Chapter 11

An Unexpectedly Delicious Interlude

Hey, are you up for company? I can bring over Chinese food.

Maddox stared down at the test, debating how to answer. Chinese food sounded amazing, and he'd just folded in the botanicals and poured the last of the replacement soap into the molds, so there was nothing to do but clean up his supplies and leave the soap to cure on the stainless-steel counter.

Despite all that he'd needed to accomplish, staying away from the shop, Baby and particularly Haven for these past two nights hadn't been easy, his mood really shining through earlier, when he'd sent Archer home so he could unpack and brood to Type-O Negative. Had the man heard the angsty playlist Maddox had put together he'd have no doubt given him shit for all the sideways comments Maddox had made about his music, which was the last thing he was in the mood for tonight.

His stomach rumbled, the traitorous bastard, and a glance in the refrigerator revealed only the ingredients he needed for the batches of salad dressing he intended to make later in the week, now that the updated coolers had been installed.

Yeah, I could eat Maddox typed back. You know how to get here?

You're in Chappy's old building, right?

I don't know anything about a Chappy, but it used to be a fish house before the owner died.

That was Chappy's. I know where it is.

Come in the back way through the alley. I've already locked up the front for the night.

I'll be there in five.

Maddox saw no reason to respond to that, he just finished cleaning up and sat, awaiting the arrival of the man he couldn't keep his mind off.

When Haven popped his head in and smiled, Maddox wondered what the fuck he'd been thinking, trying to create distance between them. The aromas that wafted out of the bag he carried were mouthwatering, and as he unloaded the containers on the table, Maddox quickly realized the meal was homemade and not from a takeout place.

"Did you make all of this?" Maddox asked.

"More like I helped River make it and he showed me these awesome You Tube channels with recipes for all kinds of meals. There were these crab cakes with a spicy remu…umm remmely sauce and buttery calamari with chili lime seasoning that looked like they'd go amazing together. We're gonna give them a shot this weekend along with a tangy cucumber and tomato salad."

"I think the word you were looking for was Remoulade," Maddox pointed out, prompting Haven to duck his head as a slow blush spread up his cheeks and across the bridge of his freckled nose. "Hey. It's nothing to be ashamed about. I butchered the pronunciation the first few times too. Hell, you should have heard me trying to pronounce Worcestershire the first time around."

"How do you even spell that?"

"Fucked if I know, spelling never was my strong suit."

"It was never mine either," Haven admitted as he unpacked plates, napkins and cutlery, while Maddox removed the lids from each of the containers.

"Whoa," he breathed as he got a good look at what was inside. "Okay, so tell me what we've got here?"

"Honey garlic shrimp, Mongolian beef, fried rice, bourbon chicken, egg rolls, crab Rangoon, pumpkin pancakes and egg tarts."

"What did you guys do, shut down for the afternoon and put on a cooking clinic?"

"It actually didn't take that long, since River had made most of the recipes before," Haven admitted. "I just chopped what he wanted me to chop, mix things in once he'd measured them out and got my hand slapped for stealing pumpkin pancakes until he finally broke down and taught me how to make a batch."

"And now I'm curious," Maddox said before popping one in his mouth. "Ohhhh dayummmmm."

Licking his lips, Maddox tasted the traces lingering there, sighed, then caught Haven's wrist as he reached for one.

"New rule," Maddox declared as he lifted one from the container and held it to Haven's lips. "Dessert first."

"I can appreciate that," Haven muttered as he carefully accepted the small pancake, soft lips lightly grazing over Maddox's fingertip. He didn't want light though, or careful. He wanted Haven to part his lips completely and let Maddox slip his fingers past them so he could enjoy the feel of Haven sucking the flavor from his skin.

Damnit, down boy, he told himself, even as he found himself in a position where Haven turned the tables and held the next pancake up for him to eat, those tranquil turquoise eyes meeting his and setting his blood on fire. Maddox took the plunge, opening his mouth enough to wrap his lips around the pancake and those digits, loving the way Haven's cheeks pinked up again, though this time it was definitely not out of embarrassment.

"Were you able to get your products replaced?" Haven asked as Maddox smirked at him and licked his lips.

"Yup, last batch is hardening on the counter. Shelves are stocked, coolers are ready and partially full. There are just a few things left to add before the grand opening. Cooking oils and butters have arrived from my supplier, tea blends have been arranged in a display, and the aromatherapy critters are here and ready to find homes."

Haven cocked his head, eyes widening a little. "Aromatherapy critters?"

"Yup. Stuffed animals filled with CDB oils blended with different scents to promote calm, focus and peaceful dreaming."

Haven let out a soft sigh as he allowed Maddox to slip the next pancake past his lips. "I could use the peaceful dreaming one."

"Really? And why's that?"

"I don't sleep for shit," Haven admitted. "Maybe a couple hours a night broken up by a movie when I really get restless."

"Have you always had a hard time sleeping?"

Haven shook his head and offered Maddox an egg tart, the custardy filling so smooth and rich it was like pudding on steroids. As busts of vanilla danced over his tongue, he let his eyes drift closed and warned himself to tread carefully and not push Haven for answers he might not be ready to give.

"No," Haven admitted as he busied himself with dishing food out onto their plates.

Maddox waited to see if he'd say more and was quickly rewarded.

"You um, know I've been in prison, right?" Haven murmured.

"I had heard things to that effect."

"I fucked up," Haven said softly, "And I paid with six years of my life. Being out is still weird. After learning to sleep with seventy other men, and all the noise that fills a cellblock, it's hard not to be paranoid by the silence."

"Amen to that."

Maddox let that sink in a moment. Haven's eyes widened and he met Maddox's gaze again, holding it longer this time.

"You've been in?" Haven asked.

"I have."

"For how long?"

"Which time?"

"Oh…uhhh…ummm…."

"Hey, that life is behind me now the way I'm hoping yours is," Maddox said. "All in all, I spent eight and a half years on the inside, most of those stints for brawling, property damage, threatening bodily harm and one time riding my motorcycle through the plate glass window of a bar after the bartender refused to serve me. Clocking him with one of his own barstools didn't help my cause, nor did smashing up damn near every bottle but the tequila I drove off with. They tacked a DUI on to that one and revoked the probation I was already on."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, not my finest moment, but I like to think I've matured since my outlaw days."

"You weren't driving the Electra Glide, were you?" Haven asked, leaving Maddox stunned that the bike had been the question Haven had chosen to focus on.

"Oh hell no. It was my road bike, an old sportster I saw most of the state from the back of."

"What happened to it?"

"Sold it to one of my ex-club brothers when I decided that life was no longer for me," Maddox admitted. "Hated to let it go, but it gave me a bit of startup money to get my first store up off the ground."

"I've always wanted to go for a ride on the back of one."

"Get my baby back running right for me and I'll take you out for some wind therapy."

"What's that?"

"You'll see," Maddox said. "It's not something that can be described. You have to feel it and experience the peace that comes when everything else is drowned out but the roar of the engine and the winding road stretched out in front of you."

"You should take her up the northern highway. Lots of hills and windy places there."

"I'd intended to before that bastard plowed into her."

"Any word yet on who was driving?"

"They still don't know exactly what hit her, or that Lawson lady and her kid."

"She was my middle school social studies teacher," Haven said. "She always made the subject fun. Instead of expecting us to learn everything from a textbook, she showed a bunch of movies to help us better understand the period we were reading about. I hope she and her daughter pull through."

"So do I. It's bullshit that no one got a clear look at the vehicle," Maddox said. "I've heard it described as everything from a blue pickup truck to a black 4Runner. One guy claimed it was a red Hummer, but I doubt that was the case with how fast it was going and the amount of torque it pulled going around the corner."

"You'd be surprised. Some of those Hummers corner tighter than you'd expect them too, though I doubt they'd be able to hit your bike and miss the deli if they'd popped it up on the curb the way Jeremy claimed they did."

"That's the first I've heard about someone seeing anything like that."

"'Cause Jeremy hates the cops and took off the moment he heard the siren headed that way," Haven said. "The only reason he mentioned it to me was because I dropped in on him and his old man to ask if he could help track down some of the authentic parts we hadn't been able to locate yet. He knows a couple guys he's gonna reach out to, but your machine is one of the rare ones, so it's going to take a little bit of time, even with his buddies helping."

"One of many reasons why I love her."

"She's a lot of bike," Haven admitted. "I've learned a ton about the model through studying the schematics and reading through the repair manual."

"That's just about the only reading that has ever held my attention," Maddox admitted. "That and a good CBD cookbook."

"Manuals and Manga, that's pretty much all I read," Haven admitted. "Well, um, that and poetry, sometimes, when it's not all that old, archaic shit. Most of the poems I love are by musicians. I had to get a hardcover copy of all three of Jim Morrison's poetry books because I wore out the paperback ones. I knew I was going to do the same with Tupac's A Rose That Grew from Concrete, so I made sure I got a hardcover to start with."

Well, that was unexpected.

"I can't say I've ever read a poem unless it was for a school assignment, and I'm not sure I finished any of them," Maddox admitted. "What held your interest?"

"That I could hear the music in them," Haven admitted. "Mom had a whole collection of Rod McKuen's books filled with poems and sometimes she'd read them to us before bed. She always had music playing when she was working in her pottery studio. There was a record player in the corner, Seasons in the Sun was one of her favorite albums. The songs were filled with images, but the poems completed the stories. I'd just picked up 2Fish by Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo the day I got locked up. I should have stayed home reading it. It's on the shelf in my bedroom over the shop. I still really want to read it, but every time I look at it, I remember that night and I haven't been able to pick it up yet.

I want to, though. I was so excited. I'd read just the hint of one at the bookstore when I grabbed it, but that was all I needed. I was hooked. The way she wrote about how she saw herself in her mind, versus what she saw when she looked in the mirror really resonated with me. I remember thinking about how much I wished I could be the me I saw in my head, only that me was usually in footie pajamas, clutching one of the stuffed monsters I loved, watching movies and munching on jelly filled marshmallows. I guess I wasn't ready to grow up."

"Jelly filled marshmallows?" Maddox murmured, instantly curious about Haven's internal view of himself as well as the interesting choice in snack. "Where do you even go to find those?"

"Any Asian food market and most grocery stores with an extended candy aisle that looks like you're in an actual candy shop," Haven informed him. "Mrs. Robles used to carry them in her shop too, but she was usually sold out."

"Were you the reason for that?"

"Partially," Haven admitted. "Well, mostly. I'd buy half and Jeremy would buy the other half, but then he'd share his with me after I'd gone through all of mine ‘cause he could usually make his last longer."

"At least until you got ahold of them."

"Pretty much," Haven said as he ran his fingers through his hair, chewed his lower lip, then eyed Maddox like he had something on his mind. "Hey um, how do those Aromatherapy critters work?"

"You just pop them in the microwave for about forty-five seconds to a minute, curl up with it, breathe in the scent, and let it work it's magic."

"How much for one?" Haven asked. "I'd like to buy one once you're open."

"Why wait until then when we can get you one to take home tonight?" Maddox asked. "I'm not guaranteeing it will help, but the reviews are more favorable than not."

"I'm willing to try anything at this point," Haven replied. "But I can't afford it yet."

"Then consider it a gift," Maddox insisted. "Though I'm shocked you don't just roll a couple fat ones at the end of the day and spark up."

"I do, every night, it mellows me out, but not enough to get a full night's sleep," Haven admitted. "Maybe a combination of the two is what I need to get over the insomnia."

"Or maybe you need to spend the night with someone who knows what you're going through and might be able to help you relax and maybe even exhaust yourself enough that your mind is finally willing to shut down and allow you to get the rest you clearly need. Those dark circles under your eyes have gotten darker since I brought my bike into the shop."

"Yeah, the whole not sleeping thing has gotten worse instead of better. Was starting to think that maybe I should have taken you up on that drink when you offered it. Maybe getting a bit of hard alcohol involved would help my situation."

"No, I'm glad you turned it down. You don't need to start heaping chemicals on top of chemicals, even the naturally occurring ones. That's the kind of shit that leads to addiction and people needing to up their levels of intake just to get the desired result."

"I guess."

"I'd be more than happy to lend a hand with exhausted oblivion if you think you'd be up for it," Maddox offered.

"And exactly what are we talkin' if not chemicals?"

"My hands on your body, your knees gripping my hips, your head thrown back in ecstasy as you ride me until you're ready to pass out," Maddox blurted, voice going low, rough and full of wicked promises.

The way Haven licked his upper lip, eyes narrowing, body quivering enough that it was impossible to miss, were all signs that he was interested, but Maddox saw the moment his eyes took on a cautious expression and his whole demeaner changed.

"Can I umm…get a raincheck?" Haven asked, that adorable blush creeping across his cheeks again. "I think I wanna get to know you better before we fuck."

"I guarantee you that fucking is the last thing on my mind," Maddox said. "I want to make you feel good and I want it to be more than a one-time thing. So, you take all the time you need and be sure before you take me up on it, ‘cause I guarantee that once you've been in my bed, you won't have any interest in letting anyone else put their hands on you."

Those words were uttered with a growled promise that sent another shiver through Haven and left Maddox hoping that the man would give in to him sooner rather than later, because now that he'd put the idea out there, he knew he'd never be able to get it out of his head.