Fit for the Job (24 page)

Evelyn stood. “I’m not so sure about that.” She turned toward Bodie and Sassy. “Hey, dinner’s ready!”

After dinner they went inside and Sassy opened her gifts. She liked the collection of horror novels Jay had gotten her, and gave him a tight hug—which made him think again of Evelyn’s comment about surrogate parents. He was pleased he’d drawn Sassy out of her shell and that they were clearly bonding, but it suddenly felt like a delicate and awesome responsibility.

But he’d do what he could to keep her happy, because it felt like the right thing. Making Sassy happy wasn’t exactly what he’d been hired for, but it seemed to have become part of his job, and it was the one thing he was congratulated for the most among the others in Eben’s realm.

After dinner they all brought slices of cake outside, and Bodie lit the fire pit in the backyard. They dragged lawn chairs over and sat around the fire when the night grew dark. Fireflies appeared in the woods, winking little lights in the darkness.

“It’s a bit early in the season for fireflies,” Evelyn said.

Sassy chuckled. “Maybe my father had them imported for my birthday.”

Bodie laughed. “It’s something he would do. He does love you.”

“Oh stop, Bodie,” Sassy said. “I was having a good time.”

“I’m just saying,” Bodie said. “He’s trying.”

Sassy rolled her eyes.

Jay looked across the fire at Bodie, who sipped a can of Coke as he gazed out into the woods. Bodie seemed severely loyal to Eben, and Jay wondered how much he actually knew about the blackmail situation. Which reminded Jay exactly how little he knew about Bodie.

But it didn’t feel that way. After that night at the bar when Bodie had talked about his past, Jay had begun to feel close to him. Bodie didn’t feel like a stranger to Jay. He felt like someone Jay wanted to get closer to still. But he couldn’t get Eben’s words out of his mind. He was still creeped out by the idea of Eben telling Bodie to sleep with him.

Jay cast his gaze out at the woods, watching the fireflies dance. Was
he
playing with fire here, dancing around in it without realizing he was getting burned? He’d been following his heart, but it seemed there was a new and unsettling surprise around every corner since he’d started this job, which made him wonder if he should open his eyes wider. Or maybe he needed to stop looking at everything through the haze of rose-colored, lust-tinted glasses, and back his emotions up. With Bodie. With everybody. Because the truth was, he was already starting to love Sassy. He hated that she was a fragile, broken thing. He wanted to glue her back together and make sure she could never shatter again.

Sassy regaled them all with ghost stories, most of which involved extreme blood and gore, her sunburned cheeks glowing bright in the firelight, blue eyes dancing.

“Did you wear sunscreen?” Evelyn asked. “Your mother would kill me if she saw that sunburn.”

“I think I sweated it off,” Sassy said. “Anyway, back to my story. So they chewed the guy’s legs off, right? Then he had to drag himself on his belly back to the house with just his bleeding stumps. Sometimes at night, you can still hear the sound of his blood soaked body slithering through the grass like a snake.”

Bodie rolled his eyes, briefly meeting Jay’s gaze across the fire. Jay smiled at Bodie, who quickly looked away.

Sassy started to fade after a while, slumping back in her chair, her eyes droopy.

“We should get to bed, Sass,” Evelyn said. “It’s been a long day and you got a lot of sun.”

“Why do we have to sleep in the same room?” Sassy asked, casting her droopy gaze on Evelyn. “I’m sick of being guarded all the time.”

“It’s a big room, with two huge beds,” Evelyn said. “You’ll have your own space. Besides, it’s what your mother wants.”

“You better not snore,” Sassy said, stretching and yawning. “I’ll smother you in your sleep.”

Before Sassy and Evelyn retreated, Jay watched Bodie get up and quietly go back inside the house.

After picking up the cake smeared paper plates around the fire, Evelyn looked at Jay. “You gonna stay out here awhile?”

Jay nodded. “I like being outside,” he said. “I like the bugs.” He grinned.

“They’re all yours!” Evelyn said. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Sassy followed Evelyn into the house. Jay turned back to the fire, wondering where the hell Bodie had gone. He’d expected him to return, but as the minutes ticked by, it became apparent he wasn’t going to.
Guess he doesn’t want to be alone with me?

That surprised him somewhat. Bodie had been so flirty and friendly early that morning, going out of his way to talk to Jay about what possible activities they could get up to when the cabin lights went out. Clearly he’d changed his mind about that. And there was only one explanation. Jay’s cold reception had turned him off. Perhaps
pissed
him off.

Jay picked up the remaining soda cans around the fire, which was dying down to embers. He kicked some dirt on it, then went back inside the house, locking the back door behind him. Bodie was nowhere around. His eyes flicked up to the rooms above. The door to the room Bodie had chosen was closed, but a slit of light was visible at the bottom.

Jay put the cans in the recycle bin, hearing Sassy whine about something behind the closed door of the downstairs bedroom she was sharing with Evelyn. He decided he needed a shower before trying to talk to Bodie. He was sticky and covered in bug spray. He also wanted to give Sassy a chance to fall asleep before he went creeping around upstairs, knocking on Bodie’s door.

Climbing the stairs, he found another empty bedroom and dropped his bag on the floor. Digging out a fresh pair of lounge pants and tee shirt, he made his way to the bathroom and took a shower. He scrubbed himself down vigorously but quickly, not wanting to give Bodie the chance to turn the light off and go to sleep.

After dressing and brushing his teeth, he tossed his toiletry bag on the dresser in his room, then padded barefoot down the hall to Bodie’s. The light was still visible under the door, so he knocked softly.

“It’s open,” Bodie said.

Jay pushed open the door. Bodie looked up from where he lounged on the bed, reading a paperback. Hair loose and silky around his cheeks, he was still dressed in a tee shirt and shorts, which Jay took as a good sign—he hadn’t
entirely
retired for the night.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Bodie said. “Of course.”

Jay closed the door behind him and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You brought a book?”

“No, there’s a whole shelf of them over there in the corner.”

“Ah.” Jay looked at Bodie, feeling awkward...but aroused at the same time. Bodie’s close proximity, and just the damn fact that it was
Bodie
in a bed, urged Jay to skip the whole
were you paid to sleep with me
talk and just dive on him. “Are you still mad about the toad?”

Bodie laughed, his head falling back against the stack of pillows behind him. He set the book aside on the nightstand. “No, I’m not still mad about the toad. I’m sure you’re still laughing about it, though.”

Jay snickered. “I’m sorry. You had to see it from my angle, though. Your head just...it was quite a sight.”

“My angle was close enough, thanks.”

The laughter trailed out of Jay, and he met Bodie’s eyes. “I have to talk to you about something.”

Bodie nodded, but said nothing.

Jay sighed, then groaned, his head falling forward as he rubbed his temples.

“Jay,” Bodie said. “What the hell is it?”

Jay lifted his head. “Last night when I was in Eben’s room, he said you were mad at him. Because he...told you to sleep with me.”

Bodie stiffened. He looked away from Jay and let out a breath. “Oh. Shit.”

Not a very encouraging response.
“Yeah,” Jay said. “That was pretty much my thought.”

Bodie rubbed his eyes, then looked at Jay. “That’s why you’ve been acting weird?”

“Is it true?” Jay asked. “Did Eben tell you to sleep with me?”

Bodie nodded. “Yeah. He did.”

Jay’s stomach sank. “And is that why—”

“No,” Bodie said, straightening up. He glanced at the door, then lowered his voice. “No! I told him to fuck off. I told him no, Jay. This happened the first day, after your interview.”

“Why...” Jay laughed. “I can’t believe this sentence is about to come out of my mouth. But
why
did Eben Wright want you to sleep with me?”

Bodie frowned. “It involves that thing that made you mad the last time we talked about it. About hoping Sassy would confide in you.”

Jay nodded. “Oh. Okay. And how exactly does getting me in bed relate to that?”

“He thought if Sassy told you anything about the blackmail material, if you trusted me, you’d then tell
me
.” He held his hands up. “I know this is fucked up, Jay. Eben says some dumb shit. He knows he says some dumb shit. But I swear, I told him he was wrong, and he realized he was wrong. He took it back as soon as I got pissed off.”

“Yeah,” Jay said. “He did seem remorseful. But...here’s the thing I’m still tangling with.” Jay gave his head a shake. “Bodie, but you
did
. Sleep with me.”

“Yeah,” Bodie said. “I did. Twice, in fact.”

“But not because Eben told you to.”

Bodie shook his head, slowly. “Not because Eben told me to. Is that really what you thought?”

“Put yourself in my position,” Jay said. “If you heard that, you would have wondered, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m not sure. I definitely would have asked, I guess. But I doubt I’d have given any real consideration that it was the reason it happened between us.”

“Well, how could I not give it consideration?” Jay said. “There I was, still basking in the afterglow of screwing you an hour before. And here’s sloppy drunk Eben, your cousin and your
boss
, saying you hate him because he told you to sleep with me!”

Bodie shook his head. “Fucking Eben is dangerous when he drinks, the prick. He needs a muzzle.”

Jay stared down at his hands, not knowing what to say.

“Jay?”

He looked up. “Yeah.”

“Tell me the truth, what your gut tells you. Since getting to know me,” Bodie said, “do you really think I’m the type of person that would seduce someone...without their knowledge...for money?”

“Well, how am I supposed to judge?” Jay said, defensive suddenly. “You people do some strange shit.”

“
You people?
” Bodie said. “I’m not
you people
. I’m me. And this here...” He wagged his finger between him and Jay. “This here is separate. From everything else.”

Jay felt relief, but also apprehension. Because where did they go from here? They’d only just started sleeping together, and here they were...having a
fight
. Maybe not a fight, but things didn’t feel good now, the way they had before. Things felt weird and tense, and he wasn’t sure if he’d turned Bodie off. “Sorry, I had to ask,” Jay said. “I had to.”

“I understand,” Bodie said. “Of course you had to ask. But do you believe me?”

Jay frowned. “So you didn’t sleep with me because Eben told you to.”

“No.”

“You slept with me because...” Jay shrugged. “Just because you wanted to. I believe that. I do. I believe you.”

Bodie opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, looking apprehensive. His lips tightened for a moment, then he sighed. “I slept with you because I’m crazy about you.”

A pleasant lurch of feeling traveled up Jay’s belly then into his throat, tightening it. “You...” The word came out of Jay’s mouth hoarse. He cleared his throat. “Really?”

Bodie nodded.

Jay stared back at him, then grinned. “Really?”

Bodie laughed. “Yes.”

“Wow,” Jay said, unable to come up with anything more coherent. His heart had begun pounding in his chest.

“Wow?”

Jay shuffled up the bed and grasped Bodie’s tee shirt, clouding himself in his scent as he buried his face in his hair. “Yeah,” he said softly in Bodie’s ear. “Wow.”

Bodie wrapped his arms around Jay, squeezing, then gently flipped him over onto his back. Rolling on top, Bodie lowered his face, breath tickling Jay’s lips. Jay could feel Bodie’s heart beating against his chest, and his senses reeled. Bodie didn’t kiss him, but kept his lips close, looking into Jay’s eyes.

“I’m crazy about you, too,” Jay whispered.

A sigh escaped as Bodie kissed him, hard and slow, hands coming up to hold Jay’s face. He pulled back. “Good to hear. I was afraid you were finished liking me.”

Jay immediately began tugging Bodie’s tee shirt up, frantic to get it off and feel his bare skin. “Not. Finished.”

Bodie laughed. “Impatient tonight?”

“I’ve been drooling over your shirtless body all day, you can’t keep it from me now,” Jay said, tugging the shirt off over Bodie’s head.

Bodie rolled over and got out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

Kneeling down, Bodie dug through his bag, glancing up at Jay. “You’re not the only impatient one.” He pulled out a box of condoms. “When I get back in that bed, I’m not getting out again,” he said, pulling out a tube of lube. “And neither are you.”

“You went shopping.” Jay laughed. “Expecting to get lucky this weekend?”

Setting the items down on the bedside table, Bodie smirked at him. “I wasn’t so sure for a while there,” he said, and climbed back on the bed, straddling Jay’s waist. He grinned, hair dangling in his face. “But I get the sense my chances are improving.”

Jay ran his hands over Bodie’s chest. Bodie looked nothing short of radiant in the dim light of the cabin room, shadows playing with the contours of his muscles.
He’s crazy about me
, Jay thought, his face heating again.
Damn. I want to keep him.

“I like when you look at me like that,” Bodie said, trailing his fingers along the hem of Jay’s pants. “Much better than the way you were looking at me this morning.”

“I’m having all sorts of thoughts about you,” Jay said.

“What kind of thoughts?”

“Things I want.”

Bodie took a breath, then let it out. “Like what?”

Jay peeled off his own shirt and tossed it aside. “Well immediately, I want your skin on mine,” he said, grabbing Bodie’s arms and tugging him down.