Fracture

5. Dylan

CHAPTER 5

DYLAN

Levi is waiting for me when I bring my bike to a stop outside Mario’s shop.

“Hey.” He gives me a warm smile as I take off my helmet. “How was it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I can’t voice what just happened with my grandfather, how mean and cold he was. “He gave me my trust fund, and that’s all I cared about, so…” I shrug, and trail off.

“Fair enough.” Levi claps an arm around shoulders. “Sorry it went bad.”

I swallow hard, resisting the urge to put my arms around him and bury my face in the crook of his neck. “Yeah, it always goes bad with him. But it’s done now.” I gesture to the shop, trying to ignore how good he smells. “So, what do you think?”

Levi releases me to tuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and gazes up at the front of the garage. “I think it’s great. He has good staff, we both know what we’re doing, and he trusts us to keep it going.”

“So, we’re in?”

Levi turns to me with a wide smile, holding his hand out. “Guess so, pretty boy.”

The leap my heart does when he calls me pretty boy… It’s just a stupid nickname. But the way he looks at me when he says it, the warmth in the way he grabs my hand and pulls me in for a one-armed hug…

It wasn’t always like this. He was my friend, my best friend, and my girlfriend’s brother at that. He was there for me when my parents died. He was there for me those nights in prison when the bars became too much, coaching me through panic attacks, when I felt pathetic and small and like a stupid little boy who’d wanted to act the big man.

But now, we’re out. We’re free. Now I can say what I want, who I want, that these feelings I have are real…

I give myself an internal slap. You want Stella. You love Stella, You’re trying to win her back, and now you’re here thinking about her goddamn brother. You’re sick .

My grandfather’s stinging parting words pursued me out the door and straight into this moment, a moment which I’m meant to be celebrating. Instead I’m consumed with self-loathing for wanting to fuck my best friend and his sister, like some sadistic little homewrecker.

Stella would never understand. She knows I’m bi, but she wants someone monogamous, who’s faithful only to her. Not to her and her brother. Her brother who sure as fuck never looked at a man as anything more than a friend.

“Hey, where are you?” Levi regards me with a confused smile. “You just totally zoned out.”

I step back from him with a shrug. “Sorry, it’s just all of this, it’s a lot.” I wave a hand at the garage. “Life, you know? Possibilities. All the things we wanted to have, and now, we can have them. I guess I’m adjusting.”

“Yeah, aren’t we all?” Levi turns back to the garage and nods. “This is going to help, though. Give us purpose. A reason to get up in the morning.”

“Stella suggested therapy,” I blurt out, and Levi regards me with a sideways glance.

“Did she? I have a feeling our little Stella needs some of that herself.” He rolls his shoulders, and a dark haze settles over his face. “Remember Jared Marshall, from high school?”

“How could I forget?” That asshole was responsible for most of my black eyes, slamming my head into my locker every chance he got until I was finally bigger than him. “Wasn’t he a quarterback or some shit?”

“Something like that.” Levi huffs out a laugh. “Stella’s going on a date with him.”

I clench my teeth so hard I’m sure I’m going to crack a molar. My hands curl into painful fists and I shove them into my pockets quickly so Levi doesn’t see. “A date? Like, a date ?”

Levi tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. “A date. 3pm at the lake. Said she’d let him take her bikini off with his teeth.”

I shift on my feet, rage and jealousy so acute welling up in my chest that I swear my breath is green as I exhale. “Good for her.”

Levi laughs out loud, his eyes glinting as he sizes me up. “Yeah, good for her. And him.”

Mario picks that moment to come out, his hands lifted in greeting and a brilliant smile on his weathered face. “My boys! Come on in!”

I push all my negative thoughts and feelings to the back of my mind, and try to focus on the here and now. Mario takes us on a tour of the shop, which is completely unnecessary. We cut our teeth on bikes in this place. We learned everything we know from him. But Mario’s proud of the shop his father opened all the way back in 1946, so we humor him and follow him, promising to keep everything just as it is.

“So, my boys,” he says it again with paternal pride as he pours us both a honey-coloured liquor from a fancy gold-topped bottle. “Metaxa, from my home, and only for special occasions. And today is a very special occasion.”

“Sure is.” Levi agrees, taking one of the glasses and raising it in Mario’s direction. “Cheers.”

“ Stin iyia mas !” Cheers. Mario smiles at us both, and takes a sip of the liquid.

When I raise it to my lips, it smells strong of berries, and the taste is sweet and cloying on my tongue. My eyes wander up to the clock on the wall, ticking away loudly, and I see it’s just after 3pm. The image of Stella in her tiny bikini pops up in my head and, I wonder if she’s already on her date with Jared fucking Marshall.

“So, we hand all the papers to the lawyers, and then the place is yours.” Mario’s joy-filled voice brings me back into the office and away from the lake where Stella is probably frolicking with one of the assholes who called me homo all the way back in high school. “I have to say, I couldn’t be happier to see it go to you.”

“We’re more than happy to take it over and see you retire well, Mario.” Levi places his glass on the table and leans back in the creaky leather office chair, his legs sprawled out in front of him. “It’s the start we both need.”

“And you’ll keep all the men on?” Mario asks, his eyebrows raised. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but these guys, they’re all good men. They have families, kids, you know? Some of them are still so young, and I took a chance on them.”

“No one is losing their job on our watch,” I assure him. “I mean come on, fresh outta prison, we’re not exactly in a position to judge.”

Mario’s expression becomes earnest, his fingers steepled over his soft belly. “I want you both to know, I always supported what you did. Harold Langford, he was no good. A bad man. If he’d attacked my best friend, I would have done the same.”

Levi and I both dip our heads at the same time, and Levi gives me that side glance full of knowing. The silent agreement that’s existed between us all these years, the one we signed our names to. This is the story we tell. This is what the public knows. This is how we protect Stella.

Levi quickly perks up. “Hey, so we were thinking of having a party at our place, well, the place we’re staying.”

“We were?” My head snaps to look at him with a frown. “I mean, will Stella be-”

Levi waves his hand. “Ah, she’ll be fine, when we tell her it’s to get to know all the fine fellas at this establishment, she won’t mind.”

Mario’s face is beaming with pride. “You boys, you’re good eggs. Bet Stella appreciates having you both around.”

I down the rest of the honeyed liquid, which coats my tongue and throat in a layer of sweetness so thick I can’t do anything else but simply nod. Levi grabs a piece of paper and a pen from Mario’s desk, and scrawls down his number and Stella’s address.

“Here, tell them to be there at 7pm tomorrow. Just some drinks, shoot some pool, let them get to know their new bosses.”

“They’ll be thrilled.” Mario looks like he’s about to burst into tears. He wags his finger at us both, and sighs happily. “You two, you two are going to look after this place.”

“Sure will.” Levi gets to his feet and leans across the table to shake Mario’s hand. “Now, thank you for the drink, but we have some things to do.”

Mario rises and shakes both our hands vigorously, thanking us again and again. We finally make it back out into the parking lot, and I turn to Levi with confusion.

“We have somewhere to be?”

“Sure.” He straddles his bike and pulls his helmet on. “Kinda hot this afternoon. Maybe we should go cool off by the lake.”

I’m on my bike and revving the engine before he has his helmet buckled.

The Fairview Lake parking lot is packed when we pull up. Loud music wafts up from the beach, and I know it’s probably full of college kids home for the summer. We park our bikes under some trees at the edge of the lot, and the fresh breeze that hits me when I take off my helmet is more than welcome.

The lake looks much like it did when we were last here, all those summers ago. The trees are taller, and there’s a new cafe on the edge of the clearing before the grass turns into sand. But everything else is the same - kids everywhere, teenagers playing music, families lying in the sun and plenty of folks swimming in the water.

Stella’s here somewhere, maybe making out with Jared fucking Marshall. Maybe he’s grabbing her ass while it’s barely covered in a tiny bikini. I hate myself for the renewed surge of jealousy that has me balling my fists at my sides. Is it wrong for Stella to date? She told me she wouldn’t make any promises. I read into it too much.When she said I had a chance, that wasn’t a guarantee.

But it still doesn’t do anything to temper the urge to find her and carry her off this beach like I’m a fucking caveman.

“Nice day, huh?” Levi peels off his shirt, tucking it into the back of his jeans.

“Yeah, real nice.” The dark mood from before settles over me again, as I can’t help but glance at Levi’s abs, the tattoos that snake across his pecs. His jeans hang even lower now as we move through the crowd, and the deep V over his hips…

I tear my eyes away. What the fuck is wrong with me? Losing my mind over Stella and her date, and now ogling my best friend? Fuck. Maybe Zee was right. Maybe I do need to go and get laid, get this shit out of my system.

I force my attention back on to the beach, the people around us, trying to spot Stella’s shiny blonde head of hair. Levi and I make it down to the water, to some rocks that line the beach, and he throws himself down, leaning back on his hands.

“Maybe she didn’t come after all.” He looks up at me, his gaze wandering down my body. “You look hot, pretty boy.”

“Excuse me?”

Levi gestures to my black pants and shirt. “You, dressed like that. Strip off for god’s sake, cool off a little.”

“Oh, right.” I grab a handful of shirt behind my head and pull it off. Just as I do, I hear Stella laughing. I look out over the water, and a flash of pink catches my eye.

It’s Stella, thrown over Jared fucking Marshall’s shoulder as he runs through the water with her. Her ass is right by his head, barely covered in a tiny triangle of pink.

“Jared!” She cries playfully. “Put me down!”

Levi lets out a low laugh from the ground beside me. “There’s our girl.”

“We gonna go get her?”

Levi raises a hand languidly. “Just wait.”

I watch as Jared dumps Stella in the water, his face lit up in a brilliant smile. I can’t help but judge the tribal tattoo across his shoulders. Basic ass fucking bitch . The closest Jared fucking Marshall has ever come to anything tribal is Spring Break in fucking Cancun. Every Spanish and Polish expletive I can think of bubbles up in my brain as I watch this milk toast fucking white boy prance around in the water with my girl.

Uncultured asshole dares to get himself a tribal tattoo. Fuck that.

“You should see your face,” Levi says with a laugh, rising to his feet. “If looks could kill, that bitch would be fucking dead right now.”

“Just looking at his ink.” My face pulls into a sneer I can’t even help. “Bet he cried like a fucking baby when he got it.”

“He used the numbing cream.” Levi chuckles, and bites his lip as he looks at me. “We should go say hi.” He peels off his jeans, stripping down to his dark blue boxers, and dumps his clothes on the rock beside us. I follow suit, and we climb down off the rocks and into the cool water.

It laps at our calves as we make our way towards Stella and Jared.

“Hey sis,” Levi drawls once he’s at Jared’s back.

Stella’s face instantly drops into a scowl as she pushes wet tendrils of hair from her face. Jared turns around slowly, appraising us both with a somewhat surprised expression, before his stupid preppy face bursts into a wide smile.

“Levi!” He holds out a hand, which Levi takes. “Good to see you man.” His gaze shifts to me, the friendly hand extended again. “Dylan, how are you?”

“Just fine.” I cross my arms over my chest, ignoring the extended hand, and I can’t help the twinge of satisfaction as Jared’s smile falters a little.

“Good for you remembering his name,” Levi says, his lips curving into a grin. “In high school it was, what was it again?” He turns to me. “I know Zee was Freak, but you? You were?”

I meet Jared’s paling face. “I was Homo.”

Levi wags his finger and turns back to Jared. “That’s right, Homo.”

Stella’s face changes from a scowl to sheer fury, her brows pulled down as she gets to her feet.

Jared holds up his hands, and he shrugs. “Hey man, I’m sorry. I was an asshole kid who went to an asshole church. It was wrong of me to ever say anything like that.”

“Yeah it was.” Stella’s voice is sharp as a whip, and all three of us turn to look at her. She crosses her arms over her chest, and fixes Jared with a look of pure poison. “How dare you.”

“Stella, that was years ago.”

She huffs out a breath and raises her eyebrows. “Oh, so ten years ago in the year of our lord twenty-fucking-fourteen you thought it was OK to call a bisexual man homo ?”

Levi is suppressing a laugh behind his hand, one hand on his hip as he watches the scene play out in front of him. Jared looks from me back to Stella, and starts to stammer out an apology.

“Stella, look, hey, it was a long time ago, and kids do stupid things, and well, Dylan, I mean-“ He turns to me helplessly. “I’m sorry, man. I really am.”

“Not. Good. Enough.” Stella starts to push past us, out of the water.

Jared lunges forward and seizes her hand, which she yanks away from him, spinning to face him, her amber eyes blazing.

“Do not touch me.”

“Stella, honey, I’m sorry.” He leans over her, and I can practically feel him trying to use those preppy good looks to win her over.

But it doesn’t work at all, as Stella shoves him in the shoulder, a move he doesn’t expect as he stumbles in the water.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Zee is my best friend, and Dylan is my-” She catches herself, swallowing hard as her eyes land on me, and the air is charged for a second. But then she shakes her head, storming out of the water. “I’ll find somewhere else to get my coffee in future!”

Levi’s shit-eating grin lands back on Jared, and he shrugs. “Too bad, man. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Jared looks so lost I almost feel sorry for him.

Then I remember him slamming my head into my locker when I was fourteen, asking me what anal felt like, asking me if I had AIDS, and then telling everyone I did when I told him no. Maybe it’s petty. Maybe I should let it go. Maybe he was just a misled asshole kid. But petty or not, I look down at him with nothing but pity and disgust.

“Dyan, I’m sorry, I really am.” Jared stammers. “I was an asshole in high school, but I’ve changed. I have. I’ve worked on myself to be a better person.”

I nod, looking out over the water. “Good for you.” I turn and start to walk away, stopping to turn my head over my shoulder. “ Twój tatua? wygl?da jak tanie psie gówno,” I spit at him. Your tattoo looks like cheap dog shit.

“What? Sorry, I don’t speak Mexican.”

I laugh as I walk out of the water, following Levi back to the rock to retrieve our clothes. I spot Stella hastily packing up her things, throwing her sun dress over her wet bikini, and Levi and I follow her back to her car.

“Got to work on that taste in men, baby girl!” Levi calls after her, and is met with Stella flipping him off over her shoulder. Levi laughs. “Oh, come on, you didn’t know Jared Marshall was a raging homophobe?”

“No, I didn’t.” She gets to her car and presses a button to open the trunk. “I wouldn’t have gone out with him if I’d known.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble.”

Her poisonous gaze is back as it lands on me, and she throws her bag into the trunk, slamming it shut and crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m sorry he said those things to you in school, Dylan. I had no idea. It was wrong. But you two coming down here like a pair of fucking GI Joes to ruin my date? I don’t think those two things are in any way connected.”

“Sure they are.” Levi gives her a brilliant smile. “We’re just looking out for you.”

She steps up to him and jabs a finger in his face. “You’re pissing on my leg, that’s all. Stop pulling the big brother act.” She backs away from him, and shakes her head as she regards us both with a face of sheer fury. “You do not own me. Neither of you. So stop acting like it.”

Before we can say anything else, she climbs into her car, gunning the engine and tearing out of the parking lot in a shower of dust.