JC
 
It sounded like thunder.
No... like an earthquake.
The first time I opened the throttle on the vintage Triumph that I couldn't talk myself out of buying, I swear the rumble made the earth move. That loud braaaap was music to my ears. Good music, too.  
"It's an ‘82," the seller told me, rocking back on his heels, arms folded across his chest. I'd just happened to see the for sale ad in one of the bike rags I started subscribing to. He wasn't too far away so I decided to just take a look. "They stopped makin' this model in ‘83, so... almost the end of the line. You know, before the reboot with the redesigned models, but I'm not into the newer bikes much."
"Yeah, I own a couple of the newer Bonnevilles," I muttered, doing another circle around the bike, an amazingly well kept piece of machinery. "They're good bikes but nothing beats the original line."
"That's for sure. Can take her for a spin, if you like." Magic. Words.
I straddled the seat, then opened the throttle and.... man. I felt like a man on that thing.
I test drove it, whipping through West Hollywood in jeans and a t-shirt like an idiot, pushing it as hard, then harder. It felt good, handled well; natural, already an extension of me, which is how I like a bike to feel. It was old school, chrome and steel, red and black embellishment. Vibrant. It screamed Buy me!
I rolled up the driveway and was almost sad to flip the kickstand down and turn it off. I think Ray, the seller, could tell I was already in love.
"Tell you what, man. I'm not even gonna dick you on the price. It looks great and it runs well. I'll give you asking price if you don't sell it to anyone before I get back with the cash."
He grinned, the dimples in his cheeks showing through a dusky, unkempt beard. He stuck out a hand and we shook on it. "You've got a deal. I'll give you twenty four hours. That fair?"
I flicked my wrist, swiping my finger across the face to check the time. "Shit. I'll be back in a couple of hours at the most."
He laughed. "You must really be in the market for a new bike."
"Tell you the truth, I'm not. I have a couple that I almost never ride. I guess I'm excited about the old line, about riding something vintage. Some meaning, some history." I shrugged. "I don't know, but she spoke to me. And she said buy me!"
I dug my car keyfob from my pocket with one hand and gave Ray's hand another shake. "Be back soon."
"Yep," he said, stepping back onto the sidewalk in front of his house as I headed to my car.

 

---

 
Katori
 
I entered the house through the back door, letting the screen door announce my arrival as it slammed shut behind me. I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter and  grabbed up the pile of mail that had been left for me to sort through.
"Nasaan! Are you home?" I called out, flipping through envelopes. I stood over the garbage can so I could tear up and get rid of the junk mail, keeping the important pieces- the mortgage, the water bill, and another notice from the owner of the building that housed my shop. I clicked my tongue, sliding my finger under the flap to open the letter.
Second Notice was stamped across the page in red. I sighed, my shoulders slumping as I read through the letter. He'd been planning to sell the building and was giving me the opportunity to buy it. At least he was being nice and offering it to me before he sold it out from under me. Who knows what a new owner would do to the space I took up. Or how much they'd raise the rent.
I'd love to buy the building;  it was practically my second home. My father owned the shop before he turned it over to me. The goal was for my son to take over when he was old enough. When I thought about where I would get the kind of money I'd need to buy the building, though, I came up empty. Cloudcroft, New Mexico was a small mountain town that only thrived because it was a few miles from a ski resort. The seasonal traffic made up for the whole year for many of the town's businesses, from hotels to restaurants to clothing stores. 
My shop, Nez Motors, was a little out of the way, off the beaten path. You couldn't see it unless you were looking for it, and few people are looking for a small auto & bike repair shop in New Mexico. People roll through here in their brand new Benz, Lexus, BMW and Audis and don't think about Nez Motors unless they need to.
I piled the mail up again on the counter, leaving the rest of it to open later. I headed for the fridge and, pulling it open, muttered to myself, "Well he's been home. I have no food in here."
"What'd you say, Tori?" My sister Kaya rushed past me, dressed in scrubs, her work bag slung over her shoulder. She worked the night shift in the ER at Presbyterian Memorial. We were always like two ships passing in the night. Most evenings she was already gone to work by the time I got home.
"I was trying not to cook but it looks like the fridge monster struck again."  
I let the refrigerator door swing closed and pulled a chair out from the table that sat in the middle of the kitchen. I eased onto it, huffing a breath of relief. The walk from the shop was only a mile, but some days that mile felt like ten.
"Where is Nasaan?"
"With Logan. They want to get their rides in before the snow hits."
She grabbed a set of keys off of one of the hooks nailed to the wall. Then smirked as she picked up my keyring and hung it. My keys never seemed to make it onto a hook.  "Gotta go. See you guys in the morning. Pancakes?"
I nodded. I always had breakfast waiting for her when she came home a bit after 7AM. She'd eat and then roll into bed, exhausted after a twelve hour shift.
I listened to Kaya's pickup chug  to a start and back out of the driveway. Then sat and enjoyed the silence, the peace and quiet of this little house. The air was still, the sky growing dark and grey.  The temperature had been cooling off quickly. I could smell the moisture in the air.  
"Well, I guess I'd better get some food on," I announced to an empty room, then got up to gather ingredients for dinner. At fifteen and growing at a pace of at least an inch a month, Nasaan would be ravenous by the time he got home.
The kitchen screen door burst open and a mud covered boy rambled into the kitchen.
"Hold it right there, young man!"
Nasaan froze, pushing out a frustrated breath. "Mooom..."
"Don't mooom me. You're not the one that mops the floors. Shoes off. Wait... on second thought, go outside, shake off some of that mud and take off your socks and shoes."
He groaned and turned around to go back outside.
"On third thought- take off those clothes and your shoes, then come inside."
"So you want me to stand out here and strip?"
I chuckled. "We don't have neighbors. No one will see you." I laughed while he moaned and complained but removed his mud soaked clothing, wet socks and caked  shoes. "Just leave those outside, let them dry."
He rolled his eyes as he stepped into the house, then dropped a kiss on my cheek as he passed me. "Hi, mom."
"Hi-" I felt something wet on my cheek and swiped at it, then frowned at the swatch of mud on my fingers. "Very funny. Go grab a quick shower, then come down and eat dinner. Why are you so muddy? Did you ride through the river or something?"
"Yep," he said, passing through the kitchen to his bedroom.
It wasn't long before he was back downstairs in a pair of flannel pants and a white t-shirt and dropping into his usual seat at the table.
"Have a good ride?" I dished up a man-sized serving of Stouffer's lasagna, a side salad and garlic bread and set a plate in front of him. He practically dove into it as soon as it hit the table.
"Mmhmm," he grunted, chewing and swallowing, his fork already loaded with the next bite. "Can smell the snow in the air."
Nasaan had long outgrown dirt bikes and ten speeds. He and his friend Logan rode sporty little motorbikes. It would do until he was old enough to ride the Harley that his grandfather left for him, the one we had been slowly upgrading and updating, part by part. The motorbike was too light and flimsy for winter riding, so once it snowed, he parked it.
Snow meant work for Nasaan. He shoveled walks in town and helped the plow company keep the parking lot at the nearby ski resort clear. Some days it was an all day job, but a lot of hours, even paid under the table, was a good day's pay.
"You think it'll snow tonight?"
"Hope so. We still have parts left to upgrade on the Harley."
"Yep. You have to pay for motorcycle classes, too. Don't forget."
"I haven't. Me and Logan-"
"Logan and I..."
He rolled his eyes and swallowed another bite. "Logan and I already have the money set aside. We can take the spring class after I turn sixteen. You said I could get a tattoo when I passed. Don't forget."
"I haven't. I have the money already set aside," I said, smiling. I reached over and ran my fingers through his hair. It was thick and dark, kinks and waves, evidence of a mix of two heritages- my Navajo and his father's African American.
"Mom," he grumbled, leaning away from me, just out of reach. "Messing up my hair."
"It was already a mess."
"No it wasn't. That's the style."
"All over your head is the style?"
He nodded, scraping the last of lasagna from his plate, then using the last bite of garlic bread to wipe the plate clean of sauce before popping it into his mouth.
"Did you want to eat the plate, too?" I chuckled. Watching him eat was entertaining. "Are you still hungry?"
He shook his head, then rubbed his belly as he belched. "I'm good. Full."
I smiled, feeling accomplished at something. It was a hard feeling to come by some days. "Well, take care of these dishes, then get on your homework and into bed at a reasonable hour. K?"
He nodded, grabbing his plate and mine and headed for the dishwasher. "Thanks for dinner,  Mom," he said, after he'd loaded up our plates and silverware and started up the machine. "Heading upstairs, now."
"Mmhmmm," I hummed, poring over the rest of the mail.

 

JC


"You are out of your mind. Turning forty did something to your brain."
Eric paced my bedroom, the fingers of one hand in his hair, the other propped on his hip. He was watching me volley back and forth between the closet and the duffel bag that yawned open on the bed. I was piling clothes and shoes into it, then added my shaving kit and a few other items.  
"I wasn't soliciting opinions, really. But thanks for your concern." I paused to give him a smile and a friendly shoulder pat. "I'll be fine. Really. I'll see you guys in a few days."
Every year, Eric planned an elaborate trip and invited some of his favorite clients to join him. We'd done everything from weekends in Vegas to hiking in Iceland. This year, the group was gathering at Taos Ski Resort in New Mexico for seven days of powder skiing during the day and pure debauchery all night.
Since the day I bought the bike, I was obsessed with it. After getting a clean bill of health from a mechanic, I'd been out on it every day, exploring my neighborhood and the West Hollywood Hills in a way I'd never seen them before. The colors were vibrant, the air cool as it blew over my skin. The scent of fresh air was addicting. And inspirational.
I needed more of that, tons more of that. So, I decided that instead of hopping a cushy, private jet and sitting through flight with nothing to do but throw back a couple of high end craft beers, that I'd hop on the bike and use the twenty hour ride to Taos Ski Valley to break her in.
"You don't even know this bike, JC. It's like... forty years old, right? Something could break down on it. Then you'd be stuck somewhere- God knows where, with a bike that becomes a hunk of metal that has to be shipped home."
I chuckled. "At which point, I call my manager and he sends the jet to pick me up and arranges for my bike to be shipped back to LA. Problem solved."
Eric groaned. "But then your impulse becomes my problem."
"That's why you make the big bucks, buddy."
"So..."
He huffed, following me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. I wanted to pack up a few snacks to take with me and I needed to fill a few water bottles. Of course, I could buy more on the road, but I wanted to set off my trip on a good foot.
"When are you leaving? Don't you think someone should ride with you?"
I pulled a leather backpack from the hall closet and dumped out the few things that had been left inside the last time I'd used it. Now empty, I went to the pantry and started filling it with cheese and cracker snacks, pretzels and dried fruit slices. Eric was following me closely, hands in his pockets and sad frown on his face like a puppy I was leaving behind.
"Tomorrow morning. Planning on 6AM, but I have a feeling I won't be able to sleep, so... when I'm ready, I'll leave."
"Okay, but maybe you could just wait a day, get someone to-"
"I don't need a babysitter, Eric. I've had bikes since..." I tossed a hand in the air while I tried to calculate how many years I had been riding motorcycles. "Since forever. I passed a safety course, I have my license. I know what I'm doing. And I have a cell phone. I'll call someone if I need to. I promise."
"By someone, you mean me."
I grinned. "Now you're smellin' what I'm cookin'."

---

Katori


"Mom! Mom!"
The echo of heavy feet pounded across the living room downstairs, then up the steps and down the hall to my bedroom. It was barely light outside, the glow of dawn just brightening the horizon.
I sat bolt upright at the sound of my bedroom door bursting open. "Nasaan! You'd better be bleeding or on fire. What!?"
"It snowed! Crowley called- they've got four inches at the resort! I'm going to get in a couple of hours before school, okay?"
I sighed, flopping back into my soft pillow and pulling the comforter back over my shoulders. "You couldn't have just written me a note, huh?"
"Sorry. I'm just excited. Four inches! And it's still coming down. I'll lock the door on my way out."
"Mmhmm. Don't be late for school."
"I won't," came the muffled response from the other side of the door. I heard him stomp down the stairs and out of the house, slamming the front door in the process. That boy had never been quiet a day in his life.
I rolled onto my back and yawned. Now that I was awake, it would be hard to get back to sleep. And I needed to get breakfast on so Kaya could eat and get to bed. I wasn't in a hurry to get up, though, so I stretched into a spread eagle in an attempt to cover all four corners of the bed. I didn't even come close.
There was a time when I'd have to fight for covers in the middle of the night, when there was another body in the bed, keeping me warm and sleepy, worn out from... activities the night before. I missed those times.
Come to think of it, I missed those times more than I cared to admit.
I pushed myself up from the bed and swung my feet to the floor. The bare wood was cold, so I played leapfrog with the area rugs, trying to only land on warm surfaces in the bathroom, through my morning routine and then down the stairs. The sun was coming up, but since it was snowing, the day was grey.
I opened the curtains anyway to brighten the room. I liked the view of the mountain in front of us, so pretty all covered in snow. In the distance, the lift lines were running, a few chairs already occupied with skiers trying to get first tracks in the new snow.
An hour and a half later, Kaya and Nasaan came through the kitchen door, one right after the other, both covered in snow.
"It's coming down like crazy out there!" Nasaan exclaimed, his face bearing a huge smile. "School has a two hour delay, so I worked longer." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a wad of green bills, then walked toward the refrigerator and pulled down a large metal coffee can, the kind with the plastic lid.
He opened the can and added the money to what had already been collected. Trying to get Nasaan to open a bank account was like talking to a brick wall. Many years ago, his grandfather had taught him to save money in a coffee can. He liked to be able to see it, count it, get to it when he needed it.
Kaya unwrapped her scarf and unzipped her jacket, then slipped it off of her shoulders and hung it on the back of a chair. "Smells good in here. I have to eat, take a little nap and head back. I picked up a few hours this afternoon."
"Good! I mean, good on the extra hours. Not on whatever mayhem is going on that they need you more."
"Oh," she said, flapping one hand in the air while the other reached for a plate stacked with fluffy pancakes. "You know how it goes. We get a good snow dump and suddenly everyone wants to trade hours so they can go play. Pay me more to work today, and I can have a few hours to myself on Friday? I'll take that deal."
I joined Kaya and Nasaan at the table and we enjoyed a leisurely but lively, chatty breakfast together. It was nice, with no one having to rush off anywhere.  
A flick of my wrist told me I needed to get up from the table and get moving. "I guess it's my turn out in the snow globe. Nasaan, do you want a ride to school?"

 

JC


The trip was going well.
Well, pretty well.
Okay, some of the trip was going well. The bike was gliding along the highway like she was riding on air. I had plenty of food, was well hydrated and the scenery coming down the coast was amazing. I had to stop a few times, snap a few photos. It was different on the bike than it would be in a car... I just felt so close to nature.
It was that so close to nature thing that was the problem. I'd been so excited to get on the road that I hadn't realized that all of my layers were in a suitcase in Eric's trunk, headed for Taos. The wind was whipping right through my sweatshirt and leather jacket. I'd forgotten how cold it can get in the desert and as I worked my way south, then east, I realized I hadn't timed this trip very well. The pavement was clear but sprinkles of snow dotted the dirt and tumbleweeds that spanned before me on one flat plain. In the distance, the landscape was white.
"Shit," I hissed.
"What?" Eric asked, his voice in my ear via the earbud. He was at the air strip and was just about to board the plane.
"Nothin', man. Fly safe, alright? I'll call you when I'm close."
"You still have time to change your mind. Are your teeth chattering?"
"It's uh...." I shook my head, trying to stop the chatter reflex. "It's just bumpy out here. Let me get off the line so I can concentrate. Talk soon."
I pulled the bud from my ear and tucked it down my shirt, then pulled the scarf tighter around my neck and zipped my jacket up. It was futile, since a biting wind was tunneling through a gap at my waist.
I could pull off, call Eric back, hold off the plane, have someone come and get my stupid ass, who thought I could just hop on a motorcycle and ride to Taos. It was only a twenty hour trip. At the very least. No problem, out here in the desert where it was so. fucking.  cold.
I was an ice cube. But I was also stubborn. And I didn't want to see Eric's smug grin or be the butt of endless jokes about this trip. So I stayed on course, pushed forward, my fingers freezing around the barrel of the steel handlebar, my legs slowly losing feeling.
Around sunset, I was doing better. I had stopped for a cup of hot tea. I was halfway to Taos and feeling like I could manage the rest of the trip, no problem.
Snow was falling but it was soft and light, just flurries floating on air. I should have probably stopped to sleep, but I wanted to keep going, get as far as I could, then pass out. I pushed the door open and stepped out of the roadside coffee house, zipped up, mounted the bike and pulled out onto the road.
I'd been riding for about an hour. The snow was falling heavier, but I saw the lights of a small town and a looming mountain ahead. I felt great about making good time and felt like that mountain was telling me I was on the right track. I'd find a spot to stay and call it a night.
And then my back tire slipped on a patch of black ice and everything went left.
I skidded across the road, trying to lower my speed and keep the bike balanced, but it was a big, heavy, vintage bike and I was out of practice- it had been too many years to count since I'd taken any motorcycle courses.
I found out quickly that I was no match for the ice on the road. The wheels locked up as I slid, then scraped across the highway and into a deep, snow-filled ditch.
I was somewhere in the desert. It was pitch black. I was pinned under my bike and buried in about six inches of snow. I felt a swath of road rash burning down my side, all the way down my thigh.
And it hurt to breathe.

---

"Son? Do you know where you are? Or where you were goin'? Son? These kids, rippin' through here on these bikes in this weather-"
My eyes opened to a round, gentle face and two big brown eyes illuminated by a flashlight.
"There you are. How ya feeling? Does anything hurt?"
"Uh...." I licked my lips. Despite all the snow around me, my mouth was dry. "Breathing... hurts. And I think I lost some skin."
"Uh huh, yeah. Little bit of blood in the snow. I've got my wrecker on the way to get the bike, but me and my Deputy are going to try to lift it off of you. Any issues with your legs, son?"
I wiggled my toes and tried to move my legs. No dice. "Don't think so... but... can't move."
"Alright. You just take it easy and keep breathing, okay?"
Not a problem, I thought. Just keep breathing.
More footsteps crunched through the snow. The area was bright now, lit up by red and blue flashers and halogen headlight beams.
"We gonna try this?"  
"Yep, let's do it."
I heard a few grunts, more than a couple of curses, a goddammit this thing is heavy! and then the sweet relief of the bike being lifted off of my leg.
"Alright son, hang in there. Just relax for now.  Ambulance is on the way."
I tried to sit up, shaking my head. "I don't need..." My eyelids fluttered and my brain suddenly felt like it was made of cotton candy.
The... Sheriff, I guessed, pushed me back. "I said relax! You could have spinal damage." She mumbled something about out of towners and pulled a walkie talkie from her belt. "Amos, where in hell are you? I called you ten minutes ago. I'm damn sure glad this patient isn't near death."
"Bout a mile away," crackled the response. "You should hear sirens in a second. It's a busy night, the roads are bad and there are some accidents."
"Alright, well get your ass here. Guy's trying to sit up and move around. I need him strapped to a gurney."
"Keep your unders on, Sheriff. Be right there."
A wail of sirens sounded in the distance and then got louder until the sound was deafening. I winced; my head was pounding.
"Okay, okay, you're here. Turn that shit off, now!"
Doors slammed, orders were barked among the Sheriff, her deputy and two paramedics, the sounds echoing into the night. Meanwhile, I was lying in a ditch surrounded by snow.
"What we got here?"
"Bike skidded off the road. Guy's in the ditch. Balls probably froze off by now."
"They don't freeze off, Sheriff. They retr-"
"I don't even care, Amos. I promise. Get him outta there, will ya?"
"Sir, can you hear me?" A flashlight beamed so brightly, I couldn't open my eyes. "Can you talk?"
"Yeah... I'm here."
"What's your name?"
"... J... Josh. Joshua."
"Joshua? You sure, or it just sounds good?"
"Yeah. Joshua. But-"
"Okay, Joshua. We're gonna lift you out of there, but first I need to put this brace on you."
A stiff, molded plastic and Styrofoam thing was velcroed around my neck, holding my head in place. And then I was being lifted from the ditch and strapped to a stiff, flat board. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my bike being loaded onto the bed of a tow truck.
"Aw man," I moaned. "That bike is new. Kinda. It's vintage."
"Well, she might be trash, now," I heard as the gurney rolled past the scene.
I was loaded into the back of an ambulance. The sound of the siren returned and then I was being whisked away to an emergency room, where I hoped they had a lot of painkillers.

Katori

 

I'd just settled into my favorite corner of the couch, remote in one hand and a beer in the other. Nasaan was up at the resort, shoveling sidewalks and the front gates and running a small CAT around the parking lot when they let him. Kaya was working her usual night shift. I had the house to myself and I was going to enjoy it.

I pressed the Hulu button on the remote and was flipping through a few screens when my cell phone rang. I glanced over at it and peered at the display just in case it was Nasaan or Kaya.

It wasn't. I dropped the remote and grabbed the phone, sliding my finger across the face of the device.

"Eloise! I'm surprised to hear from you this late. You haven't picked up my son, have you?"

The Sheriff's hearty laugh filled my ears. She was a tall woman, over six feet before she put her boots on, which added at least an inch. She was broad across the chest and over the shoulders with a short, neck length dark bob that was usually tucked under a uniform cap. Eloise Harding had been our Sheriff for so many years, I wasn't sure what the town would do when it came time to elect someone else. I mean... she had to die sometime, right?

"Not since I had to tell him to slow down with that machine. He was doing wheelies with the CAT in the resort parking lot."

I rolled my eyes. That sounded like him. "Sorry, El. I'll yell at him when he gets home."

"No need. Yelled at him for ya. I'm calling because we had a bike accident, about five miles outside of town. Took the rider to Presby ER. He'll be alright, I guess. I've got the bike on a wrecker and judging by his hair and California plates, I'm gonna call him a preppy sumbitch who's probably going to want his bike fixed ASAFP."

"A..S.... what does the F stand for?"

"What it always stands for. Anyways, I've gotta dump this heap. I don't want to impound it if he's just going to take it to you. Save me the paperwork."

"Oh, El. I'm in my pajamas." I glanced down at the thick flannel set that I'd just pulled from the dryer. "Can't you just park the wrecker and bring it over in the morning?"

"It's a rough night out there. Amos says there are lots of accidents. I need to free up the wrecker in case we have to go back out."

My eyes slid closed and my evening catching up on Hulu slipped away behind them.

"It'll just take a minute, Tori. I could even unload it right outside-"

"No...no. I don't want any hooligans messing with it, stealing parts off of it. Just what I need, to get sued by a preppy sumbitch." I chuckled, pulling myself up and out of the couch.  "I'll meet you there in a few minutes. You owe me, though. This beer's gonna be warm by the time I get back to it."

I slipped a pair of boots over my Hello Kitty socks and a wool coat over my pink pajamas with cats all over them. Then I grabbed my keys off of the hook where Kaya had hung them and headed out.

Snow was pounding down like someone was pouring a bucket of the stuff over the town. I hopped into my truck and started her up, thankful for four wheel drive. Since the shop was only a mile away, it wasn't long before I pulled into my space alongside Nez Motors. The Sheriff and the wrecker driver were leaning against her cruiser as if it wasn't snowing like hell outside.

Keys jingled on the keyring as I sifted through them, pulling the two that worked the locks that kept the wide bay doors closed. I unlocked one, then the other and the Sheriff helped me pull them open.

Inside was... well someone might describe it as a motorcycle graveyard. Nasaan and I knew what each piece was, though, since we were basically cannibalizing parts from other bikes to upgrade the old Harley that was parked in a corner and covered with a tarp.

"Just uh... put it there, I guess." I pointed toward an empty spot, recently vacated by a bike that had been picked down to the chrome and hauled to the dump. "So is this guy supposed to come pick up the bike, or.... what?" I asked Eloise.

"Hell if I know. He's still at Presby. Cracked rib, some abrasions, sprained ankle. Probably not thinking too hard about his bike. I'll let him know where he can find it though. It doesn't actually look too bad, in the light. Maybe it's fixable?"

I eyed the felled machine, recognizing the make and model right away. "It's old... really old."

"Yeah he said it was new... but vintage."

"A Triumph Bonneville. Near the end of the original line." I whistled, marveling at the coloring and construction. It had been nicked and bent, but the frame was still solid. "I'll see what I can do, if he wants it fixed here. Though, if he's a rider, he'll probably want it shipped to whatever shop services his bikes."

"Looks more like an amateur to me. He didn't have a bit of protection on but a thin leather jacket.  No boots, no leathers, shitty city riding helmet." She shook her head, hands propped on boxy hips. "Should have left him in the ditch."

I chuckled, motioning to her to help me close the doors. "Eloise! It's Thursday, your day to be nice."

"Then people ought not to be a pain in my ass," she grumbled, pulling her door shut. I locked them both and tossed the keys into my other hand.

"I'm off. Maybe my beer hasn't warmed up yet."

"Night, hon. Drive slowly. It's bad out there."

"I will," I said, tossing the promise over my shoulder as I stomped through snow back to the truck. I followed the cruiser and the wrecker down the road until they turned right, into to town. I turned left, down a long lonely highway, to our little hand built ranch house.

I settled back into the couch and grabbed my beer. It wasn't even warm yet.

 

...

 

JC

 

"Oooowwwwwww! Shit! Take it easy!"

I was in a hospital gown. A backless hospital gown, ass out and on full display since I had to lay on my left side while the nurse attended to my torn skin. At least that's what she said she was doing. Felt more like torture.

"Stay still, sir!"

"It hurts! I can't stay still!"

"If I don't get this gravel out of your wounds, it'll hurt worse. Now stay still."

"Can I at least get some morphine or something?" I was terrified of needles, but I could overcome my fears if she could just knock me out.

"We don't give morphine for this."

"I need it if you're going to keep doing that."

The nurse that was taking care of me- who was perfectly sweet, I might add, until she said she needed to clean my wounds- paused to glare at me, her eyes blazing.

"Maybe the pain will sear into your memory and you will think about this moment before you get on a bike again." She went back to work, but I detected a gentler touch as she scrubbed at the raw, red streaks down the right side of my body. "I tell my nephew the same thing. He's always zipping down the street on his motorbike, half the time he's not wearing a helmet. All summer he only wore shorts and a t-shirt. How's that supposed to protect him?"

She clicked her tongue. "You should have been wearing leather riding gear."

"I was wearing leather," I grunted.

"Leather made for riding, not that Wilson's $300 number. It's thicker. Comes down further on your torso." She sucked her teeth, all the while working her way down the side of my body. "Amateur."

"Do you know where they might have taken my bike?"

She mused, pausing for a moment. "If I know Sheriff, she took it straight to Nez Motors. And you're in luck; the mechanic there is very talented. Like an artist."

"I don't care if he's Van Gogh. I just want to see if it can be fixed."

"She."

I turned my head toward the nurse and caught a glimpse of her tag. It said Kaya. "She what?"

"She. The bike mechanic. She's a she."

She. A female motorcycle mechanic. "She's not gonna try to fix it with stickers and glitter, is she?"

Nurse Kaya huffed and pressed a gauze pad against my skin. "Ow! You did that on purpose."

"She is my sister. And she's probably your only hope if you plan to ride that thing out of this town. Which, I hope, happens soon."

"Kaya, what are you doing to that poor man?"

The Sheriff walked in, stopping at the edge of the bed and towering over me. She was what old Hollywood would call handsome, a woman who resembled Bea Arthur if she lifted weights. And wore a dark blue uniform.

I panicked, reaching for the gown to cover up. It was one thing for the hospital staff to see me. Quite another to bare ass the Sheriff of a strange town.

"Don't bother, son. I've seen it all. Came to check on you. Sounds like Kaya is giving you the best care we offer here at Presby."

"Yeah, I want her arrested," I grumbled, angling my head to the nurse behind me, who giggled as she dressed my wounds with cool gauze pads. "For assault."

"I'll look into it. I wanted you to know that I dropped your bike over at Nez Motors. She's our resident fix it, but she's a whiz with motorcycles especially."

The Sheriff handed me a plain white card with raised black lettering that read NEZ MOTORS with the address and phone number to the shop underneath. I'll admit to being a sexist asshole; I half expected it to be pink.

"A whiz, huh? What if I just want to ship the bike home?"

"Up to you," she answered with a shrug. "But if I were you, I'd let her see what she can do. Give her a couple of days and you might can ride it home."

Home. Home seemed so far away right now. I was supposed to be rolling into Taos by morning at least, and I wasn't anywhere near a luxury ski resort.

"I'll give her a call. As soon as I find my phone. And uh... my clothes?"

"They cut your jeans and shirt off of you when you came into the ER. You can't wear them out."

"I had a... a bag. On the bike..."

"Probably still strapped to the bike. Sorry, I wasn't really thinking. But Kaya here can probably help you out."

"Help him out?" She repeated, her voice pitching high. "With what?"

"Well, he's gotta get over to Tori's shop anyway. Why don't you take him with you?"

"Take him with me where?"

"Home."

"My house? Where I live?"

Sheriff shrugged. I watched the volley of conversation happen over my head like I wasn't even in the room. "Nasaan will be good company and like I said, he needs to get to the shop anyway. He can ride over with Tori in the morning. Besides, you know the closest hotel is a shithole and Tori's cooking is a far sight better than anything else he can get at this time of night."

"I don't see why he's my problem, Eloise. You brought him here-"

"I didn't bring him here. He was brought by ambulance-"

"Okay, okay. Hang on. Can I get a word in here?" I rolled over, pulling the gown so it covered me, mostly. "I take it I can leave tonight? I don't have to stay?"

The nurse shook her head, her lips pressed together. "Doc says you're banged up but alive. No need to keep you unless you want to stay."

"I do not want to stay." I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, wincing in pain. "I uh... appreciate the arrangement you're trying to set up. But...I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable- "

I caught the nurse's eye for a brief moment. She looked away, folding her arms across her chest. "I can stay at the shithole. I hope I only need a night or two and I'm sure I've stayed at worse."

Memories of the tiniest rat holes in Germany sprang to mind.

The Sheriff glanced at the Kaya, her frown drawing her entire face down from her eyebrows to her chin. Kaya sighed, throwing her hands up.

"When my dad told you to watch over us, he didn't mean to pressure us into stuff we don't want to do. Someday that look isn't going to work on me, Eloise."

"Someday is not today. Why don't you find this young man some scrubs so he can restore his dignity? Then take him home, feed him, put him to bed."

"I'm not a stray dog, you know."

"Tell that to Sheriff Harding," said Kaya, nodding her head to the burly woman leaving the exam room. "So I guess you're my problem, now. I'll bring you some scrubs and your socks and shoes. Those were fine. You'll need to hang out here for a bit and then you can ride home with me."

"You didn't happen to find my phone, did you?"

"Not with the property Amos brought in." She shrugged and didn't seem concerned at all.  "Might still be in that ditch."

I wanted to laugh. Really loud and really hard. I was stuck in some town in New Mexico with a wrecked bike, a nurse that was going to take me home and no phone. I didn't even know Eric's number by heart.

It was like that movie Misery. I was prepared to bash someone upside the head with a typewriter if I needed to.

 

 

 

 

Katori

 

Nasaan came home a bit after eleven. He was in an extremely good mood while stuffing dollars into the coffee can on top of the refrigerator.

"Don't you think you ought to put that money somewhere?"

"It is somewhere," he said, folding and rolling and stuffing. "It's in this can."

"I mean somewhere that's not in my house, where people might be tempted to break in and steal it. And where it can earn some interest."

My son laughed at me. Laughed. In my face. Okay, he chuckled. "I'm gonna earn, what ten bucks a year? Not worth it. I want it where I can get to it."

"Nas-"

"I'm pretty tired, mom. I'm gonna hit the sack. If it snows tonight, I can work again before school." He dropped a dry kiss on my cheek and stepped around me, leaving me standing in the middle of the kitchen. I was shaking my head, eyeing that coffee can and thinking about where else we could hide that thing when I saw headlights light up the driveway.

Surprised to see Kaya home early, I went to the kitchen door and pulled it open. But it wasn't just her that got out of the truck. Someone got out of the passenger seat, wearing hospital scrubs and a blanket over his shoulders.

Oh, what fresh hell is this?

"You're home early," I muttered to Kaya as she stepped into the house.

"Those extra hours I worked kicked in. Uh... I brought a houseguest. At Eloise's strong urging." I could tell by the roll of her brown eyes and the downturn of her mouth that she was not pleased.

"She's such a bully. Hi, come on in." I greeted our guest, who gingerly limped over the threshold into the house. He wasn't tall but he wasn't short, either. More of a stocky build with a mop of wavy and dark but slightly greying hair with a goatee to match. He looked at me, his expression dark but his eyes were a... really warm, bright blue.

"This is Joshua," Kaya said, pulling him further into the house and unwrapping the blanket he'd been draped in. "He owns the bike you have at Nez. Eloise thought it would be a great idea for me to bring an injured stranger home to put him up for the night. She thinks you're cooking him a meal, by the way."

"I... I really don't need a meal." Joshua shook his head, waving a scratched up hand at me. "I'd love some water, though. And you can call me JC. Only my mom calls me Joshua."

"Fine. JC it is, then." I pulled open the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water from the stash inside the door, then I set it on the table and pulled out a chair, which he slowly sank into, grimacing all the way. "Let me tell you how this is going to work, JC."

"Look, I know this is weird and awkward. I didn't suggest it. I'm just as bullied by Sheriff... Eloise? Is that her name?"

When I nodded, he twisted the cap off and sucked down the whole bottle. Weird, but his color started returning almost right away. I got him another bottle and watched him drink that down too, tipping his head back and closing his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing with every swallow. When it was empty, he crushed the plastic in his hand and belched.

"Anyway," he continued, "I don't plan on rifling through your drawers or anything. I'm a normal... average guy from LA. I really just want to get a hot shower, a change of clothes and figure out what I need to do to get out of here. No offense, but this wasn't a planned stop. So... I'll be nice if you two will be nice. Deal?"

Kaya leaned against the counter and looked at me. I looked at her with a million questions in my eyes. JC's head bobbed from me to Kaya and back.

"I have a son. He's fifteen. I need to make sure he'll be safe with you in the house."

"Normal... average guy from LA," he repeated.

"It's the weirdos that always insist that they're normal."

He laughed, beaming a smile at both of us. "I don't know what to say. I don't even have clothes. What do you want me to do? Sleep outside? Want the Sheriff to come and handcuff me to this chair?"

Kaya snickered. "Now that's something I might actually enjoy." She pushed off of the counter and nodded at me. "I'll fix up the couch. Maybe some of Sean's old stuff..."

My eyes almost burst out of my head, they got so big, so fast. We didn't talk about Sean, my ex-husband. Hardly ever. He still had boxes of things in the storage shed behind the house and, while Kaya was right, some of his things would probably fit JC, I wasn't ready to just hand over my ex's clothing.

"Okay. Or not." She hunched her shoulders up around her ears and threw her hands up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that our guest might be able to wear some of those precious clothes that have been sitting in the shed for years."

"I don't wanna cause a rift or anything," JC interrupted. "If I could get a shower, I'll just put the scrubs back on. I have a bag that's strapped to my bike with a couple days of clothes in it. I don't need a whole wardrobe or anything."

"You didn't cause a rift. This is how we are." I glared at Kaya until she left the kitchen, then turned my attention to JC. "Come on. I'll show you around."

After I gave JC the lay of the land and showed him where he could take a shower, I headed back downstairs where Kaya was piling blankets and pillows on the couch. She straightened up when I hit the landing and came into the living room.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry. It was just a random thought. He's built like Sean. I mean... except he's white."

"It's okay. You're right, he is. Maybe I'll grab a few things and throw them in the dryer so they're not frozen when he puts them on."

I grabbed my empty beer can from the coffee table and went to the kitchen. Kaya followed and watched me take the leftover lasagna out of the refrigerator.

"He said he didn't want a meal."

"He said he didn't need a meal. Men will always eat and it has to have been forever since he had some food. I'm just going to warm up a little something. He'll sleep better."

I loaded up a plate with the lasagna and garlic bread and put it in the microwave. While the plate rotated and warmed, I leaned against the counter and faced Kaya.

"What the hell was Eloise thinking? Her head tilted to the left, the smirk on her lips telling me all I needed to know. "If he wasn't cute, she'd have taken him to Starlight Motel and impounded his bike."

"He's a looker, though. A little rough right now but probably cleans up nice." I gave Kaya a withering look, though I agreed with her. But you're right. She's out of control."

"I know she thinks Nasaan needs a male influence, but it's not like he doesn't know any men. And a stranger who just literally rolled into town is supposed to be an option?"

I started to say something else, but I heard the stairs squeak with light footsteps. JC rounded the corner wearing the scrubs he'd had on before. They were almost too small, so the top stretched and molded across his chest. The bottoms were roomy with a drawstring closure but were clingy enough. Freshly showered, wet hair slicked back and pink face from the steam... I swallowed hard and I couldn't stop staring.

"You didn't get your bandages wet, did you?" Kaya reached for him but he pulled back, nearly leaping across the room.

"A little. But they're fine. I don't... I don't need you to check them."

She sighed, planting her hands on her hips. "You big baby."

"You're not touching me ever again, Nurse Ratchet."

The microwave beeped, bringing me out of my trance. I opened the door and pulled out the plate. His eyes grew wide. Just like I thought.

"You said you didn't need to eat, but I have a man-child who can always eat, so I figured you might want something."

He smiled, sort of half a grin, and uttered a throaty chuckle. Dear God. I had to look away. "You figured right. I can always eat."

"There's more in the fridge if you want. Help yourself to anything in there- tea, water, there's some beer too."

"Beer would be awesome. Not that I'm a drunkard, but I could really use a good drink right about now."

"I hear you. And I get it." I plucked a bottle of my beer stash from the second shelf and uncapped it. Then set it in front of him. "Unfortunately, the best I can do is an IPA. It's rated the best in New Mexico, though so I hope it's good enough for those LA taste buds."

He laughed, dipping his head and picking up his fork. "Ah, here we go with the pretty boy from LA jokes."

"Nobody called you pretty," joked Kaya. "I didn't call him pretty. Did you, Tori?"

I leaned against the counter, amused by watching him eat. I'd always thought Nasaan picked up the habit of shoving food into his mouth and practically swallowing it unchewed from his father. It seemed JC picked up the same habit. His plate was empty in about a minute and a half.

"There's plenty if you want more," I lobbed softly.

"That'd be great. I guess I'm hungry."

I reached for his plate and cut another slice from the lasagna, then put it in the microwave. He crunched garlic bread and drank beer.

"So..." He leaned onto the table, talking through a mouthful of bread. "You two gonna stare at me all night or what? Feel like I'm being fattened up for slaughter."

I chuckled, not meaning to. But then Kaya caught it and laughed hard and her laughter is so contagious, she never laughs alone.

Once we simmered down, Kaya yawned. "I'm probably punch drunk. I'm going to go celebrate being able to get in the bed before the sun comes up. See you in the morning."

We both wished her a good night. And then it was just the two of us.

JC dug into the lasagna I'd pulled from the microwave. I slid a chair out from under the table and sat.

"So, what brings you out this way? Pretty far from LA."

"Uhmmm... I uh... I just bought the bike. I thought it'd be a great idea to take it out on the road."

"In the middle of winter."

He shrugged. "It's never winter in LA. I definitely didn't consider the weather. I'm supposed to be meeting my buddies at Taos tomorrow." He shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

I laughed. "Not unless you hitch a ride to Albuquerque and fly. Which, I mean... can still happen. I can ship your bike back to LA if you want. You go... do whatever it is your friends are doing. Take care of it when you get home."

"Hmmm." He mused, tossing his head back and forth like he was having a devil of a time deciding what to do. "It's an idea. I really just want to see the bike and the damage to it. Did you see it?"

I nodded. His eyebrows rose. "And? Do you think it's fixable?"

"Yeah. It's fixable. Not easily, but yeah. It's sturdy, well-built. A Triumph from the original line. I'm... impressed actually."

"Impressed. Why?"

"Because most pretty boys from LA ride those Honda plastic things. Or get an enormous Harley that they can't control, just because it's a Harley. A Bonneville is a piece of art. A conversation piece."

"Yeah. Yeah." He nodded a few times, deeply. "I mean, I don't pretend to be heavy into bikes or anything. I just liked the idea of owning something that old. At least it didn't break down on me."

"At least there's that." I reached across the table to tap his arm, yawning. "Take your time, finish up. Put your plate in the sink when you're done. Help yourself to whatever you find in the cabinets. Check the expiration date, though. We're not good at keeping up on that stuff."

"Okay. Thanks a lot and... sorry about invading your house. It wasn't my idea-"

"Oh, I know." I stood and pushed the chair back under the table. "That's our Eloise. She was my father's best friend. She means well but... just be thankful you don't have a real life Guardian Angel. Who looks like a roided out Barney Fife."

I left JC in the kitchen laughing and turned down the lights in the living room. "Goodnight, JC," I called out, my foot on the bottom step.

" ‘Night," he called back.

 

 

JC

 

"Where the fuck are you? I've been calling you for hours. It's just rolling to voicemail."

I settled into the couch, cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder, using my thumb and middle finger to rub my dry, tired eyes. I had to make a couple of phone calls to get Eric's number and when I finally got him, his voice was a high pitched combination of panic and relief and ‘what the fuck are you doing'.

"Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Or that's where they tell me I am."

"So, how far are you from Taos?"

"About six hours," I answered, yawning.

"So you'll roll in about what time? And what's wrong with your phone?"

"I won't be rolling into Taos tomorrow, Eric. I uh... listen, I don't want any shit about this-"

"I told you that piece of shit would break down. It's so old-"

"It didn't break down. I had an accident. I slipped on some ice and skidded out. The Triumph can possibly be repaired, we'll see. But check it out...the hot shit bike mechanic in this town? It's a woman named Tori."

"A woman. Is this a joke?"

I filled him in on my ordeal, from the accident to showing up at this house.  "Anyway, her sister was my nurse in the ER. The Sheriff came to tell me where to pick up my bike and suggested that the ER Nurse just... take me home with her. The Sheriff, who's also a woman, although... anyway, the Sheriff is their Aunt or something so they pretty much do what she tells them to do. So I'm here until Tori can look at the bike and tell me what's up."

Eric cackled so loudly, I covered the mouthpiece for fear the whole house could hear him. "Are you serious? Are you for real?"

"For real. Crazy."

"What a weird ass town. So you need someone to come get you?"

"No, not yet. I'm okay, really. They fed me, I just drank a couple of beers and I'm sacked out on the couch. I'll know more tomorrow. I think my phone is gone, in a ditch somewhere. Can I get another one sent to me?"

"What am I, your personal assistant, now? Call Autumn, have her do that shit."

"Uh, I can't. I have no phone. Can you call her? Have her ship it to-" I picked up a piece of mail from the table and read the address on the upper left hand corner. "Overnight. I can't be without a phone."

"Sure. Anything else I can do for you?"

I grinned. "Yeah. Have fun on the slopes tomorrow. Let me know how it goes. I'll be in touch."

"Hey, you be careful out there in Cloud.... whatever. Those women sound nutty. Can I call you at this number?"

"I think so. Just be nice to them. They're kinda sweet. In their own way."

"Are they hot?"

I frowned. "Eric."

"Strange small town, two hot chicks. Silver linings. Gotta look for ‘em. Okay, I'll be in touch."

I hung up the phone and set the handset on the coffee table, then grabbed the mound of blankets that Kaya had left for me and began to cover myself up. The couch was surprisingly comfortable and soon I was in a soft, warm cocoon, drifting off to sleep.

But not before I considered Eric's question. Are they hot?

Kaya was... spicy. I could tell we would get along well as soon as I stopped hating her for torturing me. Katori, or Tori as she said she liked to be called, was... well, hot.

There's a certain quality of woman that I enjoy spending time with and she hit every button on the register. 

Not that I was really looking, while she glared at me. But later, while we were talking at the table, there was a lot about her, that if the situation were different, I'd call hot. Thick, silky dark hair. Deep, dark eyes, long lashes, a dash of pink to her cheeks and fair skin. Thin fingers, short nails, slim build. Graceful in her movements and... eventually... gentle in her tone of voice.

The way she softened up when she was warming up dinner and offering beer felt like she was taking care of her kid's friend. Not maternal, just a natural knack for taking care of people. Something that Kaya did not possess.

I yawned, tucking an arm under my head. Too bad the situation wasn't different.  I had places to be. As soon as I found out what was up with my bike, I'd be on the first train smoking out of Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

 

&

 

 

"Hey!"

I felt something light flap against my shoulder. My eyes fluttered open and I blinked a few times before Tori came into focus. The room was dimly lit- the sun wasn't even really up yet.

Tori was bent over me glaring...  and maybe snarling a little. She waved an envelope in my face. "Not gonna go rifling through my drawers, huh? What's this? Why is it here? Were you reading my mail?"

 "Reading your..." I sat up halfway, balanced on one arm. "No, I wasn't reading your mail. What are you talking about?"

"This envelope. It was on the table, under the phone." She waved it at me again. I recognized it as the piece of mail I'd grabbed so I could give Eric the address. I noticed now that it had SECOND NOTICE stamped in red across the front of it.

"I didn't... I mean, I didn't open it. I called my manager last night, to see if he could get me a new phone. I gave him this address to ship it. I absolutely did not open and read your mail."

She frowned at my wide eyed, bewildered, half asleep stare, then glanced at the envelope again, and then back to me and back to the envelope. Then she tossed it back down on the table.

"I'm leaving for the shop in about an hour. My son will be up any minute. It would be great if he didn't wake up to a strange man on the couch."  

Then she grabbed a stack of clothing that I hadn't noticed had been piled up on the chair and handed them to me. "These should fit you. It didn't snow again but it's really cold out. I can't, in good conscience, let you keep wearing those scrubs."

I sat up, pushing the blankets back. I could have used another few hours of sleep, but I was at the mercy of the lady of the house and she wanted me up. So I got up, folded the blankets and piled the pillow at the end of the couch, then snatched up the pile of clothing and disappeared into the bathroom.

 The clothes- a pair of jeans, a long sleeved thermal shirt and a hoodie- fit surprisingly well. I hadn't realized how cold I was until I put on warm clothes. I'd seen myself, bruises and all, in the mirror the night before. My goatee was a disheveled salt and pepper mess that looked terrible since I hadn't shaved in a few days; without a comb, my hair was a dull, wild mop and my skin was dry and tight. I couldn't wait to get to my bag and restore some kind of order to my appearance.

I looked like the kind of guy two single women and a teenage boy shouldn't let into their home.

And I would definitely need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

That reminded me to call my Mom. If she heard that I was in a motorcycle accident on the news she would thank God that I was alive and then fly to New Mexico to kill me herself.

I came out of the bathroom to a mix of voices. I recognized Tori's voice but the other was younger, higher pitched but with the growl of a maturing boy who'd just awakened. I moved slowly, so as not to startle anyone, and stopped at the opening separating the kitchen from the living room.

"It can't live on top of the refrigerator anymore, Nasaan. Put it in your room. Or in the garage, or-"  She stopped talking once I came into view. A young man, taller than Tori but almost a replica of her, thin with a pile of dark curls atop his head and smooth brown toned skin turned in my direction.

"Hey," he said, tipping his head up in greeting.  

"Hey," I answered, nodding. I stepped into the kitchen and stretched a hand out. "I'm JC. You must be Nasaan. Your mom told me about you."

"Yeah." He grabbed my hand and gave me two polite pumps before letting go. Nice, strong grip.  "So Aunt Eloise dumped you here, huh? She's like that."

I laughed. "That's what I hear. Yeah, I crashed my bike about five miles out-"

"That was you?" His eyebrows shot up about a foot. "I heard about that. Friend of mine's step dad runs the ambulance. Amos?" I nodded. "Said it was a sick bike, and too bad about the crash. But..."

He returned his attention to Tori. "You're gonna fix it, right mom?"

She gave us both a tight lipped smile. "We will see what we're looking at when we get to the shop."

Nasaan sucked his teeth, folding his arms across his chest. "Man, I wish I could go see it."

"Mmmm, but you can't. You have to go to school. So sit, eat your breakfast, then get going." She gestured toward the table. He loped the few steps and dropped into the chair. "You too, JC. I don't want you telling El I didn't feed you."

I welcomed the invitation and took a seat next to Nasaan, following his lead. He piled his plate high with bacon, eggs and toast, so I did the same. Tori poured a glass of orange juice for Nasaan.

"JC, do you drink coffee? I made a pot of the fancy stuff."

I nodded. "Smells good. Yeah, just black."

"I want some coffee," Nasaan mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"No," Tori quickly answered, handing me a steaming mug.

"It'll stunt my growth and then I won't be taller than you anymore."

She snorted, taking a seat at the head of the table. "That's a great argument, but no. Hey, go wake up Kaya for me. She'll be mad she missed breakfast."

Without a word, he scooted his chair back and jumped up the stairs, bellowing, "Kayaaaaa!  Auntie Kayaaa,  breakfaaaaast..."

Tori smiled at me, loading up her plate. "I wanted to apologize for yelling at you this morning. Waking you up like that. I know better; I should never disturb sleep so violently. My dad was all about gentle awakenings." She rolled her eyes and moved food around on her plate.

"You don't believe in that?"

"All I'm saying is that I would gently awaken at one o'clock in the afternoon without an alarm to disturb my sleep. Anyway, sorry about that. I uh... thought you read something very sensitive."

"I didn't."

She smiled, then said, "I know," before biting down on a piece of bacon.

Nasaan lumbered down the stairs again and resumed his seat. "She said to save her a plate and if I wake her up again she'll shove my motorbike up my ass."

Tori's eyes slid closed and she shook her head, pressing her lips together. "Kaya Nez, everyone. She's a delight in the morning."

I couldn't help it. I let out a gut level laugh, pushed away my empty plate and picked up my coffee cup. These people were hilarious.

"Nasaan, hurry up. I'll give you a ride to school on the way to the shop."

"You sure I can't be late? I want to see the Triumph."

"It's not going anywhere today."

He shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth and stood, carting his plate to the open dishwasher.

"Good kid," I muttered, as he walked out of the kitchen. "It's gotta be hard. By yourself, mostly."

"It is," she responded quietly. "It helps that he is a good kid. It doesn't help when my fairy Godmother insists that he needs a man in his life and keep sending handsome strangers my way."

I guessed she meant me. I felt my skin turning beet red. "That's what that's about?"

"Well, probably not all. I do have your bike. And... it doesn't seem like it but she's actually a really nice lady. She didn't want you to have to stay at Starlight. It's gross. There are other options but... again... I have your bike."

Tori shrugged, then pushed up from the table. "I'm going to go get dressed and then we'll see about your Triumph."  

 

 

JC

 

Nez Motors wasn't much bigger than my garage at home, housed in a building that seemed empty except for this space. It was packed with bikes and bike parts and tools and lifts and manuals. The more I looked around, the more I realized Tori was serious about her trade.

One look at my bike and I prayed she knew what she was doing.

The right side was scratched all to hell- the mirrors had been broken off, the handlebars were bent, parts and pieces were missing. In general, she was a long way from the pristine condition that she'd been in the days before.

Tori seemed amused by my reaction, watching me circle the bike again and again with my hands on top of my head, or over my mouth, taking in the scene.

"This is funny to you, isn't it?" I asked her, trying to keep the edge of irritation out of my voice.

"A little. It's probably not as bad as you think it is."

My head popped up in surprise. "Probably?" I tipped my head and tried to take in the scene again. "It looks pretty bad."

"Well, the first step is to figure out the damage. Let's assess, shall we?"

I thought I was going to have to help lift the bike. With my cracked rib, I didn't see that happening but she moved around me to roll a contraption across the room. "This is a hydraulic lift. Help me hook it up so we can set it upright and see what we're looking at."

I helped loop some cables and levers around the frame of the bike and stood back. Tori flipped a switch and a loud grinding noise came from the machine. And then, slowly, the bike began to lift until it was standing upright and I could put the kickstand down.

"We'll leave it hooked up," she said, setting the power supply down.  "I can work around the cables." She gave the bike a close inspection, inch by inch it seemed, muttering to herself the entire time.

Finally, she straightened. "Okay. It's not pretty, but it's not as ugly as it could be."  She grabbed a thin metal rod to point with. "I can tell you dropped the bike on the right. Not because of all the scratches, but because all the missing parts are on this side. This-" She tapped a ragged piece of metal. "Is your rear brake. It's toast. Your foot peg and your engine cover are also gone. Aside from that, you need replacement mirrors and some welding. I can soften up the metal and try to knock the kinks out of these bent rods."

She stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. "It'll take some work. You definitely can't ride it without repair, but it's not like it needs to be rebuilt."

I felt an immense sense of relief at that statement. The bike could be fixed, at least. I hadn't sunk a ton of money into it and then totaled it on my first ride.

"Question now is... what do you want to do? Do you want to ship it to your guy in LA? Do you want it fixed here so you can ride it home? Do you want it fixed so you can ship it home?"

"Well..." I shrugged, a little sheepish at the moment. "I don't really have a guy. I assumed you would fix it."

I caught the flash of a smile before she turned around and headed toward a counter that served as a desk, of sorts. "Of course, I'd be happy to. I'll need to order parts. I can get them here in a few days."

I groaned. Days.

"Okay..." She rolled her eyes, leaning onto the counter. "Since you're in a hurry, I can order them overnight. But it'll cost you."

"It's already costing me," I muttered, casting an eye around the shop. "You have a lot of bikes here. Do you have time to fix it?"

"Oh those?" She nodded toward the collection of motorcycles. "I'm not fixing those. Those are part of a special project Nasaan and I are working on. His sweet sixteen present, you might say. You're my only job right now, so yes, I have time."

"Your only job? Aren't you the only mechanic in town?"

Tori shook her head, then answered softly, "No. I'm not. I'm the best. But I'm not the only one."

I started to press for more information but thought better of it. If she wanted me to know more, she'd tell me more. For now, I needed my bike fixed.

"Well, whatever you need to fix the bike, and whatever you charge for the repair, I'll pay it. Money isn't a problem."

I felt horrible the second that sentence fell from my mouth. Even worse when her gaze dropped to the floor for a few seconds. "Uhm... Okay. I'll order parts today, then. You'll need to prepay for them.  This is a vintage bike and the parts will be pricey. I can't afford to pay for them upfront. Is that a problem?"

I shook my head, afraid to open my mouth before another thoughtless comment rolled out of it. Instead, I reached for the leather duffel bag that was still strapped to the back of the bike, zipped it open and pulled out my wallet. I handed her a credit card.

She took it, glanced at it, flipped it over and back again.

"You've never seen an AmEx card before?"

She scowled, her brows knit together on her forehead and lips pursed. "Of course I've seen an AmEx before. I've never seen an AmEx Black before."

"Is that... oh,  the fees. I didn't even think about that. I can use another card-" I flipped open my wallet again, feeling a bright red blush crawl up my neck and take over my face.  

"It's fine, JC. If this is the card you want to use, it's fine."

"Are you sure? I can use my Visa, or-"

"It's fine," she snapped, reaching under the counter to bring up a laptop. She flipped up the lid and punched a few buttons. "Billing address?"

I recited the address and listened as she tapped more buttons. When she finished, she handed the card back to me.  "Job's open. No turning back now."

 

...

 

I lounged in a beat up office chair, swiveling back and forth and flipping through copies of Cycle World, Hog Magazine and Dirt Rider.

"Do you actually read these?"

Tori looked up, her face mostly concealed by a large pair of clear plastic goggles. In one hand, she held a welding torch. In the other, a mirror.

"I thumb through them," she answered with a shrug. "They're more for entertainment and hobby riders than mechanics and collectors."

"So people like me?"

She smiled without confirming, but I knew a dig when I heard one. "I get them for Nasaan. He reads them like there's a test on the material. Wish he paid attention to his algebra book like that."

She went back to work, igniting the flame on the torch. "He's always loved any kind of motorized bike. Dirt bike, motorcycle, moped. He was never a BMX or ten speed kind of kid."

"Seems like that runs in the family."

She smiled. "It does, but he doesn't get it from me. I ride a bit and I love putting bikes back together. But this shop was my father's brain child. I was hoping to keep it going until Nasaan was old enough to decide if he wanted to take it over, but..."

She sighed, her smile fading. The hiss from the torch quieted and the flame blew out. "Dammit. Out of propane."

"How long has your dad been gone?"

"Nine years," she answered. I watched as she skillfully switched the nozzle on the torch from one tank to another, then flipped the switch. She was rewarded with a strong blue flame and a loud hiss. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. My father isn't dead."

"Oh. I thought... uh..."

"He met some woman online. She was a peach. She came out here with her nose in the air, looking down at all of us. At the house my grandfather built. At the shop my dad poured his life into, built with his own two hands."

She pulled the goggles down on her face.  Her brown eyes seemed distant, radiating the hurt she was talking about. "At me. At my sister and my son. She convinced him that they'd have a happier life together in Nashville."

"Let me guess. He gets out there and it falls apart."

"Ding. Ding. He gave up everything that was important to him. For her. We tried to tell him, but the male ego is an idiot. I think he was too embarrassed to admit she was a mistake."

"Wow. That's like a modern day country song."

"I thought he might actually come back, but then he met someone else and married her. They have a nice place, lots of land. Horses and whatever. Nasaan has been out there twice. Don't think we'll see him back out here any time soon."

"And in the meantime, you're struggling out here in the desert. Does he know?"

She glanced up from her work. "Not exactly. He knows business is down. He doesn't know how bad things are. And I don't intend for him to know. He gave me the shop when he left. It's my responsibility."

"That envelope you yelled at me about?  Was that about this place?"

She nodded, but then tipped up a finger. "But it's not what you think. This building used to be full of businesses, including Nez Motors. Over the years, they've all moved out to different buildings, different towns. Closed down. We're the last one standing. The owner wants to sell the building and he doesn't think it'll sell with the shop still here. I have to move out. Or buy the building if I want to stay."

"Since I'm your only job right now, I guess buying the building isn't a possibility."

The torch clicked when she flipped the switch. The blue flame disappeared and the hiss went away. "Two for two. The problem is that I don't have any place to go. And even if I had someplace to go, I can't afford to move..."  

She lifted her head, her eyes roaming the shop from one end to the other. "Well. All of this."

"And not enough idiots crash their vintage bikes around here to keep you above water."

"Three for three. You're smart for a pretty boy from LA."

I chuckled, flipping through another magazine. "Just wait until I'm well rested and I have some gel in my hair."

"So... last night you called your friends? In Taos? Are they worried about you?"

"Worried? No. Ready to roast me over crashing this bike? Yeah."

She straightened long enough to let out a bark of laughter. "JC, I'm ready to roast you over crashing this bike. You're not a seasoned rider, are you?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I ride around town, you know. In good weather. But it's more of a thing I do on Saturday because I'm bored. Not a lifestyle. But I saw this bike in an ad and had to have it."

"I see why." She nodded appreciatively at the machine, still held up by cables. "It's just that... a bike like this requires a lot of knowledge. More care and maintenance. It's not a hobby machine, it's an investment. And it's heavy as fuck. I'm surprised you didn't break more than a rib in that accident."

"Yeah. I hear you. And I definitely have more respect for it than I did before."

"To tell you the truth, it makes me nervous to let Nasaan ride the Harley we're revamping for his birthday."

"You're giving him a Harley?"

"Not giving. He's inheriting." She removed her gloves and set them on the counter. I watched as she walked to a corner of the room and pulled a large blue tarp off of a bike. I stood- mostly out of awe, but to move closer and get a good look.

"This is the bike that started everything," she said, running a hand across the handlebars of a black and chrome Harley Davidson. It was about the size of a sport bike, but with much more power. "It's a Knucklehead. Vintage, of course. Fitting, since it's for my knucklehead. It belonged to my grandfather, then my dad. We've been switching out rusted parts, replacing them with new parts from other bikes. Updating, refurbishing, but still trying to stay true to the spirit of the bike. He's dying to ride it."

"I'd be dying to ride it, too. It's nice. Really nice."

"I know." She spread the tarp over the bike again, taking great care to smooth it out. "He can't even sit on that seat without a motorcycle safety class, appropriate gear and a license. He's been working the past few years, saving money. Mowing lawns, shoveling snow, hauling junk."

"Hard working kid."

"Mmhmmm. When he wants something, he knows how to work. Thing is..."

She picked up her key ring and nodded toward the door. We were leaving, I guessed. I grabbed my duffel bag and followed her out.

"I'm just not sure if I really want Nasaan to take over the shop. And... well, I kind of want him to have the chance to get out of here. Go anywhere he wants to go."

She pulled the door shut behind us and locked up the shop. Then we trudged through dirt crusted, packed down snow to her truck and climbed in. She started it up, turning up the heat before pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.

"You're talking about college?"

"Yeah. Or...maybe he wants to go out to Nashville with his grandfather. Or... out to Atlanta with his father. He's got a lot of opportunities available to him. I don't want to tie him down by insisting he take over the shop."

"So... his dad is..."

"Alive. They talk here and there. He pays support. But he's not involved with raising Nasaan." Again, it seemed like something she didn't want to talk about, so I let it go.

"What would you do with yourself if you had to close the shop?"

"Probably work at the hospital." She giggled at the look of surprise I must have shot her. "I have a nursing license I don't use but I keep updated. Promised my dad I'd always have something to fall back on. Every once in a while, I work a shift, but Nez Motors is where I belong."

"Well, you're probably better at patient care than Kaya. Pretty sure she tried to kill me."

"I believe you, and I wasn't even there."

She turned the corner, ready to pull into the driveway, but her space was occupied by a police cruiser. "Damnit. I didn't want to deal with Eloise today."

We both sighed. And then laughed. And climbed out of the truck, slamming doors and stomping through the snow.  The kitchen door opened before Tori could even reach for the knob, revealing Kaya standing in the opening in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, holding a mug of coffee.

On her face? A wide... kind of scary grin.  "I am so glad you two are back. Eloise has something... interesting to share with us."

"Oh?" Tori dropped her keys on the counter and shrugged out of her jacket, hanging it on the back of a chair. Sheriff Eloise was sitting at the kitchen table, her large hands wrapped around a mug. An open laptop sat in front of her. "What's the interesting news about?"

"Uh, is the coffee fresh?" I pointed toward the pot. Kaya nodded and didn't move to pour me a cup, so I helped myself.

"Funny you should show up right now. The interesting news is about your house guest."

Tori glanced at me, a lick of fear in her eyes. But the giggle that Kaya wasn't trying very hard to suppress gave me a hint of what they'd figured out. I heaved a long, loud breath and slouched in my chair, sipping coffee.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

Hell. It was going to be a long stay in Cloudcroft.

 

Katori

 

My eyes bounced around the room from Eloise to Kaya - who were trying too hard not to burst into laughter- to JC, who slouched lower and lower in the chair. In a few more inches, he would be under the table.

"I seem to be the only person in the dark. What?"

"Well." Eloise leaned back in the kitchen chair and slurped a long, loud swallow of coffee. She was getting immense pleasure out of dragging this out. "Of course, I ran this guy through the system last night before I told Kaya to bring him here. No priors. Squeaky clean. Nothin' goin' on."

"That's a comfort," I replied. I stole a quick glance at JC but he didn't seem very bothered.

"But today, I was writing my report and uh... happened to type Joshua Chasez into the search bar on the computer and... well, take a look."

She flipped the laptop around so I could see the screen. I didn't know what I was looking at, at first. Or,  for that matter, what I was looking for.

Until my eye snagged on a photo of a much younger but familiar face on the right hand side of the page.

"What.... what is this?" I glared at JC now. "Why are you on the Internet?"

He sipped coffee, his blue eyed gaze sliding across the table at a slow, lazy pace. "Let's just say I'm an entertainer. A music artist, to be more exact. I write, I sing, I... have danced. Now I produce other artists. Check it out. I'm actually pretty proud." I detected the briefest wink before he lifted the coffee mug to his lips again.

"You said you called your manager last night. To order a new phone for you. Like... you have a manager and everything? You're... legit. "

Kaya, who was about to explode, rushed around the table to read over my shoulder. "Come on, Tori. I know you weren't into the whole pop thing but you have to remember him. Look..."

She pointed, then began reading aloud. "Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and occasional actor. He started out his career as a cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club-"

She paused, almost punching me in the shoulder. "You don't remember watching that show? Britney Spears was on it; Ryan Gosling was on it... Christina Aguilera was on it. That guy was on it!" She finished, pointing at JC.

I kept reading. "... before rising to stardom with N- Oh my God."

"Right?" Kaya squealed, then giggled. "This dude from *NSYNC slept on your couch last night! Isn't that wild?"

"I... I mean..." I looked at JC, trying to figure out how to react this... news. I had a pop...icon, I guessed, living in my house? "Is this... this is you, right?"

"It's me," he confirmed. "It's all me. Most of my life, my entire career, immortalized on the Internet. Forever."

"That's so creepy," I muttered.

"Isn't it, though? I'm used to it. Take a look. Really."

Kaya reached around me and clicked on the images tab. The screen filled with photos of JC from his youth to present day. "Look," she said, pointing at a kid who couldn't have been much older than Nasaan, in a dark turtleneck that highlighted his pale skin, fleshy lips and bright blue eyes. "Remember?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I remember. Snappy Top 40 pop and sappy cheese toast love songs."

"Hey, I wrote like... half of those snappy and sappy cheese toast songs," said JC. "They made us a lot of money. Put us on the map."

I bet, Mr. Black AmEx. Mr. Money is not a problem. I bet.  

"You'll have to forgive Tori. She was emo, more into like... Tori Amos and Bjork and Sole'. Wouldn't be caught dead listening to-"

Kaya pressed a button and a song began to play, boisterous horns and loud drums set at a party scene at a truck stop. She bobbed her head and bounced on her toes in time to the beat next to me. I turned to glare at her.

"What? This is the fucking funniest thing to happen all year! Just wait until Nasaan finds out."

The kitchen door swung open right at that moment. "Finds out what?" he asked, dropping his bag, coat and boots at the door. "Hey, Aunt Eloise. If you get any calls, I wasn't throwing snowballs at Coach Snyder's SUV."

"Uh huh. Let's hope you weren't."

"Wait till I hear what?"  Nasaan repeated. "What're you looking at?"

"Uhm... well, JC is kind of... uhm. Hmmm." I turned to JC, amused. "How would you put it?"

JC perked, finally, sitting up. "Put it this way. You've heard of Justin Bieber, right?"

Nasaan nodded, then said, "Yeah. Lil' punk wanna be. What about him?"

"Uh... I was kind of, but not really, sort of an original Bieber back in the day. That is to say that Bieber wishes he was as talented as me and my group."

"Back in what day?" Nasaan shook his head, squinting his eyes. "You're old."  

At which JC burst into laughter.

"Nasaan!" I wanted to scold him, but I couldn't stop laughing. "I'm... sorry. He thinks anyone over twenty-three is old."

"So what are you looking at?" He asked, bending over me to peer closer at the laptop. "Oh... shiiiiit. What is...is that a leopard print jacket? Why? What's your hair doing in this picture? How long ago was this? Was I born yet?"

"Man, he's... really got a way of making you feel..."

I grinned. "Old?"

Nasaan shooed me out of my chair and took over the laptop. "So... you were like... a Backstreet Boy?" 

 

 

...

 

 

"You'll have to forgive Nasaan. He's never met a celebrity before."

JC lobbed a gracious smile in my direction. He gamely and politely answered all of Nasaan's questions about being a musician, being famous, being on the road and what you do with your life when people don't recognize you. "It's okay. We had a good talk. Did you know he's interested in playing guitar? I told him to get into those lessons. Can't get good if you don't practice."

I nodded. Nasaan was interested in a lot of things for about five minutes. His interest in bikes was the only one that had stuck so far. "So this... musician thing. You've always been one? Always wanted to be one?"

"Pretty much."

JC waited for me to kick my feet up and rest them on the coffee table before doing the same. We were both on our second drink of the night and were full of barbecue from Big Daddy Jack's, JC's treat. He had the good sense to use his Visa this time.

It was snowing again, lightly but Nasaan hoped it would pick up overnight so that he could work in the morning. After dinner, he took off toward the bowling alley for a night of acting stupid with his friends and trying to avoid Eloise or her deputies.

Kaya had agreed to meet some friends from work at a downtown karaoke bar. She'd tried to beg off but I made her go. "You can't dump your friends every time a former boy band member comes to stay at your house. I promise we won't have any fun without you."

"You'd better not," she said, pouting as she got out of the truck.

JC moved to the front seat and strapped the seatbelt across his chest. "Let's go have fun without Kaya."

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

After a brief stop at a liquor store a few blocks from the house, I stoked a fire and turned on the TV, then sank into the couch with an old fashioned bourbon cocktail. JC seemed to be taking it easy with a beer.

"By this point," he explained, "I've been a musician longer than I haven't. It's just... who I am. There's a lot I could do. I'm pretty handy with electronics. But like you said Nez Motors is where you belong?" He shrugged. "Same. I can't imagine doing anything else."

"It feels weird to think that in a couple of months I might have to go beg for a job at another shop. Or go work for the hospital. Or I could go outside of Cloudcroft. Drive an hour to and from work. Never see my son or my sister. That isn't the life I imagined. That's not why my grandparents, my father left all of this here for us. We were meant to live better than that."

"That's not a life you'd enjoy."

"And you know so much, pretty boy?"

"I know about being where you belong. I know about not being able to do what you really want to do, about having to do something else while you wait for that chance again. It sucks. It's miserable. I'd hate to see you..."  

His voice trailed off and his eyes dropped from the TV to the bottle he held in one hand, balanced on his thigh. "I don't know you," he continued, his voice quieter. Softer. "And I know I'm saying a lot for someone that doesn't know you but I watched you work today and... you belong at that shop. I'd hate to see you get stuck where you don't want to be. Because what if you can't get... unstuck?"

It's not often that someone hits upon a fear that strikes me to my core. The idea that I could be in a situation and not get out of it was terrifying. I'd always had a Plan B, an alternate route, a way out.  

But this... I was all out of alternate routes. And it scared me.

"The thing is that I have to think about more than myself, here. And I've got to do what I need to do, for Nasaan. At the very least I need to get him out of here. There's nothing in Cloudcroft for him."

"Is his father...interested in -"

"Sean?" A dry, ragged laugh ripped from my throat. "Let me tell you about my lying, cheating, philandering ex-husband. I met Sean in high school- his grandmother still lives on the other side of town. I ended up pregnant. I was seventeen, Sean had just graduated when I had Nasaan. We got married because... that's what you did, back then. At the time, my mother was sick, so we all lived here.

"Sean worked for a transportation company a few towns over. He left for Atlanta to start a new job with them. He was supposed to move us all there once he was settled. Six months, nine months, a year went by. He wasn't really keeping in touch or keeping me up to date on plans to relocate his family."

"I don't like where this is going," JC said, his voice a bit of a moan. The look I gave him probably told him I wasn't fond of the direction of this story, either.

"I felt like he was stringing us along, but he was never going to admit to it. I packed up Nasaan and we took a surprise trip to the east coast... where I found Sean shacked up with some woman. I guess he wasn't expecting to see his wife and son on his doorstep.

"I came home, filed for divorce. He signed the papers. I have honestly not seen him since. I packed up his shit and put it in the storage shed behind the house and that is where it has sat. He never even came back for his stuff. That's how little we mattered to him.

"So no. He isn't the least bit interested in his nearly adult son," I said, fuming. "He's interested in not living in Cloudcroft, in making money and fucking women that aren't his wife."

I pushed myself up from the couch and, drink in hand, headed to the kitchen. I was wearing a sweater and jeans and... sitting next to JC, I was overheated.  

I slipped on a pair of boots and walked out of the door, around the side of the house where the slab of concrete we call a patio was covered in inches of snow. The furniture had been covered with a series of tarps, all hidden under peaks of fallen and windblown snow. I ripped the tarp off of a stack of chairs and pulled one of the top, then planted the chair in the snow and my ass in the chair.

Talking about my ex always got me a little hot under the collar. Not only because of how he had duped us, but because of how long I let myself believe his lies; how many times I fell for syrupy words from a man I believed loved me.   

I sipped my drink and watched the flurries blow around in a light breeze until I heard the kitchen door open and then close.

"It's just me," JC said, his feet crunching through the path around the house.

"We are the only two home, JC. If course it's you."

"I didn't want to sneak up on you." He grabbed a chair and set up next to  me, burrowing his hands inside of his jacket, which he wore over the thermal and the hoodie. I was amused at his thin skin. "So we're doing a good job of not having any fun without Kaya."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Sean makes me..." My hands clenched, my fingers forming fists. "... emotional."

"Sorry I had to pry into your business. I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's okay. Far too few people actually ask what happened to Nasaan's dad. Do me a favor and don't bring him up when Nasaan is in the room."

JC nodded, quickly agreeing. "One thing I'm learning is that nothing is what it seems with you. Your father's not dead, your ex-husband would be better off dead and you're only losing the shop because the building is being sold."

"You see? There's so much to a story."

"Yeah. It's like writing a song-"

"Oh my God. You're not going to draw parallels to being a celebrity, are you?"

"No. I was going to draw parallels to writing a song. How there's layers, how things might take a turn you don't expect. How there's a surface meaning and a deeper meaning and only a few people might understand that deeper meaning. You get me?"

"I do." I nodded, slowly. "I actually do."

The mood was really somber. And I felt bad, since it was my fault, so I tried to lighten things up.

"So... earlier I was looking through some pictures of you."

"Great," he said, dropping his head and dragging the word out in a groan. "And..."

"Those red leather pants..."

"Uh huh..."

I giggled. "... do you still own them?"

"Probably. Somewhere. Why?"

"Promise me that if you come across them in the future, that you will try them on and send me a picture."

He was already shaking his head and waving his hands around in protest. "I... I can't make that promise. I think burned them."

"You did not burn them. You were too hot in those pants to have burned them. You looked like you were having a good time in those pants."

"I mean... I'm not that thin anymore. They probably don't look as good now as they did back then. I did have a good time, though. A very good time. And I'll have you know that Lenny Kravitz- you know who he is, right?"

"Ye- yes! I know who he is."

"Well you didn't know who I was-"

"Oh, were your feelings hurt?"

"Anyway, I was told that he liked a couple of outfits I wore so... there you go."

"There I go, what? Lenny wore a silver romper with matching boots. He looked like a roll of aluminum foil." I tossed back the last swallow of my bourbon. "That proves nothing. There I go... nothing."

JC laughed, and then was quiet again. And then a violent shiver seemed to overtake his body.

"Tori."

"Hm," I muttered, tipping my head back so I could watch the snow fall.

"It's fucking freezing out here. Can we go in?"

"Is this desert winter air a bit chilly for you, pretty boy?"

I got up and watched JC stack both of our chairs, then cover the pile with the tarp I'd ripped off earlier. Arm in arm, we marched through the snow, back to the kitchen door.

"My delicate skin is offended by these temperatures, yeah. Also, you're drunk on liquor and I don't have that benefit."

I headed straight for the bottle of bourbon that I'd left on the counter and pulled a glass from the counter. After I poured a healthy sip, I handed him the glass.

"Get with the program. I want to be toasted when Kaya gets home. Let's make her nice and mad. Like, pissed off."

"Well, sure. Nurse Ratchet won't torture you."

JC laughed into the glass, which gave it a hollow sound. He drank it down, tipping his head back, then set the glass back on the counter. "That's uhmmm... strong."

"If you make a Native American holding her liquor joke, I really will make you sleep outside in the snow."

"I wasn't planning on it. What kind of pretty boy from LA do you think I am?" He tapped his glass on the counter twice. "Another, barkeep."

"Another?" I sighed but uncapped the bourbon and poured out a finger or two. "I don't babysit, you know. My days of sitting up all night making sure someone doesn't die of alcohol poisoning or choke on their own vomit are long gone."

"Of course. We'd leave all that for Kaya anyway. Pour up. I'm not drinking alone."

I obeyed, then capped the bottle and set it on the counter, then tipped my head toward the living room and settled us back on the couch. The show we'd been halfway watching had gone off. The fire had settled to glowing embers.

I angled myself toward him, one leg tucked underneath me and tipped my glass enough to let a swallow of the honey colored liquid hit my tongue.

"Thanks. For... outside." He bobbed his head forward and back in a deep nod. "I didn't mean to dump on you; I'm sorry. I never... I don't get a chance to really talk about things, you know? Anyway, you're not obligated to care. Or to even bring it up again-"

"Tori... it's okay." His free hand grabbed mine and squeezed. And then he let go and I suddenly felt so... alone. I wasn't. I knew that. I had Kaya and Nasaan and Eloise.

But in this tiny town in a vast desert there was no one that was just for me.  

 

 

 

JC

 

"You don't have to stop talking, you know. I'm listening. My ears are very pretty."

Tori didn't want to smile but she did, even if it was a half smile that she wouldn't let fully form. She made a big show of trying to go back to being strong and stoic. Wonder Woman. The person that held everything and everyone together. But we all had our moments, even me. And I hoped that she wouldn't run away from her moment.

"I'd love to keep talking. But I really, really am not going to dump on you."

"Okay. I can deal with that." I mimicked her pose, turning so I was facing her with a leg tucked under me. I groaned, feeling my healing road rash and my nicked rib protesting my movements.

"You should be careful. Your ribs and tender skin aren't so pretty."

"I'm okay. I feel fine and then I move and I'm reminded that I'm not fine. I'm over forty and I crashed my bike in this little..." I stopped myself, thankfully, before I insulted Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

Tori's laugh came out in a bubble from her chest. "You won't hurt my feelings if you have negative things to say about this place. Not even if you talk about Eloise."

"I definitely don't want to say anything bad about Eloise. She seems like she'd lock me up in a minute." I sipped my drink and watched the Hulu screensaver scroll across the TV. "So she's kind of filling in for your dad."

"Kind of, yeah. They really are good friends. Pretty sure he gets a report on us on a regular basis."

"I bet I won't show up in that report."

"You actually might," she said, laughing. "They've been working the Tori needs to get over Sean and get out there angle for some time now."

"Well... what about that? It's been a lot of years since him, right?"

"Ugh," she grunted, her eyes rolling back in her head. "I've known everyone that lives here since I was in middle school at least. There is no one in this town I would be interested in dating."

"It doesn't have to be dating. Just something to knock the dust off."

Her mouth dropped open in fake shock, but her eyes were glowing. "J- what's your name, again?"

"You're great for my ego, honey. It's Joshua. Joshua Scott, since you're about to yell at me..."

"Joshua Scott, get your mind off of my dust, thank you very much. Mind your own dust."

"But see... I don't have any dust, Katori- what's your middle name?"

"None of your damn business."

"That means it's embarrassing. What is it?"

She sucked her teeth and lowered her chin a little, then muttered, "Simone."

"You don't like it? That's pretty."

"Thanks. I guess it's okay. I considered going by that name for a while but I decided to be proud of my name, of my culture."

"I like both your names. All of your names."

"So what do you mean, you don't have any dust?"

"What I said. I don't have to be dating a person to enjoy my time with them. I just have to find them attractive."

"That's probably easy in LA, where everyone's pretty."

"Harder than you think. Super easy here though."

It was impossible to get a reaction out of Tori, and I was trying hard. She played cool and talked tough and she was taking all of my hints and comments in stride, but I felt like there was something going on. Something on the surface. And something deeper.

"So there's someone here in this town that you'd take to bed, if you could? That's what you're saying?"

"Basically. Casually. Just having fun, letting go. If that person was open to it, that is. I wouldn't force myself on anyone."

She took a long pull off of her glass, then swallowed and set it, empty, on the table. "It's Kaya, isn't it?" She blurted.  "You complain, but you dig that Nurse Ratchet shit, huh?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "And it's not Eloise. Let's not even go there."

"Okay, well. You haven't met anyone else but Amos and he has no ass."

Her fingers, thin and delicate, reached for her hair, pulling through it. That was a tell. I had my reaction.

"So...that leaves... me."

"Yeah." I took a breath, just to let things sink in. I had no problem pulling back if I needed to. I just hoped I didn't need to.

After a few beats of silence, I asked, "Does that make you uncomfortable?"

She actually stopped to think about it, pulling her fingers through her hair, biting her  plump bottom lip. I'd started thinking about doing that myself... biting her lip. Biting her... other places.

"Honestly? It doesn't. It should. You're a stranger, blowing through town, leaving as soon as I fix your bike. I should be highly cautious right now but I'm not."

"Normal, average guy from LA," I said, repeating the phrase from the night before. "Either that, or you've got a freak flag you need to fly."

"I was thinking pretty hard about those pants..."

"See?"

"But you're not a normal, average guy from LA, though. You're well known. And well off, to put it politely."

"I'm filthy rich. Does it bother you that you want me now that you know that?"

"Okay, pretty boy. Let's not take it that far... there was plenty of flirting before I knew about the red leather pants."

"Okay. True. So... there's two ways we can handle this. At least how I see it. We could ignore all of this sexual tension building up- because even without the alcohol, there's plenty of attraction happening here."

I motioned between the two of us. With glassy eyes, she followed my fingers, then her eyes drifted up to mine. "Or?"

"Or...we could take advantage of being two consenting adults in an empty house. You're a consenting adult, right?"

It took a second, but she nodded.

"Tori... I need to hear you say it. And it's okay if you need to say no."

She sat up, leaning a knee on the cushion and drew close to me, her face hovering over mine. I met her halfway, our lips crushing together in a hasty, hurried kiss.

"I'm a consenting adult with a handsome stranger in my house and about forty five minutes before my son and my sister come home."  

"Then we should get busy," I said, a hand already at her waist and slipping under her sweater. Her skin was warm and soft under my fingertips as I dragged them up her torso and over the cups of her bra. The pad of my thumb scraped across a pert nipple poking through the fabric.  

Tori sucked in a sharp breath, then exhaled a moment later, grabbing the hem of her sweater and pulling it over her head, leaving her in a wispy, lacy, black bra. I reached for her, gently kneading the soft mounds.

Our lips met again in a chorus of moans and a flurry of hands pulling at fabric- I unzipped her jeans so she could kick out of them; she pulled my shirt over my head, then reached for the fly of my jeans but I waved her fingers away, choosing to push them down myself.  

"I'm still sore," I explained, inching the jeans down my hips, past the point of road rash. "I didn't want you to feel bad about hurting me."

"Oh, I wouldn't have," she said with a sexy little laugh. She leaned back onto the couch, laying her head on the arm rest and reached for me. I moved toward her, gently sinking until my body weight rested on hers, then adjusting as she made room for me.

I was... ready. Erect, hot and throbbing between us. We were both panting, breathing hard with tongues intertwined and our bodies arching into each other. I alternated between her lips and her neck, then to her breasts, teasing taut nipples and drawing little whimpers from the back of her throat. she pulled through my hair with one hand and dug into my back, digging marks into my skin with the other.

I began to move south, planting a line of kisses down her belly to the band of her panties. I'd planned on teasing her a little and then taking them off, but Tori wasn't in the mood to play. Her back arched and her hips lifted, then she rolled them down her hips and legs and kicked them onto the floor.

"I guess you're ready to kick off some of that dust."

"I am," she answered, her breasts rolling with her heavy breaths. "I haven't been this excited for sex in... ever."

Music to my ears. I settled between her thighs and found suckable lips, fattened by her arousal and a stiff clit. My tongue grazed up and down, in and out, side to side. Faster, slower, faster.

Her legs opened wider, her sounds growing louder with every stroke of my tongue. Every yelp, groan, grunt, whimper made me harder.  She squirmed and arched, so much that I had to grip her hips to hold her where I needed her.

She was trembling, right on the edge, but I felt her palm against my forehead, pushing me back. "I don't want to come yet. Please... please, I'll come if you don't stop."

I chuckled, moving up again, kissing the same path over her mound, up her belly. I nibbled at each of her nipples before I made it back to her mouth.  

"I have never had a woman beg me to stop."

"First time for everything, I guess."

I felt her fingers playing around the band of my boxers, so I pulled them down, then kicked them off. I moved to the side so I was lying next to her, giving her full advantage. She took her time, giving me light strokes with her fingertips down one side and up another, around the head, which was slick with evidence of how ready I was to be inside her. But it would be no good if I rushed the scene, so I waited.

"You nervous?" I whispered. I could just barely see her. The lights in the room were low and the fire was basically out, just a creepy red glow under a slab of wood.

She nodded, turning toward me and resting her cheek on my shoulder.

"Just... because it's been awhile, or... because it's me?"

"Both," came the muffled answer. "I'm a young woman, you know? I should...know what I'm doing. This shouldn't be an... experience for me. But I'm scared I'm gonna suck. And that some pretty rich boy from LA will brag about this chick he fucked in New Mexico."

"Wait, wait..." I laughed, reaching out to brush my fingers through her hair, smoothing out tangles. "First of all, you will never be this chick I fucked in New Mexico. Alright? None of that. And... look at me."  

She tipped her head up so I could see one eye. She didn't look terrified. More... frozen in anticipation.  "Tonight is about you. You can't suck if it's about you."

"Is that a rule? Something I should know?"

"Honestly, honey, I just made it up. I want you to feel good about this."

She laughed. "You have... such a way about you. No wonder you don't have any dust."

"It's all a part of my charm. So you ready for me?"

She answered by rolling onto her back again, then wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my thighs as I moved with her. "Ready when you are."

 

 

Katori

 

The first sexual encounter after a long break from sexual encounters felt like the first sexual encounter all over again.

Except different. The man was different, the time was different. The couch was different. I had sex with Sean in his grandmother's living room while she watched Wheel of Fortune. 

JC was being utterly sweet and kind to me, making sure I was ready, that he wasn't hurting me... but I really just wanted him to go for it, to take control. 

To fuck me.

I didn't need a sweet and tender coupling. I wanted to be fucked. And I didn't have a lot of time to make it happen.

When he asked if I was ready, I answered truthfully. Yes, I was more than ready. To show him, I locked my legs around him, gripping his muscular thighs and snaked my hand between us. While he'd let me play and explore, my mind had wandered to how he would feel inside me. It was time to find out, for real.

I gripped him, then scooted down on the couch and aimed him in the right direction, burying his head in the warmth of my core. With a tilt of his hips, he pushed so he was inside me, but then stopped.

"Uhm..."

"Just do it, JC."

"I... okay, but..."

"I know. You're...no shrinking violet. And it's been awhile for me. But don't stop. Please don't stop."

I raised my head to meet his lips and gave him the most searing kiss I could muster up, then rolled my hips up against him.

He took the hint... and the plunge, pushing deep into me, thrust after thrust after... Oh God, delicious thrust. We were skin to skin, pubic bone to pubic bone, and hunching into each other like teenagers.

"You okay?" I already felt a sheen of sweat on his skin. His breath was hot on my cheek.

"Uhmmmyeah... don't stop."

If it wasn't for my son, I'd wish I'd never had sex with anyone else ever in life. As it was, I was pretty sure no one else would never compare to sex with JC. He did this thing where he sucked and bit at my neck and it made me lose my mind, tighten my grip around his body and clench my pussy walls around him. That made him groan and thrust harder, grinding against my clit.

"I don't want to finish first," he gasped, kind of laughing. "But you're killing me, here."

"I am?"

"Fuuuuck. Jesus, you have no idea how good you feel."

"Must be pretty good. You said fuck and Jesus in the same sentence."

"Damnit....Tori-"

"Okay, okay, okay."

I'd been holding out anyway, because being fucked felt really good and I wanted to drag it out. But since he was whining- and I was running out of time, I rocked my hips against him, matching his rhythm until I was nearly convulsing, on the edge of climax. And then he did that thing, sucking on my neck and it took me over the edge. My back arched up off of the couch and I couldn't stop the yelp that tore from my throat. My whole body twitched in time with the rhythmic pulsing of my pussy.

JC buried his face between my neck and shoulder and worked his hips against me in a mad flurry of thrusts and moans until he stiffened and let out a long, loud groan. I felt him pulse... and then completely relax, dropping his body weight onto mine, absolutely spent.

I found the strength to bring an arm around his shoulder and planted a kiss on his temple. He dripped sweat onto me and panted hot breath in my face, but I didn't mind a bit.

"Pretty sure this was not what Eloise had in mind when she told me to be a good hostess."

JC laughed, his abdominal muscles rippling against my soft belly. "Right about now, I'm glad she forced me to come here."

"Mmmmm," I hummed. "Right about now? Me too."

I gave him a few more moments to come down from his sex high, then tapped my palm against his shoulder.

"We need to get up. Kaya and Nasaan will be home any minute and I don't even want to think about how to explain this."

"Yeah. Forgot about that."

JC sat up, reaching for the articles of clothing he had removed. I did the same, bundling them in a pile under my arm.

 "So, I'm gonna... head upstairs and hop in the shower real quick."

I watched him thread his shirt back over his head and pull his jeans on, without the boxers.  "I'd join you, if I could."

I blushed, imagining part two of this super crazy night. "You can come up in a few minutes and shower and change, if you want."

"Okay. I'll uh... straighten up down here."

When I came back downstairs, in my pink cat pajamas, the living room looked nothing like the scene of the crime, with bunched up couch cushions and dirty glasses of liquor laying around. The room looked... normal. JC had stoked the fire again so it was lightly crackling, the reflection of the flames dancing long the ceiling. He was deeply engrossed in a TV show and had opened a beer.

I felt... weird. How was I supposed to act, after I'd just had casual sex with a man I didn't know? A pretty boy who used to be a famous singer but had himself convinced he was normal, average guy from LA? A man who would be gone and part of my history as soon as I fixed his motorcycle?

Apparently, I was supposed to have a seat on the couch next to him, watch whatever show he was watching, and pretend I wasn't thinking about when we could do that again.

 

 

... 

 

To say I woke up early would imply that I'd been able to sleep.

I tossed and turned all night, knowing JC was directly below me, on the couch. Probably sleeping soundly. Like a baby. Or like a man who had nothing to worry or think about, nothing to keep him up at night. What had happened between us wasn't special or memorable to him. It was just some casual fun. Just knocking off some dust.

Why couldn't I make my brain work the same way?

It wasn't like I was in love with him or anything. The few disappointing relationships I'd had after Sean had taught me enough about love and emotions and getting caught up in someone too soon. Or... at all.  I'd had Nasaan to think about, and none of those men ever considered my son in whatever goals they'd set for our relationship. Plans never involved him and the future never included him. It was like they thought he'd disappear.

JC was an improvement, in that regard. They'd already had plenty of engaging conversations, where Nasaan was spoken to and treated like the smart young man that he was. JC was really good with my kid. Scary good.

I had to get his Triumph fixed so he could get out of my house. So he could get away from me before my mind started hoping for things that could not... would not happen.

I rolled out of bed and tiptoed down the stairs, since it was still early. Nasaan had come home around midnight. Kaya had been dropped off, hilariously drunk and belligerent, an hour later.  I'd given up pretending that sex with JC was no big deal and escaped to my bedroom to lay on my back and stare at the ceiling and think nonstop about him. I'd gone back downstairs when I heard her come in and loudly berate JC about the bottle of bourbon on the kitchen counter. Kaya swayed and giggled, in her drunken state, until I led her upstairs and put her in the bed, fully clothed.  

The living room was dark as I passed it, but I noticed the blankets had been folded at the end of the couch and the pillow piled on top of them. The light was on in the kitchen, but the room was empty. The red LED on the coffee pot was lit and it was full, save for what would fit in a mug.

So JC got up, made coffee and had disappeared... somewhere.

I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured a cup for myself, added cream and sugar to it, then stepped into a pair of boots. I pulled the kitchen door open and walked outside onto the porch, then around to the side of the house. JC was on the patio, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.

"I thought this cold air was offensive," I said, boots flopping off of my feet with every step. I hadn't tied the strings, since I didn't plan to be outside for long.

JC's head popped up, his body turning toward me. He wore the thermal and hoodie from the day before, but his own jeans and a pair of square shaped glasses that must have been in the duffel bag he'd retrieved from the bike. They sort of... changed the shape of his face. He looked nice in them; they framed his eyes, almost made them brighter. If he'd been wearing them the night I met him, I might not have been so mean.

He lifted his mug in greeting, then swallowed down a gulp. "The coffee is helping," he said, offering me a warm grin. "This fresh air is nice."

He took in my pajamas and my boots and laughed. "You are gonna die. What are you doing out here?"

I giggled, gulping coffee because he was right, about the cold. It was twenty-two degrees out and I was beginning to feel what was so offensive about it. "I was looking for you. To see... you know. How you were doing."

"Oh. I'm good. I hope you don't mind, I snagged your paper. I'm enjoying the Sacramento Mountain News." He flapped the pages of the newspaper at me. "Tori, you should go back inside."

"Okay. I just uhm... okay." I started to turn around and go back to the house but stopped. My fingers were freezing around the mug and I felt a shiver building in the small of my back, but I had something to say.

And I wasn't leaving until I said it.  

"It's just that... well, last night probably meant nothing to you, but it was really nice for me. I wanted to tell you that. And say thanks."

JC paused for a beat too many. I thought he was going to laugh at me for thanking him for sex. I honestly felt a little dumb doing it. It was too early and I hadn't had coffee, I wasn't thinking clearly. One of those moments where I wished I could retract the words I'd just said.

"You're welcome," he finally said. "I guess that's what you say, right? When someone thanks you for something you both took part in?"

 "I guess. I mean, I don't go around thanking men for sex.  But I don't go around having sex good enough to thank someone. Anyway..."

I gulped, staring down into my mug of rapidly cooling coffee. "I also wanted to say that we should probably not tell anyone that... that happened."

"That what happened? That two grown ass people did what grown ass people do, because they wanted to do it? Good idea. I'll keep that to myself."

The pages of the paper crackled loudly as he flapped out the wrinkles and then folded them together. He stood, picking up his mug and tucking the paper under his arm. With the other hand, he grabbed me above the elbow.

"Come on. Let's go, crazy woman. It's freezing out here."

He escorted me inside, taking my mug from me while I kicked off my boots. He topped off my mug of coffee and set it where I usually sat. Then he shrugged off his coat and tossed the paper onto the table before pulling out the chair next to me and taking a seat.

"Let's get something straight, Tori," he said, leaning in, his voice no louder than a whisper. "Whatever you think about pretty boys from LA, I'm not that guy. I don't go around bragging about my... conquests or whatever. I told you last night, you will never be this chick I fucked in New Mexico. You don't have to worry about me saying shit to anyone about what goes on between us. If anyone knows how to keep his mouth shut, it's me. Am I clear on that?"

I nodded, feeling myself blushing, knowing I'd said that term first but hearing it the morning after he'd actually fucked a chick in New Mexico was ironic.

"And," he continued, "I don't know where you got the idea that last night meant nothing to me. I had a good time. A really good time. I hope you did too."

I felt my head bob in another nod, but he deserved more than nonverbal signs that I understood him. "I... I did. It was... that's what I was saying, earlier. I enjoyed myself."

"Then let's just leave it there, without all the assumptions and the rules and whatever. We did what adults do. We're gonna act like adults about it."

I gulped down more coffee, letting the hot brew splash down my throat. Then I  tapped the table and stood, pushing my chair back under the table. I leveled my gaze at JC, feeling like I had my head on straight again. 

"I'm going to get some breakfast on. Nasaan will want to come to the shop this morning. I could use his help, actually."

JC relaxed and reached for his mug. He seemed, if I wasn't mistaken, relieved. "Oh yeah? Does he have a specific job?"

"Those dents in the frame of your bike need to be hammered out. He's pretty good at that. And I'd like him to be there when I swap out the brakes and the engine cover. It'll be a good learning experience for him. Owning a vintage bike is just as much about maintenance and mechanics as it is about enjoying the ride."

"I'm learning that. I'm never gonna be on your level, though. I can't see myself tearing a bike apart in my garage. Or rebuilding one."

 

I chuckled, pulling open the refrigerator to pull out items for breakfast. "JC, there isn't anyone on my level."

JC

 

Tori, Nasaan and I spent the morning at the shop. My parts hadn't arrived yet, so while Tori did some cleaning and organizing, I got a detailed, step by step tour of the refurb process of a Harley Knucklehead.

"See these mirrors? I saw them on another bike. Mom swapped out the original ones. Same with the handlebar grips. I liked these better."

"Okay so..." I scratched my chin, taking a turn around the vintage Harley. "At what point is it not the original bike anymore? I mean, at some point you've gotta say to yourself, this  isn't the same bike."

"Well, the engine's always gonna be the same, that's what makes a bike. Harley Davidson numbered his engines." He bent over, showing me the numbers stamped into the bottom of the casing. "See, that's the manufacture year- 1947, and the model and the engine number that was produced. This is number 4,620. So long as that stays intact, and no one alters it, it's always gonna be a Knucklehead."

I nodded following along.

"And there's certain design elements that have to stay the same, like the pressure oiling system and the valve engine-"

"Okay. Okay." I held up a hand in surrender. I heard giggles from behind a tower of tires. "Uncle. I give. You know your stuff. So, you think you're ready to take her out on the road?"

Nasaan made a noise and waved a hand in the direction of the bike. "Not hardly, according to my mom. I have to take a safety course-"

"Okay, but aside from that," I asked, lowering my voice. "You think you're ready to go from a little dirt bike to..." I rubbed the leather seat, which I could tell he'd already been carefully, painstakingly polishing. "This baby? It's quite the step up. Took me a while to get used to a bigger, more powerful bike."

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't encourage him to even think about taking this bike out before he's ready."

I hadn't noticed Tori coming up behind us. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of her voice, so close I almost felt her breath on my neck.

"He and I have an agreement and a process that we're going to go through. He doesn't even sit on it until he turns sixteen. And then I take him out on some rides to get used to it so he can pass his class and the test to get his license. Right, Nasaan?"

The kid nodded quickly, as well he should.

"So I'm not going to have to worry about you trying to sneak this bike out, am I?"

"Nope," he said, sheepish. He turned around and found something to occupy himself.

"Uh... sorry," I said to Tori. "I didn't... I wasn't really...I don't know what I was thinking."

"Obviously. He's mature, but he's still a teenager. He's still going to think and act like a teenager. Don't give him ideas. The ones he comes up with on his own are evil enough."  

She smiled, but the look in her eyes made me afraid of her. "Your parts are in. It'll be faster if we pick them up, rather than wait for FedEx to bring them. Nasaan, would you mind running up to the shipping outpost for me?"

He perked. "If I can ride the- never mind."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. The key isn't here, anyway. Go, so you can get back." She scooted him out the door, then watched him walk down the street and turn the corner before turning around to face me.

"I'm... really sorry. I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot. You don't have teenagers."

"Yeah, I can't... I can't see myself with teenagers."

"Speaking of teenagers. And, well, children." Tori slowly sauntered across the shop until she stood next to me.  "We didn't use anything last night. Mr. I don't have any dust. Mr. LA Pretty Boy... do I have anything to worry about, from you?"

"Absolutely not." I shook my head. "I wouldn't have even broached the subject if I thought I'd be putting you in danger."

"Okay." She paused, clearing her throat. "But... if...we should happen to find ourselves alone in the house as two consenting adults, ever again- which is bound to happen, we need to use condoms. And, obviously, I can't go buy them."

"Uh... okay. I might have a few in my bag. I'll check. But... why couldn't you?"

"Because people in this town talk. The number one way to get this town all up in my business is for Felicity at Cloudcroft Drugstore to see me buying Magnums."

I laughed at that. Really hard. "I don't... I guess I could use Magnums but I don't. Anyway, I get it."

She wasn't laughing. "You should. Mess around and break a condom and get me pregnant.  I just got my pre-pregnancy body back. I'll ruin your life."

I laughed harder. "I bet you would. But... so... are you thinking about it?" She turned on her heel and walked away, but not before I saw her cheeks turn pink. "About having sex with me again?"

"Are you?" She asked, from behind the counter where she was punching the keys of her laptop.

"Pretty much nonstop," I admitted.

I stopped fiddling with the handlebars of Nasaan's bike and started a slow, meandering walk across the small shop until I ended up on the other side of the desk where she was standing.

"Do you know how hard it was, sitting next to you last night, pretending nothing happened, like it was no big thing? When all I wanted to do was to take those cat pajamas, which are ugly, by the way, off of you and do all of that all over again."

I made my way around the counter, the same slow walk as before. But this time she watched me approach. And didn't move when I settled my hands on her hips and pulled her body back, up against me. I wanted her to feel me, what just talking about what had happened between us was doing to me.

How could she possibly think it mean nothing?

Tori's breath hitched in her throat, but she didn't pull away. "First of all, my cat pajamas are not ugly. They are cute."

"No, honey. They're ugly. You're cute, though." I turned her in my arms so we faced each other. With her boots on, we were almost eye to eye. Lip to lip. "How much time do we have?"

"Not enough," she muttered, under her breath. "But uhm... Kaya is working tonight and I'm positive my teenage son wouldn't be so uncool as to stay at home with his mom on a Saturday night."

"So I can have you later?"

She leaned in, brushing her lips against mine a few times before I cupped her face in my hands and brought her mouth to mine. The kiss was just getting good when I heard Nasaan calling to someone outside the shop.

With grace, Tori stepped back, adjusted her sweater and fanned out her hair, then scrubbed her palms down her face. She pushed me, forcing me back a few steps.

"Go! Over there!" She whispered.

When Nasaan came in with a large white box, I was crouched next to my bike, feigning interest in any of the repairs that would be happening that day. I was more concerned with what would be happening that night.

 

...

 

"I see you got your phone. Got everything set up okay?"

I was surrounded by parts and pieces of new iPhone paraphernalia- boxes and cords and instruction manuals spread out on the coffee table in front of the couch. Tori let me borrow her laptop and Nasaan helped me find my latest backup in the cloud. I was a stickler about regular backups, so though my information would be a few days old, it would be better than not having a phone. Or worse, having a phone but not knowing anyone's phone number. Technology, man.

"I'm set up enough," I told Eric. "I still need to down to download all my apps. How's Taos?"

The groan he let out made me laugh. "Shitty. They haven't had winter here yet, so there's no snow pack, really. We've been hanging out downtown and drinking in the hot tub at night."

"Oh, man. That sounds.... yeah, shitty."

"Gotta be better than fuckin'.... where are you, again?"

"Cloudcroft. You guys should just come here. We're close to a ski resort.  It's snowing right now." I angled my head to glance out of the window and make sure the snow was still coming down. "We're supposed to get a few inches tonight."

"Rub it in. It's snowing here, too and they have the guns out." The snow guns added man-made snow to actual snowfall to create bulk. "Maybe there will be enough to do some runs tomorrow. How's the bike?"

"Coming together. The parts came in today and she got started on the work."

"So, if the bike is on the mend, you should be clear to take off. If you can get to Albuquerque, I can send the plane to pick you up from there-"

"No, no.  I don't really want to do that. I'd like to be here while she's fixing it."

"How long is that gonna take?" Eric was whining, which was amusing but also annoying. "JC, you're missing this entire trip to babysit an old as fuck motorcycle that you spun out on. If you trust this mechanic, let her fix it and then send it home, but don't waste your vacation-"

"I said I'm fine, Eric. If I miss the trip, I miss the trip. You already have my money, right? Make sure my suitcase gets home."

"Ohhhhhh..." The word came out kind of sing-songy, like he thought he knew something. And knowing Eric, I knew what he thought he knew. "Did you find some uh... you know what I'm saying?"

"No, man. What are you saying?"

"I know you know what I'm saying. Are you hanging out in Cloud whatever-the-fuck trying to catch some ass?"

"You're an animal," I said, laughing. "Hey, get back to your drunk hot tubbing or whatever you're doing out there. Sounds like a good time. Thanks for checking on me."

"You didn't answer the question."

"Yeah, well what does that tell ya?" Before he could answer, I ended the call and set the phone to Do Not Disturb. I'd already called my parents and filled them in. There wasn't anyone else I needed to talk to, at least before tomorrow.

That meant no interruptions, at least from my side.  

The clink of ice in a glass grabbed my attention. Tori sauntered from the kitchen, two glasses cupped in the palm of one hand and the bottle of bourbon in the other. And she was wearing those god awful fleece pajamas with cats all over them. The top, which had been unbuttoned halfway to her navel was long enough to hit her mid-thigh. She wasn't wearing the bottoms so there was nothing but long, brown legs in view.  

"Everything okay?"

She set a glass of the honey colored liquid in front of me, followed by the thunk of the half-empty bottle. Then she settled herself on the couch next to me with one leg curled under her body. I'd heard what she'd asked but... I couldn't stop staring.

"I mean, Nasaan helped you get your phone all set up and everything?" She tipped the glass to her lips and I watched her swallow a small amount of bourbon. Her eyebrows were raised, keeping the question lingering between us.

"Yeah, everything's... good," I finally answered, when I could tear my eyes from her. She'd showered and she smelled amazing, like brown sugar. The teardrop shape of her breasts was just visible through the part in the pajama top and I caught a flash of something lacy and barely there when she lifted her leg to sit next to me.

Tori was playing hardball. Batter up.

"And your friends? In Taos? Are they missing you?"

"They'd miss me more if they could brag about how much they're skiing, but I guess Taos is just now getting their snow."

"Mmmm," she hummed, taking another sip. "Winter doesn't really get going around here until January, February. Then it's gone by April and it's desperately hot and we pray for winter again."

"That would have been good to know before we booked a plane to Taos."

"But then you wouldn't have decided to get on your new, vintage motorcycle-"

"And spin out-"

"And end up at my house."

I laughed. "Remind me to send Eloise some steak. She doesn't seem like a roses kind of gal."

I reached for my glass and took a swallow. I wasn't really a liquor kind of man, and when I did drink, I liked vodka or tequila, but the bourbon was smooth and didn't make me feel like I was choking. Besides, it was what Tori drank, so... when in Rome.

"So, everyone's out for the night, right?"

Tori nodded. "Kaya won't be home until morning. Nasaan is working, then hanging out with his friends. They get together and eat and game until all hours of the night. He'll sack out at Landon's and come home in the morning. I don't want to worry about him getting home in the middle of the night."

"So we're  two consenting adults, alone in the house again."

"That we are."

"And guess what I found?" I leaned away from her so I could dig into the pocket of my jeans. I pulled out a strip of foil packets.

Tori brightened as she reached for them, then ran the strip through her fingers, counting them. "You were planning on getting extremely lucky in Taos."

"Those were just in the bag, not specifically for this trip. I like to be ready. And they're not Magnums, but they fit fine."

She handed the strip back to me, a smirk on her lips. And then those lips were on mine.

If there's one thing I could say about Tori, she wasn't afraid to make the first move.  

I welcomed the softness of her lips and the taste of her, the scent of her, the feel of her. I didn't even consider leaving early when Eric suggested it. Somewhere between just wanting my bike fixed so I could get out of here, and this moment, I had decided that this place was as good a place as any to spend my vacation. Even if my bike were fixed tomorrow, I was in no hurry to leave Cloudcroft.

"Do you uhm..." Tori paused to inhale, a little short of breath after the wild, passionate kiss she'd just pulled back from. "Do you want to watch a movie, or something?"

"A movie? No."

I ran my palm up one thigh, under the hem of her pajama top. I reached the rise of her hip and the band of her panties and kept moving up until I held the weight of her breast in my hand. With my thumb, I rasped over a pert nipple.

"I mean, maybe later. But there's something else I want to watch. And it won't be on the TV."

"Oh? Well then there's the matter of where you want to watch. The couch is fine for a repeat performance, but..."

"I'd rather be in a bed," I suggested. "I know it's uh... exciting to experiment outside the bedroom but honestly... I'm older than I was the last time I had a good romp on the couch and it doesn't feel so good afterward."

Tori started to chuckle, but it turned to a belly laugh. Which made me laugh, but I had no idea what we were laughing at.

"Thank God you said that. I was trying to be young and sexy and flexible but... I'm... sore."

"We are a pair. Come on." I got up from the couch, grabbed the bottle of liquor and both glasses, then nodded at Tori. "Lead the way, honey."

I had the pleasure of walking up the steps behind her, her long legs disappearing under the hem of her top. Every time I'd been upstairs, the door to her bedroom had been closed so I hadn't even seen a glimpse of it before she turned the knob and swung the door open, then stepped aside so I could walk in.

"Wow. Woooow..."

I couldn't help but saying it, looking around the cozy, rustic room. The bed was made of thin plated steel with a cutout image of the mountains on the headboard and footboard. The furniture was unstained wood, the built-in stone fireplace in the corner held a low burning flame and the walls were painted a soothing dark beige. Colorful rugs covered the pine floors and the decor matched the thin metal plating in the bed frame- the lamps and a few wall pieces were made of the same material.

It was the kind of place that looked like it had been painstakingly put together to fit the specific desires of someone in particular.  

"Did you make this set?"

Tori laughed, taking the glasses and the bottle from me to set on one of the nightstands. "I'm good with a welding torch, but not this good. No, my grandfather made this set for him and his new bride when they first built this house. And, over the years he created the other pieces to match. I've always loved it; I used to lay in the bed with my grandmother and she would tell me stories about our people."

I ran my palm along the edge of the footboard and marveled at the skill. "Must have taken forever to get it perfect. I'm... kind of an artist myself. I mean, not just a music artist but an artist artist."

"Oh, yeah?"

Tori slid onto the bed, planting herself in the middle and beckoning to me to her. I'd almost forgotten why we'd come upstairs, but the site of that woman and the way her hair framed her face and her eyes and her come-hither smile reminded me. We had all the time in the world... until just before sunrise. I joined her on the bed, following her lead when she laid her head on a pillow.

"Tell me," she mumbled, scooting close to me, "about your... art."

I dipped my head to capture her lips in a kiss. "You really want to know about my art?"

She nodded, humming, "Oh yeah. I want to know all about your... art."

"Hmmm," I hummed in return. "We're not talking about the same kind of art, I think. Right now I want to see something."

"Oh?" Her eyebrows rose and she smiled. "What's that?"

"This thing." I tugged at her pajama top. "Off of your body. Immediately."

She tossed her head back and laughed into the air. "Why? I'm wearing it. It's keeping me warm."

"That's what I'm here for."

I moved a hand between us and began unbuttoning the top until it would open and pull away from her body. Underneath, she wore a bra that was black with burgundy lace overlay. Between her bra and her matching skimpy bikini panties was a landscape of smooth, flawless skin that begged for me to kiss every inch of it.

I leaned over her until she was on her back, the top splayed open and her body on display.

"You... you are beautiful," I whispered, before I lowered my head and dropped a kiss between her breasts, and then the swell of each of them at the point where they nearly burst out of the bra. I moved further down her body to her taut, firm belly and even further past her belly button to the mound hidden by soft fabric.

"I clean up nice," she replied, then moaned when I gently pushed her thighs apart.

My lips trailed slowly up her naked thighs and over her panties. I found her clit and nipped it through the fabric. Tori shivered in what I hoped was anticipation. Her flesh prickled with tiny goosebumps all over.

"You cold?" I whispered. She shook her head, her eyelids at half mast, watching me.

I rubbed my palms over her skin until I felt her relax, sinking into the mattress. Little by little, I pulled at the fabric until the thin satin briefs were at her knees. And then on the floor.

I didn't waste any time returning my attention to her. Her legs ended up over my shoulders and I lost myself in giving her the most pleasure I could possibly give her. Just like the night before, every moan, every roll of her hips and heave of her breasts made me want to drive her higher. And made me harder.

I stopped long enough to raise my head and ask, "You're not gonna make me stop, are you?"

"No," she panted, palming my head and pushing my face back where it had been. "I want you to make me come. And then come again. You think you're up for that?"

"Umph," was all I could say, because she thrust her pussy into my face and I dove back in.

I felt like I could go all night, so I teased her a little, slowing down, then speeding up to bring her to the brink of climax and then backing off again. Tori was not amused. Well, she pretended to not be amused. I had it on good authority, by how wet she was, that she was having the time of her life.

"You...fucking asshole!" She yelled, while laughing. "Make me come, God dammit!"

"Last night I got yelled at for saying fuck and Jesus in the same sentence."

"Well, I understand how that could happen, now. Please, oh my God..."

She threw herself back against the bed and writhed, working her hips with the rhythm of my tongue. I decided to take pity on her and put her out of her misery. I inserted one and then two fingers inside her and worked them in and out in the same rhythm.

"Holy... unh, fuck I'm... gah, shit!"

She inhaled sharply and stiffened, letting a ragged yelp rip from her throat, followed by another and another. I felt her pulse around my fingers- felt her entire body convulse in climax.

"Muh.... I can't... oh my God..."

She mumbled and murmured, coming down slowly. I worked my way back up her body until I reached her lips. I made sure she tasted herself on my mouth, on my tongue. Even though she was limp, Tori was still red-hot. The energy between us was like static electricity.

"You must think you're hot shit or something, Mr. I Don't Have Any Dust."

I laughed, then rolled to the left and laid on my side next to her, making sure to not lose contact with her body. I still wanted to feel her, to glide my hand up and down her belly, up and over her arms.

"I'm just saying. Now you see why I don't have any dust. Women line up at my door for that kind of treatment."

Tori howled. "Shut the entire fuck up, JC."

"You don't believe me?"

"No. I believe a lot of things about you," she said, sitting up, and then moving to straddle my hips, settling her body right where I wanted her to be. "But I don't believe that at all."

"Damn. I guess I'm not a very good liar."

"You aren't. You really aren't. But I'll tell you one thing you're good at."

"Besides crashing my bike in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yeah, besides that." She bent to kiss me. I grabbed a couple of handfuls of her breasts while she was close.  "You are good at fucking me. And I want you to do that right now."

"You think you're ready for me?"

"Jesus. I shouldn't have made that comment about Magnums. Now you're acting like Mr. Big Dick over here." She sat up and shoved a hand in a pocket of my jeans. "Where are the condoms, damnit?"

I'm not sure I've ever laughed so much during sex, but Tori was hilarious. I dug into the other pocket and pulled out the strip, handing them to her with what I was sure was a smug grin. "These?"

She snatched them from me and ripped one off of the strip, then tossed the strip onto the nightstand and started to rip the foil package open.

"Uh, you gotta bring me out first, honey."

"Oh." She handed me the condom and said, "Hold this", then went at my jeans like a woman on a mission. I was partial to button fly, so she had to actually put work in to open them. Once they were loose, I raised my hips so I could push them down and kick them off.

Tori took one glance at me and a devilish grin bent her lips. "You dirty boy. You weren't wearing any underwear."

"I uh.... need to borrow your washing machine. I have two day's worth of clothes with me and I have worn both days."

"You should have said something. I'll take care of you. Just make sure I get them and I'll wash them for you." She bent to kiss me, a soft touch against my lips. Her hair fell in a dark curtain around our faces. "It's fine to ask me for help, JC."

"I know. I'm just... I'm putting you out so much already."

"You're not putting me out at all," she said, shaking her head. "Right now, right this very second, I don't mind you being here. You have that condom handy?"

I grinned, holding it up. She took it and scooted back so she could get a good angle. I closed my eyes, preferring to feel and not watch, but without even looking, I knew I was rock hard and throbbing, aching for something- someone.

Her hands-  long fingers, delicate touch, warm palms stroked my flesh, stirring me into even more of a frenzy until I was fully erect. And then the warm wetness of her mouth took me in, releasing me, swirling her tongue around the tip and then going deep again, sucking me in with rhythmic pulses.

"You dirty girl. You are so good at this."

She chuckled, as well as she could anyway, with me in her mouth. After a few more strokes, she pulled off. I felt the coolness of the air, then heard the package wrapper and then the sensation of thin latex slowly rolling over me.

"Is it good? You want to check?"

I slid my palm up and down my shaft, testing the fit and the application. "Well done. You're good at that, too."

"I like that part," she said, smiling down at me.

"Are you seriously not going to take that ugly shirt off?" I asked, laughing while tugging at the sleeves of that pajama top.

"It's not ugly, asshole."

"It is. It comes off." She sighed, like I was seriously putting her out and shrugged out of the shirt. "Throw it over there. I don't want to see it again tonight."

She did ask I asked, tossing the shirt so it draped over the TV on top of the dresser. "There. Happy?"

"So happy," I answered, then sat up and pushed until her back was flat against the mattress. I gripped her legs and put them back over my shoulders, positioned myself and arched my hips forward. Unlike the night before, Tori was relaxed and very, very wet- I'd made sure of that. I sank until she was full of me.

At the same time, we both exhaled.

Then laughed.

"I guess we were both anticipating that moment."

"Since... last night, really." I began a slow rock of my hips against her, not trying to pound her into oblivion but grind her to an amazing climax.

"I wish we... would have had time... for a second round last night."

"It's okay. We're making up for it tonight."

"In a bed. With lots more time."

"Mmmph." I lowered my lips to hers while we rocked our bodies against one another in steady rhythm.

"I'm... not sure... if you realize... fuck... how good this feels."

"I'm pretty sure I do, honey. I'm the one that doesn't have any dust."

Her laughter came from low in her throat. Her half closed eyes focused on mine, then she said, "Officially, I don't either. Anymore."

She wrapped a hand around each of my biceps and moved her limbs to lock her thighs around mine, speeding up our rhythm with her hips until we were crashing into each other, the sound of skin meeting sweaty skin and groans of pleasure filling the room.

"You comin'?" I panted, trying to moderate my pace so I didn't go before her. I thought a man was a punk if he came before his girl.

"Yes... yes... yes, oh fuck, yes I'm coming...." Her thighs clenched even tighter around me and her nails dug into my skin. I was focused on her face, how her skin flushed a deep red and her expression changed as she watched me watch her come.

Heady. That was amazing.

With a sigh of relief, I let myself go right behind her.  

Katori

 

It had been a lifetime since I was awakened by the sensation of a man pressed into my ass and big hands pawing at my nipples. But not so long that I didn't immediately recognize what I was feeling. And not so long that the flame, which hadn't had the chance to die down, didn't reignite, bringing a heat and a flush to my skin.

"Think we have time?" JC whispered into my hair, spooning my body and wrapping himself around me.

I lifted my head to check the clock on the nightstand. 6:23 AM.  I'd told him that he needed to be out of my bed by 6:30, so he was pushing it. I answered by scooting back against him, rubbing my bare skin against his.

"If you can make me come in seven minutes."

"You don't know me very well, do you?" The faint crinkle of a condom wrapper accompanied precise movement under the thick comforter we'd been buried under since we collapsed after our last go-round.

I chuckled. "Well, not a lot of men go around bragging about how quickly they can get a woman off. It's not something to be well known for."

JC pulled my body back up against him and slipped a hand between my thighs. With a tilt of his hips, he was inside me, warm and pulsing.

"Welp, when you do it like I do, it's an art form, not a guy that can't hold out for-"  He tipped his head up to eye the clock. " - five minutes." 

"And we've made it full circle to talking about your art again."

"You said you wanted to know my art, right?" I giggled, then reached behind us and grabbed a handful of Grade A, LA Pretty Boy ass. "I'm just saying," he panted in my ear while grinding against me and kneading a breast. "You're lookin' at it. Or feelin' it, rather."

"Could you stop trying to be sexy and fuck me? You have three minutes."

"Yes ma'am, I can."

He moved a hand from my breast to my clit and matched the rhythm of his hips to the strokes of his fingers. And then sped up both until I was writhing, working my body against his and trying to control the growing volume of my groans.

"How we doin'? Am I gonna make it in time?"

"Unffff....shit!"

"Sounds like things are good. Mind if I come with you?"

"Yes..." I yelped, sucking in a deep breath.  "Yes!"

I grabbed his wrist, making sure he couldn't pull his hand from my clit. I felt tiny pinprick bites on my neck, up to my ear and back around. The sensation was driving me up a wall.  The muscles in his arm contracted, holding me and my hips still, where he wanted me.

Firm, forceful, deep, he pushed into me. His thumb was making revolutions around my clit and... oh my God. I came. So hard I couldn't breathe for a few seconds.

Behind me, JC stiffened, then tilted his hips once more. A rough, gravelly, "...yeah..." rolled from his lips, followed by rapid puffs of his breath on my shoulder. I felt him release, and then, finally, he relaxed.

"Shit..." I hissed, my entire body heaving with the effort to take in a full breath.

"You said it, mama." He dropped a series of kisses across my shoulder and splayed his hand over my belly.  "That was the best seven minutes of my life."

"It wasn't too bad on this end either." I glanced at the clock and smiled, turning my head so my lips met his. "But you went a minute over."

"Damn. I was really going for seven minutes exactly."

"Sorry." I gave his arm a tap and wiggled my hips. "You gotta get going. Kaya always leaves on time and she'll be home-"

"Before seven. Yeah, I know. I'm gettin'."

He leaned over me to drop a wet kiss on my lips and scooted out of the bed. "Ooh! Shit! Coldcoldcoldcold."

I sat up, leaning back on one hand, and pulled the blankets up to cover my nude body. The fire had long since died out and I never opened the heat vents in my room. "Use the rugs, JC!" I told him, laughing.

He pulled on his jeans and balled his shirt and hoodie in a hand, then  stuffed what was left of the strip of condoms in his pocket. He bent to pick up the wrappers that had fluttered to the floor.

"No no," I said, holding out my hand. "Give me the wrappers; I'll throw them out in the garbage behind the house. I don't want anyone to see them."

He sauntered across the room, the crumpled wrappers in his palm. I reached for them, but his hand closed around mine. He grinned at me, all smarmy-like. "I'm kind of enjoying being your dirty little secret, Tori."

"Good." I snatched the wrappers from his hand.  "Because no one can know that this happened."

"My lips are sealed, honey."

JC left my bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. I considered trying to go back to sleep, since we didn't really sleep much, but my well-worn habit of having breakfast ready for my sister created a guilt monster that nagged and nagged until I sat up, flipped the covers back and rolled out of bed.

I put my pajamas back on, the ones JC lovingly called ugly, and this time put the bottoms on, too. Since I was up, and the sheets needed to be washed anyway, I pulled the comforter back and stripped the bed. Then ducked into Nasaan's room and grabbed his sheets and his laundry basket.

It would be another long day of pretending I wasn't having sex with my house guest. Then inventing reasons for everyone to leave, so we could do it again.

 

 

...

"Hey, Mom?"

I sorted through the piles of laundry stacked up in front of the washer, dumping clothing into soapy water and flicking my hair out of my eyes as I did so. I turned to find Nasaan in jeans and a forest green hoodie, leaning against the wall next to the alcove that held the washer and dryer. 

I had to tilt my head up extra high to see his face. I wondered if he'd grown a little in the last week. He seemed... so much taller than I was. And he had a hint of peach fuzz on his upper lip. I. was not. ready.

"Hey, what?"

"Is it okay if I show JC around downtown for a little bit? He wants to pick up a couple of things and he hasn't been out of the house since he got here, except to go to the shop."

"Uh, that shouldn't be a problem. You need me to drop you off?"

"Well, I was thinking JC could borrow your truck. Or Aunt Kaya's pickup."

"You thought that, did you?" JC turned the corner, wearing a sheepish grin, hands balled into fists and shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He seemed sufficiently embarrassed at having to ask to borrow a vehicle but I couldn't pass up the chance to pick on him. "So you sent the kid to do your bidding?"

"Whatever. That kid is taller than both of us. Anyway, he said something about how his mom never says no to him and...you know..." JC shrugged, beaming a smile at me.

 I laughed, unable to resist. "Remember, he's a teenager. And a skilled liar. I say no to him at least five times a day." I threw more laundry into the washer and lowered the lid on the machine. "You don't drive cars like you ride motorcycles, do you?"

It was JC's turn to laugh. "I'm an excellent driver. I'll go nice and slow, I promise."

I nodded toward the key hooks on the wall next to the kitchen door. "Key's over there. Nasaan knows where all the potholes and ruts in the road are, so listen to him. My struts will thank you. And be back before dark, okay? It's warm outside, but what melts today will freeze after sunset and we'll have black ice tonight. I don't want either of you out in that."

"K, mom," said Nasaan, leaning over to drop a dry kiss on my cheek.

"K, mom," JC mimicked, leaning over to do the same. I panicked,  ducking away from him, flicking my eyes toward Nasaan, who wasn't paying us a bit of attention. "Relax," JC muttered. "I'm just playing with you."

I freed my lungs of a heavy, hard breath. "I knew that. Just go. Call me if... you need to."

"Sure will. Should we bring anything back for you?"

I was frazzled. And afraid that it showed. I didn't want Nasaan or Kaya to detect it and demand to know what had me glistening with sweat and my hair standing on end.

"Uh... no," I finally pushed out. "I'll call Nasaan if I think of something."

When I'd heard the truck start up and slowly back out of the driveway, I headed to the refrigerator, plucking a beer from the stash that JC had depleted, then replenished. I used a bottle opener to pop the top and I sucked down a few ice cold swallows.  Hand on one hip, and with a long, loud sigh, I let a belch roll from my belly.

"Aren't you such a fuckin' lady?" Kaya smirked as she rounded the corner from the stairs, her arms full of laundry. "I've got dibs on the machine next."

"Fine," I said, swigging another mouthful. "That's my last load anyway, just sheets and towels."

Kaya was haphazardly sorting clothes into three piles. Whites, not whites and hospital scrubs. "So what did you and Pretty Boy end up doing last night?"

We fucked all night long, in my bed. He gave me several orgasms, during which he made me come so hard I screamed his name.  

"Not much. Watched some TV, had some drinks." I shrugged a shoulder and drank more beer. Nonchalant. Breezy.

"Must have been an early night. He was already up and making coffee when I got home."

"Maybe he doesn't sleep much," I mused, pretending to ponder and consider the possibility. "You know how rock stars keep funny hours. And he's not at home. Maybe he just doesn't sleep well away from home."

Or maybe he's been awake doing things no one else knows about.

"Well, I'm sure he's in a hurry to get out of here. Can you even imagine having to spend your vacation in Shitcroft, New Mexico instead of Taos?"

"He doesn't seem to be suffering too much. I offered to ship his bike anywhere he wanted me to and he said no. And he's way more laid back than I expected. You wouldn't think he was a... you know... celebrity."

I hated to even say the word. He didn't act entitled or spoiled at all. A little clueless about the use of elite credit cards in a small town, but definitely not a primadonna.

 "Yeah," said Kaya, flinging clothes around.  "I guess I'm over it. He's so normal and boring. Yesterday he tried to lecture me about coins and I was like... oh my God. Please close your mouth and just look pretty. K? Thanks."

"Mmmm... last night he mentioned that he's an artist. Like...an art artist.  He paints or... something."

"Oh, Jesus. No thanks."

I barked a laugh, remembering shrugging off his mentioning his art. I had no intention of waxing about him following in the footsteps of Van Gogh or whatever while I had an erect penis in my sights.

Kaya had finished sorting and joined me in the kitchen, where she was picking at lunch leftovers. I'd made sloppy joes and Nasaan's favorite: seasoned, homemade potato chips. I'd done my best not to burst into embarrassed flames while he raved about them to JC. They were just fried potatoes.

"Where is he?" She asked, crunching on chips, then grabbing my beer for a swallow to wash them down.

I wrinkled my nose. "Keep that. I don't want your cooties. He and Nasaan went to town. I think he has a little cabin fever."

Just then the washer chimed, indicating that the load was finished. "I'll throw them into the dryer for you," said Kaya, "So I can get started."

"Okay, thanks. You want to watch a movie? Oooh, they're streaming ER on Hulu now."

"Exactly what I want to watch when I come home from my shift in the ER is a show called ER."

"Noah Wylie though. And George Clooney. And- "

"Fine, fine," she said, her voice sounding hollow as it echoed from inside the washer. "Twist my arm why don't you? I'll just be a second. Queue it up."

I bounced to the living room and grabbed the remote from its spot on the coffee table. Kaya and I had long standing traditions going all the way back to childhood. One of them was laundry and movies on Sundays. From time to time, we could get Nasaan to join us. 

She'd been picking up extra shifts lately though, since the shop wasn't doing so well and our Sunday tradition had been interrupted. The bills have to get paid, Tori, she'd said.  

I flipped through screens and found ER in my saved shows. My thumb was poised over the play button when Kaya screeched from the laundry room. "Toriiiiii!"

I dropped the remote on the couch and ran toward the sound of my sister freaking out.

"What? Is the mouse back? Is it a bug? What?"

"No. It's... this!" She thrust a gold foil wrapper at me. It had obviously been through the wash and must have stuck to the bottom of the machine during the spin cycle.

"Oh...." Was all that would come from my mouth. I didn't know what to say. I'd been so careful.... Where the fuck did that come from?

"Oh? Oh, is all you have to say?"

"Well, I...I mean-"

"I guess we should have been prepared for this, but... well, shit. One day he's riding his first tricycle and the next day he's obviously had girls here when we're not home. There's only one way a condom wrapper gets mixed up in sheets. Tori, you need to nip this in the bud-"

"Whoa, whoa Kaya. You think that wrapper is Nasaan's?"

"Well it's not mine," she snapped, her face flushing red. "Even when I do...which I haven't in a while, but when I do, I don't use this brand. And they're not yours, for heaven's sake."

I snatched the wrapper from her fingers and shoved it into my pocket. "Look, Kaya. I have to tell you something, and I'm only telling you this because I don't want you making snide comments to Nasaan about this-"

"Telling me what?" Her dark brown eyes narrowed, lines of concern forming across her forehead. "Snide comments about what?"

"That condom wrapper isn't Nasaan's."

"It's not? How do you know? And how did it just magically get in the house, and get tangled up in his sheets?"

I heaved a long, loud breath, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling. "Kaya... dammit, why can't you pick up this hint? It's not Nasaan's.  It wasn't tangled up in his sheets. It was tangled up in mine. He didn't use the condom, I did."

"You did." She propped a fist on a generous hip and tilted her head in genuine confusion. "You used a condom?  That's what you're telling me?"

"Yes. That is what I am telling you."

"You used a condom. As what, a balloon?"

My shoulders sagged and I huffed a breath in mild irritation. "For sex, you dense bitch!"

"Sex with who?"

"Who do you think?" I wanted to scream, and then scratch her face off. We couldn't even have a giggly sister "Oh my gosh tell me everything" moment about this. She had to act so incredulous that I'd managed to have sex with someone.

"Who-" Her eyes popped open then. Wide open. Then her mouth opened and her gasp sucked all of the air out of the room. "You! Slut!"

"Thank you," I replied, panting a sigh of relief that she'd finally come around. "Took you forever to pick that up."

"You are.... you really are, aren't you? You're fucking him!"

I lifted and lowered a shoulder in the most nonchalant shrug I could muster. "I'm... yeah. I'm fucking him. But no one can know, Kaya. Not Eloise, not your nurse friends, certainly not Nasaan."

"Clearly, the first place I'm gonna run is your fifteen year old son to tell him about how you're schtupping our house guest. Give me a little credit, Tori."

She slammed the lid down on the washer and pushed buttons to start it up, then turned back around to face me. I couldn't tell if she was surprised, or... angry.

Or just angry that I hadn't told her.

"So... obviously at some point you two were alone and this happened. When?"

"Uhm...." I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly a little bit sheepish about what I'd done with JC. I was a grown woman, sure. But... this was so unlike me. "Friday night. When you were at karaoke and Nasaan was bowling."

"I told you not to have any fun without me." 

"Sorry. We didn't really plan on breaking that rule. We got to talking and Sean came up and you know how I am about Sean. And we'd been drinking and-"

"Nope," Kaya interrupted, shaking her head so vigorously that her long ponytail swishing to and fro. "I've seen how you warmed up to him, all of a sudden. You don't get to blame this on bourbon, Tori. You like him."

"Well, it wasn't the bourbon that made me do it. It just... loosened me up a little."

"A lot," she corrected. Then snickered. "So then you mean to tell me y'all were completely alone last night and he watched boring shit on TV and you did what, needlepoint?"

I made a face. "As if. We totally fucked last night, too." I waved at her to follow me to the living room. She grabbed her beer- what was left of my beer, and joined me on the couch, twisting her legs underneath her body so she was facing me.

"Uhm... so. You know what I want to know. Was he..." Her sentence trailed off, but I'd be an idiot to not know what she was asking. I hadn't planned to kiss and tell, especially since I'd been so sensitive about him telling people about the chick he'd fucked in New Mexico. Hell, though. After he left Cloudcroft, chances were nearly 100% that I'd never see him again. So technically he was like a really long one night stand.

A couple of nights stand.

And I was only telling my sister.

"He... was fine. Better than fine. Really, really fine, actually. Big..." I sighed.  "And fine."

"And he was... good?"

I didn't answer, but my face told her everything she needed to know.  

"I mean, I don't doubt it, him being who he is. I'm sure he's had a ton of practice. Still gets tons of practice."

"Thanks for making me feel better about this, Kaya. I don't feel like a groupie at all, now."

"Whatever. You used condoms, though?"

"The second time," I admitted. "And every time after that. He had some in his bag. Otherwise I would have had to go get some and-"

Her face blanched. "That wouldn't have been good. I could have got some for you from the clinic."

"Then I would have had to tell you what I needed condoms for. It took you forever to pick up what I was telling you."

"If you would have just come right out and said the condom was yours and you used it to fuck the pop star living on our couch, I would have gotten the picture a whole lot quicker."  She turned the bottle up, emptying the amber liquid in just a few swallows, then set it down on the coffee table with a thunk.

"Back up though," she said through a belch. "Every time after that. He's only been here three days, tramp. How many times have you climbed up on that poor man?"

"A few. And like I said, he doesn't seem to be suffering."

"So, he's getting his rocks off and everything?"

"Why are you talking about it like you're in a 80's porno with a guy named Dirk Diggler?"

"Because in my mind, my big sister hasn't had sex since the night she conceived my handsome, impressionable nephew. Like, do you even know what good feels like these days?"

"First of all, hag, I've had sex since Sean. I hate you." I huffed, grabbing the remote and pressing play while aiming at the television. "Second of all, yes I know what good feels like, and it was so fucking good that I may never be the same. And I'm not sure how I'm supposed to go on with my life when he leaves town. His bike will be fixed tomorrow or Tuesday and..."

I lost all strength in my neck, letting my head flop so my chin rested on my chest. I felt myself giving in to that ribbon of feeling that was beginning to wrap itself around my heart.

"Aw, you're going to miss him. You can always call. Or visit. LA isn't that far; it's not even across the country."

"I... no." I shook my head. "That won't work. That can't work. When he's gone, he has to be gone for good. I can't have any part of him lingering here. I can't have hope, Kaya. I just..."

"Tori..."  She grabbed my hand and squeezed, then held it in hers. I felt the callouses from so many years in the ER, manhandling gurneys and wheelchairs and giant, heavy, steel beds. Her hands reminded me so much of our mother's hands. "You think he's going to leave you here, all feeling things for him, and meanwhile be screwing some chicks in LA. But honey, he's not Sean. He's not."

"He's also not someone I can have a relationship with. Like, really. He's world renowned. You know that? People all over the world know him. This? It's fun, to him. It's fun to me too. But we've already discussed that it ends when he leaves."

I sniffled, then touched my face. When I pulled my hand away, my fingertips were wet. Was I crying? Ugh.  "Listen, Kaya... don't make it obvious that you know. I'll tell him. But don't embarrass him, okay?"

"Okay." She shrugged, her expression blank. "But you're sitting on our couch pretending you're not crying and that you don't feel things and you're worried about his feelings?"

"I'll deal with all that. But what I don't want is for him to leave Cloudcroft regretting any of this."

JC

 

"Just park anywhere over there," Nasaan directed, after the five minute drive to town. He pointed at a large sign that read Cloudcroft Drugstore. I pulled into an open spot and cut the engine. Tori's truck shuddered into silence. 

I tucked the keys into my pocket. "So, this is downtown Cloudcroft, huh? Kinda..." 

"Small? Rustic? Shitty?"

I nodded, chuckling lightly. "A mix of all three. So, where are we? I mean... is this like Main street or whatever?"

"This is Burro Street," he answered, zipping up his coat and popping the latch to open the passenger side door. "Might as well be Main, though. All of our tourist attractions are on this street. The real businesses are a block or two away but this is the stuff we shill to people like you."

"I'm honored." We hopped out of the truck and migrated to the sidewalk, falling in with the small crowd of people traveling in that direction. 

"You can pretty much walk downtown in about an hour. Down one side of Burro, and up the other. I'm sure you don't want to see t-shirt booths and souvenir shops. There's a cool sporting goods store that me and Logan... Logan and I hang out in." 

He pointed down the street, as if I knew what building he was referring to. "Ski Palace has all your stuff for skiing. And biking too. The owner said I could work there a few hours a week, starting this summer."

"That's cool," I commented. "Lining up jobs for yourself ahead of time."

"Yeah." He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. He dipped his head, tucking his chin into the collar. "I want to get out of mom's pocket, you know? She tries to keep things from me but I know things are tight right now. My dad sends money, which helps. I like stuff, and I can work, so..." 

He shrugged, shuffling his waterproof boots through the melting piles of snow around us. My boots weren't faring so well. 

"That's a pretty mature attitude to have. And I'm sure she's grateful." 

"Yeah, I guess. I just..." 

Nasaan heaved a lung-clearing breath that seemed entirely too heavy for a boy so young. His gait had slowed to a crawl, until he stopped in front of The Gift Shop Mall and nodded his head for us to go inside. "They have cool stuff in here. And I have friends that work at a couple of the shops. Let's see what's crackin'."

The Gift Shop Mall was structured like an outdoor mall, but inside. Different stores sold various items-clothing, souvenirs, artifacts, candy and an on-site cafe where you could get a burger and a soda, or something stronger. We wandered through a few places, where I hung back and took in the atmosphere while Nasaan chatted with his friends. I picked up a few things- t-shirts, socks, briefs and a couple of thermal shirts that were ridiculously overpriced, but hell if I was looking through every store in Cloudcroft for underwear. 

More than an hour later, Nasaan and I set our bags at our feet and settled into chairs at the bar at Olive Branch, the restaurant inside the mall. Nasaan ordered a soft drink, and though I was dying for a beer, I decided to go for a cup of coffee instead. Tori texted Nasaan to pick up some pizza she had ordered. We were biding our time until it was time to go pick it up. 

"So, you were saying something earlier but didn't finish your thought. About working. And not being in your mom's pocket for everything."

Nasaan shrugged a shoulder, then unwrapped a straw and dunked it into a tall glass of fizzy, dark beverage. "It was nothing."

"I don't think it was nothing. You seem... frustrated about something. We can talk, man. If you want." I clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a light squeeze. I expected him to pull back from my touch, but he didn't. "I'm not gonna run to your mom about it, if that's what you're thinking."

He shrugged again, then sucked down more of his drink, but slower, like he was working up the nerve to talk. Then, he just started talking.  

"I know my mom is planning ahead.  Couple years, I'll be eighteen and graduating. She's been talking lately about how she wants me to get out of here. About how the shop closing will actually be good, then I wouldn't be saddled with it."

"Yeah, she seems pretty concerned about the shop closing. A little torn up about it." 

I gave a nod to the waitress, who set a thick mug in front of me and poured a steaming cup of coffee into it. She made a big deal about the cream and sugar containers and slid a spoon and a napkin across the counter before stepping away with a smile. 

"Does that ever get old?" He asked.

"Does what ever get old?" I poured a generous helping of cream and a dumped a few cubes of sugar into my coffee, using the spoon to stir the dark mixture into something light and sweet. 

"Women just... smiling at you and shit. Going overboard for attention."

I laughed, not expecting to hear that from Nasaan. It was subtle, but I always picked up on it- the bright smiles, the extra mile, the additional care that someone put into serving me.  

"To be real with you, man..." I shook my head. "It doesn't really get old. This life hasn't been a crystal stair, as Langston Hughes would say. But I get some pretty good perks from people knowing my name. From women thinking I'm cute."

"Like staying at our house instead of the crappy motel in town, eating my mom's food, drinking her beer. Like your platinum credit cards and your vintage bike and all your designer clothes and shit. Those are some pretty crystal stairs right there, man."

I smiled, burying my face in the steam from the coffee. "Yeah. I guess I can't bullshit you about that. But it wasn't always platinum cards and vintage bikes and designer shit, Big house in LA and whatever. It used to be rough. Very, very rough. I try to remember that it wasn't always like this. And that it won't always be like this. Eventually my looks will fade and I'll be this... I don't know... bloated old pasty guy with greasy hair and no one will look at me twice."

Nasaan laughed. He swiveled his seat back and forth and sucked down more cola. "Okay, you can dial down that fake modesty. I'm not sure I see that happening, JC. You're like... old, but still catching looks and probably plenty of ass." He paused, catching my eye. "I don't mean old in a bad way, by the way."

"I'm over forty. I know where I stand with fifteen year olds." 

"I just mean that you still look... you know, pretty much the same as when you were a big deal." 

I laughed, shaking my head. "I don't know about all that. But I'm thankful that some people still think I do." 

 The door to the cafe swung open and a tall- very tall man walked in. It was pretty obvious that he rode, even to me. He was a monster of a man, with long, thick hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of his head. His deep brown skin was covered by large shades, leather gear, dark clothing, heavy boots. Tattoos ran up one arm and down the other. 

Nasaan tipped his head toward the guy. "That's Mitch Chee, the guy that owns the building that Nez Motors is in."

"Him?" I whipped around to get another look. Why wouldn't he be interested in keeping a motorcycle repair  shop open? "That guy?"

"Yeah. Mom services all of his bikes- he has like seven of them. He lives on a ranch about ten miles outside of Cloudcroft and he usually rides one of his bikes to town. His family used to own a lot of buildings here, but I think he's trying to sell them all." 

The guy had spotted Nasaan and made his way over to the bar. "Hey, Nasaan. What's up?" 

"Not too much," Nasaan answered, offering a hand for Mitch to shake, then pointing in my direction. "This is JC. He's been hanging out at our house for a few days."

"Oh." His eyes narrowed slightly. "You the guy that crashed your bike a few nights ago? A Triumph?"

I nodded, oddly happy to be known for crashing my bike in this town. 

Mitch laughed. "What are you, an amateur? You can't ride a vintage machine like that in the winter."

"Uh, yeah... I guess so," I admitted. I felt my face flush a deep red. "I'm figuring out all kinds of things I can't do with that bike."

"Tori getting you squared away?"

I nodded. "Yep. Saw it yesterday and things are coming together. Should be done in a few days at the latest." 

And then what, popped into my head. I'd have no more reasons to stick around Cloudcroft after that. Did I need one?  

"That's good. She's a great bike mechanic. Sorry to lose her. I mean, too bad that shop can't stay open, but I'm trying to get rid of the building." He paused to turn his gaze to Nasaan. "I've been sending letters and calling your mom. I'm not getting a response. I get that she's upset, but..." 

Mitch shrugged. "I've gotta have her out of that building so I can get it sold. Tell her to call me. Maybe we can find a spot for her to rent out. I'd like to work something out."

"I'll tell her, Mitch," Nasaan assured him before he walked away, joining a few other people at a table in the back of the restaurant. When he was safely out of listening range, Nasaan glanced at me and said, "He's a good guy, but selling that building is destroying my mom right now."

"She mentioned that she might need to move out. But that she had no place to go."

He nodded, dipping his gaze to the worn wood of the bar. "It would be cool if she had the space to do repairs and custom builds. She's really good at that. And if it could support her. Then I wouldn't worry about..."

"About?" I prodded, hoping the kid would stay open. 

"As bad as she wants me to leave, I want to go to school. And I don't mean at University of New Mexico. But I don't want to leave her here if it means she'll struggle or if she has to get some crappy job like working at Presby. She hates that place. I don't know, man. I think about just staying here to make sure she's okay."

"You know that's not your job, right? It's the other way around. It's her job to make sure that you're okay and that you get to do what you want to do."

"I know. I can't help it. I don't want her to be unhappy just to make me happy. I'll just be worried about her all the time. At the same time..." 

Nasaan sighed, shaking the few cubes of ice at the bottom of the glass. 

"You want a life. You have dreams that don't include staying in Cloudcroft."

He nodded, twisting his lips to one side of his face. The poor kid was drowning in inner turmoil. 

"So, what's that guy Mitch's deal? Is the building already for sale?"

"Not yet. He wants her to move out first, which is why he's up her ass about it." 

He pulled out his phone and glanced at the display, then signaled that it was time to go. I left a few bills on the bar, enough to cover our drinks and a nice tip for the smiling waitress. 

Cloudcroft Pizza was across town, so we went back to the truck and drove the couple of minutes to pick up dinner, then headed back to the house. 

"Hey, uhm..." Nasaan seemed sheepish, sitting in the passenger seat, the boxes of two large pies in his lap. "You're not gonna tell my mom what we talked about, right? I just kinda wanted to talk. We're not looking for anyone to solve our problems."

"I meant what I said. I'm not gonna narc on ya."

It was dusk, so kind of dark in the cab of the truck, but I distinctly saw him roll his eyes. "Nobody says narc, JC. Just don't tell my mom the stuff we talked about. Okay?"

"Sure. Yeah. Your secrets are safe with me. But wait." I grabbed the sleeve of his coat to stop him from getting out of the truck just yet. "Do you know where you want to go? If you could go anywhere, where would you go?"

Nasaan pondered the question as if he'd never been presented with the choice before. And he probably hadn't. His single choice was likely University of New Mexico, because it was at least in the same state. 

"I don't need to go far. Fuck Georgia or Tennessee; I don't need to be that close to my dad. Or my Grandpa. UNLV would be cool, though. Being honest, UCLA is a dream school for me." 

"Have you thought about applying there?"

"Thought about it. But it's a far away dream. Out of state tuition and housing's gonna be a bitch. I can try and get a scholarship, I guess. It's not like my dad set up a college fund or anything. I can't ask my mom to take out a loan for me." 

He sighed, staring out of the windshield at the sky that was growing darker by the second. 

"It's like... everyone tells you to dream. No one tells you how to make that dream come true.

...

Nasaan's words... the whole situation, really, weighed heavily on my mind all evening. We'd brought the pizza into the house, which was warm and cozy since Tori had the fire going. She and Kaya were both folding piles of laundry and watching TV, loudly mooning over a very young George Clooney.  

In some ways, it wasn't hard at all to understand why people would want to get the heck out of a small town. Everyone knowing your name, your face, your business. It was... kind of like being famous. Inescapable, unless you go someplace where no one knows you. 

But there were some points during my stay in Cloudcroft where I wished... well I wished I could stay, actually. It was small, quaint, quiet. The town was smack in the middle of the Lincoln National Forest. There were campgrounds everywhere, lush trees as far as the eye could see and of course the mountain, which seemed to get its fair share of snow in the winter but also looked fun for biking in the summer. 

Cloudcroft was idyllic and would be a nice place to unwind, kick back. Do some writing. But seriously impractical for anything else. It was a two hour flight (then another two hour drive), a twelve hour car ride... a 20 hour motorcycle ride to this place from Los Angeles. Not impossible to get to, but not convenient. 

We're not asking anyone to solve our problems, Nasaan had said. But still... I couldn't stop my mind from roving, from coming up with ways I could help without offending this little family. 

After dinner and dishes and a little laundry for myself, I was ready to grab a shower and crash on the couch. I'd hoped, very faintly, that Kaya and Nasaan would find something to do that night, but no such luck. Kaya had picked up a double shift, so she'd be heading to bed early. Nasaan had school the next morning so he'd be right behind her. 

On a brighter note, Nasaan had to be at school by 8am. Kaya would be leaving earlier than usual. That left Tori and I alone by noon. 

I could hold out that long. 

When the fire had died down and I was about to settle in for the night, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Tori turned the corner, wearing pajamas that were much cuter than those ugly cat things. 

"Hey," she whispered. "How you doing? Are you cold?"

"Nope," I answered, stretching out a hand to her. She slid her palm across mine and let me pull her to the couch and deposit her on my lap. "A little lonely, though. Kinda wish I could go upstairs and get in that bed with you."

"I'm sure the couch is getting really old."  

She leaned in to brush her lips across mine. I opened my mouth and ran my tongue along the seam of her lips, until they parted. We shared the quietest, sultriest kiss possible for a few moments, before she pulled away, cupping my chin in her hands.  

"I have something to tell you. Which may or may not change this couch situation." 

That got my attention. "What's up?"

"Uhm... so..." She shifted, so she was facing me. I drank in the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin, the scent of her. "So, remember this morning? Our last... session? You put a condom on?"

"Yeah. But I... I tossed it in the garbage outside, like all the rest of them."

"But the wrapper-"

"I handed it to you. Didn't I?" I searched her face, which didn't make me all that confident that I had actually handed it to her. "I didn't?"

She shook her head. "You handed me the ones from last night. The one from this morning was in the sheets. And... well, it came out in the wash. And Kaya did laundry after me. And found it."

Thud. Thud. THUD, went my heart. "Shit," I hissed, tipping my head back against the back of the couch. My eyelids slammed shut and I tried to think of something, anything to make this better. 

"It's not all that bad, JC. I'd prefer if no one knew, but I made her promise not to say anything to anyone." 

I lifted my head, opened my eyes and my mouth dropped open. "You really think she's not going to say anything? Why did you have to tell her?"

"She won't. I know her. She... she thought the wrapper was Nasaan's. And was about to absolutely shit on him for having a girl here in the house when we weren't home. I couldn't let her do that. And I couldn't let that happen to him, just to save my ass. There was just no way around it."

 "You could have just told her it was mine."

"Wrapped up in my sheets. I still would have had to tell her."

"I guess. So...is she gonna be shitty to me about it?"

"Was she shitty tonight at dinner? Or after dinner?"

I shook my head, thinking back over the evening. I wouldn't have known that she knew about us if Tori hadn't told me. "I guess not," I finally answered. "So what does that mean for us? And the couch situation? We still have Nasaan to think about."

"Nasaan goes to bed at 11 o'clock. Sleeps like the dead. I've never known him to get up in the middle of the night. And he doesn't get out of bed until 7 o'clock, if that, unless he has to work at the resort."

"So... I..."

"Could come upstairs. So long as you're up before he is, he'll never know."

"And Kaya..."

"Definitely won't be up that early. This isn't a house of early risers."

"So what you're saying is that we're just gonna... sleep together. With everyone in the house. And hope the fifteen year old doesn't catch on."

"Right."

"Haven't you spent three days telling me that he's super smart?"

"And haven't I also told you that he's a teenager? Things fly right over his head if you don't make it obvious."

"Tori, he... he's smarter than you give him credit for. He picks up on a lot."

"I know he does. I know he's worried about the household budget, about the shop closing. I know he's putting off picking a college in deference to me, for some reason. He's intuitive. But this?" 

She shook her head, then leaned in to kiss me. "I know my son. Really, really well. Think you can carry the charade, for a few days at least? Your bike will be finished soon." 

And then what, ricocheted through my head again. 

"You're telling me you've never snuck around with a girl before, Mr. LA Pretty Boy?"

I scoffed, feigning offense. "Well, of course I'm not saying that." 

"So? See you upstairs in a few minutes? Give the house time to settle down. I won't shut my door. Just come in." 

Without waiting for an answer, she untangled herself from my arms and hopped back upstairs without making a sound. My eyes bounced from the TV to the fireplace to the staircase and back again. Over and over again. 

I wasn't really sure about this. 

But uhm...so... how long was I supposed to wait?

Katori

 

I woke up the next morning with a warm but empty spot in the bed next to me.

JC had come up, as planned. We'd had the quietest, most secretive sex I'd ever had.  Sean's grandmother was deaf in one ear and she'd turn the TV all the way up so we didn't have to be quiet.

But last night the silence was... so loud. After, we both panted into our pillows, waiting for a floorboard to creak and either Kaya or Nasaan to come and investigate the breathy moan I couldn't hold back or keep to a whisper. When we'd caught our breath, we laid together, my back to his chest while the sweat droplets on our foreheads dried. I'd fallen asleep wrapped up in him but had awakened alone.

A glance at the clock pushed me out of the bed. I'd overslept a bit, but it was still early, so Nasaan wouldn't be up yet. I did my bathroom routine and threw on a pair of sweats and a long t-shirt. I smelled coffee halfway down the steps and smiled to myself. It was kind of nice to have a thoughtful house guest.

Or at least one that made himself at home.

JC was at the kitchen table, reading our newspaper again. I walked past him, willing myself to not slide a hand across his broad shoulders and give his bicep a squeeze. No need for those gestures of familiarity and...feelings of like. We weren't dating. Just having sex.

I pulled a mug from the cupboard and filled it with coffee, adding cream and sugar to my liking. Behind me, the pages of the newspaper fluttered as JC turned them.

"Uhm, good morning," I muttered, turning around and lifting my mug to my lips.

"Morning," he answered, his tone low but his voice bright and clear, like he'd been awake for a while. He was wearing his glasses again, the thick rims bracketing his eyes and the friendly crow's feet that showed up when he smiled. He laid the paper down and reached for a half-empty mug of coffee. Before it got to his pursed lips he turned to me and, ever so quickly, winked. Then sipped coffee and set the mug down and resumed reading the paper.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"To be honest, I've been having a little trouble sleeping since I hit this town. I'm uh...I seem to be up until all hours of the night doing things."

"Oh?" So we were going to play this game where we flirt with each other all day and pretend nothing is happening until nightfall, then secretly go at each other all night?

Fine. That's... that would be just fine.

"Doing things?"

"Well... not... things per se. I mean... I'm busy, alright? Until late. Or early. And then I have to..." He sighed and flipped a page. "Relocate. And I'm just not used to moving around this time of day, you know what I mean?"

"Mmmhmm...." I hummed, sliding my mug onto the counter. "I know what you mean. It's worth it, though. Don't you think?"

"Oh, for sure," he quickly agreed, glancing up at me. His eye caught mine and a flash of a smile played at his lips. "Well worth it."

"I agree," I said quietly. Then pushed away from the counter and headed toward the refrigerator. I needed to get breakfast on the table for Nasaan and Kaya. And I needed a distraction from those eyes and the tone of his voice and that black t-shirt he was wearing. And those lips I wanted to kiss until they were raw.

"So... Tori Amos, huh?"

I grabbed the eggs, the leftover ground beef from the sloppy joes, a few slices of cheese, an onion and a few peppers. I spread everything out on the counter and pulled a skillet from the dishwasher.

"What?"

"Kaya said you were so emo in high school that you wouldn't have known *NSYNC. Tori Amos, Bjork, Sole`, I think she said? You still like emo music?"

"It wasn't emo music. It was just... meaningful."

"Take a space ride with a cowboy isn't meaningful? That song was about space travel. I was ahead of my time with that."

I giggled, waiting for the element to heat up. While waiting, I dumped what was left of the sloppy joes in the skillet, then moved to the cutting board.

Suddenly JC was beside me, washing his hands at the sink. "I'll chop, if you want. I don't do much cooking but I can cut things."

"Okay. Just don't slice your fingers off. You know you hate Nurse Ratchet."

"I will keep that in mind." He dumped the onion and the peppers onto the cutting board and started chopping. I watched him like he was my son using a knife for the first time, until I'd watched enough to see that he knew how to use a knife. I returned my attention to the sizzling skillet on the stove.

"So, are you still a Tori Amos fan?"

I moved the beef around in the skillet as it warmed. "Yeah, actually. She just released an album in September. She toured Europe and then did a few shows here and there and three nights in LA." I rolled my eyes. "So she basically didn't do a US tour."

"Cloudcroft probably isn't on the tour schedule."

"Nope. The closest arena is El Paso, two hours from here. And El Paso is never on the tour schedule either. Then we're talking about flying to the nearest venue and I can't afford that."

I turned the burner down under the beef and motioned for the peppers and onions. He scraped them into the skillet and I mixed them in, adding a few seasonings from the cabinet next to the stove.

"What the hell are you making, Tori?"

I laughed. "Breakfast sloppy joe's. Nasaan loves them whenever we have sloppy joe leftovers. It's really good. I promise."

"I haven't had a bad meal yet in this house. I choose to believe you."

"Well, good. Because it's true."

"I also have an iron stomach, so..." His belly made a flat sound as he gave it a pat, then he turned around and leaned against the counter to watch me cook. "What's your like... your favorite, from her? Or a song you can always listen to?"

I eyed JC, wary of his questions. "Why do you ask?"

He chuckled, tucking his hands up under his arms. "Are you embarrassed about your music choices? I don't mind a little emotion in my music." I didn't answer, so he tried again. "I'm just curious. Trying to get to know you."

"Why?" I asked again. "What good will knowing me do, when you're back in LA, Pretty Boy?"

"I'm just making conversation, Tori. Being nice to my hostess. And I'm genuinely interested in anything that has to do with music. But if you want me to shut it and go back to reading the paper-"

"No." I shook my head, mentally shaking myself. Get. it. together. Tori. "I'm sorry, forget it. I want this to be easy but I don't know how to navigate this... thing."

"It's like I said the other day. We're adults. We do what adults do, and no one needs to know. We act like adults who have to exist in this house together for a least a few more days. We can stop if it's too weird- "

"I don't want to stop." I shook my head, my heart slamming around in my chest at the thought of not being with him for the short time I had him. I could handle this. I was cool and calm the evening before when I'd invited him up to my room.

I was also horny as fuck. But we could do this. We could be quiet. And careful. And I could get used to waking up and reaching for him and smelling his scent but  feeling nothing but empty bed.

"Okay. Well. We should probably like.... talk like normal people. So I'm asking you some really general questions about the music you like. You should be able to handle that."

I turned the burner off on the stove and set the skillet to the side, then pushed JC a few inches down the counter so I could dig out another skillet for the eggs.

"A Sorta Fairytale. That's my favorite song by her." I grabbed the skillet I needed and set it on the stove, then pointed toward the bread bin. "There are English muffins in there. If you wouldn't mind toasting them?"

When JC moved around me to dig out the package of muffins, I continued while cracking eggs into a bowl.  "It was still... Tori,  you know? Her voice was still gritty and real, lyrics still hypercritical and full of dissent, but also... maybe it was how it was kind of hopeful. I was pregnant with Nasaan when that song came out and she just seemed... softer. Not soft. But softer."

"I know the song you're talking about," he said, pulling English muffins from the bag.

I stopped beating eggs long enough to stare at him.  "Seriously?"

"Down New Mexico way," he sang, in perfect tenor.  "Something about the open road, I knew that he was looking for some Indian blood...and find a little in you find a little in me..."

"How...how do you know that song?"

"It was one of her more radio friendly singles. And I listen to a little of everything. See? We're learning things about each other."

Without another word, I left the kitchen, walked to the stereo in the living room and pressed play on the CD in the changer. A Sorta Fairytale blared through the speakers for a moment before I turned it down. JC grinned at me from the toaster and sang along.

On my way back to the kitchen, I yelled up the stairs. "Nasaan! Breakfast is almost on! Get up!"

"Thought you said he slept like the dead," said JC. Four muffins popped up in the toaster. He grabbed them and set them on a plate.

"He also has a body clock that wakes him up at 7AM every day," I said, going back to my eggs, piling them on half of a muffin, then adding cheese, a little sloppy joe mix, and topping with more cheese. "And that speaker is right under his bedroom so that woke him up if nothing else did. He'll be down here in three... two..."

Footsteps thumped down the stairs and Nasaan ambled around the corner in boxers and a loose sleeveless tee, his eyes just barely open and his hair a tousled mess. JC started laughing before he could stop himself. "You do sleep hard, huh buddy?"

Nasaan blinked, then yawned. "I thought you said breakfast was ready. Can I have coffee?"

I slid a plate holding two sandwiches in front of him. His eyes opened, then. "No coffee. Milk or juice?"

"Juice," he grumbled, digging into his breakfast. "JC, you gotta try this breakfast sloppy joe. It's rad."

JC laughed, resuming his seat and folding the newspaper closed. "I heard you liked this concoction. It better be good."

From the top of the stairs, Kaya's sleep ravaged voice rained down. "Who put that moaning, emo woman on the stereo? I don't want to be depressed at 7AM!"

 

...

 

JC

 

"Okay, hold that right there. And watch your thumbs."

I tilted my head back and tucked my thumbs as I held a piece of pipe from my Triumph and let Tori pound on it for a few seconds, after softening the metal with the blow torch. It was loud and tinny, the sound reverberating through the shop. The bike was pretty much repaired, but there were some dents that Tori wanted to try to get out.

"Damn. That must be a thick piece of metal."

"It is," she said, lifting her goggles to inspect her work. She nodded, setting down the hammer-like tool she was using. "Steel, the real stuff. That's why the bike is so heavy. The newer bikes are made of thinner steel and plastic cases."

"And that's why they total out the first time you crash them."

"Exactly. They crumple like tinfoil. It's the same as the automobile. The giant tank your great grandfather probably drove would get you through World War 3. You drive a... what?"

"I'm not telling you," I answered, laughing.

"What? Why?"

"You already call me Pretty Boy."

"Can I guess?"

"Dunno, can you?"

Tori propped one hand on a hip and swiped a bead of sweat from her forehead with the other.  "Uhm, I'm pretty good at this game, Pretty Boy. Porsche?"

I grimaced. "Definitely not."

"Okay. You're not an Aston Martin or Bentley kind of guy."

"Nope."

"Beemer?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets, rocking from the balls to the heels of my feet. "Nope."

"Jag. You drive a Jaguar."

"Nope, I don't."

"Lexus?"

"I feel like you're not even trying. Do I look like a Lexus kinda guy?"

Tori snorted. "Fine. Mazda. Acura. Dodge Dart."

"Dodge Dart?" I was almost bent over, I was laughing so hard. "I can't see me in a Dodge Dart, honey."

Tori sighed, laughing along with me. After a few moments of silence, she said, "Benz. Not a standard model. Black. And you've probably had it a while."

"You looked that up online."

"Wait, am I right?" Her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline and she grinned in surprise.  "You drive a Benz?"

"Yeah. But I mean... there's pictures of me in my car on the internet-"

"That I haven't seen, JC. To be honest, I pegged you for a Benz guy right away. Am I right that it's not a standard model?"

"AMG," I answered, smirking. "Black. I've had it forever."

"Called it." She clapped her hands and then threw victory fists into the air.

"What do you mean, called it? You guessed like twenty models before you said Benz."

"But I knew it was a Benz all along."

"Uh huh."

Tori closed the few inches of space that separated us, grabbed two handfuls of my jacket and pulled me to her, so close I sniffed the scent of her shampoo in the air.

"Don't believe me?"

"Not really. But I could probably be convinced."

"Oh?" An eyebrow lifted, accompanied by a cute little head tilt. "And... how could I convince you?"

"You're no dummy. Skilled, talented, brilliant- you could probably come up with some good ideas."

Still holding the lapels of my jacket, she pulled me to the counter she used as a desk. "Laying it on thick, Pretty Boy. You must really want some."

"There you go, showing off that brain."

I stepped close, pinning her between my body and the counter and lowered my mouth to hers. I caught her bottom lip between my teeth and gently bit until she moaned. I released her, then went in for the long, deep kiss.

Tori hummed and moaned as the kiss deepened, her fingers working the zipper of my jacket until it opened. She pushed it off of my shoulders; I shrugged it off, hearing it drop to the floor.

"How much time do we have?" I mumbled against her lips.

"A lot," she answered. "Hours."

"No one's gonna walk in here? Or drop by?"

She shook her head. "No one comes here without calling first." She cupped my face in her hands and pulled me to her, devouring my mouth with a sizzling kiss. "Why? What do you have in mind?"

I turned her, so her back was to me and so she could brace against the counter.  "You think we're breaking any world records, here? The most sex performed by two people in a twenty four hour period?"

Tori tipped her head back, laughing into the air. My arousal was evident through my jeans and she was having fun with it, writhing up against me. My arms closed around her slim waist and I pulled her, firmly fitting her back against my chest and my dick against her ass.

"I'd say yes, but I think newlyweds probably have us beat."

"Or girls fucking members of a boyband. All the members of a boyband."

She gasped and tried to turn around, but I held her tight, laughing into the soft skin of her neck. "That didn't happen! Did it?"

"Not to me personally. But I've heard stories."

"That's some wild living."

"What's that saying? Youth is wasted on the young? What I wouldn't give to be able to do whatever I wanted to you."

"I guess I'll have to settle for whatever you can manage.  She turned, slipping her arms around my neck, then leaned in to kiss me, occupying my lips while I filled my palms with handfuls of her ass. A groan rolled from her, mid-kiss. I felt it more than I heard it, in more places than one.

I gripped her hips and lifted her, like she weighed nothing, up onto the counter. Her legs wrapped around me as if by instinct, bringing me closer to her. Through two pairs of jeans, I felt the warmth at her core. And the rapid thump of her heart beat at the base of her neck.

"I hope you're enjoying what I have to offer," she whispered into my ear, then nipped the soft flesh between her teeth. "And that you're having a really really good visit to Cloudcroft."

"As good as they come, honey."

"Mmmm... speaking of come and good..."

I laughed. "I know you'd go there."

"I need you to go there," she said, taking one of my hands and sliding it between her thighs.

 

...

 

"I know I said we had hours, but..." Tori grunted as she sat up, reaching for the t-shirt and hoodie I'd pulled off of her. "Nasaan will be home from school in a bit and I don't want to look like I've been having sex on the floor of the shop when I see him."

"Even though you totally have," I teased, pulling a stray lug nut from the rat's nest that was her hair.

She grinned back at me, slipping the shirt over her head and pulling it down. "So have you. Might want to see about a mirror, get your hair under control. And, you know, put your pants on."

"I guess I should do that." I sat up, then had to roll to the side so I had enough room between the counter and the wall to stand. I reached for my jeans and stepped into them, pulling them up and over my hips and buttoning the fly.  

Tori did the same, combing her fingers through her hair to tame the mess I'd made. I smirked at her efforts, then grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. "Turn around," I ordered, then raked through the mess as best I could, calming the strands with each stroke. It wasn't perfect, but it looked a helluva lot better than it had when we were still laying on the floor, panting in a mist of sweat.

"For the record, even I'm too old for sex on the floor."

I laughed and agreed, craning my neck around to nibble on her ear. "It was fun though."

Tori chuckled and started to respond but was cut short by the earthquake rumble of an approaching motorcycle.

"Shit," Tori whispered, rushing to the door of the shop and peeking through the blinds. "I don't want to deal with him today."

"Deal with who? Who is that?"

The engine cut, then I heard three sharp knocks at the shop door- more heavy pounding than knocking. I stepped back, leaning onto the counter and grabbed a magazine to flip through.

I recognized the deep baritone of Mitch Chee's voice when Tori open the door to greet him. He stepped inside the shop, ducking his head as he crossed the threshold. 

He didn't say anything, but his eyes met mine and lingered for a beat too long, bouncing from me to Tori and back to me. We looked... rough. I could only imagine what was going through his mind and I was pretty sure he was about to growl at me.

Finally, he offered me a head nod. I nodded and went back to the magazine I was pretending to read.

"What can I do for you, Mitch?" Tori asked, standing in front of the Triumph. She picked up the metal piece she'd been hammering on earlier.  "I'm working on a project right now."

"Unh huh," He grunted, shooting a glance over at me. Fuck, I really needed him to stop doing that. "Did Nasaan tell you I saw him in town? I told him to tell you to call me."

"He told me. I'd appreciate you not sending missives through my son, though."

"Sorry," he said, sounding as chastised as a nearly seven foot tall man could sound. "I'm not getting a response to my phone calls and letters. So, what's the deal, Tori?"

"I don't know yet, Mitch. That's why I haven't returned your calls. And your letters. Could you be more dramatic, stamping first, second, third notice on them? Nasaan probably thinks we're being evicted."

"Nasaan's a smart kid. He knows exactly what's going on. Have you looked for space? I could help you relocate this stuff." His eyes bobbed around the shop as if to say there wasn't much to move.  

"You know how stuck I am. I'm squeaking by as it is."

"Tell me what you need and I'll find it. I'll help you get into it. I'll vouch for you, even. But I gotta get this place emptied."

"You don't gotta do anything, Mitch. You just want to give me a hard time-"

"Aw, come on, Tori. I'm not doing this song and dance much longer. We both know you should be out on your ass right now. I've been generous with time, but... let's go, alright?"

Tori heaved a deep, lung emptying breath and tossed her hands in the air. "I need some time, okay? I know I've had time, but you claim you can't sell this place until I move, so evict me or back off. I need to look at some places, I guess. If you're really going to help me."

"If you need the help, the offer's open. But your time is up. I need a date that you'll be out."

 I wasn't in any position to go up against a giant of a man, but his attitude was pissing me off. Still, I wanted Tori to remember that I was there if she needed me. I tossed down the magazine and stood to full height, folding my arms across my chest. Mitch glared at me and, almost imperceptibly, shook his head.

"Considering what it cost to repair a vintage Triumph, you should have a little cash. I can pony up the rest on a loan. Take the deal, Tori. It's better than going out of business."

Mitch glared at me again before his heavy boots stomped out of the shop. He climbed onto a Harley and revved it. The engine bubbled and rumbled like a percolator. Then he rolled it back into the street and sped away, making as much noise as possible.

A hiss tore from Tori's lips. She gathered up all of her hair and pulled it through a rubber band so it was off of her face. Which, by the way, was beet red . She gave the shop a glance, like she was looking around for something. She was really, I figured, trying not to catch my eye. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. Just a little personal business."

"It's okay." I flipped the magazine closed and walked around the counter where Tori was aimlessly pacing, her hands still on her hips. She sounded like she couldn't breathe. "He wouldn't really evict you, would he?"

She shook her head. "Not unless he wants my father and Eloise up his ass. But he would sell the building with me in it and leave me to the wolves.

"Do you want to move, Tori? Do you want to be in a new space?"

"I don't know, JC. Sometimes I dream about a new place. More room, more technology. I could do a lot with more space, but... this place holds so many memories.  I'm comfortable here. But it's not like I have anyone to pass it down to. And it's not like I have the ability to make it what it could be."

She shook her head, then grabbed her coat from its hook and her keys from the counter. "We gotta go. Nasaan will be home soon."

JC

 

"They can pick it up there, then drive it wherever and pack it so it can ship home."

"Okay. I got it," said Eric. "I'll text you and let you know when someone will be there to get the bike."

As of that afternoon, the Triumph was well enough to get back to LA and get it to a shop for some refurb and TLC. I'd offered to leave it with Tori and let her bill me for it, but she frowned and mumbled something about how it would be best to send it back to LA. I guessed I understood, seeing as how she probably had to move soon.

"And you're sure you don't want a ride to the nearest airport? I can pick you up on the way home."

"Nah, I'll find my own way home. Thanks, though."

"Is everything okay out there? I mean, tap the phone twice if you're being held hostage."

I laughed, though quietly. "Everything's fine. Just dealing with something I stumbled on out here and I'm not ready to leave yet."

"K, well... let me know when you're headed home. And don't forget you have sessions starting in a couple of weeks. I don't want to have to go to East Bumblefuck to drag your ass back to LA. Alright?"

My heart sank a little at the thought that I'd actually have to leave this place eventually. I'd become very comfortable in Cloudcroft, even with the awkward sleeping arrangement. It had issues and problems, but the town had stood on its own two feet before I got there and would do so long after I was gone.

That included Nez Motors and Tori. I wasn't there to save them. They weren't expecting me to save them. But I hated to leave without at least offering a helping hand.

"JC? You there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here." I popped back to reality and acknowledged the countdown clock hanging over my head. "And I know about the sessions. I'll be back in LA by then, no problem."

"Okay then. Enjoy the rest of your uh... vacation."

I ended the call and tucked the phone away. Eric and the gang would be leaving Taos in the morning. The skiing had been lackluster but it sounded like they tore up downtown Taos. It was a hell of a lot more raging than downtown Cloudcroft.

The house was super quiet. There was the usual fire burning in the fireplace and the TV playing softly,  but Nasaan was out with his friends, Kaya was at work and Tori was... MIA. I didn't dare head up to her room before the kid came home and went to bed, but I knew she was up there hiding and sulking.

So I went looking for her, tip toeing up the steps and down the hall. The door was shut, but a beam of light lit up the hallway. I rapped on the door a couple of times with my knuckle, but she didn't answer.

"Tori? You okay in there?"

I heard rustling, and then feet hitting the floor. The door flew open and Tori stood there in the sweats and t-shirt from earlier that morning. A set of earbuds hung around  her neck.

"Sorry. I had my music going. Have you been standing out here long?"

"Nope." I leaned against the doorjamb, pushing my hands into my pockets. "I was just checking on you.  You've been quiet. You know, since this afternoon."

She left the door open but stepped back into the room. I took that as an invitation and followed her inside. Across the bed, she'd spread out several sketchbooks, a set of drawing pencils, a canvas bag of what looked like artists tools and an eraser. She also had an iPad, which she slipped onto her lap.

"What's uh... what's going on, here?"

"Just some stuff," she quipped, flipping the pages of the sketchbooks closed.

"No, no... wait. Can I..." I glanced up at her, reaching for the book she had just closed and shoved across the bed. "Can I see? Please?"

"Don't laugh at them," she said, which I took as permission to open it. Inside, there was nothing to laugh at. There was page after page of pencil and chalk drawings of Nasaan as a baby, a toddler, a cute kid. And a man that Nasaan seemed to resemble deeply.  

"Is this Sean?" Tori nodded.

I flipped past him to an older, bald man with a lush beard and deep set eyes. "Your dad?" Again, she nodded. I turned more pages, past light sketches of Nasaan, Kaya, animals and the town of Cloudcroft. Even a hilarious caricature of Sheriff Eloise.

"She hasn't seen this, I'm guessing," I managed to get out, while laughing. Tori actually cracked a smile.

"Actually, I did a better one for her in full color. It's framed in her house."

"These are awesome, Tori. You didn't tell me about your art."

Tori averted her eyes, flushing a pretty pink color from her chest to her forehead. "It's just some messing around."

"Honey, it's more than messing around. These are pretty cool-" Another page flip took all my words. I could only stare, slack jawed.

"You promised not to laugh," she said, her voice low and soft. "Do you hate it?"

"No. I don't, actually," I muttered, staring at a replica of myself, so realistic that it was a little scary. Who knew how long she'd had to stare to memorize certain features like the thickness of my brows and the curl of my lip and the slight cleft in my chin. It wasn't just a drawing; it was like an impersonation, an embodiment. I was... impressed.

"You can tell me if-"

"Tori." My eyes flicked up to hers, then softened. "This is amazing. Really amazing, and I'm not just saying that because it's me. You're good."

"Thanks. Uhm... so, keep flipping. I guess you can see what I've been up here doing."

I did as she asked and turned pages until I came to a loose sketch of a building. I recognized it as Chee's building, the one that held Nez Motors and a lot of empty space. Except in the drawing, the building was named Nez Custom Bikes & Repair. It was upgraded, with two floors, lots of windows  and trees and a parking lot outside.

"Just kind of dreaming," said Tori. "If I could buy the shop, it'd look like that. And the interior-"

She switched to the iPad, where the screen showed hours of painstaking design work, depicting her vision for the future of Nez Motors, from the ground up. The stone walls with built in shelving, the repair center with state of the art technology, the storage space, the work space for custom jobs, even the waiting area with high back chairs and a fancy coffee brew system... it was all there. Everything in her mind, she'd poured into this design program.

"I could build custom bikes and refresh and refurbish vintage ones, if I had the room. Repair is my bread and butter and it takes up most of my time, but if I had enough business I could hire a mechanic. Nasaan could work summers, if I actually got him out of here."

If only she had the money to buy the building and renovate it.

"Could you get a loan?" I suggested. "Buy the building outright?"

"I guess," she answered, her face clouding." But I've got Nasaan heading to school in two years. I need to think about that expenditure first. And I guess I'm afraid if I don't have the business to stay afloat now, how can I make a loan payment every month? I'd be back in the same boat."

"So... this is what you'd want? Not moving to another building, not opening up someplace else. This is it. This is your dream?"

Tori stared at the images for so long, I wasn't sure she'd heard my question. But eventually, she quietly answered. "Yeah. This is the dream."

Everyone tells you to dream. Nobody tells you how to make it come true.

I was starting to believe that I had landed in Cloudcroft for a reason- I mean, I wasn't all religious or anything but I believed in fate and destiny and divine intervention. And I knew it was unavoidable. I couldn't stand to sit there and watch her stare at that screen and feel like her dreams were slipping through her fingers.

I already knew what would happen if I offered to help- she'd turn me down. And possibly be defiantly angry about it. But she needed somebody to cut her a break.... and I knew just who I could enlist to help.

JC

 

"Have a seat, son. Anywhere is fine. No sacred cows in this office."

I took a look around thinking about how true that must be, considering just about every square inch of Sheriff Eloise Harding's office was covered in paper, boxes or books. On the walls were old photos of Eloise and what I assumed were townspeople over the years, in frames that needed a hit with one of those Swiffer dust wands.

Her desk, however, seemed to be neat and organized. All of her paperwork in stacks on one side, files and folders on the other. Behind her, an older model computer sat on a stand. The screen saver was a slideshow of some of Cloudcroft best views- the mountains, the river, up above the town looking down on it.

I picked up a pile of books and newspapers and relocated them to a different chair. Kaya's keys tinkled in my hand as I pushed them into the front pocket of my jeans and sat down. I wanted to do some driving around and exploring and since she'd be working, she didn't need her pickup. I convinced her to let me drop her off, then pick her back up later. After driving around for about an hour and getting my bearings, I made a stop at the drugstore for some toiletries and found the Sheriff's office.

"Thanks for giving me some of your time. I know you're busy. I appreciate it."

"Aw hell, son," she said with a wave of her hand, her cheeks flushing pink. "I wasn't doin' nothin' but trying to decide where I want to eat for dinner. It's quiet around these parts, mostly. It's a sunny day, the snow is melting, people are happy. That means a lot less troublemaking."

"So, it's just you and a deputy? You don't have a very big police force."

"We'll increase the staff when we need to." She shrugged, looking around. "Right now, we don't need to. At last count, this town has fewer than a thousand residents. Unless we have an influx of people moving to Cloudcroft..." She leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up on the corner of her desk, then adjusted her cap so she could see me. "It ain't broke, so it don't need fixin'."

"I see. And uh... is there a plan to move more people to Cloudcroft? I mean, you've got the ski resort right here-"

Eloise sat up, both feet hitting the floor. "What are you gettin' at, son? You planning a move to Cloudcroft? Tori's cookin' just that good to ya?"

"No... no, no. I mean, don't get me wrong; the town is wonderful. The people are great, very friendly. And Tori's cooking is nice, for sure.  To be honest, if I thought it made sense to stay here, I would. You wouldn't believe my life in LA. But uhm..."

I exhaled a breath, trying to decide on an angle to take this talk. I could flatter Sheriff Harding all day, but she wasn't one to be plied with sweet words. Maybe giving it to her straight would be the best option.

"I've overheard some things about Tori and Nez Motors and Mitch Chee-"

"Yeah. He wants to kick her out so he can sell the building."

"Exactly. And... it's kind of tearing her apart, to lose her shop and her livelihood and a piece of her family history. Now's not a good time for her to take on debt, with her son going to school in a couple of years. I'm trying to figure out if I can help. I know I should mind my own business-"

"Damn straight. Tori'll tear you a new ass if she finds out you've been in here talking about her problems."

"And I get that, I do. I'm a person that doesn't need the world talking about my problems. You know what I mean?" When she nodded, I plowed forward. "But we both know who I am and what kind of pull I could have. And maybe you don't know this, but I'm... I can't walk away from this town knowing Tori and Kaya are going to lose everything their father, their grandfather built because this guy is hot out the ass to sell an empty building. It can't even be worth much."

Eloise was quiet, tapping the end of a ballpoint pen on her desk. "I'm going to tell you something. I don't want you to use it against anyone. I don't even want you to hint that you know this. I just want you to understand the dynamics, here."

I relaxed in my chair, stretching my legs out and crossing them at the ankles. Seemed like it was going to be a long story.

"Back when Pat- that's their father- lived here, he tried to hook Tori up with Mitch. It appeared to be great match from the outside. The Chee's are wealthy, according to Cloudcroft standards. Well, really according to any standard.

"Anyway, as time went on there was too much talk about business and not enough talk about love and family. Tori felt like Mitch only wanted to get his hands on the Nez land, then move her off of it, kick Kaya out and send Nasaan off somewhere, wherever Max, Mitch's father, sent his other grandchildren. None of them live in the area."

"The Nez land," I repeated. "Tori owns land?"

"No," Eloise answered, her lips forming a small but sad smile. "But Pat does. He owns the house and the land it sits on, acres of it, and it has appreciated nicely."

"So... why doesn't she tell Pat that she's in trouble? Maybe he can sell some land..."

"Because the only people with enough money to buy the land is the Chee family. And it's worthless in parcels. He'd never buy just a piece of Nez land."

"So this Mitch guy... he doesn't need to sell the building, does he?"

Eloise bobbed her head from side to side, frowning a little in thought. "He might. He might not. I think he realized that this is something he can hold over Tori's head. But I hope he knows he'd have a Sheriff's boot up his ass if he tried."

"So, Tori calls off the engagement with Mitch and... what? He slinks back to his corner?"

"Oh, of course not," she said, her face growing dark with a scowl.  "Every few years he tries to get her back, win her over. This whole charade with the sale of the building is just to get a shot at that land.  If he puts her in a spot where she's desperate, then manages to help her out, she might feel generous enough to talk to Pat and convince him to sell."

Internally, I groaned. "Yesterday, he offered to find her some space to move to, vouch for her, get her in. I'm suspicious about that."

Eloise blanched. The pen stopped tapping and her eyes flashed up to mine. "You should be. He's not dumb enough to do something illegal, but he's smart enough to trap her. The best thing for her would be to get out of this without involving Chee."

"Which is where I could come in." I shared more with Eloise- my talk with Tori the night before, the drawings, what she really wanted to do. And asked her opinion if it was possible to make it happen.

"Tori can do the work. She can keep the dream alive if she has the business. But we don't have enough traffic through this town to keep that concept afloat."

"But see here's the thing.  Guys like me and my friends-"

"People with more money than God," she deadpanned.

"Yeah, us. We're not looking for high traffic places when we're thinking about a custom build, a refresh, a repair. I'd think nothing of shipping my bike to someone with proven skills. It's what? A grand in shipping, maybe? Not to brag but that's nothing for someone in my tax bracket. My friends just got on a private jet back to LA after spending a week in Taos, just hanging out. There's money to burn out there. She just needs a little bit of clout and word of mouth. She'll have orders coming out of her ears."

"Okay. So... what are we talking about here?"

"I'm talking about financing the project. Sinking some money into Nez, into Cloudcroft. Buying the building, financing the renovation, making Nez Custom Bikes and Repair a reality. Hopefully it won't ruin your town here, bringing an element that you don't want."

"If it's an element that spends money, we'll take ‘em. Cloudcroft can grow a little. It'd be nice to make money outside of ski season. But uh..." Her eyes dropped to the surface of her desk. She tapped the pads of her fingers on her well-used desk calendar.

"Selling Tori on it is going to be a bitch, right?"

She nodded. "Yep. And you'll never get her to agree to go along with it. The terms would have to almost be unfair and that would defeat the purpose of helping her. But if..."

She pointed at me, then snapped her fingers. "If it's all about you, and her helping you, that's a different story. If you give her that spiel about investing in Cloudcroft -"

"I'd set aside some money for renovation- " 

"And provide a plan for bringing people to Cloudcroft for repairs and builds, that probably won't piss her off. Another thing I think you need to do is put some money in her pocket. I'm not talking about a handout. I think you should order some bikes from her. Not a bike. Bikes."

"Bikes. What am I gonna do with more than one custom bike?"

"Sell it. Give it as a gift. Donate it back as a floor model. Shit, I don't care, but put your money where your mouth is. You just told me there's money to burn, so burn some.  You believe in her craft, in her dream? Buy into it."

"I am, but-"

"I mean personally. Buying that building is business. Buying direct from her is personal. Now lemme ask you something."

She dipped her head low, so she was basically glaring up at me. "Are you and Tori... together? You know what I'm saying?"

"No." I waivered for a whole second about what to say, but it was the truth. We had... an arrangement. But we weren't together.  Then I had a thought, and my heart thumped at the possibilities. "Why? Have you heard differently?"

"Just observant, is all. You crashed your bike a week ago. Tori could have repaired it and shipped it to you. The preppy sumbitches I've deal with seem to be allergic to the small town thing and can't wait to get out of here, insulting us the whole time. You seem to have made yourself right at home here."

"Oh. Well. I did my fair share of bitching, that first night."

"I seem to recall that was Nurse Kaya's fault?"

"You're right, it was. I also remember a certain Sheriff arranging for me to have a nice place to stay, with the Nez family."

""Uh huh," She hummed. "Son, I'm an officer of the law, highly trained, though I know it don't seem like it. Now, I know a liar when I see one, when I hear one, and I can smell ‘em a mile away. You pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?"

It was my turn to blush, but I did more than that. I felt like my face was on fire. My throat closed up so badly I thought I might choke to death right in her office. Immediately, I dropped my gaze to the floor, which, paired with my face, told Eloise all she needed to hear.

"You walk in here talking about Tori's dreams and her future and you're just about more upset than she is. Should have seen your face when I told you she and Mitch had a thing going for a while. Believe it or not, I'm not one to gossip, so I'm not going to say anything to anyone. But I'm not a country bumpkin, Andy Griffith small town Sheriff so don't assume I'm dumb and inexperienced. I've worked the mean streets of Albuquerque."  Eloise winked at her last line, which made me laugh and paved the way to breathing again.

"You hurt her, I'll kill you with my bare hands. And you know I can do it and get away with it."

"Yes ma'am," I answered quietly, because I had no doubt she could and would do it.

"Now then. Let me get you some information on Mitch Chee, so you can get this process started."

 

...

 I left the Sheriff's office with the business address for Chee Properties, the real estate arm of the family enterprise. The Chee family, I'd learned, was one of the most powerful families in New Mexico. They owned properties all over the state and, long ago, had tried to take over Cloudcroft by buying up a lot of land. The plan was to bring in big city businesses, which would bring more residents and more traffic to the ski resort, which they owned part of.

Only... the townspeople at the time wouldn't have it. It would drive out the mom & pop shops and the current residents, who had no interest in big box stores. So they refused to sell their land. Over time, the family gave up their designs on Cloudcroft. The building Mitch was trying to get rid of was one of the last properties the family owned in the town.

I was happy to unload that from his portfolio. Then maybe he'd stay out of Cloudcroft and stop trying to find a way to his hands on Tori's family's land.

I didn't have everything all figured out yet. I had a feeling that all that staring and glaring the day before was because he suspected something between Tori and I. Getting him to sell me the building was going to be a challenge. And cost me a lot of money.

I drove around for a while, stopped at the river and watched the halfway frozen water babble and glide down from the mountain, over the rocks and downstream. I saw a few fish, even- and a few hawks drop out of the sky to try to catch them.

Toward sunset, I drove to the hospital to wait for Kaya to finish up her short shift.  By the time she came out of the Emergency entrance, I was tired and hungry.

"Ready?" I asked her, after she snapped herself into the seatbelt.

"Yup."

I turned the key in the ignition and the pickup rumbled to life. Kaya hadn't said a word about knowing what was up between Tori and me. She hadn't treated me any differently either, but that hadn't eased my mind at all. I was still on pins and needles, waiting for her to make a snide or sly comment, meant for me or for Tori but would go over Nasaan's head. I figured it would be better on my nerves and the tension between all of us if I just came clean.

I waited until we were on our way to a Mexican restaurant Tori had told me about. I was treating us for dinner and she'd already called in our order, we just needed to pick it up. The truck rumbled along the uneven streets for a few minutes before I got up enough courage to say something.

"So... Tori talked to me the other night." I couldn't think of any other way to start the conversation.

I thought Kaya might take pity on me, but of course she didn't. "The other night? Does she not talk to you every day?"

"I meant... she told me that you know."

"I know?" She asked, putting on an innocent voice that didn't sound right, coming out of that face.

I took my focus off the road for a millisecond to catch the evil gleam in her eyes. "You know what I mean, Kaya. About me and Tori."

"About you fucking my sister? About you two sneaking around behind me and Nasaan's back, stealing away together, making the sex?" She giggled at that last part, almost obnoxiously shouting it.

"Yeah," I answered, sighing, glaring out of the windshield. I wouldn't give her the pleasure or benefit of reacting to her comments. "About that."

"Yeah, I know about her southern hospitality. We don't all offer that, you know."

"I... never mind."

"You...what? Aren't interested in me?" Kaya burst into giggles. "Oh, no, the handsome, suave, debonair celebrity JC Chasez isn't checking for me! Whatever will I do?"

"I didn't start this conversation to insult you and you know it. And where are we going? I feel like been driving down this street for hours."

"It's the next block up." She nodded her head up the street, so I kept rolling. "I'm just playing with you, JC. I didn't know you were so sensitive."

"I'm not. But don't make me out to be a, you know... an asshole because I find your sister attractive-"

"And fuckable."

"Are we gonna have an adult conversation about this?"

"You know that episode of Friends where Chandler can't pick on anyone about anything, and the dork Ross decides to wear leather pants and he wants to say something so bad, until eventually he explodes and yells out, ‘Ross is wearing leather pants!'

"You know what, I missed a lot of Friends episodes. I was on the road a lot. I've been trying to catch them in reruns, though."

"You gotta ruin everything with that celebrity shit, don't you? My point is... that's been me for the last two days, waiting for Tori to tell you that I know what you two are doing. So I can say something when Nasaan isn't home. By the way, I heard you guys the other night."

I pulled over in front of Mi Cabanita and put the truck in park. "You did not."

"Okay, I didn't," she admitted. "But I heard you go into Tori's room and the door close. And I swear I heard a moan. I almost got up, but I didn't hear anything else. If you guys aren't careful, Nasaan is going to find out. And if you think I'm protective? That Aunt Eloise is protective?"

She hissed a breath, shaking her head.  "We've got nothing on Nasaan. Don't mess with his mama."

"I'm not trying to mess with her. I mean... not in a bad way. But we're adults, and we- together- decided this was something we wanted to do."

"And I'm not arguing with that. Scout's honor," she said, placing a hand over her heart. "I'm just telling you how it is. And I know you two think you can keep it quiet, but good luck with that. Three people today asked me if that celebrity guy was still staying at our house. Then asked me if you were really cute in person and gave me the eyebrows like we were fucking."

"Damn. It's been a long time since I was in a small town. I forgot about that gossip thing." I paused, then quietly confessed, "I bought condoms. At the drugstore. That was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

Kaya laughed. And laughed and laughed. "Oh my God," she screamed, almost choking when she laughed again. "You should have just had me pick some up for you. Felicity at Cloudcroft Drug is a huge gossip. Didn't Tori tell you?"

"Yeah. She did. But I was... distracted." I remembered that I'd been thinking about other, sexier topics while Tori was talking about why she couldn't buy condoms. My eyelids slid closed and I couldn't help but laugh at myself. "Well.... shit."

"Shit is right. The whole town will know by morning." She laughed again, then popped the door latch. "You're paying for dinner, right? Dig out the credit card, Pretty Boy."

I tossed the keys to her, then opened my door. "You're driving home."

"Can I hold the credit card? I don't have a platinum Visa."

"You are like a child," I grumbled. But I dug my wallet out of my pocket, slipped the card from its slot and handed it to her. "Happy?"

"Enormously. But why doesn't it say JC Chasez on it? What's Leo Enterprises?"

"That's my production company. It's what all my writing and studio work is billed through, all my projects and stuff."

"Oh." Her eyes grew wide. "Your projects. Like people you write for and record with? So you're kind of a big deal, then."

I grinned, laughing. I pulled the door open and waved her inside the warm restaurant. I smelled tortillas and peppers and delicious Mexican food. "I've been trying to tell you that since I got here, Nurse Ratchet."

The mention of my production company, though, gave me an idea.  What if I could buy that building without Chee knowing it was me buying it?

 

Katori

 

I made JC go away. Just for the day.

It had been days, almost a week, since I'd been truly alone. I missed being able to hear myself think, to be by myself and do my own thing. Normally, I'd be at the shop working or at home while Kaya was at work and Nasaan was at school or running around with his friends. I was accustomed to not having anyone around and, for just one day, I needed that back.

The freight company came by to pick up JC's Triumph. They'd pack it up and drive it to LA and it would be waiting for him when he got home. Whenever that would be. It seemed like he planned on staying in Cloudcroft a few more days.

After a couple of hours of bumbling around the shop, putting away equipment, sweeping the floor, looking up the rest of the parts I needed to finish Nasaan's bike, I missed him. A little.

JC had a way about him, a warm, friendly aura. He quickly dispelled the spoiled celebrity myth, down to doing his own laundry and being willing to help cook. Or buy dinner and beer. He kept to himself, jotting things down in a little notebook, humming random melodies- but if you asked him a question he could ramble about whatever for an hour.

That was something I liked about him... the rambling. I liked hearing him talk, the sound of his voice. Being in New Mexico, I heard a lot of west coast accents, some down south twang, but sometimes, when he really got going, a little bit of northeastern came out of him. Coupled with the general tone and tenor of his voice and his animated mode of talking, I just really liked listening to him.

That was probably what I missed most, while he was gone all day. The talking.

But it was good to be alone, too. I needed a few minutes of silence to think about my problem and how to solve it. I'd had to stop myself from dreaming about expansion and renovation and rebuilding. I didn't see that happening, not without a lot of money.

Which... I could get. From dad. But that would mean selling the land, the land we lived on. The land that had been in our family for ages, land that was hard fought-for.  I couldn't see giving up a piece of our family history- our tribal history, just to save my ass.

"Should have never taken the shop over," I muttered to myself, moving a bin holding miscellaneous parts up against the wall. "Should have just let dad close it when he left and gone to work at the hospital. Then I wouldn't be in this... mess."

"You always talk to yourself while you work?"

I whirled around, surprised to hear another voice after hours of talking to myself. I'd left the shop door open and hadn't heard the truck pull up, so it was a surprise to see JC standing in the doorway, looking all... biker dude, with his black t-shirt and black jeans and leather jacket and boots.

"You look like you just came from a motorcycle rally," I quipped, turning back around to my bins.

He laughed, though, and stepped inside. "Nope, just bummed around town. Picked up Kaya and dinner. I came to let you know we were at the house."

"Phones don't work anymore?"

"Yeah. But uh..." He moved in further, stepping behind the counter and leaning on it with his forearms. "I hadn't seen you all day and you're not very far so I decided to stop by."

"Well, I got your message. Thanks. I'll be home... at the house in a little bit. Was Nasaan there?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Tell him to call me if he needs anything."

JC didn't reply for a few seconds, but I heard him suck in a long, slow breath, like he was trying to temper his response. "So..." He finally said, "you're just going to hide out here?"

I turned my glare on him, which I was sure he suspected would happen. "I'm not hiding, JC. This is a normal work day for me. And since it looks like I'm going to have to move, I have shit to do. Alright?"

"Alright," he said softly. But he didn't stand up and stretch and walk out of the shop. He was still there, watching me pile things up and sort things out and throw things in the large garbage can that I'd dragged into the building from outside.

"What?!" I demanded, finally turning to face him. I propped my hands on my hips and hoped there was a scowl on my face.

"What, what?"

"Why are you still here, is what. What do you want?"

He shrugged both shoulders, frowning a little. "Thought you might like to talk."

"I'm..." I shook my head blowing out a breath. "I'm kind of all talked out, JC. I'm all strategized-out, I'm all hoped-out, I'm all... whatever'd-out."

"That's it then? You just give up?"

"I'm not giving up. I just... there's a hitch in the plan right now. But if Mitch is serious about helping me find a spot..." I heaved a sigh, letting my hands drop to slap my thigh. "I guess I start over someplace else. It's that or call my dad."

I picked up an oil can and shook it to see how much was left in it. Empty. I threw it into the trash bin, along with a few boxes of paper oil filters that had practically disintegrated. There was no telling how old some of the stuff in the shop was. Most of it, actually, could probably go to the dump.

"And what happens when you call your dad? He comes back to clean up the mess he left you?"

"No. He sells the land we own, which includes the house. Maybe Kaya and I can get an apartment. If we make Nasaan sleep on the couch, maybe he'll want to actually leave for school."

"Wait, so... you'd have to give up your house?"

I chuckled. "Well, the Chee's don't want Nez land just to look at it. Of course they'd make me move out of the house. Probably raze it and start building shit on the land,  shit nobody wants in this town, but they're determined to find a way keep a footprint in Cloudcroft. They've been trying to get the land for years."

I happened to look up, in JC's direction. He was absolutely still, staring at a spot off to the right.  "JC? Hey...you okay?"

His head turned, albeit slowly, until his eyes, a glittery bright blue, found mine. "Uh... I need to head back to the house. Do you want a ride, or..."?

"Nah." I shrugged him off, returning to my exercise of unearthing old garbage. It was starting to feel good to get rid of some stuff. "I've still got time before I lose my daylight. I'll be...home in a bit."

JC nodded, then dug a set of keys out of his pocket and walked out of the door. I noticed, also, that he pulled out his phone, sliding his thumb across the face to unlock it. Whatever he was headed to do, it appeared to be more important than listening to me whine about my personal problems.

But he could have pretended that they mattered to him.

 

...

 

I got home much, much later than I'd planned. Just before sunset I'd called Nasaan to check on him. In the background, I heard Kaya and JC in their usual game of banter about everything. The TV was up loud and Nasaan was crunching tortilla chips in my ear.

Everyone was happy, cozy, festive. I was in a mood and not ready to get rid of it. I also didn't want to bring anyone down with my attitude, so I walked home, but got right in my truck and drove to town.

I pulled into a spot at Pepper's Bar & Grille and went in, instantly comforted by the familiar, feels-like-home sights and sounds- the honky tonk music blaring from the jukebox,  the low hanging lights above every table and crowded bar at the front end of the building.

"Katori Nez!"

A gritty, worn voice shouted my name above the din. I smiled at Pepper herself, owner and head bartender. She was a stout woman, in her 60's and still going strong. It would probably take a team of oxen to take Pepper down.

"I ain't seen you in here in a long while," she said, tapping an open spot at the bar. I took the hint,  slid the stool out, and gave my bones a rest. "How's Pat doing? You talk to him lately?"

Truthfully, I hadn't talked to Dad in months. Since he left Cloudcroft, we'd gone from weekly phone calls to monthly, then every few months, to now just a few times a year, usually on birthdays and Christmas. He had a whole new life out there in Tennessee. He'd made it clear that he was leaving us behind, and he did just that.

Of course, I made like we were still close and talked often. The town didn't need to know that Pat Nez had run off and abandoned a town that his people helped establish.

"Dad's good," I told Pepper, hoping noses didn't really grow from lies. "Lemme get a Marble Red Ale, if you've got one." I slipped a hand into the pocket of my coat to pull out a few folded bills.  

Pepper scoffed, making an exasperated sound and pushing my hand away. "Your money has never been good here. I don't know why you keep trying to pay. You don't come in here but every few months, drink half a beer and sneak out. Don't even say goodbye."

"It's comforting that you know me so well, Pepper. My beer?"

"Yeah, yeah." She slid open a cooler below the bar and pulled out a frosty glass bottle, removed the cap and served it to me wrapped in a napkin. "You still have that houseguest over at your place?"

I'd just taken my first blessed swallow and nearly choked at her question. I nodded, suppressing a cough. "Yeah. He's still here. But I shipped his bike off today, so he'll be clearing out, soon."

"Bout time. Been here a while. Hope you charged him room and board. He should have been over at the hotel all this time."

"I didn't mind having him, really." And by having him I meant having. him.

"Oh yeah? Word is he's some kind of rich LA celebrity. Should have climbed right into his pockets, little lady!" Pepper gurgled a laugh and slapped the surface of the bar, her smile bright and wide, despite missing several  teeth.

"Yeah. Well. Guess I'm not that kind of person."

I occupied my mouth with the bottle of beer and averted my attention, in the hopes that she would get distracted or called away. My ploy worked; a few seconds later, someone else walked into the bar and she scurried off to greet them.

Pepper's questions niggled at a point that had been rubbing itself raw in my mind all day. Mr. Money is No Object. Mr. Black AmEx. Living in my house, eating my food, sleeping on my couch, drinking my beer. Having sex with me, in my bed.

I shook my head, flinging off those thoughts. In no way did JC owe me for all of that. I'd never dream of insinuating that he did. And even if he was compelled to give us a few dollars... my need was in the thousands. The wad of crisp $100 bills I'd seen in his wallet the last time he opened it couldn't save us.

If only that was my life. Buying a vintage bike, just to buy it. Hopping on it to meet my friends at chi-chi ski resort, because that's what people like him do. On a private jet, I heard him say. Living in LA, in a big ass house probably, with a pool and tennis courts and shit. You know, all the crap you see on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.

Or, in Nasaan's generation, Cribs.

But, more to the point, without a care in the world. Or, at least one that revolved around money.

Maybe that was why I'd felt so snippy with him earlier. I wasn't emotionally up to being around someone who seemed so carefree. And, okay, someone so rich. Someone that wouldn't imagine gifting a large amount of money to a woman he'd known a week, whether he was sleeping with her or not. And I'd die before asking for a loan.

I emptied my bottle of beer, then cut myself off. Even though it wasn't far, I still had to drive home. I was more likely to hit a deer or a racoon than a person, but I didn't like to tempt fate. Since Pepper's back was turned, I slid a bill under the bottle and walked out of the bar, headed for my truck.

A few minutes later, I walked through the kitchen door. Snowflakes were beginning to swirl in the night air, but I doubted it would pick up enough to accumulate, so I decided against telling Nasaan. No doubt, he was watching the weather on his own anyway.

The house was quiet and warm. I heard the muffled sounds of music in Nasaan's room and the TV in Kaya's room. The lights were off in the kitchen, save the bulb above the stove, so I could see that it was clean, remnants of dinner in containers on the counter.

"Hey. I was about to start looking for you."

JC's tone was low, his voice soft and full to the brim with concern. He wore a pair of flannel pajama pants, a white t-shirt and socks, and from the scent that wafted with him when he crossed the room, was freshly showered. He stopped in front of me, blocking any further progress into the kitchen.

"Sorry. I thought I made it clear earlier that I was doing my own thing today. Like... my normal day."

He tried to lean in and steal a kiss, but I turned my head so his lips missed mine. He didn't like that. "Tori. What's up with you?"

"Nothing," I said, pulling off my coat and scarf, hanging them on the hooks near the door. I combed my fingers through my hair, fluffing it around my shoulders. "I just got in, there's a house full of people. I just think we don't need to be down here... you know... sneaking around."

"Sneaking around? House full of people? It's Kaya and Nasaan and they're not even down here. But whatever. You don't feel like messing around, I'll back off. But are you gonna tell me what crawled up your ass?"

"In all honesty, JC?" I shook my head. "No. I'm not. Okay? So drop it. How was dinner?" I walked around him to the counter and started opening up containers. I hadn't eaten all day and I was suddenly starving.

I heard him push a breath through his nostrils and the sounds of socked feet on the tile floor. "Kaya saved you a plate," he said. "It's in the oven. I was just about to put this stuff away."

"Oh." I opened the oven and, sure enough, there was a plate wrapped in foil and the oven was on KEEP WARM mode. I pulled it out and set it at my spot at the table. Then frowned at JC, who was busy putting lids back onto containers.

"JC, you don't have to do that. I'll take care of it."

"It's fine. I said I would."

"Well, now I'm telling you that you don't have to." I grabbed a dish from his hands but it slipped and dropped to the counter. It hadn't been completely sealed, so refried beans spotted the old, marred Formica.

"What is with you?" He hissed, his eyes glowing, a deep crease running across his forehead. "Is this about us again? I thought we talked about this shit yesterday-"

"No. This is about me right now. This is about my family, my house, my... beans right now."

"Okay... what the fuck does that mean?"

"It means this is mine. All of this; it's the one thing that's mine and nobody gets to waltz in and just take it. You're not a part of this family, so the cozy Rockwellian evenings around the fireplace don't actually mean anything, JC. This isn't your family. This isn't your life; it's mine. And I feel like..."

Shit. Here come the waterworks. Breathe, Tori. Breathe.

"I don't understand. You think I'm trying to take your family from you?"

"Not... No." I heaved a sigh. "I just... you're super comfortable here, which is a blessing and a curse. I don't have to entertain you or ask you to put away dinner or... whatever. It's like you're part of our family. But you're not, actually. You're not the friendly father or brother in law figure, and this isn't one big happy family. You're a guest, just blowing through town. You've inserted and insinuated yourself here, but I'm the one that's gonna have to deal with how... empty it's going to feel when you're gone."

"Tori, I'm sorry," said JC. "I didn't realize I was horning in on-"

"Don't apologize, JC. It's not you. It's me. It's actually all me."

I looked over at my plate, piled high with taco pie, an enchilada and a tamale. All my favorites, but I wasn't even hungry anymore. "I think I'm just stressed and overtired. I'm going up to grab a shower. I'll come back down and finish putting this stuff away. Don't worry yourself about it, okay?"

I gave his shoulder a pat, ignored the severely confused facial expression he wore and stumbled toward the stairs.

 

JC

 

"Eric. Need your help, man. Call me back as soon as you get this. Don't wait, don't put me off until tomorrow. Call me. Thanks."

As soon as I'd stepped outside of Nez Motors, I pulled out my phone to call Eric, who was Managing Partner at Leo. I knew I'd get his voicemail, because he'd be somewhere in his backyard in a hammock, trying to dry out and sober up from a week at a five-star mountain ski resort. But he'd eventually pick up my message and get rolling.

If I was going to make a move, I was going to have to make it now. Quickly. Before I was even really ready, before Tori got herself into a situation that would only make things worse.

I was torn though because... it wasn't my problem to solve. It wasn't my business and I had no right to stick my nose into this situation and throw some money at it, on behalf of someone else.

So, I had decided, I needed to do the bare minimum, just enough to get Tori out of trouble.

Just enough to get her away from Mitch. Just enough to stop her from calling Pat and putting a bug in his ear to sell the family land, which would mean losing her home and all of the history there.

Just enough to let her shoulders drop in relief and that hopeful gaze return to her eyes and for her to start to feel like she actually had a future.

Just enough.

I headed back to the house, keeping one ear open for the squeak of the kitchen door, but after a few hours, it didn't come. And then I heard something and got up from the couch in time to see Tori's truck back out of the driveway.

"Where's she going?" I wondered aloud, my fingers holding the blinds open and watching her drive away, like it was my business to know.

"Oh, Mom called," Nasaan said. "She's going in to town for a little bit. She'll be home later."

"Oh. Is uh... she okay?" I resumed my spot on the couch and picked up my dinner plate. Despite being critical of something called Taco Pie, it was actually delicious. I dug in again and shoved a huge forkful into my mouth.

"She seems mad lately," Nasaan said. "Kind of snippy and quiet."

"She's been a bitch," said Kaya, from her spot on the floor.

"Kaya..."

"You asked. And she's my sister. I can say she's being a bitch."

"I know she's stressed about the while building situation. Nasaan and I saw that Chee guy over the weekend. And he showed up at Tori's shop yesterday."

Kaya sat up. "He did? He hasn't been to the shop in a while. What did he want?"

"To harass her about moving out. Dangled a carrot about helping her find a spot to move to. I think she should seriously reconsider that."

"I do, too. Mitch is kind of... scary. He has that quiet, brooding kind of mood that just lets you know he's a psycho. I've never liked him. Not even when he and Tori were engaged."

I almost choked on a mouthful of tamale. I was going to have to pull out all of my acting skills so I could pretend I didn't know this information.

"Tori...uhm... was engaged to him?" I asked, hoping that I sounded convincing.

"Yup. Long time ago. Dad was still here, but his girlfriend was pestering him to move to Tennessee. He thought if Tori and Mitch got married, that we'd be all set. We'd probably move to the Chee farm, then they could do whatever with this house and this land, because why would we choose to stay here when we could live in big houses within the gates of the Chee Family Compound?"

As someone who lived in what could be called a West Hollywood mansion, I just nodded. Because honestly, I liked the Nez place a lot.

"But then I was like... well, I don't want to live on the Chee farm. That place is a half hour from Presby. Why pull Nasaan out of school to live in that rambling place with no other kids? I mean, seriously, where are all of the Chee kids?"

Kaya looked at me, asking the question like I knew the answer. I blinked, shaking my head.

"Anyway. The thought was that I'd stay here with Nasaan, maybe move to the farm in a couple of years when he was older and had friends from school. Well, Mitch didn't like that idea because he was already planning to tear everything down and build some big box crap, something to appeal to the skiers at the mountain, since we're so close. We went back and forth and around and around. Tori felt torn and...she just didn't like the direction of everything. So she broke it off."

"Shit. What did everyone say?"

"Dad was pissed, because he would never kick us out of here, but he would encourage us to leave, making it possible for him to sell the land. That money was supposed to be a backup plan for him to live off of, just in case Tennessee didn't work out. Mitch was pissed, because he'd already put money down with some demolition company. So if there is ever any doubt what Mitch would do if he got his hands on Nez land?"

Kaya frowned, then sighed. She picked up her fork and poked at what was left of her Taco Pie. "We already know. He's ready to kick us all out tomorrow and flatten this house. Like that," she said, her fingers making a loud snap in the air.

"Shit. But that doesn't happen unless Pat sells, right? He can't... take it from her, right?

She nodded. "Right. But with the way things look, we might not have a choice."

I pushed myself up from the couch, empty plate in hand. I caught Kaya's eye and nodded at her to follow me to the kitchen, where I rinsed my plate and set it in the dishwasher.

"So... I need to talk to you about something," I muttered, over the open dishwasher drawer. "I think I want to help. Well, I don't think... I know I want to help. I've already made a call..."

"What do you mean help?"

"I mean I want to do something, at least offer a solution. If I don't, everything's going to fall apart and-"

"Then everything falls apart. JC, this isn't your problem to solve, and Tori is going to shit. a. brick at the very suggestion that-"

"Do you want to lose your house?" I asked, in a sharp whisper. "Do you want to live in a shit squat apartment in downtown Cloudcroft? Or have to live in another town, because that's the only place Tori can get a job?  I just left the shop; she's thinking about calling Pat. It's either that, or she takes that offer from Mitch, which is just as dangerous. She doesn't have the money she needs to get herself out of this-"

"So you're just gonna open up your wallet and grace us with a few dollar bills? Do you get a tax write off or something? Or are we just your feel good charitable donation of the year?"

"Kaya..." I huffed, pulling the door to the dishwasher closed. "I hear you, I feel you, and trust me when I say I don't want to get too deep into this. I just want to relieve some of the pressure. Can I at least tell you my idea? It doesn't involve rolling through town throwing out money like a douchebag. If I don't do this, and you guys lose everything, I will never forgive myself. I could have helped and didn't because I was scared of a woman being mad at me. I want to do something before this huge, serious ball of shit starts rolling, drowns everyone, and only makes things worse."

Kaya was frowning, arms folded across her chest. But she wasn't arguing. So I started talking, detailing the plan that I had worked out with Eloise.

And she didn't object to it.

"So... how does this work?" She asked, releasing her arms from their tight fold. Even her expression seemed to soften.  "You buy the building and then what? Things just keep going as they have been? She's still just barely making it, JC."

"Well, that's where my other plan comes in, to bring a little bit of business to her and to Cloudcroft. She has ideas, good ideas about expanding Nez. I want to put those ideas to work and make it so she doesn't have to depend on traffic coming through this town- or some moron crashing his bike for business. I want to bring the business to her.

"And I want to invest some money into a town that's given me a lot, without trying to take over, like Chee. Maybe there's some room or an opportunity to throw up a grant or something for someone to open a business, something that serves this community. Something like that."

"What are you guys in here whispering about?" Nasaan loped into the kitchen, carrying his empty plate. I moved aside so he could rinse it, then watched him open the dishwasher, insert his plate into it and then close it.

"We're just talking, buddy. Grownup stuff."

His dark brown eyes rolled fiercely. "My favorite part of being young is when old as fuck has-beens decide I'm too young to know what's going on. You guys are talking about mom, right?"

I bit my inner cheek hard, trying not to laugh at his tantrum. I didn't want to egg him on, but he was completely right. "Yeah. We are talking about your mom. Throwing around some ideas to see if we can think of anything that will help. That's all."

"Yeah. Grownup stuff. Boring." His slight shoulders rose in a shrug, then sagged. "I have a gamer hang, so... later."

I watched him walk away, his slides flapping on the heels of his feet all the way up the stairs.

"Gamer hang?" I glanced at Kaya.

"He and his friends set up specific times to get online and game together. That's what they call it."

"Oh. ‘Cause I was about to see if that gamer hang thing works with girls."

That earned me a punch in the arm. "Owwwww," I howled, feigning injury. "You're always hurting me!  And you wonder why I call you Nurse Ratchet."

"Shut up, you're not hurt. Come over here."

She pulled out a chair at the table and settled into it. Before I sat down, I grabbed two beers from the fridge, popped the tops and joined her, sliding one to the seat next to me.

"So when do you do this? Soon, right? You realize that you have to do this behind her back? If you give her a choice, she will not swallow her pride and take the deal."

"Yeah," I mumbled, downing a swallow of beer. I was a little bit addicted to this IPA Tori liked. "I don't know her well, but I know that about her. She's into doing things herself and solving her own problems."

"And then when you tell her? I mean..." She sighed, taking a swig of beer. When she set the bottle down, she looked over at me. And not just looked but... kind of stared.

"What? I got something in my nose?"

"You are gonna have to suck up to her. Like... seriously suck up. Whatever you do that she likes, do a lot of it. I mean... you need to start working on her now. Make her fall in love with you or something."

"Make her- I can't make her fall in love with me, Kaya."

"You gotta do something, JC."

"I'm gonna," I said. "I'm gonna buy this building. And then... wait for her to calm down, I guess. Then we can talk about renovation. And I'm also gonna talk to a couple of friends about ordering a custom bike. That way, she can't pout too long."

 

...

 

That night, after Tori's blow up and then her escape upstairs, I stayed in the kitchen, thinking she would come back down and we could talk and sort things out. And she could apologize for being so... well, stressed out and snappy and probably not in a very good mood. I had to try to remember that she had no clue that she had someone in her life that really wanted to help her. She acted like she acted because she was sad. And desperate.

When Tori didn't come back down, and the hour grew later, I covered her dinner plate and put it in the refrigerator along with the containers from dinner. All the while remembering the words she'd said to me. This family was hers. I couldn't just jump in and be a part of the Nez family.

And I wasn't trying to. They- Kaya and Nasaan, even Tori and Eloise, had made it so easy to fall right in. But she was right. I wasn't here to take a spot in the family. In the next couple of days I needed to pack my duffle back and hightail it to the nearest metropolitan city with an airport, leaving them all behind and returning to life as I knew it in LA.

I walked into the living room, straightening up since we'd basically spent the evening in there eating dinner and hanging out. Then I pulled out my blankets and my pillow, stripped down to a t-shirt and briefs and stretched out on the couch.

I'd fallen asleep with the lights and the TV on. The clatter of the plastic remote against the thick wood of the coffee table startled me awake. I sat straight up, blinking into the semi-brightness of the room.

"Just me," Tori whispered. She was bent over the table, her thin, lithe figure in a tank top and leggings. "Sorry. I was trying so hard to be quiet that I dropped the remote. I'm just going to turn out the light-"

"Tori... honey, wait." I stretched out a hand to her, just barely reaching her arm as she tried to move away from me.  "Wait a second. Please?"

"It's late, JC. Go back to sleep."

"I don't want to. I want to talk to you. I want to listen to you. Can you just sit with me?"

I flung the covers back, instantly regretting it because the fire had died and it was cold in the room. Well, cold to me. "And can you hurry up, before I freeze to death?"

"One second," she whispered, then tip toed toward the stairs, listening for sounds of life. Then she flipped the light switch, dousing the room in darkness. I tracked her shadow from the light of the moon reflecting off of the beautiful but slowly accumulating snow outside.

I felt her hand on my shoulder, pushing me gently. "Lay down and cover up. I'll get in."  I laid down, turning to my side to make room for her and pulled the covers up over my shoulder.

She slipped under the covers with me, laying on her back. I fluffed the blankets so they covered her, but I could feel the heat wafting from her body. The fruity scent of her shampoo and the Cherrywood scent of her body lotion rose to my nose. For the rest of my life, those smells would probably remind me of Tori.

"Uhm," she started. "I wanted to-"

"No, wait. I wanted to say something first." I adjusted so I was more comfortable, with my elbow propped on the armrest of the couch. "I-"

"No, JC, please-"

"Okay, we'll both apologize on three. Ready? One..."

I heard a faint giggle and felt her palm come to rest on my chest. "We are acting stupid. But seriously- you didn't deserve that, tonight. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I'm angry and frustrated and I feel trapped. That had nothing to do with you."

"No, you were right. I'm the kind of guy that's pretty much at home wherever I am. I didn't even think about... you know, everything going on between us and getting too comfortable and then just leaving town. In case you can't tell, I'm not in a hurry to get out of here."

"I picked up on that. I thought I'd only have a house guest for a couple of days and we're going on over a week, now."

"If I'd been at the Shithole Hotel with terrible cooking, I'd have been out of here much sooner."

Tori scoffed, but I heard a smile in it. "Are you blaming my hostess skills?"

"Hell yeah," I answered. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I landed a palm on her belly and pushed the tank top up so I could feel the silky softness of her skin and the layer of muscle underneath. She was strong. And sexy.

She laid a hand on top of mine and I thought she was going to stop me. Instead, she moved my hand up under the tank top and settled it on a bare breast, nipples already hard and standing on end, reaching out for a human touch. I obliged, rolling one and then the other between my fingertips, enjoying the sounds of Tori's whispered moans in my ear.

"I'll miss you, when you leave."

She chuckled. "Well, I guess you'll miss having easy access. But I meant that... you're the first man in a long time that I've let... you know, get close to me. I would regret that, but I've enjoyed the time we've spent together. The stuff we've done together. I feel like..."

She sighed, turning her head away from me. I stopped playing with her body long enough to cup her chin and turn her face back toward mine. I lowered my head and dropped a kiss on her lips. She flung an arm around my neck and opened her mouth, like she'd been waiting for that to happen.

We kissed like it was our last kiss,  each suppressing our moans and groans while our bodies subconsciously moved closer together. Before I realized it, I was on top of Tori, her arms were looped around my shoulders and her legs had my thighs in a vice grip.

We fell into a rhythm, thrusting into each other. Her core was warm against the erection that strained against the briefs I was wearing. She rolled her body up and into me, riding my length like a bucking bronco.

"Hang on. Hold on. Gonna start a fire down there."

I sat up, yanking my briefs off as I bent over the other end of the couch where I kept my duffel bag. And the condoms I'd bought.  I ripped open a new box, trying to muffle the sound of cellophane. I pulled one out, ripped the wrapper open and tossed it onto the table before hurriedly rolling it on and getting back under the covers.

While I'd been wrapping up, Tori had rolled her leggings down and kicked them off. She still wore her tank top but it was pushed up above her breasts. I pulled my t-shirt off so we could be skin to skin and lowered my body to hers.

"I thought we weren't going to do sex on the couch anymore," she teased, trying to keep her voice at a whisper.  

"You're the one that came down here, smellin' good and being all... soft."

"There you go again, blaming me for enjoying yourself."

"Seriously, we can go upstairs if you want."

In answer, I felt her arm dive beneath the covers and her hand between us. In no time, that hand was wrapped around me and she was guiding me to her. I pushed into her with ease; no wonder, she was warm, wet and ready for me. I took my time with her, sliding a hand between us to play with her clit and taking one of her nipples into my mouth when I'd decided to take a break.

Kaya had given me great advice. Whatever she likes you to do, do a lot of it. No problem, because I like doing those things.   But Tori started to get impatient, bucking her hips against mine and moving herself up and down my dick without me doing a thing to help.

"Get it, mama. You know what you're doing."

"I... want to come," she panted, heaving hot breath into my ear. "JC, help me! Please..."

"You don't have to beg, Tori. I'm gonna make it happen."

I fell into rhythm with her, stroke for hip thrust, moving faster and deeper until we were skin to skin, riding each other to a crashing- and almost quiet- climax. Both of us glowed with sweat. We had clung to each other so tightly that when we pulled apart, our clammy skin made a suction sound.

I couldn't help it... that was hilarious.

"So, that's never happened before?" Tori asked.

"No. At least I don't remember it happening before."

"Hmmm. Interesting how this chick from Cloudcroft is giving you all these first time experiences. Don't sleep on women like us."

"I wouldn't dream of it, honey. Be right back."

I hopped up, grabbing my briefs on the way to the downstairs bathroom, where I flushed the condom and stepped back into the cotton underwear. In the dim overhead light, I checked out the scarred-over road rash from my accident, nodding in approval at the healing progress. Not perfect, but I had a cool story to tell.

To who, though? The women I knew wouldn't be interested in my bike accident road rash. They'd laugh because I crashed my bike and I'd be forced to laugh along, make light of it. The only women who would get it, who would think it was remotely cool lived in this house.

As much as Tori joked about it, and as much as I played along and  acknowledged it, rumors about my conquests were exaggerated. When I got back to LA, I knew I'd be in a mood to work, not play. And I wouldn't want to play with anyone but Tori.

I braced my palms against the sink and hung my head.

Fuck.

That wasn't supposed to happen. Getting attached, catching feelings. It was just supposed to be some fun. Knocking off some dust. Now it was...Tori and no one else.

Maybe... maybe it would wear off, once I was at home. So, in the meantime, I wanted to get as much Tori as I could get. I snapped off the bathroom light and went back to the dark living room. Tori had pulled her leggings back on and her tank top down and was sitting up on the couch.

I plopped down next to her and tipped my head to kiss her. It was sweet and dry, a regular old kiss but I felt myself stir with arousal again.

"You're not going back upstairs yet, are you?"

"I don't want to," she said, leaning her cheek against my shoulder. She was still so warm. I didn't know how she was doing that.  "But now I'm exhausted and I'm worried about not getting back upstairs before Nasaan gets up."

"I'll set an alarm. Just lay down here with me for a little bit."

Tori chuckled. "I'm not going to fight you very hard on this. Make sure the alarm is set, though."

I grabbed the phone and set the alarm for 6AM. "Plenty of time to get upstairs, right?"

"Yeah." Tori yawned and reached for the blankets that I was sitting on. "Move your ass, Pretty Boy. I'm tired."

We stretched out on the couch, Tori's back to my chest, her hair tickling my chin and shoulders but I didn't mind at all. I draped an arm over her waist and listened to her breathing, her breaths eventually becoming long and deep as she fell asleep.

I was right behind her.

The sound of heavy steps upstairs woke me up. Tori was buried under the covers, her ass pressed into my groin. Through the blinds I saw that it was pre-dawn, the sun just hinting at rising over the horizon.

Nasaan thumped down the stairs in his snow boots, the swish of his jacket making loud noises in the quiet of the house.

"Mom, I can't find my-"  Nasaan froze, his mouth open, standing in the middle of the living room and taking in the scene: his mother, cozy and warm on the couch with the stranger  that was supposed to be just blowing through town, condom wrapper still sitting on the table. It didn't look good.

I nudged Tori, rubbing her arm until she stirred, stretching and yawning.

"Mmm...did the alarm go off? What time is it?"

I said nothing. I just looked up at Nasaan, still standing in the middle of the room, his phone in one hand. Tori's eyes followed mine. And then she gasped and sat up, flinging the covers back.

"Nasaan! I- what are you doing up?"

He went over to the window, pulling the shades to reveal a healthy accumulation of snow outside. "I'm going to work up at the resort. I'll go to school from there. And I'll probably hang out with Logan after school. So..." He shrugged, turning toward the kitchen. Tori jumped up, following him.

"Nasaan, wait. Please, wait. Let me explain-"

"There's nothing to explain, Mom. Nothing for you to explain anyway," he added, sending a glare in my direction. He bent to drop a kiss on Tori's cheek, then stomped out the back door, slamming it in the process.

"Well... shit," Tori mumbled, moving to the window so she could watch him walk away. "Like I need my kid mad at me right now."

"Shit is right. But he's not mad at you."

 

JC

 

"I told you," said Kaya, around a mouthful of toast. "I said you guys would get caught and that it wouldn't be pretty. Didn't I say that? I said that, right?"

"Yes, Kaya. You said that." I took a few slices of bacon from the heaping plate in front of me and laid them next to the toast and eggs already on my plate. Tori had stress-cooked a huge breakfast, hoping Nasaan would come home between his shift at the resort and school.

But he didn't. No matter how many times her eyes drifted toward the kitchen door, it didn't open and a snow-covered teenager did not blow into the house. She'd tried calling him twice, but he appeared to have turned his phone off.

"I guess I'll go find him after school today," Tori said. She pulled her chair out from under the table and sat in it, beginning to pile her plate with breakfast. "I'll talk to him. I'm sorry he was rude to you, JC."

"I'm not offended. He has every right to be upset. It was probably a shocker of a scene." I bit off half a piece of bacon and then a corner of toast. Here was another reason that going home would suck. No more home cooked breakfasts like these.  

Unless I got a maid.... Nah. No guarantee she can cook like Tori.

"Why don't you let me talk to him? I'm the one he's mad at."

"Because he is my son and my responsibility. I will handle it, JC."

The tone of her voice warned me to back off, but I ignored it. Just because I wasn't a ‘member of the family' didn't make me clueless and useless.

"I acknowledge that, I do. And maybe you can follow up after he and I talk. But... we had some good guy time last weekend, in town. Maybe I've built up a little bit of clout and we can chat man to man."

Tori didn't answer. She just kept dumping more grape jelly on her toast.

"Will you let me at least try? If he shuts me down, I have no problem admitting that it was the wrong approach. But I'd like to try."

"The thing is, JC? If I let you talk to him all man to man right now, what happens when you leave? And he needs more man to man talking?"

"Well..." I popped my last bite of toast into my mouth while I pondered that question. "I mean, he could always call me. Or skype me. He does those gamer hangs with his friends. I wouldn't mind doing a chat with him, here and there."

That would mean making a commitment to the kid. A kid I'd only known for a week. Was I ready for that?

"Here and there," repeated Tori, her eyes fixed on mine.

"I mean... one second you tell me I'm too close to your family and the next second you sound like you want me to commit to being his father figure. What do you want from me?"

The piece of toast that now bore entirely too much grape jelly wilted in her hand and dripped onto her plate. She dropped the soggy bread and propped her elbows on to the table, her fingers clawing fistfuls of her hair.

"I want you to go home," she blurted. "I mean... I don't want you to go, but this is too much, JC. I want you to go home and stop interfering with how I raise my son, how I run my shop, how I live my life. I want you to not confuse me with..."

She sighed, remembering Kaya was in the room, watching us argue like she was watching a Williams sisters tennis match.

"I want my life to return to normal, okay? That's what I want and I can't have that with you here being... you. And with Nasaan being upset about us sleeping together. The sooner you're not here, the sooner he can get over it."

Tori pushed her chair back so hard that the legs squeaked against the linoleum. "Your bike is fixed, the bill is paid - thank you for the tip, by the way. Your time here is up. If you need a ride somewhere, let me know. I can arrange something."

Speechless, I watched her get up and walk out of the room, then heard her light footsteps on the stairs.

"Well, shit," said Kaya, sipping coffee. That seemed to be a common and often uttered phrase in this house. "Don't listen to her, though. She's just emotional. She'll regret saying it tomorrow."

"I think she's right," I muttered. Begrudgingly so. Something about my presence seemed to be tearing the house apart. "I think I'm going to make plans to jet out of here. If not today, definitely tomorrow."

"Uhmmm. How are you gonna... you know, do the thing if you're not here?"

I dug my phone out of my pocket and swiped the face to unlock it. "I don't have to be here to do the thing. I don't plan on Chee or Tori  knowing who's buying the building until it's done. There will be too much protesting, too much pride."

"You know Chee is going to jack up the price, probably a hundred percent."

"Yeah. I'm ready for that."

I pulled up my VIP list and thumbed the entry for Eric, then put the phone to my ear and listened to it ring. When he picked up, I nodded at Kaya and got up from the table, grabbing my jacket from the hook next to the kitchen door. I needed to have this conversation where Tori couldn't hear me.

"Hey, man. Did you not get my message yesterday?" I headed to the patio, then thought better of it and decided to take a walk. I headed down the driveway and swung a left.

"Nah," he drolled, sounding seriously hungover. His voice was scratchy and his words slurred together. Come to think of it, maybe he was still drunk. "Just woke up. Phone died. Voicemail was full. What's up?"

"I need to talk to you about a business venture I want to get into down here. There's a building I want to buy and I need to make an offer ASAP. Like, yesterday. And no matter what the offer is, I need to accept it. Thing is, I really need you to be the face of this thing. They can't know it's me buying it."

The line buzzed with silence for more than a few seconds. Then I heard Eric clear his throat. "You wanna run that mumbo jumbo back to me one more time, jack? You... wanna buy a building. In Bumfuck, New Mexico-"

"Cloudcroft. Yeah."

"And you want me to make an offer on said building I haven't seen. And no matter how overpriced or shitty the building is, you want me to accept the offer. And pay for it."

"You got it. See, you're not as cloudy as you thought you were."

"Oh, I'm plenty cloudy. That's why I'm not shitting a brick right now."

"Look, if you want, I'll transfer the money from my personal account to Leo-"

"That'll never pass an audit, JC. I'm not worried about the money... as much. I'm worried about you spending eight days in Cloudcroft and now you want to buy things."

I found a bench, swiped the snow off of it and took a seat. "Look, there's a long story behind this and I'll tell you about it when I get home. The bottom line is that there's something going on down here, something I need to jump in the middle of. On top of that, the economy down here might be about to boom and I want to be a  part of it; invest in something down here and watch it grow. There's a building I want to renovate; I already took a look at some plans from a current tenant that wants to revamp. And maybe we take some extra space to do one of those breakfast and brunch shops, you know what I mean? They're right off of a ski resort and-"

"Okay. Okay, okay. Give me the info. I'll do some digging, see what I can do and make some calls." He yawned, loudly and rudely in my ear.  "And then take a nap, 'cause... shit. I think I left my liver in Taos."

I relayed the information from the business card Eloise gave me. Eric said he'd get to work on it right away.

"Thanks, man. Oh, and another thing. I need a ride out of here and a flight from an airport. Probably tomorrow."

 

...

 

When I got back to the house, Kaya's pickup was gone. I figured she left early for work to avoid the thick tension between Tori and I. Good move.

I kind of wished I had someplace to escape to.

She was loading the dishwasher when I came in. She straightened, pulling at the sleeves of a Cloudcroft Ski Resort sweatshirt. Her watery eyes told me that she indeed had some regrets about that morning.

"Hey," she said, her voice quiet and shaky.

"Hey," I returned, shrugging out of my jacket and hanging it on a hook. I even have my own hook, I thought, shaking my head. "You okay? You look like you've been crying."

Tori hung her head, going back to the dishes. "I'm just... at capacity, you know?" She rinsed a glass and set it into the rack, then reached for another. "I am really sorry about this morning. I was so stupid last night. I was angry with myself that I let us get caught by the one person I did not want to know about us-"

I crossed the room in two steps, wagging my head. "Well, wait, though. The blame's not all on you. I'm the one that talked you into staying downstairs with me. I saw it snowing; I should have remembered that he gets up early to work when it snows."

"No, JC. I should have remembered that. But it can be both of our fault, since you want to share blame." A small but sarcastic smile bent her lips as she glanced up at me. "Anyway, I wanted to apologize for what I said. I really don't want you to go. I don't feel like you're trying to take my family from me. It's just... so comfortable with you here, and that's scary and I'd rather just... start missing you, if that makes sense."

"It does," I quietly admitted. "I know how you feel. And I think you're right. I'm already dreading not having a hot breakfast every morning." I snickered and caught a small smile from her. "So, my manager is working on getting me something tomorrow. I should be out of your hair very soon."

"Tomorrow," she whispered, her hands performing the task of loading the dishwasher more and more slowly.

I wedged a hip against the counter, scraping a hand down my cheek. I'd let my beard grow in over the week and I was starting to get used to not shaving, something that would probably not fly in LA but seemed perfect for Cloudcroft.

"So let's do something special, since it's my last night in town."

She shrugged. "Kaya is working and Nasaan will probably hide out for the night. You'll be stuck with just me."

I laughed, making my way around the open door of the dishwasher to wrap my arms around her shoulders. I leaned my chin on her head and felt her practically melt into me. Which... kind of made my heart melt. A not-so-small part of me wished I could stay.

And, I just knew it, that same part of me was going to make sure I made my way back to Cloudcroft. I was already looking forward to my return trip.

"Just you is just fine, Tori. We've been sleeping together and I've never even taken you out. That's all kinds of wrong."

"You have given me plenty, JC." She tipped her head up so that her eyes flicked up to mine, no longer watery, but full of fire. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink as she added, "Plenty," dragging out the last syllable and grinning like an idiot.

"Come on, now," I egged. "Plenty."

She giggled and it seemed like a nice moment, so I dipped my head to press my lips to hers. Surprisingly, she let me kiss her. But when I moaned and opened my mouth, she gave a little head shake and pulled back, then stepped out of my arms.

"I... we... I just...we shouldn't..."

She raked her fingers through her hair, brushing it back from her now reddened face.

"No, I get it. It's fine. I'm gonna..." I thumbed toward the living room to gather my clothes and pack my bag for a trip I did not want to take. "What do you want to do tonight, anyway?"

Katori

 

People- and by people, I mean Kaya and Nasaan and everyone else in my life thought I was crazy, but I loved the Cloudcroft Drive-in Theater, even in the winter. Especially in the winter.

Especially when I was curled up on the folded down backseat of my small SUV with a warm wool blanket, takeout containers from Fat Jack's BBQ, a bottle of bourbon and, for a limited time, a personal engagement with one of music's most eligible bachelors, who just happened to be growing a deliciously soft-but-kind-of scratchy beard and insisted on wearing his glasses so he could see the screen better.

We had the set up perfected, the radio tuned to the right channel to pick up the movie audio and two rolled up blankets under our heads so that we could see over the dashboard, even if we were laying down.

Not that we were trying to see the movie at all.

"What are we even watching?" He asked, whiskers from his beard lightly brushing my cheek as he snuggled close to me under the blanket. His breath was a warm mix of beef ribs, baked beans and a few swallows of bourbon.

"I don't know. Something about firefighters. I wasn't paying attention when I pulled in."

"Sounds like a blockbuster."

"We're at the drive-in for the atmosphere, JC. If you want to actually watch a movie, we need to go to the cineplex."

"That's okay," he mumbled in my ear, dragging an arm across my midsection, scooting me even closer to him. "This is the most comfortable I've been at a theater in a long time."

"Really? I picture you as the kind of guy to have a theater in your house."

"Do you, now? Got visions of my Hollywood mansion dancing through your head?"

"I'm not saying all that," I hedged, not quite lying. I had wondered about his house and what kinds of luxuries he afforded himself as a rich celebrity. But I'd stopped myself at actually daydreaming about how opulent his life might be.

I figured it would just make me jealous.

"It's a normal house, I swear. I mean, it's a lot compared to... ya know..."

"My house?"

"Right. Or... any houses out here. But for LA, it's a normal house, when you factor in all the mansions around me. I didn't go out and build something sprawling and ridiculous. I spent a couple million, a long time ago. I have a lot of space, but it's comfortable. You should... you should come out and see for yourself."

A low laugh curled from my throat. Me, flying to LA to visit JC? As if.  

"What's that laugh for? You wouldn't want to come see my house?"

"That's not what I'm laughing about, JC. Me in LA would be..." I shook my head, laughing lightly. "I can't think of a reason I'd need to be in LA."

"Your reason would be... to visit me." He lifted his head, then propped himself up on an elbow. "You wouldn't want to visit me?"

"I didn't say that-"

"What are you saying, Tori?"

"I'm saying... we're from two different worlds, JC. I would have no reason to go to LA. When you leave tomorrow, I don't..." I sighed, rolling my eyes up to meet his. "I don't want to talk about this right now. We're all cuddled up, watching-"

"Something about firefighters. You don't care and neither do I. Talk to me. When I leave tomorrow...what?"

"I... hadn't planned on seeing you again. And I need to not plan on seeing you again. It's like I said the other night; I need my life to go back to normal. I really am some chick you fucked in New Mexico. Let's not pretend it's more than that."

He sniffed, then waited a beat or two before saying, "You know what, Tori...maybe it's not more than that to you. I see you working hard to keep me at arm's length. Trust me, that's not going unnoticed. But what if it's more than that to me? What if I really like you? What if I would love for you to come out to LA for a little visit, just to see me? Spend some time with me, see the city?"

"What if? And then what, JC?" I rolled to my side, mimicking his pose by propping myself up on an elbow.

"What do you mean, and then what? Why does there have to be a... then what? And then we... like each other. And maybe I come back to see you, spend a little time in the desert, see the kid, take him out for a ride. That's... that's then what."

"You mean like... dating?"

"I mean like... I don't know. Kinda. It doesn't have a name. It's me and you caring about each other. It's taking one step at a time and seeing what happens. Maybe you decide you don't like me and my carefree celebrity lifestyle anymore." He chuckled. "Maybe I decide I don't like being with a hotshit female bike mechanic. We decide that when the time comes. But, Tori..."

He reached out and tipped my chin up with his knuckle. "I'm not going to pretend I don't like you or care about you or even know you, just because I don't live here. I want to keep up on the developments with the shop, and Nasaan's bike and everything. Don't shut me out, just because of who I am and what I do. That two worlds stuff is... bullshit. I haven't ever played the celebrity card with you. You'd be just as welcome at my house as I've been at yours."

"I guess I figured you'd get back to your life and we would be in your past..."

"There's also Nasaan to think about. I'm not saying he wants to go to UCLA, but..." He shrugged. "That school isn't that far from my place. You could always bring him out to look at the school, check out the city-"

My eyes bugged out at that news. This was the first I was hearing about him actually wanting to leave Cloudcroft. "Nasaan wants to go to school in LA?"

"I- look, we had a conversation about a couple of things. I told him I wouldn't tell you what we talked about, so I don't feel right going further than that. But it's not like you don't have reasons to leave this town, Tori."

"That's two years off, though. I still don't have a reason to..." JC cocked his head back and huffed a loud breath into the air. He was frustrated- hell, I was, too. At myself.  

"Okay, okay. I hear you, I get it. I just have a hard time putting my trust in people. In... men. My grandfather was about the last noble man in my life. My dad, Sean, Mitch... various others. All of them just..."

I relaxed, falling to my back, staring at the roof of the truck. I couldn't make the rest of the sentence come out of my mouth. I'd spent the last... however long making it on my own. Without my father, without Sean, without anyone. And I had no clue how, but I would keep making it on my own.

"They all disappeared. And left you with a pile of shit to clean up. Like I'm about to do tomorrow," he added, with a laugh. "But I'm not trying to be like every other man in your life. You know if you need me, I'm a phone call away."

"That's sweet, JC," I whispered, through the tears that sat on my eyelids.

"And it's true. If you believe anything about me, believe that."

He leaned over me and brushed his lips across mine. I knew I should probably push him away and put that brick wall back up, because I heard what he said, but there was no way I'd hear from him after he left Cloudcroft the next day.

Sweet words from a sweet man, but let's just be realistic, Tori.

But I couldn't do it, put that wall back up. Push him away, turn my face away from him, deny him or me this last bite of pleasure for a long, long while.

For one last night, I needed to indulge in someone that was there just for me.

 

...

 

I was surprised to see the lights on at the house when I pulled into the driveway.  I expected Nasaan to hide out until after he was sure I'd gone to bed, a move that would piss me off, but at least he'd avoid the conversation that I wanted to have with him.

"Looks like the kid is home," JC said, unbuckling his seatbelt, then reaching into the backseat for our dinner leftovers.  

"He'll probably run to his room to hide. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow to talk to him, let him cool off some more."

"I wish you would let me give it a shot. So I'm not a father figure to him but he's obviously mad at me for... violating his trust or whatever.  At least let him yell at me and get his feelings out."

I laughed, then opened my door, squinting in the dull glow of the overhead bulb. "Hey, you wanna volunteer to get yelled at by fifteen year old, have at it. Just letting you know right now, he's gonna be really surly and entitled and obstinate. You have fun with that."

I got out of the truck and headed to the door, JC in tow. Nasaan met us in the kitchen, hulking and simmering, evidenced by the curl of his lip and the fire in his eyes.  

"Where were you?" he demanded. "Your phone is off. I was calling all over town looking for you. Aunt Eloise is out looking for you."

I gave Nasaan a puzzled look as I took off my coat, scarf and boots. "Excuse me, young man. I don't like your tone. I forgot my phone here. I didn't figure it would be a big deal since JC had his."

"That's bullshit, mom. What if you were hurt or something?" I didn't miss his eyes blazing as they followed JC around the kitchen while he put our leftovers in the refrigerator.

"I wasn't hurt, Nasaan. What is your prob-"

"JC isn't my parent. You are. I need to be able to get ahold of you. That's my problem."

As had happened plenty of times in the past, there was a standoff in the kitchen between me and my son, a growing young man (who, coincidentally towered over me) that felt a fierce need to protect me in this moment. I sensed that. I tried to understand that and quelled my protests with his attitude.

I also sensed that he just plain wasn't happy that I'd been out with JC.  

"You know what? You're right. I'm the parent. You should always be able to reach me. I'm sorry, honey. Okay?"

He dipped his head, glaring at the floor, his lips in a scowl. I watched the muscles in his jaw tighten and release again and again. He wanted to stay mad. I removed any reason for him to be mad... at me.

"You might want to call Aunt Eloise and tell her you're not dead in a ditch somewhere."

It took everything in me not to laugh as I nodded in agreement, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll do that. Thanks for being worried about me. Did you get your homework done?"

He gave me a head nod. "I'm goin' to bed."

"Uh, actually if you don't mind, Nasaan, I wanna talk with you. Just for a minute." JC's voice carried through the room from behind Nasaan. The muscle in his jaw tightened again.

"We don't have anything to say to each other," he responded, without turning around.

"You sure about that? I'm leaving tomorrow. Last chance to get whatever you've got to say off your chest. You don't get another couple of days to cut your eyes at me and stomp around here, pretending I'm not in the room."

That seemed to give him pause. He inhaled so deeply his nose flared and he angled his head toward the kitchen door. "Outside," he mumbled, stomping toward his coat hanging off of his hook.

I caught JC's eye as he followed Nasaan. And whispered a prayer that my Little Protector wouldn't get his big bad feelings hurt.

I headed upstairs to grab my phone and call off Eloise and the search party.

JC

 

I followed Nasaan out of the house and around to the patio, only mildly amused at his tantrum. That was all bravado- I would bet on a normal weekday evening, Nasaan wouldn't give a shit where Tori was at night. But since he'd caught us together, he was angry that she'd been with me. Didn't take a genius to figure that out.

The chairs were still sitting out from the last time I'd sat out on the patio. They were covered with snow, so I brushed off two of them and gestured toward them.

"Join me?" I dropped into a chair, then slouched a little, kicking my feet out to cross my ankles.

"Rather stand," he said, bracing himself against one of the columns that held up the patio awning. Hands in his coat pockets, scowl on his face, brows knit together. Fifteen year olds could harbor a serious amount of anger.

"Okay. Cool. So, like I said, I'm leaving tomorrow, and-"

"You must think you're hot shit, huh?"

He pushed off of the column and took a few steps toward me, until he was glaring down at me. I regretted trying to be cool and taking a seat, so I pushed the chair back far enough that I could stand. He and I were eye to eye, but he had youth on his side.

I started to wonder if I was going to get beat up by a fifteen year old.

"You come down here on your stupid bike with your platinum everything and your gold plated bank account- and let's not forget your celebrity dick. Was it fun for you? Scamming on a woman who didn't know better, who probably couldn't resist that all that modest, ‘I'm just a regular guy' bullshit?"

In a flash, his hands flew from the pockets of his coat and landed on my chest, pushing me back a few steps. My arms flapped around for a few scary seconds, until they found the stability of another wooden column.

I coughed, my breath caught in my throat. "Calm down, dude. I'm not gonna fight you."

"Why not?" He snarled, stepping to me again.  "You seem to like preying on innocent people. You couldn't just find the local whore and do that shit? You had to pull that with my mom?"

"Look, Nasaan, I get that you're upset-"

"Upset?!"

" - and you have every reason to be. What you walked in on-"

I stopped, then, because the way his nose flared told me he was getting ready to throw a punch. I side stepped him and walked around so I wasn't pinned between an angry teenager and a wooden post.

"Okay, just... relax and listen to me. Alright? There's a lot that you don't know, that you won't know because you don't need to know. And I don't expect you to understand it all, but everything that happened between me and Tori was something we both wanted to happen."  

I waited, thinking that would set him off, but he frowned into the night, focused at a spot somewhere over my shoulder. "Whether or not you can deal with that is not my problem, man. It really isn't. But I didn't prey on her. I didn't convince her to do anything. I didn't treat her like a whore. I wouldn't do that to your mom, man."

Nasaan shoved his hands in his coat pockets and hooked the toe of his boot around a leg of one of the chairs. Once he'd dragged it into position, he lowered himself into it and sighed a puff of white smoke in the cold air.

I took the hint and pulled a chair next to him- not too close in case he still felt like punching.

"So... how long have you and... my mom..."

"Longer than you think, is all I'm gonna say. I know you think I spent time with you to mine you for information about her but that wasn't it. I was genuinely spending time with you-"

"Why? So you could be like Mitch and make a bunch of promises but only be in it for what you want? Or to pretend to be my new dad?"

I laughed, dipping my head. "There's nothing I want to take from your mom, Nasaan. Nothing. And I'm not gunning to be your new dad. I can't even..."

I shook my head, still laughing. "Look... she's a cool chick, right? That's why you're pissed, because you think she can do tons better than some celebrity asshole, right? I think she's cool, too. When you... think a girl is cool, what do you do? Ask her out, right? Spend time with her? Get to know her?"

I saw a nod... a barely perceptible nod, but it was there.  "That's... that's basically it, dude. I think she's cool."

"Does she think you're cool?"

I chuckled. "No. She calls me Pretty Boy. She thinks I'm a celebrity asshole but she puts up with me."

"And you're leaving tomorrow. Right when she needs someone to be there for her, you're running."

"To be honest, man, I'm not running. I can't explain everything right now, and don't say anything to your mom, but Kaya and your Aunt are helping me help her. I'm absolutely not running. But I need your help with something."

"What? I'm supposed to run your errands now?"

"No. But I need you to go easy on her. She's stressed about the shop but mostly about you. She worries about you so much, man. Stay close to her. Don't hide out with Logan and whoever, leaving in the morning and coming home late. Be here. Help her out, ya know? That shop is full of junk and it has to be cleaned out. Maybe you and your gamer friends can get going on that. There's gonna be some stuff happening, and I want to know that someone is here for her. Can you do that?"

His lips pursed as he glared at me. "You really think you need to ask me to be here for my mom?"

I shrugged. "For peace of mind, I guess I needed to say the words. But I figured that you'd do it anyway."

Nasaan rubbed the back of his hand across the stubble of a baby beard, rolling his tongue around in his mouth before he sucked in a breath through his nose and finally gave me a nod. "So when do I find out what's going down? Whatever Kaya and Aunt Eloise are helping you with?"

"Soon. And I'll be honest, your mom is gonna shit a brick. She won't want it, at first. But we don't have any choice. It's this or your family loses everything."

Nasaan's head popped up, his eyes round and wide. "Serious?"

"Yeah. Probably shouldn't have shared that with you, but..." I shrugged again. "I'm gonna do what I can, but not too much because like I said-"

"She's gonna shit a brick. And you're gonna be there to pick up the pieces or whatever?"

"Yeah. I plan to be, anyway. So... anything else you want to get off your chest? Need to clear the air some more?"

Nasaan shook his head, his eyelids returning to their usual lazy droop. "Guess not," he mumbled. "I'm not saying I'm sorry for being mad. That was some bullshit. But... I was rude. My mom raised me better." He glanced over at me. "And if it gets back to my Aunt Eloise, she'll smack me upside my head."

I chuckled, knowing it was true. "I won't say anything if you don't."

He bobbed his head in a nod, then pushed himself up from the chair. "I told my mom I did my homework but I lied, so I gotta go do my homework. Will I see you in the morning?"

"Yup," I answered, bobbing my head back to him. "I'm gonna chill out here for a couple of minutes."

"K," he answered, then loped around the house and into the dark shadows. I heard the kitchen door open and close.

And then open and close again, and the lighter footsteps I recognized as Tori's crunch through the snow toward me. She wore her coat and a sympathetic smile.

"I didn't see any bruises on Nasaan. I came to check out the other guy."

I laughed, pulling the other chair closer to me and gesturing for her to sit. "He got a couple of pushes in. Nothing big happened, though. Mostly yelling."

"He pushed you?"

"It's not a big deal, Tori. He's fifteen. There was little chance of him hurting me." At least, that's the story I was going with. No one needed to know that I was actually worried there, for a second.

"I don't know, Pretty Boy. You don't strike me as a guy that knows how to fight."

"Come on, now," I joked. "I grew up on the mean streets of DC. I know how to throw a punch." At that, Tori laughed- one of those head cocked back, loud belly laughs. "You sound like you don't believe me. That hurts me, deep inside."

"Oh, I am sorry," she said, laughing as she said it. "Really, I am. But no, I don't believe you. I'm pretty sure a fifteen year old could take you."

"Yeah, well. you might be right about that." 

"So...did you want to be alone out here? I thought I could convince you to come inside, have some hot chocolate, watch a movie...because we didn't watch any of that movie at the drive in..."

"Can we fuck on the couch and get caught by your son?"

"We already did that. C'mon.... what do you say?"

I stood, then held out a hand to Tori. She let me pull her up, then tuck her into my side, under my arm.

"Can we watch a movie about firefighters? I feel like I was supposed to watch one today, but I got distracted...."

JC

 

The next morning, I was groggy since I hadn't slept much. Tori and I were up late, cuddled up on the couch and savoring the last moments together.  At the least, it would be awhile before I'd see her again, so I was doing a good bit of soaking up time too.

I hopped into the truck for the two hour drive west to El Paso, in time to catch an 11AM flight, coffee mug in hand. Tori agreed to let Nasaan skip morning classes to ride with us and Kaya was coming too. So it would be a big family gathering at the airport, apparently.

"You excited to get home, JC?" Kaya asked from the backseat. "At least the weather there is better."

I peered out of my window and smiled at the hills of dirty snow piled up on the side of the road. "It's weird, but I'm kind of used to snow and the temps in the thirties now. Sunny and eighty degrees is hard to beat, though."

"Sounds like heaven to me," said Nasaan. "Like summer all the time."

"Yeah, it's nice. But it's good to come to a place like this. Reminds you that there's lots of places in the world to explore. Encourages you to leave home, see the world. And then it makes going home that much sweeter."

"Well, we hope you didn't have too bad of a time in Cloudcroft," Tori said. "It's not LA, but it makes a pretty nice home."

"Cloudcroft treated me just fine," I said, reaching across the console to land a hand on Tori's thigh. I let it linger a second longer than usual, just to see if she'd freak out that Kaya and Nasaan were in the car. But she dropped a hand from the steering wheel, laid it on top of mine and squeezed.

I was going to miss her.

Sooner than I was ready for, the sign for the El Paso International Airport came into view. My heart sank, just a little. I was ready to go home but going home meant leaving these great people.

I turned in my seat and offered a fist to Nasaan. He gave me a bump and a nod. "You've got my number, right man? Call me, anytime. Really. You too, Nurse Ratchet," I said leaning around the seat to glare at Kaya. She glared back, then smiled and winked at me.  

"Take care, Pretty Boy. Don't forget us."

Tori opened her door and climbed out. I grabbed my duffel bag, which was considerably more stuffed than it had been when I'd left on this trip the week before and stepped onto the curb.  

Had it only been a week? Felt like a lifetime.

"Better head in. You don't want to be late for your flight." Tori shoved her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie and offered me a small, tight lipped smile.

"That's all I get? Get your ass on that plane? After all the... plenty... I gave you?"

Tori's face broke into a smile and her hands came out of her pockets. Her arms opened wide and I stepped into them, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her up against me. "I have your number," I murmured into her ear. "I'll call you. You have my number, too. Use it, okay? I'm never too busy for you."

She nodded, and something that sounded strangled rose from her throat. Then, as if she had to force herself to do so, she pulled away and stepped back.

"Seriously. Go. You can't come back to the house if you miss your flight."

"Alright, I'm going. You... you'll be okay?"

She tipped her head up, which let me catch the tears sitting on the edge of her eyelids, just waiting for her to blink so they could spill over onto her cheeks. She nodded, then sniffled, then came the blink that released a fat tear from each eye.

"I'm- we will be okay. And hey, let me know if you have any issues with the bike. There's a network of mechanics. At least let me refer you to someone half as good as me."

I grinned. "I'll do that." And then, because I couldn't help it, I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to me, then dipped my head to press my mouth against hers. She whimpered a little, then melted into me.

We could have stood there all afternoon, but the sound of the truck door opening interrupted our romantic moment. "Okay, alright. You guys had all night to do that lip locking shit," Kaya droned, sounding bored as she opened the door to the front passenger seat. "I need a nap before I go to work this afternoon. Nasaan needs to go to school. We love you, we'll miss you, call us, get on the plane, bye bye bye."

I laughed at her last jab at my sparkly glittery boyband past, but I released Tori and gave her a soft nudge toward the truck. She walked around to the driver's side, swiping tears from her cheeks.

"You love me and you know it, Kaya." She made a sound, then swung her legs into the car. Before she could pull the door shut, I stepped in and gave her a hug, then dropped a kiss on her cheek. "I'll text you any news, okay?" I whispered into her ear.  When I pulled back, she nodded. Then pushed me out of the way and pulled her door shut.

I stood on the sidewalk and watched the truck pull away, then turn the corner, out of sight.

Fuck. I felt like I left half my heart in that truck.

I hiked my duffel bag up onto my shoulder and entered the airport, pulling my phone from my pocket to bring up my boarding pass.

A little over an hour later, I was sliding into the passenger seat of a BMW. Eric must have just had it detailed- it smelled chemically clean and the dashboard was spotless, not a speck of dust on it.

"Good to see you back," said Eric, pulling away from the arrivals lane at LAX. "I was starting to wonder if you were really coming home."

I clutched the seat belt and pulled it across me, snapping it into the buckle. "Of course I was coming home. Eventually."

"Yeah, it's the eventually part I was concerned about." Eric glanced at me, then did a double-take. "Nice beard. You look like a mountain man. You keepin' that?"

"Might," I answered, smoothing down the hairs that covered my cheek and chin. They had softened, and even though there was quite a bit of grey, I wasn't mad at it. I felt a little more... mature with a beard. And, as a benefit, less recognizable.

"Needs a trim. Some shaping. Go to the guy Lance is using."

"Lance is probably using his husband."

"Well, then go to him." Eric flipped his blinker and smoothly merged onto the 405.  "So, you ready for an update on this building sale?"

I slouched in the seat and reached for the cool bottle of water in the cup holder. "I'm drinking this." When Eric nodded, I twisted off the cap and took a few gulps. "So what's going on?"

"Well, I called the guy," Eric said. "Actually, it took forever to get ahold of him. And for all that work, I got a man of very few words. But, bottom line, he said he wasn't ready to sell."

"Shit. Couldn't talk him into it?"

"I'm not done telling my story yet. Sit back and get comfortable. You skipped out on Taos to bang some chick in Bumfuck-"

"Hey, man," I shot, gripping his arm. "Don't. None of that. Don't bring her up again. Alright?"

"Yeah, man. Yeah." He shook off my grip, then sighed and continued his story. "So I said to him, ya know, if you were to sell, give me a ballpark number. I'm really interested in the building. He kinda mumbles around, then says, again, he's not looking to sell yet."

"Damn."

"Yeah. So, I just threw out a number. Lowballed it, in case we can get this building for cheap but knowing he's going to jack up the price. I started at $10K. Figured he'd be insulted. He made some noises, said if he was going to sell, he'd go for higher than that. So I double it. And now he's warming up to me."

"Tell me he eventually agrees to a number."

"Not yet. But I'm talking to him today. I'm going to call him from your place when I drop you off. I'll you something though; he's suspicious. He asked a lot of questions about who I was, how I knew about the spot. I lied and said I worked for a guy that had recently skied up there, said the building looked empty and was interested in making some money."

"Good lie. Almost true."

"Yeah, I was proud of that one. So I got him up to around 35. I think he'll try to double that today, to see if I go for it. And I'm going for it, right?"

"Yep. Way overpriced for that property but if I play my cards right..."

I glanced out of the window and chewed on my bottom lip, deeply in thought. I figured another $50 to $100K in construction and design, putting Tori on the payroll to oversee the project, in the meantime. A couple of custom builds could put Nez Custom Bikes & Repair on the map. She could be on her own and paying me back inside of a year.

At least I hoped, because knowing Tori, she'd want to be off my dime sooner rather than later.

"Well, I hope you play your cards right, because we're getting into serious money territory. Are you going to tell me what's up with this place before we wire money?"

"Probably not," I told him, rolling my head in his direction.

He just shook his head, pretty much used to my last minute whims, like when I wanted to rip out the studio and redesign it with state of the art equipment and technology. But now a ton of artists and producers wanted to use the space. I practically had to reserve time in my own studio.

"I'm just not ready yet. I need to put some plans together, make sure it works. But in the meantime, it provides a short term solution to a huge problem."

"Is... this about the woman? In Cloudcroft? I won't... you know, say anything about her. Just asking."

"Not just about her. About her family. And a business I believe in."

"You think they're going to just let you waltz in and rescue them?"

"No. So I'm going around them. They'll thank me later. I hope."

Eric laughed, one of those belly laughs as he shook his head and squinted into the bright midday sun. "You... are somethin' else."

"I've heard that."

 

...

 

I leaned back in an overstuffed, supremely comfortable chair in my living room facing the TV, feet propped up on the ottoman. Some news program was on, but the sound was muted. Eric was on the couch across from me, scrolling through his phone.

"Swear I saw some guy that looked like JC Chasez with a beard in first class on the flight from El Paso," he read. Then chuckled. "Should I respond to her?"

"Nah. Let her wonder. What time are you talking to Chee?" Eric swiped a finger across his watch to check the time. "Dude, you're holding a phone that tells you what time it is."

"I know, but I just got this watch so I'm getting used to it. I'm calling him in about an hour. You got anything to drink?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. I haven't been here in a week. Check it out and bring me one, if I do."

Eric left and returned a few minutes later with two bottles of Bud Light. I was already missing the fancy IPA that Tori kept stocked in the house.

I pulled out my phone and thumbed out a quick message to Tori: Home. Comfy in my Hollywood mansion. Drinking some swill that isn't that IPA you like.

A few minutes later, three dots started blinking. Priority number one should be getting that shit out of your house and getting some quality alcohol. :)

I suppressed a laugh, since Eric was in the room, but he wasn't really paying attention to much besides his phone. Definitely on the list. And maybe a small bottle of bourbon. Someone turned me into a brown liquor drinker in a week.

In reply, Tori sent a laughing emoji. Then I waited to see if she'd say anything else, but she didn't. It was exactly like her to still keep me at arm's length. I downed a swallow of watered down, nearly tasteless beer, and clicked the button to lock the phone. No matter. Soon enough I'd be so far up her ass she'll wish I'd go away.

"Hey, why don't you give Chee a call? See if he's around?"

"Because our appointment is at-"

"I know. I know. But... let's get this show on the road. See if he's in."

Eric grumbled, but shook his head and used his thumb to flip through screens. He set the phone down on the coffee table and put it on speaker. We listened to it ring a few times and, just when I thought it would roll to voicemail, the line picked up and the room filled with the familiar voice of Mitch Chee. In my mind, I saw him towering over me, his sun-worn dark skin covered in tattoos, wearing something.... biker dude-ish.

"I thought we were talking in a half hour," he said, without saying hello or issuing a polite greeting.

"Hey, yeah... I was just... here and I thought I'd ring you up and see if you were available. Have you given any thought to our chat the other day?"

"Uh... yeah. Problem is, I still have a tenant in the building and she's nowhere near ready to move. It sounds like your guy wants a deal to close yesterday and I can't get her out all that quickly; she needs to find a place to go, and there's not too much around here-"

"Current tenant is not a problem. If she needs to pack up, we can make some concessions." Eric glanced at me, his eyebrows raised, asking, with his face, if he was telling the right lies.

I gave him the thumbs up. "Whatever he wants," I whispered. "Just make it go through."

Eric nodded, clasping his hands and leaning toward the phone. "Okay, so... what number would make you say yes today? It's an empty building, you have one tenant that's moving out eventually. It's gotta be costing you money just to keep the lights on. We're not gonna kick out your tenant before she's ready to leave, so that covers your soft spot."

Silence came from the other end of the line. His heavy breathing was the only way we knew he was still on the line.

"So... what's... I mean your guy. What's he gonna do with the place?"

"Not sure," Eric said, throwing a glare in my direction. "My instructions are to make you an offer you can't refuse. Throw out a number, man. I'm in a position to make this happen."

"Okay." A loud squeak rang out, as if he'd just leaned back in an office chair. I heard the thump-thump of what must have been boots kicked up onto the desktop. "Deal is cash. No credit, no payments. Lump sum to me. You don't kick out my tenant and you work with her on getting her out of the place. We go through my lawyer."

He paused, then said, "Hundred thou. Cash."

My eyes bugged out so hard, they almost popped out of my head. Were it me making this deal, I'd have hung up the phone, then called Tori and begged her to take some money from me to move her shop. This guy...

"Will a bank wire do?" said Eric, not missing a step, though his face was beet red and his hands were clasped so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Bank wire will be fine. My lawyer will have those details. I'll have him call you this afternoon. I need a wire transfer by noon tomorrow, or the deal is off."

Before Eric could respond, the line clicked and went dead. He heaved an enormous sigh and sat back, sinking into the couch. "Are. you. fucking. serious, dude?"

I was laughing... not because I found it funny, but maniacally so. That number was... so outrageous. I should have expected that from Chee, though. Part of me wondered if he had figured out who the "guy" was.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I am. If we need to, we can find a way for me to write a check to Leo-"

Eric raised a hand. "I told you, we need to stay on the up and up. You just..." He shook his head. "You just better work your ass off to make this money back. Even if it means you move to Bumfuck to oversee it-"

"Would you stop calling it that?"

"Sorry. Cloudcroft. If you have to move there for a couple of months, so be it. Whatever, but this better pay off, or I will find a way to take a check from you. Angel investor or... some shit."

"Tell you what, I'll set the money aside and if it looks like things aren't going to go like I planned, I'll be happy to anonymously replace the funds. We have the money though, right?"

Eric nodded. "Not liquid. I need to make some phone calls but... yeah, we've got it."

"Just think of it as an investment, Eric."

"An investment that better have a one hundred percent payoff, otherwise there will be a one hundred percent reimbursement."

"Deal."

Eric sighed again, shook his head again, and grabbed up his phone, grumbling.

 

One week later

 

Katori

 

Uhm. What the fuck? Seriously... what the fuck?

I stood in front of the shop with my mouth on the ground and my hands on my hips. Planted in the ground, in front of the building that housed my shop was an enormous sign that read SOLD in bold black letters. Screaming at me. SOLD.

Chee sold the building. And now... what the fuck?

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Kaya's number. As soon as she picked up with her traditional greeting of ‘What?', I exploded. "That goddamn piece of shit motherfucker sold the building!"

"What? Who? What are you talking about?"

"Mitchell Chee. Motherfucker!"

"Chee? What about him?"

"Are you... can you not hear me? He sold the building. The one my shop is in? The one that I'm probably going to be evicted from now and I still have no place to put this shit?"

"Oh. I mean... he said he was going to, right?"

I huffed. "Yes, Kaya. But he told me he'd help me find a spot to move to."

"Maybe he still plans to do that. I mean... you couldn't have bought the building, Tori. You knew this was happening. Right?"

"Yes. Right. I just... I feel like I'm up against a wall right now. I didn't know he was going to sell the week after we talked."

"Did you talk to him?"

"No. You were the first person I thought to call."

Well, that was a lie, one that I was telling her and myself. JC was the first person I thought of, actually. But I'd decided not to burden him with my problems anymore. He was under no obligation to be the fixer in my life. And, right now too much needed to be fixed.

"Well... you should maybe call Mitch. He has to tell you when you have to be out, right?"

"I guess. I... I kind of don't want to know." Lots of problems got solved by sticking your head in the sand, right? Right.

"But you have to know, Tori."

I sighed, digging my toe into the newly uncovered grass. The temperatures had been uncharacteristically mild and much of the snow that had been on the ground a week ago had melted into a slushy, muddy mess.

"I... I guess I'll call him."

"K. I gotta run; the charge nurse is out and that means I'm Head Bitch today." She cackled in that evil way that sort of made me jealous, because I knew Kaya enjoyed her job, what with all that stability and fast paced action. I wished I looked forward to reactivating my employment at Presby.

I looked up at the shop, a low slung, forlorn looking building with peeling, slate grey paint and two wide bay doors that had seen better days. All I really wanted was to work in my little shop, fixing motorcycles.

Kaya had hung up, so I scrolled to another number in my address book and, after a second, pressed the name to dial. It was Chee's personal cell, and I dialed it so infrequently that if I called, he picked up right away.

"What's up, Tori?"

I seethed, barely able to speak. "You know what the fuck is up, Mitch," I managed to spit out.

"Do I, now?"

"Damn right, you do. You sold the building? Then let me know by putting this sign here? For the whole town to see? You couldn't give me some heads up, not even a text to tell me?"

The low rumble of his laughter crackled over the line and ran just under my nerves. My nose flared and I opened my mouth to unleash a torrent of expletives aimed in his direction, but then thought better of it. He might still be willing to help me find a place.

So shut it. And play nice. Even if you don't want to.

"I gave you so many warnings, Tori. Written letters, three of them.  I even came by a couple of weeks ago. Maybe you don't remember, because you'd been playing with your boy toy from LA."

"You came by and said you'd be willing to help me find a place. You said nothing about the place being sold."

"Well, I hadn't really planned on selling so soon. But then..." He paused, giving a gravelly chuckle in my ear. "I got a phone call  about someone all hot in the ass to buy the building. At whatever price I named. And that seemed... suspicious. So I checked it out. Traced the number back. Guess what I found out?"

I huffed an exasperated breath. "Uh... I have no idea. What?"

"Yeah, play dumb. You and your boyfriend think you're smart, but I win in the end."

"My... what? What are you talking about?"

"You thought I didn't notice the dust all over your clothes and your hair every which way and that freshly fucked look you both had goin' on?"

My heart stopped... literally stopped beating. And then started up again, double-time, thumping hard out of my chest. Mother of all fucks. Chee knew about JC and me. I didn't know what else he was talking about, but he knew about us.

"Mitch-"

"Then you have him rope some guy from a big deal holding company in LA into calling me and trying to weasel a cheap payday out of me." He laughed a slow, derisive chuckle.  "Well it don't work that way, honey. I ain't hardly stupid. I hope the dick was good, because I took him for every penny he was willing to pay."

"Mitch... I don't... I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't have anyone call you about the building- "

"Better talk to your boyfriend. My deal is with him. As of today, the title has transferred and he owns the building. Gotta run."

The line went dead in my ear. I pulled the phone away and stared  at the home screen photo, a shot of Nasaan on his motorbike, the wind whipping through his curls.  In my mind, the words and the meaning of the words swam and swirled. I was trying to process, but the synapses weren't firing.

So. JC. Bought the building.

JC bought the building.

"Motherfucker bought the building!" I yelled.  Out loud. To no one.

I felt like I was losing my mind. My vision went blurry, so I hurried toward the shop entrance, fumbling with my keys. I burst inside and headed toward the rolling chair that I kept at the counter and fell into it, then tucked my head between my knees and tried to regulate my breathing.

Fifteen minutes later, by my count, I was sweaty and clammy and flustered, but okay. Sort of. I needed to make a phone call but didn't want to make that call when I was angry. Or couldn't think. Because I would just scream expletives at him until I was hoarse and blue in the face.

One thing I knew for sure: there was no way he did this on his own. No wonder Kaya was so calm and unconcerned! Everyone in my life was officially on my shit list, because how they could let JC just waltz in and... buy the fucking building was beyond me.

Now I owed him. A lot, if I went by what Mitch said. And I didn't want to owe him.

 

...

JC

 

"Why don't we take the chord up one step and see how it sounds? If you don't like it, we can drop it back."

"Okay," answered my protege, with a good natured shrug. I'd met Matthew a year ago at a songwriting workshop in Nashville. Before I knew it, we were working together, writing songs and banging out chords on the guitar, which he was just learning to play. "Worth a shot."

I heard my phone buzzing on the table behind me, but I had a rule about phones and other devices in the studio. They were distracting and a waste of my time, especially if my time was being paid for.

It had been a busy week, working with Chee's lawyer and signing paperwork for the building sale. I knew the transaction was officially going through today though, and I was nervously checking it every five minutes anyway, so I grabbed it up and told Matthew to try the song he'd written an octave higher and see how he liked it.

"I'll be right with you, sorry. I'm in the middle of a real estate thing right now."

"No problem," he said, then dipped his head to concentrate on the chords.

Heads up,  Kaya's text read. Chee put a big ass SOLD sign in front of the building.

I groaned, audibly. Matthew paused, perking his head up. I shook my head and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm gonna need to step out for a few. Feel free to take a break. The fridge is full; there's some snacks or whatever. You have the WIFI code."

After he assured me he'd be fine, I ducked out of the room we'd been using in the basement of my house and bounded up the steps, two at a time. When I reached the landing I hung a right and headed into the kitchen, taking a seat at one of the bar stools lining the counter.

100% guarantee she's talking to Chee right now.

Shit, I texted back. I thought I'd get more warning than that.

Well the deal closed today right? You were planning on telling her today?

Yeah,  I answered.  I wasn't expecting Chee to steal my thunder.

A long pause followed before the reply dots started bouncing again. Uhm. She just called me. She knows it's you.

Fuck! How?

Chee!  

What?

Chee knows it was you that bought the building and told her. She figured out that I knew what was happening. I have a whole new asshole.

Groaning and absolutely dreading my conversation with Tori, I ran the fingers of both hands through my hair. This... this was not at all what I had in mind when I thought about how to tell her that I was taking over the building. So she could make her dream happen.

Fuck. I'm sorry. Didn't mean for it to happen this way.

Don't be. You're doing a good thing, and she'll come around. Just letting you know, you're getting a phone call soon.

I figured.

She couldn't even talk, she was so mad when she called me. Fair warning.

You okay? You need a place to hide out?

Haha, Pretty Boy. Don't even play, I will be visiting your Hollywood mansion. But I'm not running from my sister. I've known her my whole life. Her bark is worse than her bite.

Doesn't mean I wanna be on the receiving end of it. Hang in there.

Kaya didn't answer back, but she wasn't good at that sort of thing. We'd had a few short bouts of texting and she usually just... stopped replying. Nasaan was only slightly better, but I needed a teenager and emoji translator to read his texts.

The faint strains of guitar chords wafted up from downstairs. Matthew seemed occupied for the moment. Instead of waiting out, I could just... bite the bullet and call her. And hope she picked up.

I thumbed through screens until I got to Tori's entry in my address book. Then took the plunge and dialed. It rang. And then went straight to voicemail.

Fuuuuuuck, she was pissed.

I waited a few seconds, then dialed her again. This time the line rang and rang, and then rolled to voicemail.

Okay, I thought. Fine. I'll let her be mad.  Eventually, she had to talk to me. I owned her building.

I headed back downstairs but left the phone on the kitchen counter. I had another hour or two with Matthew and I didn't want to be distracted. Besides, I figured Tori would call back while I was down there and it would serve her right to not be able to reach me.

A few hours later, I walked Matthew out of the front door and watched his bright yellow Mini Cooper back out of my driveway. I closed the door and headed to the kitchen, fully expecting what I was greeted with- an explosion of texts and back to back phone calls. I wasn't really laughing, because I knew why she was upset. But I was amused at how upset she was.

Answer the phone, asshole.

Fucker. How do you call me and then I can't reach you? PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE.

Ok Pretty Boy. I get it. You're busy doing whatever the fuck it is you do.

So when you're done with all your super important celebrity bullshit, call me.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and opened it, slid onto the bar stool and dialed her number.  She picked up right away.

"You son of a bitch!" She said, by way of a greeting. "I could just strangle you! I can't believe you!"

"Good thing I left before the transaction went through, or I'm sure you'd try."

"This is not funny, JC. How could you do this?"

"It was something I felt like I needed to do-"

"Messing with my life was something you felt you needed to do?"

"The intent wasn't to mess with your life. It was to give you a little breathing room and a new start. None of this was evil or nefarious-"

"Stop using big words to make yourself sound smart and important!  You stuck your nose into my business and I...I'm... so fucking pissed off!"

Tori was practically screaming by the last word of that sentence. Which was good. I wanted her to get her anger out so we could start moving past it.

"I didn't actually stick my nose in anything, Tori. I bought a building. That's it. It has a tenant in it. I'm not in a hurry to kick that tenant out. But I have heard that the tenant would like to renovate and when she is ready, I'd like to talk about those plans."

"Oh my God, JC..." I could hear her pacing, probably in the kitchen. I pictured her, in my mind, walking from one end to the other, then turning on a heel and walking to the other end. "I... I feel like you're mocking me. Like you can't hear me. Like you don't understand what this is about. You don't get why I'm angry."

"I do get it. I had plenty of talks with people around you-"

"People around me?" She screeched.  "So you talked to everyone but me about me?"

"Which I knew would piss you off. I knew this whole deal would be bad, from your perspective, but really... what choice did I have, Tori? I told you that I care about you, about your family. You really thought I'd let you crawl into Mitch's hands? You really thought I was about to watch you lose everything and walk away like thanks for the sex, bye now? You think I'm that guy, Tori?"

"It's not that I think you're that guy, JC. I just thought you would go back to LA and mind your own goddamn business. I didn't think you were the guy to jump in and swim around in waters you don't belong in. This was my problem to solve-"

"You know what? And now it's solved. You don't have to worry about moving unless and until you want to. And at that point if you want to move forward with those plans I saw, I'm ready to fund the project and have you manage it. I've got some guys I'm already talking to about custom bikes for a charity ride next spring. If you want to build them, we have to get to work. All you have to do is stop being mad."

Tori's breathing was coming in light pants across the line. "You're talking to who? About what?"

"Some guys I know, we do an annual motorcycle ride benefiting a men's health charity. It's just one for right now, but it could grow. Plus I know guys that ride bikes regularly;  guys that would love to spend money with you. Then there's me..."

"Then there's you... what?"

I grinned, hoping she could hear the smile in my voice. "Well, I've gotta get my orders in first. If you think anybody's bike is getting built before mine, you're outta your mind, honey."

"JC... I- I don't... I don't even...what the fuck is going on?" At the edge of her voice, I felt and heard panic. Exasperation. Frustration.

I guess it stopped being amusing, then. It was never my plan to completely overwhelm her.

"Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. Why don't you take the night, a couple of days even to think about this? Get used to the idea. Think about the positives. Look at those drawings. Pull out all your plans and your dreams, because if you want it, we're building that shit. And call me if and when you're ready. Doesn't matter how long it takes, but like I said... we have work to do so hurry up."

I pressed the red button to disconnect the call. Hanging up without saying goodbye was a Nez thing. I kind of liked it.

Katori

 

"That motherfucker hung up on me!"

I was, again, staring at the lock screen photo, in disbelief at the second person that day to hang up on me. JC had been so... calm and flippant and... calm about stepping into my life and taking care of something that... okay, honestly needed to be taken care of.

But not like this.

The thing was, I wasn't sure, exactly, what I was angry about. If Mitch had sold the building to anyone else, I'd be upset, but not this upset. I was infuriated that it was JC.

Maybe because he'd gone behind my back, instead of talking to me about what he'd planned. And not just behind my back, but he'd talked to people that knew me and would know that I'd never, ever want this.

Maybe because he obviously knew about my past relationship with Mitch Chee- so was he trying to compete? Mark his territory? Pee on me?

Seriously... what the fuck?

I left the shop after talking to Mitch and having my little freak out. Then I came home and was calm enough to call Kaya, but then I got pissed off all over again that she knew JC was going do this and didn't give me a heads up. I was blindsided by my own sister. I was a little embarrassed about how violent my tirade was, but...

I could also guess that Eloise was in on this, and I couldn't wait for Nasaan to get home, because if he knew, too...

Speak of the devil, the kitchen knob jiggled a few times and Nasaan came through the door, carrying a pair of shoes, lifting them so I could see them.

"Took ‘em off, cause I knew you'd yell at me about tracking mud on your floors."

I stood in the middle of the kitchen, next to the table, with my arms folded across my chest and what I hoped was the meanest scowl he'd ever seen on my face. He fiddled with the shoes and his backpack and jacket before he noticed I hadn't said anything and I hadn't moved from my spot.

"What?" He asked, slowly straightening from a bent position. "Mom? What?"

"Did you know?

"Know what?"

"About the shop, the building? About JC buying it. Did you know?!"

The expression on his face, though fleeting, told me everything. "I... so... it's done?"

"Yeah," I snapped. "It's done."

He pulled his phone from a pocket and swiped his thumb across the screen. "Must be what ‘the eagle has landed' meant. I didn't know what JC was talking about."

"So you were in on this too? He told you about my problems and how he was going to just jump in and solve them and you thought this was okay? You thought it was totally fine to just let me get ambushed like that? Am I the only person in this town that didn't know this was happening?"

"Mom-" He started, but I cut him off.

"No, Nasaan! You know me. Kaya knows me. You both knew I would absolutely not want this- "

"Yeah, but none of us want the alternative, Mom.  None of us wanted to wonder what was gonna happen to us if Chee sold that building out from under you. None of us wanted to move if grandpa decided to sell the land and none of us wanted Chee to have it.  None of us wanted to see you lose everything you want, everything you've worked for."

Nasaan took two steps forward, his forehead creased with concentrated concern. "So, yeah. We went behind your back, because you were gonna punk out and hope for the best or some shit. You act like you wanted people to come to you and talk to you about it, but really, mom? If JC sat at this table and offered you money, you would have said no. So he didn't give you a chance to say no."

Nasaan walked back toward his pile of belongings and snatched up his bag, then turned to me again.

"By the way, JC asked me to be around the house more. To look after you, help you out. To not make you worry about me. Then he went into his pocket to make sure you don't lose your dream, to make sure you don't have to go work with Aunt Kaya doing shit you don't want to do. I mean... yeah, I was pissed when I found out about you guys but Mom..."

He shook his head, flicking his eyes up toward the chandelier over the table, then back to me. He shook his head slowly. "He really cares about you. About us. Be mad or whatever. But then get over it. Don't push him away. Let him help you build your dream. I'm gonna need a new bike in two years- I'd love my mom to build me one."

I was... speechless. That was the most that Nasaan had said to me at one time in a long time. Not because he was angry but because he was a teenager and talking to your mom wasn't a cool thing. That he was taking up for JC meant a lot. It was a huge deal. One that I wasn't considering lightly.

"Nasaan..." I sighed. He gave me a look, so I didn't even go there.

Weak, I leaned against the table and shook my head.

"Son... in two years you're leaving for school and if you think you're taking one of my brand new bikes with you, you're out of your mind. You can take the Knucklehead and be happy about it."

A smile crept across his face, stretching his lips wide. And then, in a very uncharacteristic move for the too cool teenager, he moved toward me and wrapped his long arms around me. "Sorry we tricked you, mom," he said, muffled into my shoulder. "But it was the only way."

"Well..." I pulled back, giving him a few pats before he got away from me. "Maybe so. But I still get to be mad about it."

"I guess that's fair. But after that... you're gonna go for it, right?"

I shrugged, frowning. "Don't know. I really haven't let myself think about it, to be honest."

"Mmm," he hummed. "Didn't want to hope too hard?"  

When I nodded, he nodded too. "I kinda get that way sometimes. About dad. About school. About... life. But stuff always works out. Dad always calls or sends a couple bucks and life always works out and school will too.  You get to have someone help you work stuff out. That's pretty cool."

"Must be cool, since you think it's cool."

My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten a thing all day. And as a fifteen year old, Nasaan was legally required to be hungry at all times. "Well,  I was going to start dinner but it's been a long day and I don't feel cooking. I say we use some of the money JC paid me in tips to go to Fat Jack's. Wanna go?"

"Sure. We gotta get something for Aunt Kaya, drop it off at Presby. She loves that place."

"I don't give a shit what Kaya loves. She hasn't made the leap to my good side yet. She can grovel in the morning."

I grabbed my keys from the counter where they always sat unless Kaya - or JC hung them up. "Come on, let's go."

 

 

 

 

Later, I laid in bed, fully awake well after midnight.

For a lot of reasons.

I was overfull, for one. I'd eaten my weight in roasted wings, potato salad and barbecue baked beans and enjoyed spending time with my son. We caught up on school stuff and kid gossip- who was dating who, who he wanted to date, what his friends were up to. And we talked about his dad. Surprisingly, they were in touch.

Even more surprising, he was keeping in touch with JC. It had only been a week since he'd left, so maybe it was too early to be impressed, but I was. He was taking this man-to-man thing pretty seriously. They'd skyped and played games online and texted some. I hoped it continued. But I was also being really careful with my hopes lately.

I rolled to my side and groaned, rubbing my belly and thinking about my conversation with Nasaan earlier. He'd been right; I hadn't let myself really think there was a possibility that Nez Custom could be anything more than a dream. Now that it could be a reality, very very soon, I was overwhelmed.

The project was, in truth, enormous. But somewhere between dinner and a wide slice of bourbon pecan pie,  I started to feel excited about the future. I actually had a future, if I wanted it.

But... could I swallow this huge lump in my throat about JC going behind my back to do it?

I picked up my phone from the nightstand and squinted into the bright glow from the display. I brought up the texting app and then the last conversation, which was me typing expletives at JC until he called me.

WYD? I typed out, before I lost my nerve. I just wanted to see if he was awake.  

It wasn't even ten seconds before the dots started blinking. Really. WYD? Is this a booty call?

I giggled. Goddammit he could always make me laugh when I was mad. It is after midnight. Is your booty available?

For you? Always. What's up?

Still need a video of you in those red pants. You find them yet? Don't think I forgot about those.

LOL. I told you, I threw those away. I can't wear em anyway, I'm fat.

I don't believe you. You have a history of lying to me.

I never lied to you. I didn't tell you things. But I didn't lie.

Lie by omission is still a lie.

Ok I lied. I lied and I was sneaky and I went around you and shouldn't have. But I did. It's done. Now what.

Okay. He had a point. Asshole.  I guess, like you said, now we get to work. Don't want your money to be wasted.

Really? You're not still mad?

I'm furious. I might beat your ass when I see you.  

I hope you mean that sexually.

Pig.

I snorted, then added. I might mean it sexually. And I might mean I will actually kick your Pretty Boy ass.

LOL!!!

Except, in my mind, I really heard him laughing, that gut level cackle that made me warm inside and made me smile. And made me miss him.  

Looking forward to finding out which one I end up with. Was waiting for you to come around so we could decide on a good time for me to come back. Was thinking around the kid's birthday. I want to see him ride that bike.

That's a month from now. It would work.

I'll plan on it.

Silence in a text conversation was awkward, even more than silence on the phone or in person. Was he done talking? Was he waiting for me to say something else? Was he waiting for me to apologize?

You there?

I'm always here, honey.

Fuck, you're corny. :) Can I call you?

A second later, my phone lit up and buzzed. JC's name and face glowed on screen. I slid my finger across to accept the call.   "Hey. Thanks for calling."

"I wanted to hear your voice anyway. You ready for my favorite pickup line?"

"Pretty sure I'm not," I said, with a tired slur to my words but a smile on my lips. "But go ahead."

"Baby, I love every bone in your body. Especially mine."

I hated to laugh at that. Seriously, really hated to laugh at that. But I did. Loudly. He seemed amused. "I'm so glad you didn't use that on me."

"Didn't need to. What are you doing up? You're not really a night owl like this."

"I hate that you know me so well." I moaned at another pang in my belly and rolled over again, toward the window, where the moon was shining between the blinds. "I ate my feelings at dinner. I had... a lot of feelings. And I also had feelings for dessert."

He laughed. And there it was, that warm feeling spreading from my inner thighs and up through my core. Fuck, I missed him.  "What was dinner?"

"Fat Jack's. Can't seem to get enough of that place lately."

He hummed  appreciatively. "Cause it's good. Worth the pain."

"I'm also... thinking. About this whole thing. And you. And Kaya and... everyone, but especially you."

"And... what are you thinking? About me, especially?"

"That I have some pretty great but rude people in my life. I'm pissed off, JC. But... I'm also thankful to not have to worry about losing my shop. You wouldn't believe how long I've been stressing about that. And I'm starting to feel hopeful about tomorrow and next month and beyond that. And..."

"And..." He prodded.  "You realize that I did the right thing..."

"I don't know about the right thing. But like you said, it's done. It was messy and fifty shades of wrong, but it's done. I wanted to say thank you for taking the risk. For knowing I'd be so mad, as mad as I am. And still doing it."

"Well, like you said, I kinda know you. I didn't want to embarrass you or anything, but I had to do something. You would have said no if I offered you money. And then I really would have pissed you off by going around you, because I wasn't going to let you drown."

"You're just determined to get under my skin, on my nerves, all... ass first into my life, aren't you Pretty Boy?"

"Ass first is the best way to go," he said, after he'd finished laughing.

"What are you doing up? Are you working?"

"Nah. Chill night at home in my Hollywood mansion. I ate some shitty faux Mexican and drank a shitty beer and watched a terrible movie."

He chuckled. "I'm actually in bed, about to call lights out. It's late, Tori. Get some sleep and let's talk tomorrow. Start thinking about this project and how we begin. We've got a lot of work to do."

"We do. I actually doubt I will sleep. I might pull out my sketchbooks."

"Good. We'll discuss your thoughts tomorrow. And Tori?"

"Hmmm?"

"Miss you. Even with you screaming that I'm a son of a bitch. Let's Skype tomorrow. I need to see your face."

The line disconnected and he was gone. I sat up and flicked on the bedside lamp, then opened a nightstand drawer and pulled out a set of drawing pencils and a sketchpad.

Time to actually get to work on making my dream come true.

One Month Later...

 

JC

"I don't have to stay the whole month, right? I feel like this is a you thing."

I lifted my head from the headrest and rolled my eyes in Eric's direction. Though I'd just fallen out of bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed my bag, hopped in the Uber to the airstrip and climbed onto the plane, I was ready for a nap.

"You don't have to stay the month. But I want you to stay long enough to get a feel for what we're doing, you know? Be on site, see it with your own eyes-"

"Alright, alright. So, what... a couple days?" Eric glanced at me, then raised a steaming cup of coffee to his lips.

"You spent a hundred grand on this building. You're only dedicating two days to checking out the remodel plan? You know we have to go down to city hall, pull permits, interview construction companies, find a demolition service-"

"Okay, geez. When you put it like that..." He set his cup down in the molded holder between our seats. "I thought you hired... that woman to take care of that."

"Her name is Tori. The town is called Cloudcroft. If we have to rehearse that all the way down there, we will. And how about, when we land and you meet Tori and Kaya and Nasaan, you pretend to care about this project, because if you want your money back, they're the key to making that happen."

The muscle in his lower jaw was working hard. He scraped his thumb across the dry stubble that he hadn't bothered to shave that morning. "Sure. Whatever. But I don't get how this benefits us. Or you. Where's the profit? We own the building, so what? It feels like a thing you did for a pretty girl and it's going to be an expensive mistake."

"First of all, we make rent money, as soon as Tori is in business. Second, the land appreciates and builds equity. We have the space to rent out to some other businesses, we have land to spare if we want to build something else. And Tori and I are talking about me being part owner at Nez Custom, so I have a vested interest in seeing the business succeed. All you need to care about is making your money back."

The flight steward came by to let us know we'd be taking off in a few minutes. Eric sat back in his seat and pulled the belt across his lap. "Fine. A week at the most, and then I fly back to LA. I have other things to do besides hang out in New Mexico looking at a pile of dirt."

"It's a deal." I relaxed again, my head comfortably nestled in the headrest. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the plane engine going through its pre-flight machinations.

"You must really like this woman. And her family."

My eyes popped open again. "Eric-"

"I didn't say anything bad. I wasn't going to. I'm just saying, this side of you is endearing."

"What side of me?" I asked, glaring out of the corner of my eye.

"This willingness to bend over backward to make sure this shop happens. Putting your own money behind construction, even buying into the business. This is an investment. This is time and money. Just saying. You must really like her."

I didn't answer Eric. Not because I was uncomfortable with his observation, but because we were preparing for takeoff.

And because I was thinking about his observation.

The last month had flown by like it was only a week. Between writing and recording sessions, I'd been talking a lot with Tori, sometimes several times a day. We'd exchanged notes on her vision for the building, created a budget and timeline for demolition and construction and even dreamed up long range plans, not just for her business but for the entire lot.

Once she got over her initial anger... well, enough to start working, we fell into our roles easily. I never, at any moment, felt remorse or regret about the steps I'd taken to make this happen for her.

For her. I'd realized early on that none of this was for me. I honestly didn't care if I made a penny off of the project and I wasn't worried about having to pay Eric back. Of course, I wanted it to work, but...I wanted it to work for her.

Apparently, I really liked her. And her family.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to go to sleep so I didn't have to think about what all that meant.

A short time later, I was being shaken awake. The plane was slowing down in its taxi down a private jetway.

"We're here," said Eric, unbuckling his seat belt. "Beautiful El Paso, Texas. And we're how far from Cloudcroft?"

"Couple hours, but the way Tori drives, we'll be home in no time."

I leaned across Eric to peer out of the window. I saw Tori's SUV waiting for us a few yards away. The sight of that little black vehicle made me grin.

I unbuckled my own belt and grabbed my duffel bag. As soon as the plane stopped moving and the steward opened the door, I bounded down the steps toward a couple of people with big smiles who looked happy to see me.

My feet hit pavement and seconds later, Tori's arms were wrapped around me, her face buried in my shoulder. My arms closed around her, bringing her closer. Just the smell of her hair made me giddy.

"Hey, hey, hey. Did you miss me a little?" She nodded, still holding on for life. "Hey, Kaya." I nodded at her and then at Eric. "Meet my business partner, Eric. He's the other half of Leo Enterprises. Eric, this is Tori's sister, Kaya."

They smiled polite smiles and shook hands. Tori eventually released me and stepped back, her face beet red but her smile beaming brighter than sunshine. She was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans with her long, thick hair held back by the shades that sat on top of her head, but I'd never seen a woman more beautiful. I looked forward to getting her alone.

"Honey, you are a sight for sore eyes." I cupped her face in my hands and leaned in to drop a kiss on her lips, just because I could. No hiding, no pretending we didn't care about each other. Tori's lips were soft and warm pillows. I wished I could linger on them, but I decided to save all of that longing for later.

I swiped my thumbs across her cheeks and kissed her again before I pulled back, dropping my arms back around her waist to keep her close to me.  "Where's my buddy? No Nasaan today?"

She shrugged. "I left him with the General Contractor. We cleaned out the shop and started a little bit of demolition. Nasaan and his friends are really interested in  spending their Spring Break destroying things."

"Oh, good. You've already started on that."

"I'll give you an update in the car."

"We'll get our bags and load up. And Eric," I tossed over my shoulder, "You have to sit in the back with Nurse Ratchet. Watch out for her, she brings the pain."

Kaya rolled her eyes and frowned. "Ugh, he's still whining about when I had to dig the road out of his ass after his accident."

"Oh, yeah?" Eric flipped his shades up over his head.  "That was you? He bitched about that forever. You made it hurt bad."

"You know it. No pain meds."

"Good.  That'll teach him to think he's some kinda biker guy, right?"

"Great, they're bonding." I groaned at Tori, who just smiled and got in the driver's seat. "Two hours of this; I can't wait."

The drive to Cloudcroft went quickly, not just because Tori drove like a bat out of hell, but because it was a warm, early spring day and the conversation in the car was a healthy mix of good natured ribbing and excited chatter about the developments with the shop.

"Hey Tori," Eric lobbed from the backseat, scooting up so she could hear him. "Since we're just now meeting, I didn't get a chance to apologize for how this whole building sale went down. I didn't know he was going behind your back until it was done."

"That's because it was none of your business. You were already giving me shit about buying the building."

"It's okay, Eric," said Tori, smiling as she sped through the desert. "I've long since learned that this is all JC's fault. I can't be mad at anyone but him. I already told him I was going to beat his ass."

"But remember, we talked about you meaning that in a-"

"JC-"

"Okay, alright."  I chuckled, watching the world go by outside my window.  "I'll settle down."

Tori pulled up at the house in no time and cut the engine. We all piled out and Eric and I, luggage in tow, followed Kaya and Tori into the house by the usual route of the kitchen door.

"Unfortunately, Eric, we don't have a guest bedroom, but Kaya works nights, so you can use her bedroom to sleep in. Or you can take the couch if you're more comfortable with that."

We had settled with mugs of coffee at the kitchen table, which had become Base Operations, after giving Eric the nickel tour of the small but warm, lived-in house. I thought back to my first night at the house, disoriented and in pain, and how I found it odd that two sisters would just open up their place to me.  

Now it was like home, and I'd missed the place, even grabbing my favorite mug for coffee and hanging my coat on the hook I always used.

"Or you can go to the Shithole Hotel," I suggested, winking at Tori over the rim of my mug.

"No thanks to the Shithole. They wouldn't even send you there, so it must be bad. The couch will be fine."

"I'll get you set up later," Tori said. "For right now, can we go over what's done and what we need to get done while Eric is here? Since he holds the checkbook, I have a list of things I need him to do and I understand he's only here for a few days."

After a marathon two hour meeting, we piled into Tori's truck and drove the mile to the building site. I couldn't even call it the shop anymore, since the shop was nothing but empty space waiting to be demolished.  

We'd found some temporary warehouse space in the next town over and I paid Nasaan and his friends to help her load up a truck and move the equipment, bikes, tools and other things she wanted to keep. Everything else would remain in the building and be destroyed and carted away.

It was already looking like a shell of itself. The bay doors were open and the little shop,  which I realized only seemed little because Tori had so much stuff shoved into it, was a barren concrete room.

I stood next to Tori, who stood outside looking in, her arms tightly wound around her torso. Her lips were a tight line and, with her shades on, I couldn't really read her.

"Ready for this?" I asked her quietly.

A puff of air burst from her lungs, forcing its way out of her mouth. "I don't see how I have a choice but to be ready. This was all forced on me-"

"Nothing was forced on you, Tori. I told you that you didn't have to move unless you were ready. You said you were ready-"

"Well now I'm not sure if I am!" She snapped. Then sighed, dipping her head so her chin practically rested on her chest. "Sorry. I'm... this is good. I'm just emotional."

I dropped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, pulling her close to me. "Everything will be okay. I'm right here. So is everyone. Right behind you, all around you."

"I... I know. It's just... all these years of being there for everyone. I'm not used to someone like...."

"Doing nice things for you? Not trying to take something from you? Really caring about you? Stop me when I get close..."

She was laughing. And leaning into me. "Yeah," she finally said, looking up at me. There was hope in that face. I put that hope there. Hell of an aphrodisiac. "So I got a phone call last night."

"From?"

"My dad."  

I felt like I'd been punched in the chest, for some reason. I'd never met or talked to Pat Nez, but I already had a feeling that Tori's downturn in excitement was due to her conversation with him. Kind of made me want to fly to Tennessee and have a chat with him about what it means to be a father, what it means to be a man.

It definitely didn't mean abandoning your family, your heritage, your whole life for some pretty Southern ass.

"So... what did he have to say?"

Tori shook her head slightly. I could almost see the eyeroll that accompanied the headshake. "Said he got an email from Mitch that the building had been sold. He wanted to know what was up with the shop- was it closed, what was I doing with it? At first, I thought he actually cared about me. About his family, you know? How we were making it out here."

"And what made you realize he didn't care?"

"When I told him everything, and he was so... hypercritical of it all. Of you buying the place, of me working with the new owner, of us tearing everything down and building something new, something better, expanding. He just kept saying Tori, what if it's a scam? What if it's not real? What if you get halfway through the project and he bails because you won't suck his dick?

I tried hard to hold in my laughter but couldn't help it. "Uh... does he not know that uh..."

"I've already barked up that tree? A lot?" She shook her head. Then smiled. "Anyway, I realized he was calling to gossip and discourage me from doing this, because he thinks it's dumb to follow your dreams or whatever. He asked me what I thought about him selling the land we own, though."

"Oh. And what did you say?"

"I told him to sell it if he wanted to. Or don't if he didn't. I didn't care."

"But... Tori, what about the house your grandfather built? And your family's history, heritage... are you serious? You'd just walk away?"

"No, I wouldn't walk away. I'd buy my own piece of land and move the house. If Chee wants the land and dad wants to sell it, he can have it. But he can't have my house. And at that point, some part of him probably won't even want the land, because he would have been looking forward to kicking me out."

"Damn. That was a tough conversation to have. Why didn't you call me?"

"Because I knew you'd be coming today. And I wanted you to get lots of sleep, rest up."

"Man, that flight was so early. I don't know why Eric booked us so early-"

"Uh... that's not what I wanted you to rest up for, Pretty Boy."

She lifted her shades long enough for me to see her dramatic wink, then kissed me before lowering them again. "I told you I would beat your ass when I saw you, didn't I?"

"Yep," I answered, grinning like a fool. "Looking forward to it."

 

...

 

"So did you manage JC when he was in *NSYNC?"

Nasaan reached across my plate for a bottle of spicy barbecue sauce and twisted off the lid, then poured a generous dollop onto his plate. Then he dumped a pile of pulled pork into the puddle and mixed everything together until the meat was coated in sauce.

Eric sat across from me at Fat Jack's, the lowlight of the no frills restaurant making him look as tired as he probably felt. We had run him ragged, from City Hall to Public Works and back to the building and out for supplies and tools.

There were contracts to sign and deposits to make- a tough job when you're the one that controls the money. I was adamant that he manage the budget, though. I wanted everything to do with helping Tori with the design.

"Uh, no," Eric answered, finishing off a bowl of baked beans. "JC did a solo project- a song for the movie Drumline. Interest in him seemed to grow and he needed a manager outside of *NSYNC. That's when I stepped into the picture."

"Oh. So you weren't around for any of that puffy, glow in the dark shit."

Eric laughed, casting a glance across the table at me. I guessed to make sure I was laughing too. "No. But JC is his own man and he does have an eclectic style, so..."

Eric shrugged and Nasaan went back to piling barbecue soaked pork on a handmade roll. "This uh... Fat Jack's is it? It's pretty good. Beats most of what we have in LA for barbecue."

"Wait till we have Mi Cabanita," I said. "Taco Pie, my man. It sounds ugly-"

"It looks ugly," said Tori.

" - but it tastes great."

"Can't wait. So what's on tap for tomorrow? More running around town?"

We chatted a little about the rundown for the next few days; the start of demolition and preparing the site for new construction, meeting with the building designer, the General Contractor and all of his crew- electrician, cement guy, etc.

"This project is... huge, JC. You ready for this? Can you two handle this?"

I looked over at Tori, then dropped an arm across the back of her chair and brushed my lips against her forehead. "We're going to take this day by day, week by week. Until we're ready to kill each other, and then I'll go home for little while. Right?"

Tori smiled, tipping her head up so that our lips met.

"Well, I didn't know the preppy sumbitch was comin' back to town!"

There was no mistaking that loud, man-like bellow. I didn't even have to turn around to know that Eloise stood behind us. But I did turn around. And stand, because that's what you do when the Sheriff drops by your table.

"Sheriff Harding," I greeted her, letting her wrap her bear arms around me. "Nice to see you, ma'am."

"Oh, hush up with that ma'am bullshit. Making me feel even older than I am. And call me Eloise, son. You're practically family now." She gave nods to Tori and clapped Nasaan on the back. Her eyes landed on Eric and she stiffened. A stranger in her town.

"Uh, Sher-Eloise, this is my business partner, Eric. Eric, this is Eloise Harding. She's the Sheriff. Obviously." I gestured toward the uniform and the gold star and the cap.

She leaned over the table and offered a hand, which Eric stood to accept. "You with him?" she asked him. He nodded. "Yeah, you keep him out of trouble and off of motorcycles, you hear me? The kid can't ride worth a shit."

She joined us in a light bout of laughter, then tipped her hat. "I'm about to head out.  I'm on my rounds. Gonna hit Presby next. Got anything for Kaya?"

Tori handed her the to-go order we'd planned on dropping by for her, and she ducked past our table and out the front door.

"Nasaan, go grab a couple of to-go boxes so we can go home. Eric looks like he's about to fall asleep in his coleslaw."

The nice thing about Cloudcroft was that twenty minutes after you left the dinner table, you could be back home with your shoes off and your feet up, nursing a beer with your arms around your girl. Or, at least I could.

Eric had stumbled into the shower and Nasaan escaped to his bedroom and turned on some music, so Tori and I were alone for the first time all day. She didn't waste any time getting close, practically humming while nuzzling my beard. I'd decided not to shave it; instead I started going to a men's salon to have it trimmed and moisturized every week. There were far too many photographers in LA to walk around looking crazy.

"Today was good. It's so nice to have you here, not on the phone or on Skype."

"It's really nice to be here. To hold you, to look at you." I lowered my head and brushed my lips against hers. "To kiss you. To... do other things to you. Maybe we should go upstairs."

"Well, I don't want to abandon Eric down here by himself."

I laughed. "He's pretty smart. He can figure out how to go to bed."

I tapped her on the shoulder, then grabbed her half empty bottle of beer and pushed myself up from the couch. "And he's exhausted and when he's that tired, Eric sleeps like the dead. He'll pass out as soon as his head hits the pillow. Come on."

Tori laughed as I pulled her up and into my arms. I started walking us toward the stairs but she resisted. "Wait, JC! I need to set the couch up!"

I glanced over her head and frowned. "There's pillows and a pile of blankets. I promise you, he'll figure it out."

"Well okay, but if we come downstairs for breakfast and Eric is laying on the table because he couldn't figure out where to sleep..."

I laughed, then pulled Tori ahead of me so I could follow her up the stairs. "Then we should really worry about him holding the checkbook, huh."

I managed to get Tori upstairs and down the hall. We tiptoed past Nasaan's room but didn't really need to, since he had music blaring and seemed to be yelling expletives at someone- likely playing a game with his friends. At least I hoped.

We slipped into Tori's room and I reached for the light switch on the wall, which bathed the room in  soft, soothing light from the lamps on the nightstands. The handcrafted furniture and intricately designed lamps and the..."Tori-ness" of the room was exactly what I'd pictured in my mind every night.  

She was already removing clothes and heading toward the bathroom off of her bedroom. "Whoa, mama." I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up against me, making sure she could tell that I was aroused. Very aroused. "Where are you going?"

"I need a quick minute in the bathroom. Let me... lemme go!" She giggled and played at fighting me, then for serious wrestled out of my grip and ran to the bathroom. "Make yourself useful. I wanna see skin when I come out of here."

I was already ahead of her, pulling at the collar of my shirt and toeing off my shoes. "When, exactly, did you get so demanding?"

"When I met a man who would bulldoze over me if I didn't assert myself. Get naked." She winked and then shut the door in my face. A moment later I heard the sink running and drawers opening and closing.

My t-shirt and jeans ended up in a pile on the corner chair. I kicked my shoes and socks under the chair as well and walked around the bed to start pulling down the comforter and getting rid of the fancy pillows. Under one of the pillows was a spiral bound sketch pad, open to a page and a half-drawn image that looked remarkably like me.

I flipped back a few pages. On the surface, she was just messing around, but every few pages there was a drawing of a bike, or a view of the building, or a list of ideas. I loved that side of Tori, though she didn't show it very often. It had to be hard to always be the strong one and never show a sensitive side, even with the men in her life.

I decided that, for as long as I was around, Tori was going to get to be her real self.

I was so into her drawings that I didn't hear the bathroom door open. It wasn't until she called my name that I glanced up to find her standing statuesque in the doorway to with one hand extended above her head, the other perched on her hip.

My eyes drifted from her hair, wavy and shiny, drawn into a high ponytail, to her face, which had been scrubbed clean so her beautiful, natural tone was on display. Then my gaze dropped down to her body and... I froze.

"Unh uh," I grunted, shaking my head. "That thing... it's gotta go."

Granted, she was only wearing the top and not the full set, and never mind her long, shapely legs and the clean scent of her body wash wafting around me, tempting me. Those ugly fleece pajamas with the cats all over them? Had to go.

She moved toward me, almost gliding across the floor and stopped in front of me. "You... you don't like this?"

"You know I don't. And you told me to be naked when you came out, and you came out wearing that- "

"Well, then JC," she interrupted, rising up onto her toes so she could whisper in my ear. "You'd better take it off."

"Okay, that's what I'm talkin' about."

I tossed the sketchbook into the chair on top of my clothes and reached for Tori. I gripped the hem of the shirt, but then thought better of the situation. I was sure she expected me to rip it off, but... knowing that it would, eventually come off put me in less of a hurry to see it crumpled on the floor.

So instead of pulling the shirt up and over her head, I moved in and kissed her, lightly at first. Her arms circled my neck and she leaned into me, moaning into my mouth. I couldn't help but make the same sounds in return. She felt... so good.

Tori pulled back and her gaze found my eyes. "I thought you were in a hurry for this top to come off. I expected you to-"

"Ravage you? Rip your clothes off? Have my way with you? Stop me when I get close..."

Tori laughed. "Uh... yes all of that. Not that I mind the seductive route all that much."

She lifted her lips to mine and stole another kiss, and made it a point to press her body into mine and rub herself against me, feeling my hardening arousal. The nubs of her nipples poked through the thin fleece and warmth radiated through her skin.

"So... what is it that you want to do instead?"

"Well..."

I started moving, walking us over to the bed that I hadn't finished clearing of pillows and turning down. I didn't think I could wait, though, so we were going to have to have sex with a lot of pillows and blankets on the bed. At least the first time.

"I plan to keep kissing you, because it's been about a month and a half since I could kiss you. And then I have every intention of unbuttoning this unholy, ugly piece of fabric and pulling it off of you so I can look at you. All of you. And then I'm going to throw that thing away."

Tori giggled, nodding her agreement with my plan so far.

"And then... I'm... gonna lay you down on this nice bed right here. And kiss every inch of skin I can find. And lick you in all the places you've been dreaming about for the last month. And then I plan to fuck you until you want to scream my name but you can't because your son is down the hall and my manager is passed out on the couch. I'm kind of hoping you'll bite me instead."

Her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows knit together. "I know. That's a new one. But let's try it."

Tori shrugged, trying hard to look nonchalant but I'd noticed her heart rate rapidly increasing, her eyes dilating and the pallor of her skin growing pinker by the second. If I wasn't careful, she might catch on fire.

"Don't..." Her breath hitched. She had to swallow and clear her throat before she could go on. "Don't let me keep you from your to-do list. You're a busy guy, one of those celebrity LA Pretty Boy types. Wouldn't want to upset you by standing in your way."

"You're a smart ass, Tori."

"My ass isn't the only smart part of me, JC."

"You also have a smart mouth. Speaking of-" I flopped down on the bed and opened my arms, welcoming her to join me. "Bring it to me."

She grinned, then dropped down next to me and immediately scooted her body up against mine. I wasted no time in devouring her mouth, sucking on her lips, her tongue, kissing her face, then moving to her neck and kissing her there until I found myself between her breasts.

"One button down," I announced, as I popped the button off of the shirt.

"Are you- stop that!"

"Nope," I said, popping off another one. "You can't wear this shirt again unless you put buttons on it. And you cook a mean sloppy joe omelet but you're not all that domestic, so..." Another button hit the dust, flying over our heads and pinging against the headboard. That was enough to open the shirt and bury my face in two soft, luscious pillows.

My fingertips coaxed the response I was looking for- hard and erect, reaching for me and begging me to suck them. Every pull of my mouth and rasp of my tongue brought a reaction, a roll of her hips or a groan that had to stay in her throat so no one could hear us.

I felt hands on me, on top of my head, then gripping my shoulders. And pushing down. I took the hint and moved down her body, popping more buttons until the shirt was all the way open.

I relaxed between her spread legs and reached out to her, caressing her soft, glistening  lips with the tip of a finger. "You know what's a really good turn-on?"

"Mmm?" She hummed, watching me stroke her.

"When a woman is really... really wet. Like you are right now."

"Oh really? Is it because a strong wind can make you hard but it takes effort to turn a woman on? So you feel like you did something?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. Something like that. Like...I did that."

"Not yet," she teased, rolling her hips up toward me. The look on her face, the smoke in her eyes- not just hornyness but wanton, seductive need-  made me even harder.

I kissed and nibbled at her inner thighs, one and then the other until I was at her core. Flicking her clit with my tongue I could hear her whispered moan.

"Oh my God... don't stop..." Pushing against my mouth ever so slightly, she was giving me the high sign for more.

"Don't plan on it anytime soon, honey."

I lapped at her clit like a man dying of thirst. She let me know, in no uncertain terms, that she was all the way into it. I slid one then two fingers inside her, amazed at how warm and wet she was. I heard her squeal, felt her thrashing around, but didn't bother looking up. It was all I could do to keep a grip on her body with one hand while working the fingers of the other inside her.

"Oh my... okay, you have to stop. Please. Please."

Right away, I pulled back and let go of her legs. "You okay? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I stopped."

She sat up and reached for me, pulling me up her body by my armpits. "I'm not hurt. I'm okay. I'm just ready... and you know how I like you inside me when I come."

"Oh..." I heaved a sigh of relief and almost collapsed on top of her. I hadn't been hot before, but now I was blazing and about to drip sweat. "Shit. Tori. You gotta find a better way to tell me you want me to stop sucking and start fucking."

"Okay, how about... stop sucking-" She kissed me, working her fingers beneath the band of my boxer briefs and taking me in her warm hand. " - and start. fucking."

"Condoms. Please say you have some."

"I have the ones you left here." She gestured toward a drawer and I dove across the bed toward it and pulled it open. I grabbed a small square package and ripped it open, dumping the wrapper back in the drawer.

When I made my way back to Tori, I was happy to find that she had pulled the ugly cat shirt off and tossed it across the room. There was nothing but skin as far as eye could see. That made me happy.

"Condom?"

I held up the latex ring to show her, then rolled it on and lowered my body to hers. Our lips met briefly, and then for longer. In moments we were frantically, passionately kissing, our muffled groans only audible between us. And that's not the only thing that was between us. I felt the gentle touch of a hand grip me, directing me in the right direction.

I sensed her opening and thrust my hips, sinking into her. I let a long, satisfied sound roll from my lips. And I didn't care who heard it. I was in heaven.

I pulled out until I was barely inside her, then paused and waited for her to react. When she squealed, I chuckled and slid back in. With each thrust I inched in deeper until my length filled her. She felt unbelievable around me, squeezing and gripping, releasing, then starting all over again.  

I sucked one enlarged nipple, then the other before speeding up. I watched her head roll back and her eyes slide closed but her body wasn't at rest. She worked with me, arching her back and rolling her hips and clinging to me.

"I'm ready when you are, honey. You go, I go."

"Unh... I'm..."

I slowed my pace to a more sensuous, grinding lovemaking. Tori's limbs tightened around me; she panted hot breaths against my skin and let out short squeals in my ear.

"Are you close? You coming?"

Tori was shaking, she was so close to the edge. So I had to help her out. I slipped a hand between us and caressed her, concentrating my thumb on her clit.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Don't stop! Right there... holy...shhhhhhh...."

I'd done a lot of impossible things in my life, but having sex while playing with a clit while clamping your hand over a woman's mouth so she didn't wake the entire house with a loud orgasm took the cake.

I chuckled, watching her come down, the pink fade from her skin, the beads of sweat that had popped up roll into her hair. I replaced my palm across her mouth with my lips. When I pulled back, there was... this look. Her expression, the... glow in her eyes.

I knew it. And I felt it, too.

It wasn't time to say it, and she felt that too, obviously, because she didn't. But she was trying to tell me, with her eyes.

"You good?" I whispered, hovering over her, still inside her.

She nodded, beaming a tired, kind of drunk smile up at me. "You?"

"Uhm... I'm good. But I didn't come yet."

Her eyes popped wide open. "Finish," she ordered, pulling me close to her, rocking her body against mine.

"You sure? You seem tired-"

"I'm not too tired for this."

"Really, we don't have to-"

Tori sighed, then rolled her eyes and started to sit up, using her palms to push me up.

"Wait, where-"

"I see I have to take control and be demanding again. Lay back. Lemme handle this."

Tori climbed me, quickly guiding me back to her. Her full breasts were my pleasant view; I helped myself to her hard nipples, cupping her breasts as she rode me. Sitting straight up, she rotated her hips in a sexy, slow grind.

I was in heaven. Almost lightheaded. "You... feel... amazing. Like... you were made for sex."

"Mmmm, maybe I was?"

"Where've you been my whole life?"

"Right here, baby. Waiting for you. Ready?"

Before I could answer, Tori lifted herself and then sank onto me, over and over, slowly at first, but then again and again, faster. Harder. Each time rocking her clit against my pubic bone. Her breasts rolled seductively and she made these... sounds. And she was staring at me, those brown eyes piercing mine...

"I'm there... I'm there..." My eyes slid closed and I fell over the cliff, releasing everything in a heady, draining release.

All of my nerve endings were numb. I just barely felt Tori climb off of me, roll the condom off and hop off of the bed. I was still lying there, arms spread out and staring at the ceiling when she came back.

"You good?"

I laughed, just a low gurgle, because that was all I had the energy for. I tried rolling my head in her direction and made it far enough that I could see her, look her in the eye. "I am... so good, honey. You beat my ass."

I must have passed out, then. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was streaming through the curtains and I was alone in the bed. Tori had, somehow, pulled the covers down with me on top of them, because I was naked beneath them.  

I groaned, my limbs stiff, and rolled over, then sat up and swung my feet to the floor. As I bent over to grab the handles of my duffel bag, I heard the door swing open.

"Whoa, hey!" Tori yelled, laughing and pushing the door shut.

"Sorry." I grabbed the bag and dumped it onto the bed with a smug grin.  "Didn't know you were coming. Sure you didn't wanna be eye to eye with that."

"I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about how pale your ass is. I should buy you some ass-less chaps and make you wear them today."

"Uh, and you'd find those in the garbage, next to that ugly... cat... thing."

She laughed, then rounded the bed and grabbed my face, bringing me to hers for a kiss. "Breakfast is ready, Kaya is home, Eric figured out where to sleep and Nasaan is ready to work. All we're missing is you, Pretty Boy. Hurry up."

She kissed me again, then bounced out of the room, closing the door behind her.

All we're missing is you...

Tori could fight it all she wanted. I was a part of this family.

And it made me happier than anything to say that.

 

 

 

One year later...

Los Angeles, CA

 

 

"Okay, you've got the address to the house in your GPS, right?"

Nasaan nodded, the mop of hair on his head bobbing with his movements. "Good. Take your time, enjoy your ride, don't speed. LAPD isn't like Eloise or her deputies. You know what I mean?"

He nodded, said, "Yup. I'm good," then picked up the helmet I'd bought him for his birthday last year and tugged it on over his hair. It was a slick, matte black Seena Momentum with Bluetooth. According to Tori, he even wore the thing around the house.

He balanced himself, flipping up the kickstand on this year's birthday present, a Nez Custom bike, midnight black, courtesy of me and his mom. He'd been accepted to several schools, so the fact that he'd be leaving was an inevitability. The more she thought about it, the more nervous Tori felt about letting him take a very old, vintage bike away from home.

So she built him one. We'd unveiled the gift at his surprise 17th birthday party, and then told him to pack a bag.

The next day we loaded the bike onto a rental truck, along with her first order of custom builds and he, Tori and I drove from Cloudcroft to LA for the week. He was spending his Spring Break touring colleges around California, with the hope that he'd choose UCLA so he could be close to me. I also hoped we'd get to take a ride along the Pacific Coast Highway. Nasaan had never seen the ocean and I wanted to be the first to show it to him.

Tori and I stood in the driveway and watched Nasaan rev the gurgling percolator of an engine and speed off down the street. I heard the whine of the bike for several seconds after he disappeared.

"Exactly what I told him not to do." I glanced over at Tori. She tried to frown but didn't quite make it.

"Well, that's a teenager for you. On a brand new bike." She tilted her head up, smiling into the view of deep green trees and luxury homes hiding in the spaces between.  "In the Hollywood Hills. For the first time."

"Yeah. I guess. He needs a haircut. That helmet will fit better, I think, with shorter hair."

"Why didn't you tell him that?"

I shrugged, dropping my arm around her shoulders and guiding her back toward the house. We were alone in my Hollywood mansion and I wanted to take advantage of that.

"The kid thinks I'm cool right now. I didn't want to be the heavy, all ‘do something with your hair' about it. Besides, I feel like that's a mom thing to say."

Tori laughed, tipping her head back. "Oh, no, no. We grow our hair long. Letting the hair grow freely and naturally signifies free flow of life, a growth of spirit. I always want Nasaan to feel free; I don't ever want to hold him back, so we don't argue about hair in our family."

"Oh. Well, I guess I've gotta let it go, huh?"

"Yeah. You do. Besides," she said, stopping to turn so she was facing me. She combed her fingers through my shoulder length hair, then smoothed down my beard. My eyes started to roll, because I already knew what she was about to say. "He's not the only one with free flow of life going on, and we let you keep your hair long."

"You do let me keep my hair long. Actually you beg me not to cut it, but same thing." I dipped my head to kiss her, then grabbed her hands and continued our journey back to the house. "C'mon. Let's talk about this new dream you're cooking up. Leo Enterprises might be interested in helping you put it together."

We walked through the garage, up the stairs and into the kitchen, settling on bar stools after I poured us each a cup of coffee. I'd come downstairs that morning to find Tori out on a balcony, sitting in the sun with her sketch pad, drawing and making lists, but she'd been shy about showing me what she was working on.

"So can I see it? What you were drawing this morning?"

Tori's cheeks were pink, but she slid the sketchbook over to me, facedown. "Don't laugh," she said softly. "And don't...I mean, I thought about Nez Custom for about ten years before it happened, so don't think it's something I want right away."

"Okay..." I flipped the sketchbook over and almost disregarded the cover but something caught my eye.

Nez Custom Bikes & Repair- LA.

I tried not to show it, but I was surprised. Nez Custom- NM wasn't even a year old. We'd blown through design and construction, both on Tori's shop and a little breakfast and brunch spot next door in about nine months. Tori quickly started stealing repair business from area shops and even some a few towns over. In fact, she'd hired several mechanics so she could concentrate on designing and building new bikes.

Soon after she opened, a few friends placed orders for our charity ride later this spring, so she'd been busy, her hands had been dirty and she'd been overwhelmingly happy.  But now... she wanted to expand?

"So, why another location? And... not that I don't want you here, but why LA?"

Tori pursed her lips, blowing out a breath and turning the coffee mug around and around between her hands. A few seconds passed, but I wasn't in a hurry and didn't push for her answer. I was insanely curious, though.

"I've been thinking and talking a lot with Nasaan about his future. A lot is going to be changing, really soon. He's leaning pretty heavily toward UCLA, you know. With the scholarships he could apply for, some money from the tribe and help from his dad, the burden on me might not be so heavy. Plus, you've generously offered a room here and that would cut down on living expenses. Though, the way he eats..."

I chuckled, she laughed. His appetite was a running joke. And I guessed I had to learn how to make that sloppy joe omelet. 

"And I would worry less. It's not too far from home, but far enough where he feels like he's away from home, you know what I mean?"

I nodded, but I only sort of got it. I never got to leave for college. When I left home I went pretty far away, but then I was doing something totally different and I wasn't on my own.

"But I've also been thinking about you and I and what we're building. It's nice, right?" I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.  "It's easier than I thought it would be to work with you, and it works for us, me and you. So what if, when the business slows down for the winter in Cloudcroft, I had another shop to focus on? The weather here means people ride their bikes all year round. I could be knee deep in repairs and maintenance alone."

She started to get excited, leaving the mug on the counter and turning her body toward mine. "I'm not saying that you'd do the same thing as before- in fact, I don't want you to do that, seriously. I want to see how we do the first year. Then... maybe spend some time here, like you spent time in Cloudcroft. Pick a building, renovate. Enjoy LA and this Hollywood mansion with my boyfriend. And see if lightning will strike twice for me."

I grinned at the boyfriend part. Our relationship was unique, so we hadn't been much for labels, but I still liked knowing she thought of me as someone that belonged to her. She definitely belonged to me.

"Okay, I get it. What about the house? And Kaya? What... what happens to everything back home?"

"Kaya keeps the house, of course. If she gets lonely she can take some time off and come to LA. There's such a thing as a Traveling Nurse. And I'll be in Cloudcroft for peak business season. Which is, like, three months. Then I'm twiddling my thumbs, when I could be working."

Tori paused, her brown eyes wide and seeking mine out. Looking for fear... or any other kind of reaction, I guessed. "What do you... what do you think? Are you... scared? Does it sound like a shitty idea? Am I moving too fast? What?"

I shook my head and grabbed her hands, which had been involuntarily flailing. "Honey, honey, honey...chill. I think it sounds good. I really do."

"Good." She stared at me like I'd said it was just okay. "Not great, not wow Tori that's a brilliant idea?"

"Tori, I think it's a good idea. I also think it needs time and fleshing out, just like Nez Custom did, but if this is something you want, you'll make it happen. I'll be right here, ready to offer whatever kind of help you need."

She sighed, seeming to sag with relief.  "Eric will be happy to hear that we don't have to go through Leo for this location."

"True. Although, between you and Pepper's Breakfast & Brunch next door, he's making a nice penny off of rent right now. He might insist."

I leaned forward and kissed her, then kissed her again. "I'm excited to see what happens. And I'm excited to have Nasaan here, because it means his mom will come visit me."

"Are you sure? I don't want to invade your space. I mean, you live a different life here and I don't want to assume I can just-"

I cut her off by covering her mouth with mine. Every time I released her, she tried to keep arguing but I kept kissing her until she just stopped.

"You done?" I asked her. She nodded. "Good. Because... well, do you remember when you got mad at me because you thought I was trying to take your family? But really you were scared because I was way too comfortable at your house, with your kid and your sister? I fell right in and made myself at home and I actually stuck around. You weren't expecting or even hoping for that."

"But I explained-"

I lifted a hand to quiet her. "I'm not bringing that up to argue with you. I'm saying... you were right. Not in an evil way, but I was eerily close to your family. It was necessary, right? We'd never be where we are today if we didn't just accept that this was meant to be. You, me, us... Nez. This family. And I'm thinking that this..."

I picked up the sketchpad and flipped through the first two pages of drawings- a one story store-front, a two story flashy shop, a couple of Nez original bike designs- and set the book on the counter in front of her.

"I think this is just the next episode, the next step for us. It feels natural. It feels real, it feels like something you can do. It feels like something we can do together. Look, this is definitely not what I was looking for when I hopped on that bike last winter. But a year later, I'm in love with this woman who's incredibly talented, like an artist. And her kid, who's funny and real and I'm thankful he thinks I'm cool. And a really mean nurse with a smart mouth that I can call if I need a reality check."

Tori smiled, then giggled. "She's having a tag made for her spot at the Nurse's Station that says Nurse Ratchet."

"Good," I said, laughing. "She needs to warn everyone around her that she brings the pain."

The room fell silent as chuckles faded away and the reality of what we were discussing began to hit the both of us full force. We hadn't even really talked about the first step in our relationship and here we were discussing a bold and ambitious future. I loved it, man. Every second of it.

Tori exhaled a long, soul clearing, lung emptying breath. I felt the weight of everything that she kept rolling through her mind all the time melt away. She grabbed my hands again, pressing my palms together and trying hard to wrap my big man hands in her delicate ones.

"This... us thing we have going on? We work, somehow. And I don't want to do anything that's going to mess with that. I'd be fine to stick with one location for now if you even had an inkling of a thought that LA wouldn't work-"

"Not gonna happen," I said, cutting that right off. "If this is officially what you want, I will help you make it happen."

I leaned forward and dropped my lips on hers, then let them linger, then deepened the kiss until intensity grew to a point where I was hoping we could relocate and enjoy some time alone.

Then I heard the whine of a motorcycle in the distance. Shit.

"Man, I was just getting ready to get down. Sounds like the kid is on his way back," I mumbled against her lips. "Raincheck?"

Tori groaned, a little whine coming through, too. "Get me all worked up and then tell me I have to wait."

"Hey, he's your kid. Tell him to stop showing up at inconvenient times. I'll make it up to you later."

"Goody," she said, then kissed me and hopped off of the bar stool. "A chance to beat that ass."

The rumble of the bike was loud, now. Nasaan must have been sitting in the driveway. I slid off my stool to follow her downstairs.

"That's not... not what I meant. But... it's okay."