“You can go back to sleep,” she said around the toothbrush in her mouth. “I should be done around eleven.”
“I got work, too,” I reminded her.
“Right,” she said, leaving the room again. When she came back, the toothbrush was gone and she went straight to the closet, kicking the backpack further inside as she pulled a hoodie off the hanger.
“You always like this in the morning?” I asked, chuckling as she got her head stuck in the sweatshirt.
“Only at four am,” she said in frustration as she finally got the sweatshirt on.
“Good to know.”
“I gotta go,” she said, coming over to lean down and kiss me. It took everything I had not to pull her back into bed.
“Love you,” she called over her shoulder as she left. Like she hadn’t even thought about it. Like she’d been doing it every day for years.
I sat up and pulled on my jeans as she moved around the living room and caught her just as she was about to go out the front door.
“Love you, too,” I said.
Kara paused, her hand on the doorknob, and shot me a smile over her shoulder.
She didn’t notice that I followed her outside and watched as she got to her Jeep safely. I didn’t go back inside until she’d pulled out of the parking lot.
Since there was no way I was going to be able to sleep again, I finished getting dressed and let myself out of the apartment. I figured I might as well get changed and go into work early. It’s not like anyone would care if I started earlier and quit earlier—as long as I was getting shit done, I could make whatever hours I wanted.
I was quiet as I let myself into my place, but I couldn’t help the startled bark of laughter that left my mouth when I found Charlie and Bishop curled up together on the couch—thankfully, fully clothed.
“What?” Bishop said, waking instantly. He nearly squashed Charlie as he jerked, his eyes searching for the threat.
“Just me, man,” I said softly.
“Fuck,” he said, relaxing back down against the cushions.
“That gets better,” I told him, remembering the first months on the outside. It took a while to get used to waking up without the fear.
“Good to know,” he said.
“You look cozy,” I joked.
“You care—”
“Nope,” I said, cutting him off. “She’s an adult.”
“Alright,” he said, curling his arm tighter around Charlie’s shoulders. “Quiet then,” he ordered, glancing at her. “Have a feelin’ this one wakes up swingin’, and I wanna stay where I’m at a while longer.”
“Good luck,” I said with a grin as I headed to my room. “You’ll need it.”
“I’m gettin’ that,” he said quietly, more to himself than me.
The rest of the morning went pretty much like every other morning for the last eight months I’d been working at the garage. I did a tune-up on an older minivan and changed out the transmission on a Tacoma, which was a complete bitch, but by the time everyone else was breaking for lunch, I was done for the day.
As I walked outside, wiping my hands with a rag, I ran into Grease.
My hands shot up in the air, the rag still dangling from one of them.
“You’re fine,” he grumbled. “You’re a fuckin’ idiot, but I’m not gonna hit you again.” He chuckled as he passed me. “You might wanna steer clear of Mack, though.”
“Shit,” I muttered, looking around the forecourt. I’d been so in my head about everything that had happened the night before and watching Kara get ready for work that morning that I’d hadn’t even thought about how Mack had taken Kara on his bike the night before.
No one knew that we’d fixed things. They’d all seen me reject her the day before and as far as they knew, that was where we still stood.
I figured I’d better find him before he found me.
Mack was at the bar talking to Will when I stepped inside the clubhouse. It was pretty quiet that time of day, but there were always at least a few people milling around. Grandma Brenna came out of the kitchen as I reached the end of the bar.
“Hey, Grandson,” she said, smiling. “You looking for something to eat?”
“That’s okay,” I said, holding back a grimace when Mack turned to face me. “Thanks, though.”
She looked between me and Mack and nodded, walking right back into the kitchen as Will headed in the opposite direction.
“You got balls, prospect,” Mack said, not bothering to get up from his stool. “Lookin’ for me?”
“Yeah,” I said, moving forward even though I wasn’t sure it was the smartest choice.
“Ya found me,” he said flatly.
“I just wanted—” I started, stopping when he huffed.
“You look about ready to shit yourself.”
“I’m not,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “I just wanted to let you know that me and Kara are good.”