Unbearable (the TORQUED trilogy Book 2) (39 page)

We stare at one another for a moment, probably longer than she wants and then she stands, knowing I’m probably not ready. And I’m not. I’m a big grudge holder and it’s going to take me a while to get over this. I try to put myself in her position if I had a son, but then that just upsets me too because that’s not going to happen for me. Regardless, she is my mother and I can’t treat her this way.

When she’s at the door, I stand up and make the few steps to her. She’s crying now and embraces me, her arms around my waist, hugging me.

“I love you, Mom.”

She breaks down into sobs. “I love you, so much, Tyler.”

“Would you like to have dinner next week? Me, Dad and you?”

She’s shocked by my invitation, eyes wide and face flushing. “Yes, definitely. Just let us know when you feel up to it.”

“Okay, I will. How about Wednesday night?”

She steps out the door. “Sounds great.”

I knew I needed to make an effort with my parents. I couldn’t keep holding it against them just because they were trying to protect me. They may have gone about it the wrong way but I know they love me and we need to move past this.

KNOWING I SHOULDN’T, I make my way downstairs to check on the guys and see how work is going this afternoon. As soon as I step foot in the shop, Red gives me that disapproving look. I know it because I used to give it to him when he’d show up after he was shot.

He glances up from the truck he’s replacing a head gasket on, reaching for the shop towel on the fender. “You’re supposed to be upstairs.”

Sitting down on the stool next to his tool cart, I shrug. “I’m bored.”

“I know that feeling.”

My gaze sweeps over the shop at the cars on lifts, the sounds of air tools filling the metal building. Beside Lenny is a guy I’ve never seen before. He’s younger, probably Daniel’s age with blond hair he’s got tucked under a Walker Automotive hat. “Who’s the kid?” I ask, giving a nod behind him.

“Wesley. He’s a friend of Jude’s. We hired him as a lube tech last week.” He knows by the look on my face what I’m thinking and he’s quick to add, “He’s not taking your job, man. He’s only changing oil.” Glancing over his shoulder, he sees him standing by Lenny as she changes brakes on an Explorer, flirting with her. Red looks over at me with an unamused expression. “He’s not going to last long if he doesn’t keep his eyes off my girl.”

I’m only out there five minutes when Mia comes inside the shop, Nova at her feet. The bus just dropped her off and she still has her backpack on. Her brow scrunches when she sees me sitting beside her dad. “What happened to your hair, Uncle Ty?”

I run my hand over my head. “I made a really bad decision and didn’t take my vitamins.”

Knowing where I’m going with this, Red shakes his head, smiling.

Nova’s eyes widen. “So they shaved your head?”

“Yeah.”

“Jesus Christ,” she mumbles, walking off toward the office.

I burst out laughing, as does Red, knowing she shouldn’t say that but it’s funny anyway. “Nova, you can’t say that.”

She says nothing to him and keeps walking. She probably thinks if she doesn’t respond, she can pretend she didn’t hear him.

Colt makes his way over next with a beer in hand. “So next time you’re thinking about taking out a building, why don’t you swing by my house,” he suggests, smiling. “I got a fence I need to tear down and I’m just too fucking lazy to do it.”

I chuckle. “I’ll keep it in mind, old man.”

“Get back to work,” Red tells him.

He raises his hands when Red pushes him away. “I’m just saying, if he’s going to run shit over, he’d be doing me a favor.”

I’m glad someone finds entertainment in this. Leave it to Colt.

Red points to the door when another car comes in and I’m staring at it. “Go upstairs.”

I do as he says, mostly because I don’t want to do what he did and come back too soon and then have to take another week off. I have supplemental insurance that will pay for my time off but still, I can’t afford to take three weeks off work.

All day I try not to think about Raven, but it’s hard. All I do is think about us and where our relationship currently stands. I know she said we’re good and basically together, but I finally understand why she wanted a definition with us before. It’s maddening not knowing.

It’s around six and I’m contemplating fixing myself something to eat when I hear the front door open. The only people who have a key are Red and Raven.

My heart lurches at the thought of seeing her. Gently I turn my head the direction of the door and sit up.

I breathe a sigh of relief when she walks through and turns to close the door. Once she’s back facing me, I see she’s holding two bags from the Chinese restaurant up the street. “Don’t you dare get up, Tyler. Stay on the couch.”

I do as she says because I want to watch her walk through the room and when she turns, I get a view of her ass. “You drove all the way back here from Eugene to bring me dinner?”

“Well, yeah.” She looks at me quickly, and then away to the bags she sets on the coffee table in front of me, uneasiness masking her features. “Don’t make it sound like it’s that big of a deal. It’s really not.”

I study her thoughtfully for a moment, desperately wanting that uneasy look she carries to disappear. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

She reaches up and tugs at her hair, letting down her ponytail. Her hair spills down around her shoulders as she takes a seat beside me on the couch. “No, a big deal would have been me cooking for you.” She gives a dismissive flick of her hand at the boxes on the table. “I brought takeout. There’s a difference.”

“Oh, well, in that case….” Pausing, I gaze at her speculatively. “It’s all good.”

It’s then I notice she’s wearing a T-shirt and sweat pants and while they look good on her, I miss those shorts and tank tops she wore all summer long. I hate winter for this very reason. Less skin visible for me.

“If you’re going to play nurse, dress the part.” And then I grab a fistful of her shirt and pull her on my lap. I shouldn’t be doing it, but as I’ve said before, I’m not good at following the rules.

She steals a glance at my face when she’s on my lap and slides off to sit next to me. “Tyler, I don’t have a change of clothes with me.
Don’t
rip my shirt.”

“Oh, man. That sucks for you. Guess you’ll have to play the part of the naughty
naked
nurse.”

The corner of her lip curls into a grin. “You have a plan for everything, don’t you?”

“If it means getting you naked then yes, I will always have a plan.”

“Your plan is pushing boundaries,” she tells me, a warning clear in her voice.

Playfully I hold my hands up and scoot away from her picking up a box of noodles and chopsticks. “I’ll stop.”

We eat mostly in silence, though she asks if I stayed upstairs like I was supposed to today. I lie at first and then grin. “I got really bored and went downstairs. Red yelled at me.”

“Well, good. You should rest and get better.”

I can’t tell her that resting isn’t possible with the pent-up frustration I have. If only she could relieve some of it. “Should we watch a movie?” she asks, attempting to distract me from her body.

I know what watching a movie is going to do. She’ll lie down and I’ll be thinking of all the ways I could cover my body with hers. Groaning, I sit back, running my hands over my face before dropping them on my lap. “Sure.”

She scowls at me and the tone of my voice, unknowingly being completely fucking adorable with such a simple gesture. “Don’t sound so enthused.”

“I don’t know how Red did this for so long. I’m fucking bored out of my mind. And horny.”

Her cheeks flush. “Well, I can keep you company but we’re not having sex.”

“When did the naughty nurse have so many rules? In my fantasy of what a naughty nurse would do for me, there were no rules…
or clothes
.” My hand moves to her thigh, higher, until she catches it.

Laughing, she stands up, making her way over to the TV and the movies surrounding it. She doesn’t even look at the movie she puts in the DVD player and sits down next to me.

I wait a few minutes before I ask, “Will you go somewhere with me?”

There’s a heavy sigh, one that I swear comes from her feet. “Tyler, we agreed. No dating. And no, I’m not going to your bedroom with you either.”

“
Did
we?” I scratch my jaw. “I don’t remember making any rules this time around. And how will this work if we don’t date?”

Her eyes never leave my hands and I know what she’s thinking. She loves my hands and this is hard for her too. “We haven’t
yet
, but we will. And that includes no dinner dates. We’ll get to dating soon.”

“That’s a dumb rule.” I point to the now empty containers of Chinese food. “We’re literally eating dinner right now.”

“This is different. I brought this over and it’s takeout.”

Her rules make no sense and I think she knows it, but I’m not going to pressure her right now. This is new and we’re still trying to figure out what it means. As much as I hated it at the time, I know why Raven pushed me away once I decided I wanted her too.

Now she’s afraid if we give it a label, it will hurt worse if it doesn’t work. I don’t want that either but I’m going with whatever she wants this time.

“Okay, so no going out to dinner?” I’m not liking these rules at all.

She nods, twirling noodles around her chopsticks. “Precisely.”

I frown and push the container away from me, leaning back. “I’m going to dinner with my parents Wednesday night.”

Her face is expressionless when I say it, but her eyes give her away. “I’ll totally go with you for that. Where are we going?”

“Valentino’s.”

“My last class on Wednesday is at noon. I’ll come up after that.”

My mind immediately focuses on the word come and she shakes her head when my eyes light up with amusement. Taking the pillow from beside her, she stuffs it between us. I don’t care. As long as she’s here with me, I’ll take it slow, even though I don’t want to.

It’s something like ten minutes into the movie and I look over at Raven, my sexual frustration amplified as she walks around my apartment making herself at home and making popcorn. “Can I at least touch your boobs?”

She shrugs and sits down with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Taking my hand, she places it on her boob. “Hell, why not.”

I take a handful of popcorn with my other hand. “This is the best movie ever.”

She laughs. “Uh huh.”

RAVEN DOES AS she says and comes by Wednesday night for dinner. She gets there about an hour before we’re supposed to meet my parents. I’m so completely bored that I’m ready when she arrives and sitting by the door like a kid dying to get out of the house on summer vacation.

Downstairs cars are lined up in front of the shop as we come outside, evidence the shop is staying busy. It’s cold out tonight, a chill present in the air. Raven pulls the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head and I love that she’s not worried about messing up her hair. She’s comfortable in jeans and hoodies, much like myself.

“Thanks for driving.” I tell her looking over at my truck parked in the corner of the lot that hasn’t been touched in nearly a month. It sits with the front end smashed, flat tires and a shattered window covered with a tarp. It’s totaled and waiting on the insurance company to settle on the payoff. At least I was smart enough to carry full coverage on it. Naturally, I was at fault and have to pay for not only the property damage I caused but the deductible on my insurance.