit doesn’t look even remotely ashamed of himself.

“Oh, so I get it. You only want me in your life so you can save face? I’m not a fucking prop, and I don’t know where you and Mom get off calling me your son. Not when I haven’t been your son for seven fucking years.” Right now, Ryder looks like the bad boy people seem to think he is. His eyes are wild, and if I didn’t know him, I’d say he was going to deck his dad. I move to his side, placing a hand on his back. He doesn’t look at me, but he leans into my hand.

“Hey, we did what we thought was best,” Gerald says weakly. He has to know he’s lost this fight.

“Yeah, well, what you thought was best was absolutely shit. I don’t owe you anything. I haven’t owed you anything ever. I was a kid. You were the parents. You chose your church over me. So, no, I don’t owe you a damn thing. Now get out. You’re not my parents. Garrett has been more of a father to me than you ever were. Leave, lose my number. Forget I ever existed. Tell all your church friends I died or whatever, but just stay away from me.”

Gerald looks at Ryder like he wants to say something else but thinks better of it before looking at Garrett and me.

Garrett takes a deliberate step toward his brother. “Leave now. Ryder has become the amazing man he is despite you.”

“Maybe your mother and I need to go to a new church anyway.” He sniffs, clearly intending to wound but not hitting the mark. He storms off to his car and peels out of the lot.

“Are you okay?” I ask. He pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around my back, putting his face against my neck, and breathing me in deeply.

“That was horrible.”

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. You deserve better than them, and you’ve got better than them with Garrett.” He lifts his head and smiles at me before pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

“I do have Garrett.” He looks over at him and smiles.

“Love you, kid,” Garrett says. “I’m proud of you. You handled that perfectly.”

I try to move out of Ryder’s arms to give them some space, but he doesn’t let me go.

“Don’t think I could ever thank you enough for taking me in when you did.”

“It wasn’t a hardship, you know,” he grunts affectionately. “Go on. You go clock out. I’ll teach your boyfriend another time. Lexi, I mean that. Our lessons are not finished, so you better come back.”

“I promise I will.”

Ryder grabs his stuff, and we make our way to his car.

“Let’s go back to my place. I want naked cuddles and to watch something made this century.”

“Okay, but I should warn you that Kait discovered That ‘90s Show on Netflix, so she will put that on the next time you pull that excuse.” I hear a mumbled “Fucking hell” as I get in his car and put on my seat belt.

He also gets in, but he doesn’t start the engine. “This is gonna sound…I don’t actually know how this is gonna sound, but just know that I’ve got closure now. Like, I feel some part of me is healed from just telling him off. I think the last thing I said to him before today was, ‘I’m sorry that I can’t turn the gay thing off, but I wish I could.’ It was horrible. I cried, and my mom just stood there. Complete apathy.”

I scramble over the center console to get into his lap, pressing kisses all over his face. I cradle his face in my hands.

“Even if that had been your last conversation and you’d never seen him again, you were a child. You were brave and scared, and you were losing your family. I would be proud of you. But yeah, you got to stand up to him today as a man, and I’m glad you got that closure because you deserve so much better than your so-called parents could ever give you.”

He looks up at me, eyes shiny with unshed tears.

“I’m glad I’ve got you, Lexi.”

“For as long as you want me.”