Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
“That says a lot for the pampered guy,” Keyes drawled.
Reasonably, he understood Keyes was teasing him, but as far as he was concerned, Keyes had met his quota of making fun of him. The rawness in his heart blistered, causing Alec not to like the comment at all.
“I clean up after us all the time,” Alec shot back, his tone as forceful as it was crisp.
“I clean up after us,” Keyes said distractedly, not looking up. “You do the takin’ care of us.”
Alec mashed his lips together, staring laser beams at the top of Keyes’s head. His guy wasn’t wrong, but the argument they were having shifted to motorcycles in Alec’s head. A source of severe contention between them, at least where Alec was concerned.
Keyes seemed to have no problem keeping all the secrets in the world from him.
“Okay,” Alec said and placed the pad of paper on his lap. “So, you’re saying you’ll handle all the cleanup for the party? That’s your contribution because I haven’t seen you participate in the planning.” What a ridiculous thing for Alec to say. Keyes actively listened and encouraged wherever Alec needed. Alec’s tone brought Keyes’s glance from over the bike as if he were trying to catch up with how things had gone south so quickly.
He blinked several times as he stopped himself from calling Keyes a liar and a fat mouth about the bikes he was secretly building.
“Sure. I’ll handle the cleanup. That’s fine. Not a problem,” Keyes answered, his brow wrinkling as he seemingly understood that wasn’t the correct answer but had no idea why.
“You know that’s not what I want,” Alec bit out, his back stiffening as he crossed his arms over his chest.
The tool in Keyes’s hand clanked to the ground. His guy’s hard tone cranked up an octave. Alec suspected this had become their new way. He put Keyes on the defensive all the time. “Then I missed somethin’.”
Since Alec refused to give in ever again, he and Keyes began an angry stare-off at one another.
After the last time Keyes had told Alec to stay out of his business—at least, that was the way Alec interpreted the remark—Alec had sworn he was never asking about the bikes again. Then he’d tried not to care. Neither option had been easy, especially since four large deposits had hit their business account, and Alec knew nothing about the projects.
Alec shot out a dismissive hand wave as he said, “You know what you missed.”
“No, I don’t. But you’ve been a borderline jerk to me for the last week. Now you’re doin’ it in front of my friends. What’s up with you?” Keyes used the seat of Dev’s bike to help lift him off his knees to his full height. His face turned as fierce as his voice.
Being intimidated wasn’t in Alec’s wheelhouse. Besides, Keyes would never use force with him. He rolled his eyes at the aggressive display. The hurt inside him didn’t give a shit who was there to watch the scene.
“They’re my friends too, and I know you’ve been working on new bikes,” Alec accused as he got to his feet. The pad of paper and pen dropped to the polished concrete floor. He splayed his hands around the fancy garage he’d built for his mister. “Where are they? They aren’t here, in the shop that cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars to build.” Alec shouted the price point, saying each word with more emphasis.
“We should leave,” Cash said, getting to his feet.
“No. Stay,” Alec and Keyes said in unison. If it wasn’t such a touchy subject, he might have laughed as Dev looked at Cash and shrugged. Uncertain what to do, Cash lifted his leg back over the stool, but hovered there, not fully sitting. He was ready to bounce on a second’s notice.
“You’re the one who insisted on all this equipment. I didn’t ask you for it,” Keyes argued with the truth. He hadn’t asked for anything. Nothing. A man unto himself. Alec didn’t need to exist in Keyes’s life, he’d do just fine on his own. “Don’t throw the money in my face. I hate that shit.”
“How do you know you hate it? I’ve never done it before.” A silly argument but still valid. “Have you seen the bikes?” Alec demanded of Cash, piercing him with a look that wouldn’t allow him to lie. Since Alec was an expert at reading expressions, Cash’s stare begged him not to ask that question. “He’s seen what you’ve done but I can’t? What the hell?”
Alec threw his hands in the air and stormed out of the shop. Each of his footsteps sounded louder than the last. Hurt washed over him, fueling the fast pace past the girls who both quietly stared at him. They heard the exchange. Even the dogs settled down and stared, unsure what was happening.