Fit for the Job (29 page)

“You’re just trying to manipulate me,” Sassy said.

“I’m trying to tell you that I love you, that I’ve loved you since before you were even born!”

Sassy bounded off the couch and ran into the bedroom, closing the door. The sounds of her muffled weeping echoed out.

“Goddamn it,” Eben said, rising to his feet. He turned in a circle, rubbing his forehead. “Goddamn it!”

Eben seemed to have forgotten there was anyone else in the room. They all remained still and quiet.

“Can I get you something, Eben?” Evelyn asked softly.

Eben turned to her, frowning. “Huh? No.” He waved a hand at her. “No, thanks, Evelyn.” He moved over to a chair and sat, hanging his head and wringing his hands.

Sassy’s weeping finally ebbed, leaving the cabin even more awkwardly silent.

Eben straightened up and looked at Bodie. “I’m gonna go,” he said. “You’ll look after her?”

Bodie nodded. “Of course.”

Eben stood. He briefly glanced at Evelyn, then Jay. “Sorry about this. Enjoy your movie.”

Eben left through the front door. Jay heard his car start up, then move off. The grandfather clock in the corner chimed.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Evelyn said, and headed to the bedroom.

Once she’d disappeared inside and closed the door, Bodie turned to Jay. “You all right?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He looked at Bodie. “All this arguing and shouting all the time has got my nerves frayed, though. I come from a loud family, but Sassy and Eben...there’s so much anger there, it’s jarring. It’s literally making my stomach hurt.”

Bodie slid over and turned toward Jay, resting a hand on his shoulder. He was silent for a moment, eyes cast down. “Don’t stick with this job if you want to leave,” he said. His eyes lifted and he looked at Jay. “Don’t feel like you have to stay because...” He shrugged.

“Because of you?” Jay asked.

Bodie nodded. “You should quit if it’s too much. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Jay’s heart sank. It sank for Sassy, for Eben, but mostly it sank because of Bodie’s words. “You shouldn’t have to deal with it either,” Jay said. “But you do deal with it.”

“It’s my job to deal with it,” Bodie said. “But it’s not yours. It’s not fair to you.”

The door to the bedroom opened, and Evelyn stepped out, quietly closing it behind her. She approached the sofa, her face grim. “Sassy’s going to go to sleep. She’s embarrassed to come back out. I’m gonna go in too, keep an eye on her.”

Bodie nodded. “All right. You okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Goodnight, Jay.”

“Goodnight,” Jay said, and watched her go back in the bedroom. He turned to Bodie. “Evelyn seems to handle it okay.”

“I know,” Bodie said. “Evelyn’s worked for them a long time.” He shrugged. “I’m family, but Evelyn probably knows Sassy better than I do at this point. I hadn’t seen Sassy for a couple of years before I started working for Eben.”

“Sassy loves you,” Jay said. “I can tell.”

Bodie shrugged. “Maybe she does. Doesn’t mean my presence is helping anything.”

Jay looked into Bodie’s eyes and felt that knot in his stomach again, the sinking of his heart. “If Sassy and Eben resolve this...dispute, will you be out of a job?”

“No,” Bodie said. “Eben will keep me on as general security.”

Jay nodded. “Of course.” He frowned “If I quit this job then...then I won’t get to see you anymore.”

Bodie held Jay’s gaze, his lips tightening. “I’ll still be in Providence until Eben finishes filming.”

Jay shrugged. “But no more nights in the guest house for us.”

“Ah.” Bodie ran his fingers over his scalp, looking down at the floor. “This sucks.”

“I guess it would suck either way,” Jay said. “Whether I quit or not.”

Bodie straightened up, but didn’t look at Jay. He stared straight ahead at the television, the movie still paused on Jeffrey Combs’ face. “Yeah,” he said. “I guess we’ve been choosing to ignore that inevitability.”

“You think it would be better to end it now?” Jay asked.

Bodie turned to Jay. He didn’t speak. Seconds passed.

“It’s okay,” Jay said. “Whatever you think we should do. If you think I should quit now, I will.”

Bodie chuckled, shaking his head. “This conversation was supposed to be about you quitting because of the chaos with Sassy and Eben. It’s turned into something else now, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Jay sighed. “I guess our dream weekend is over.”

Bodie placed a hand on Jay’s thigh. “I selfishly don’t want it to be over. I selfishly don’t want you to quit, either.”

“How is that selfish?”

“Because Eben hired you as a fitness instructor, not a referee, babysitter, or child psychologist. Shit Jay, as a decent person, I’d
advise
you to quit.”

“A decent person, huh?” Jay smiled. “I thought you told me you had
badness
in you.”

Bodie laughed and shook his head. “I do have badness. Because I want to keep you around even though I know it’s a bullshit job for you.”

Jay shrugged. “Well, Eben is paying me. A lot.” He chuckled.

Bodie smiled. “What are your plans for once this job is over? Will your DVD sales keep you financially solid?”

“Yeah.” Jay shrugged. “I’ll be fine, but I really want to open a gym.”

“Well, that’s great,” Bodie said. “You should do that.”

“I want to, but it’s going to take major financial wrangling and saving a lot of money. This job with Eben would put me ahead in my timeline, but even with that, it’s not like I could do it tomorrow. There are so many expenses to consider. It’s not just about getting some space and equipment. There’s insurance, staff, finding someone to help me with the money stuff so I don’t bury myself. But even so, that’s my long term goal.” He looked at Bodie. “What about you? What’s your long term goal?”

Bodie shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t have one.”

Jay smiled. “No place to call home. No long term goals. Quite the free spirit, you are.”

Bodie shuffled closer and his fingers stroked the side of Jay’s face. “I don’t think I’m a free spirit. Just a confused one.” He sighed, running a finger along Jay’s lower lip. “A very confused one at the moment.”

Jay’s eyes closed and he shivered. “So am I.” He opened his eyes and looked at Bodie, then leaned in, gently pressing his lips against Bodie’s mouth.

When Jay started to draw back, Bodie sucked his lower lip, keeping him there. His arms wrapped around Jay and tightened. Jay groaned softly as Bodie’s tongue found his, working his mouth open.

The kiss grew hard and desperate and wet. Jay’s body responded with urgency and he swelled in is pants, his need more powerful than it had ever been. He supposed the looming threat of losing Bodie was a powerful aphrodisiac, but it was more than lust, and he knew it now.

Bodie’s desperation seemed on par with Jay’s, and he kissed him hard and deep, hand sliding across his thigh and cupping his groin.

Jay broke the kiss, panting. “We haven’t resolved anything,” he whispered, laying his hand over Bodie’s on his groin.

Bodie’s brow furrowed. “Doesn’t mean we can’t be together tonight. Does it?”

Jay couldn’t answer, could only stare into Bodie’s eyes, that desperate look on his face making him feel weak.

“I’m still crazy about you,” Bodie said. “I can’t just shut that off.”

“We could sleep in separate rooms,” Jay said. “Get used to being apart.”

“If you sleep in another room, I’ll only come find you,” Bodie said. “Unless you tell me right now that you don’t want me, I’m sleeping with you tonight, no matter what.”

Jay shivered out a sigh. “Oh...fuck it,” he said, then captured Bodie’s mouth again.

Grinding their open mouths together, they made out for a long time on the sofa, hands roaming, fingers gripping and tugging at each other. When Bodie eased back from Jay’s mouth, his face was flushed, eyes clouded with desire. “Upstairs.”

Jay nodded, and they climbed off the sofa, both of them shaky and visibly swollen in their pants.

Once they got to Bodie’s room, they made love like a pair of sex starved animals, wearing themselves out. As they drifted off to sleep, Jay tried not to think about how good it felt to have Bodie’s nude body beside him, arm slung over his back.

It was not yet light out when Jay, lying on his stomach, was awakened by slick fingers stroking between his ass cheeks, Bodie’s hot breath in his ear. Jay moaned. “Wow...what time is it?” he asked, his cock growing instantly hard against the mattress.

“I don’t care,” Bodie said. “I want you again.”

Jay inhaled sharply, still barely awake as Bodie climbed on top of him, biting down on his neck. “Oh, God,” he whispered. “What a wakeup call.”

Bodie’s arms tightened around him, lips trailing to Jay’s ear. “Can I have you?”

“Yes,” Jay said, eyes closing. “God, yes.”

Already prepped and lubed, Bodie slid into him from behind.

At this wee hour of the morning, Jay expected the sex to be slow and languid, but Bodie was clearly wide awake, biting Jay’s shoulders, breath huffing against his neck as he rode him. Jay hugged the pillow, face pressed into it as he let the sensations wash over him, surrendering himself completely.

Maybe it was due to their sex a few hours before that Bodie had such stamina, because it lasted a long time, and Jay struggled to hold off his release as his erection pressed into the mattress with each undulating wave of the body pinning him down. Bodie stayed stiff and thick inside him, hitting him just right.

When teeth clamped down hard on Jay’s neck, he finally lost control and exploded on the sheet while Bodie’s sweat soaked body pumped against him. “Bodie...” The name left Jay’s lips with a gasp as the bliss overtook his senses.

The teeth released Jay’s neck. “I can feel you coming,” Bodie whispered. He pushed himself up on his arms and slid his cock in deep. “God, I can feel it.” He pulled out and slid back in slowly, then his chest fell onto Jay’s back as he lost control, hips bucking. He gripped Jay’s shoulders tight as a strangled moan left him.

Jay couldn’t move or speak, cheek pressed against the pillow as Bodie came, writhing on top of him. When the movements slowed, Bodie grabbed Jay’s jaw and turned his face, kissing him deep and hard.

Breaking the kiss, Bodie eased out of Jay, then rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, panting. His body glistened with sweat, hair damp around his face. “Sorry I woke you.”

“I’m not.”

Bodie smiled. “I think I’m starting to like it too much.”

Jay reached over and wiped Bodie’s sweaty hair back from his forehead. “Stealing my lines?”

Bodie laughed. “It was a good line.” He closed his eyes. “Tired now.” He smiled. “Again.”

“Go to sleep,” Jay said.

Jay hugged the pillow, looking at Bodie’s profile. This was the moment he usually made some humorous quip to make Bodie laugh, some comment about how good the sex was.

But he couldn’t this time, because his throat was tight with emotion, and his only thought was one he didn’t dare speak.

I’m falling in love with this man.

Chapter Fourteen

Bodie stole glances at Sassy via the rear view mirror as they drove back to Providence. She was quiet, staring out the window. Her usual sulky sneer absent, she looked forlorn and defeated. It was like a rollercoaster with her since Jay had arrived. Bodie would be certain they were making progress, relieved at her bubbly happiness, then something would happen, like Eben’s late night visit, and it would all come undone again.

He stole a glance at Jay, who sat beside Sassy in the backseat, and was troubled to see him looking as forlorn and defeated as the girl. Jay sat with arms crossed over his chest, head leaning against the window as he looked out.

It shouldn’t be this way.
He and Jay should be happy after the weekend they shared, ecstatic, even. And if this were a normal scenario, he was sure they would be. But what could he do? Drag Jay back to California with him? He’d seen the way Jay was with his family. Jay had roots here, a life.
Long term goals
. And Bodie had struggled so hard to find a job outside the military until Eben took him in. He couldn’t leave what he had without risking that uncertainty again; it had been a terrible, frightening experience, not being able to find work.

“You all right?” Evelyn asked.

Bodie assumed she was talking to Sassy, then saw her eyeing him from the passenger seat.

“Yeah. I’m good. We’re almost home.”

“It’s not
home
,” Sassy mumbled.

Bodie didn’t argue with her. She was right. It wasn’t home. But being at the cabin with Jay, shopping with him, watching him cook, and falling asleep beside him; that had felt like home. He missed it already.

“So quiet in this car today,” Evelyn said.

“It’s
too
damn quiet. You want me to put on some music?” Bodie asked.

“That’s a good idea,” Evelyn said.

Bodie turned on the radio, and scanned until he found a station.

“Oh, this is my song!” Evelyn said, dancing in her seat.

Bodie smirked at her. “‘Brick House’ is
your
song?”

“I told you she had an ego,” Sassy muttered.

Bodie laughed.

“No,” Evelyn said. “Not because it’s
about
me, you jerks. We all have that one song that makes you dance like a lunatic when you’re alone in the house.” She turned around and looked at Jay and Sassy in the backseat. “Everyone has one, right?”

Bodie flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror.

Jay shrugged sluggishly. “‘Fishies’ by The Cat Empire.”

“What the hell is that?” Sassy asked.

“You probably don’t know it,” Jay said. He looked at Sassy. “What’s yours?”

“Dio,” Sassy said. “‘Rainbow in the Dark’.”

“Really?” Jay said. “You seem a little young to know Dio.”

“I’m a little young for a lot of things I’ve been exposed to in my life,” Sassy said.

“What about you, Bodie?” Evelyn asked.

“I don’t have one,” Bodie said. “I only dance if someone’s shooting at me.”

Evelyn faced forward. “Wow. Tough crowd today.”