Page 30

Chapter eighteen

Axel

T he smell of stale beer and cigarettes wafts past my nose as the barstool next to me gets claimed, catapulting me out of my daydream about taking Lennon to an event and back to my childhood home. I hate that his scent is still so familiar, even after all these years.

“I’m surprised you have the balls to show your face near me. If I remember right, Trevor said he’d rearrange it if you ever got close again.” I keep my eyes trained forward, hoping that if I don’t look his way, he won’t be able to tell I’m surprised to see him.

The old man makes a show of looking around the restaurant. “Don’t see your guard dog here. Besides, I raised you to fight your own battles.”

“Jace’s dad raised me.” I take a pull from the beer bottle in front of me.

“He stole you from me,” my sperm doner snarls into my ear.

I pretend not to notice how close he is. “That clip Jace posted of our session here is more than a week old, what made you think I’d still be here?”

“That clip had you guys all raving about how amazing the trails are here. Took a chance you’d like ‘em enough to stick around for a while. ”

Shit . I’ll have to tell Jace to be more careful about what’s on the audio before he posts stuff. “What do you want?”

Lennon glances my way same as he always does when he has a spare moment, but the slight shake of my head has him turning the other direction instead of coming toward me. Somehow the deadbeat doesn’t miss it.

“Or maybe he’s the reason. Should’ve figured Jace’s dad would raise you queer.”

I don’t react, hoping he’ll take that as evidence Lennon is nothing more than a friend instead of the man I’m falling for.

“What do you want,” I repeat.

“Can’t your old man just want to see you?” He flags down another bartender and points to my beer.

“We both know you don’t come looking for me unless you want something. So, what is it this time?”

He licks his lips and drinks from the bottle that’s put in front of him. “I’ve got this investment opportunity…”

“No.”

“You haven’t even heard it yet.”

“I don’t need to. You’ve been playing this game long enough. I know investment really means bailing you out of whatever hole you’ve dug for yourself.” I fucking knew it. I pick at the label on my bottle to keep the anger from making my hands shake.

“Not true,” he says defiantly. “I’ve got the opportunity to open up a bar.”

“An alcoholic running a bar. Seems legit,” I snort.

He continues like he didn’t hear me. “It’s near the desert—one of those places you kids used to like to ride your bikes. I figured some of your gear would make nice décor. ”

“You know what décor means?” I arch a brow in his direction. This does not sound like my old man.

“Shit you put on the walls.” He casts me a smug look down the length of his bottle as he takes a sip. Yep. There he is.

“Okay, so you know how you’re gonna decorate the place, what about running it? Better yet, what about buying it? I know you don’t have the money for that kind of purchase.”

“My investment is the labor to get it ready to open. It’s been vacant a few years, so it needs some work.”

I run a hand over my face. When he’s sober, he’s capable of doing construction, so on the surface labor in exchange for a cut of ownership makes sense. I just can’t believe anyone would trust him to follow through.

“Let me get this straight. All you want from me is some jerseys and stuff to hang on the wall of your bar?”

“Signed of course, otherwise it don’t mean nothin’.”

I’m half tempted to do it just to get him out of here, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that once you crack the door open, he shoves his way in. I’m only considering it now because he doesn’t want money, though that doesn’t mean he won’t push for some later.

Fuck . I need to buy some time to think about this, although buying time won’t get rid of him completely, and I want him as far from Lennon as possible. I suppose that means giving him what he wants is my best option, although I don’t want to make it look like it’s an easy ask.

“Come back tomorrow,” I tell him. “I don’t have all my gear here, so I’ll have to ask my sponsors to ship me something.” Hopefully he’ll assume I’m not planning to stay since I’m traveling light, and he’ll bail out when I do, if not before .

“See you then.” He tips his head and slams his beer, setting it on the counter with an audible crack as he wipes the back of his wrist across his mouth. He spins and heads for the door.

I steal a glance at Lennon filling a mug behind the bar. He’s got an uncharacteristic crease between his brows, so I cast him a weak grin to signal I’m fine before pulling out my phone.

“Ax, this is a nice surprise,” Ma says when she picks up.

“Hey, Ma. You might not think so when you hear what I have to say.”

“What happened?” I hate that her tone shifts from upbeat to concerned, but at least she knows this is serious.

“He found me.”

“Oh, Ax. How?” Her voice adopts the same soft tone I remember from the days when Dad would rip into me for costing him money.

“It doesn’t matter. The thing is, he didn’t ask for money. He wants signed jerseys from me to hang in a bar he’s supposedly renovating in exchange for ownership. Is that because he knows I’d never give him money, or do you think he’s got something else planned?”

“Supposedly?” She doesn’t miss a thing. “You don’t believe him?”

“He’s a serial liar, of course I don’t believe him.”

“If you don’t believe him, why are you calling for advice?”

I run my hand down my face again, feeling suddenly exhausted. “I need to get rid of him and giving him what he wants is the fastest way to do that. But it’s probably not the smartest.”

“Who is she?”

“What?” I cough on the liquid sliding down my throat. How the fuck did she guess this is about someone else?

“Usually, you get rid of him by moving on. If you’re considering his request, it’s because you want him to go while you stay, and I can only think of one reason you’d stay anywhere. ”

Guess it’s confession time. “ His name’s Lennon. Before you ask, no I didn’t know I liked guys, it just sort of happened. And before you ask to meet him, you should know it's new, and undefined, and meeting you would probably spook him.”

I feel a little bad springing this on my mom over the phone, but she didn’t bat an eye when Jace told her he’s bisexual so I know she won’t care whether I’m with a man or woman so long as I’m happy.

“Have you got a picture?”

I feel my brows draw together as I realize I don’t. “No, but I’m sure the camera will catch a shot of him at the race this weekend. If I can convince him to go.”

“I’ll be watching.” I can actually hear the smile in her voice. Shit . “Back to your father. Your memorabilia might be a contribution that makes his partners see him more favorably, like he’s committed to making the place a success.”

“Or he could hawk them to the highest bidder and come crawling back for more.”

“Yes, he could. But what if he doesn’t? What if he’s turning over a new leaf? You could stop looking over your shoulder and settle down with your man.”

“Not sure I can call him mine, yet.” I shake my head even though she can’t see it.

“If you want to, I assume you’ll have to stop moving around so much, and knowing your father is in a good place might help you do that. Give him a chance to show he’s changed.”

“That’s the thing, Ma. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t. He’s just as shady as he’s always been, and I’ve got a bad feeling. I’m only considering it to make him go away. If it doesn’t work, staying here might not be an option.” Saying that out loud makes my stomach lurch .

“Staying there might be the best solution. If you’re in one place you can finally make a restraining order stick.” She has a point about that.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.” I exhale heavily.

“Good. Now, when do you leave for Arizona?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“Drive safe. I’ll be watching. I hope I’ll catch a glimpse of Lennon.”

“I hope so, too.”