Fit for the Job (13 page)

“So I called ahead,” Jay said to Sassy. “My family knows you’re coming. I asked them not to embarrass me, but I apologize in advance for anything screwy they say to you. Please, please just ignore them.”

“You probably have the wrong idea about me because of my fight with my father,” Sassy said. “I do know how to be polite around strangers.”

“Hey,” Jay said, “it’s not you I’m worried about, it’s them.”

Sassy snickered. “They won’t like Bodie. Bodie doesn’t know how to be polite. Do you, Bodie?”

Bodie kept his eyes on the road. “I’ll do my best.”

Jay finally turned his eyes to Bodie. “Oh, speaking of, you better watch out for my mom, Bodie. She saw you through the window when you came to my place. She thinks you’re hot.”

Sassy squealed in the backseat. “Gross! Bodie’s not hot.”

Jay turned back to her. “
I
know that. But my mother’s weird.”

Sassy laughed harder, and Bodie tossed a glance at Jay. For an instant their eyes met, and Bodie thought he caught a flicker of the interest he’d previously seen when Jay looked at him. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone again, and Jay turned away, facing front. “We’re almost there,” he said. “Take a left at the next intersection.”

They pulled up and parked behind a line of cars in front of a ranch style house, and Bodie grew instantly wary when he saw the crowd spread out over the side and back lawn.
Too many people. Too many variables
. He’d have to keep a close eye on Sassy while they were there.

Kids ran around outside, colorful balls flew through the air, and holy shit, there actually was a bouncy castle. Bodie’s gut tightened slightly, remembering Jay’s flirt at the restaurant yesterday. There would likely be no more flirting like that from this point on, and he was surprised by how much that bothered him.

“Okay,” Jay said. “Let’s do this.”

As they crossed the front lawn, a young blonde woman caught Jay in a hug, then was introduced to Bodie and Sassy as his sister-in-law, Debbie.

“Your mom’s inside, baking,” Debbie said. “You better swing through and say hi to her first, or she’ll be pissed.”

“Will do,” Jay said, then rolled his eyes at Sassy. “Might as well get the worst over with first.”

“Jay!” Debbie laughed. “Be nice.”

“Hi Uncle Jay,” a little boy shouted as he whizzed by them in a full run, disappearing around the side of the house.

Bodie trailed behind Jay and Sassy as they went in through the front door, immediately accosted by loud rock music coming from somewhere farther in. They entered a small kitchen where a petite, older woman with graying blonde hair sat frosting cupcakes at a round table. “There you are!” she said as she stood. “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

“Hi, Mom.” Jay leaned over and gave the tiny woman a tight hug, then turned back to Bodie and Sassy. “This is Sassy,” he said. “This is my mother, Theresa.”

Jay’s mother snorted. “Mother Theresa. That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sassy said.

“Oh, look at you!” Theresa reached out and clasped Sassy’s face in her small hands. “You are even more beautiful than your mother.”

Sassy flushed. “Thank you.”

“And who is this?” Theresa asked, looking at Bodie. She had the same wide, blue eyes as Jay.

“Bodie,” he said, offering his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Capello.”

She rounded Sassy and took Bodie’s hand in both of hers. “Nice to meet
you
,” she said. “My, my, my.”

“We should go outside and say hi to everyone,” Jay said.

The little woman released Bodie and turned back to her son. “Everyone’s out back, but some of the kids are playing with the karaoke thing in the den. Sassy, do you like to sing?”

Sassy giggled. “No.”

“Well, go on out back then, there’s plenty of food. I’ll be out once I finish these cupcakes.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Jay said. He grinned down at Sassy. “Ready?”

She nodded.

Jay moved ahead, still ignoring Bodie, and led them down a narrow, carpeted hallway toward the rear of the house. They passed the room where the loud music was coming from, a cluster of kids hanging out in front of a large screen with colorful images flashing across it. A little girl of about twelve stood before the screen holding a microphone, singing in a high, sweet voice,
“Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk...”

Bodie frowned and did a double take at the little girl, but then quickly moved on so he wouldn’t lose sight of Sassy.

Once out on the back lawn, Bodie and Sassy were introduced to too many people to possibly remember their names. Jay’s brothers were all stocky, dark-haired men with loud voices. They made crude jokes and drank a lot of beer, but they seemed friendly enough.

When Jay took Sassy over to the volleyball net to join in a game, Bodie planted himself in a lawn chair where he could watch them. Anthony, one of Jay’s brothers, offered Bodie a beer, which he declined since he was working. Anthony scowled at Bodie like there must be something seriously wrong with him, then shrugged and moved off.

The day grew hot, which led to Jay removing his tee shirt and tossing it aside on the lawn as the volleyball game raged on. Bodie couldn’t keep his eyes off the shifting muscles in Jay’s naked back, the curve of his ass beneath his canvas shorts, and the shape of his long, powerful legs when he leapt to hit the ball.

A while later, Jay’s mother appeared before Bodie, holding a paper plate with a hamburger on it. “Here. Eat.”

Bodie smiled at her, taking the plate. “Thank you.”

To his surprise, she dragged a lawn chair over and sat down right next to him, sipping a wine cooler. “So what do you think of my son?”

Bodie swallowed a bite of burger, and looked at Theresa Capello, whose pointed gaze pinned him with the hardness of a police interrogator. “Jay? He’s great. Really nice guy.”

She smiled and took a sip of her wine cooler. “Do you think he’s handsome?”

Bodie nearly choked. “Um, yeah. Sure. You have a beautiful family.”

“Are you gay, Bodie?”

Bodie blinked at her, his cheeks stinging. He laughed and shook his head, looking at the ground. “Wow. You’re very...direct.”

“I’m sorry.” She laughed, patting his shoulder. “But are you?”

Bodie smiled at her. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I want Jay to meet a nice guy. You seem like a nice guy. And he likes you.”

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

She winked at him. “A mother knows.”

Sassy approached, carrying a can of orange soda. A few feet behind her was Jay, pulling his tee shirt back on. “What are you doing, Mom?” Jay asked.

“I’m talking to Bodie. What do you care?”

Jay laughed and shook his head, then dragged a chair over and sat down across from them. Bodie made a point not to stare at Jay, especially in front of his mother, who was watching him like a hawk. Instead he scanned for Sassy, and found her seated just nearby at a picnic table, eating a burger and talking with a dark haired boy of about fourteen.

“I need to go check on something,” Jay’s mother said. “You two talk.”

Theresa scurried off, casting a glance over her shoulder at them, a devious smile curving her lips.

“What’s she been saying to you?” Jay asked. “Nothing too embarrassing I hope.”

Bodie looked at Jay, pleased that he seemed to be speaking to him again. “No, she was fine. Just making small talk.”

Jay frowned suspiciously. “Yeah. I’ll bet. She’s probably got your whole life’s history by now. I know my mom, she has no filters.”

Bodie watched Jay’s throat pulse as he drank from a bottle of water. Desire overtook him. He wanted to bite that throat. He wanted to peel Jay’s shirt off and lick his chest, taste the salty sweat on his skin. He couldn’t erase from his mind the image of Jay standing in his underpants in the kitchen earlier, and was taken aback by the sudden urgency of his desire.

The feeling that welled up in him was like a revelation, slamming down on him with all the subtlety of an anvil on his head. It was almost relief that washed through him as he fully acknowledged it, mentally surrendering to the truth he could no longer deny. He’d wanted plenty of men before, but this felt different. Sweeter, yet more intense. He didn’t just want to fuck Jay. He wanted to
know
him. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one he hadn’t even come close to having since his first crush in junior high school. After that he hadn’t let himself feel affection for another man, only lust.

He supposed on some level it was about shame. Though he’d been aware growing up that his father would be horrified that Bodie had sex with other men, he’d imagined it would be ten times worse if he actually
loved
any of them.

While he certainly wasn’t in love with Jay, Bodie’s usual iron grip on his emotions tended to slip when the man was around. Since their heated discussion that morning...since Jay stormed out of the house and slammed the door, something had shifted; Bodie’s thoughts had not been about Sassy, or Eben, or even his own situation. His thoughts had been consumed by Jay. Troubled that Jay didn’t seem to like him anymore. It was understandable. Jay was feeling used. Deceived. Likely disgusted, with Eben and Bodie too. But the childish simplicity of Bodie’s base feelings breezed over all that and came to a head in a single, focused point.

Jay didn’t like Bodie anymore. And Bodie wanted him to.

The rebellious, naughty force that had led Bodie to make that flirtatious comment—
about patting him down
—on Jay’s front porch last night, was back, and it was muscling its way to the forefront of his otherwise cautious disposition.

“Your mother thinks you like me,” Bodie said, the words coming out sharper than he’d planned, like a challenge.

Jay’s eyes looked up as he lowered his water bottle. His shoulders slumped and he sighed, shaking his head. “That little harpy. I knew she was over here talking shit to you.”

Bodie shrugged a shoulder. “She said a mother knows.”

Jay’s gaze shifted back to Bodie. Bodie almost laughed at the confusion in Jay’s expression as he tried to figure out if Bodie was flirting or just making conversation.

“She said that, huh?”

Bodie nodded, allowing a smirk to curve his lips.

Jay frowned at him a tick longer, then looked away. “Yeah, well, she talks a lot of shit.”

“I know you’re pissed off about what we discussed earlier,” Bodie said.

Jay said nothing, but met Bodie’s eyes again.

“Are you planning to quit?”

Jay sighed and his lips tightened. “I don’t want to quit. But I’m still trying to sort things out in my head.” He gave his head a quick shake. “We shouldn’t talk about this here and now,” he said, lowering his voice.

“Can we talk about it later?” Bodie asked. “After my shift is over?”

Jay looked surprised by Bodie’s question. “I...suppose. If you want.”

“Maybe we can go for a beer or something. Just the two of us.”

Jay’s eyebrows rose higher.

“I’m not trying to get in your pants,” Bodie said.
Liar, liar!
“Just want to clear things up.”

Jay’s cheeks flushed and he let out a short laugh. “I know you’re not trying to get in my pants.”

“I wouldn’t have to try, though would I?” Bodie said. “You’d just take them off yourself, like you did earlier.”

Jay barked out a laugh. “I’m sorry about that. I was...angry when I did that.”

“So we can go for a beer? This is your town, you pick the place.”

“Are you gonna let me drive this time?” Jay asked.

Bodie was happy to see some of the tension leaving Jay, the softness finally returning as he looked at him. “No,” Bodie said. “I prefer to drive.”

Jay chuckled. “You’ve got some real control issues, don’t you?”

Bodie nodded. “Oh, definitely. I like to be in control.”

Jay’s face took on that adorable confused expression again. “Okay,” Jay said. “You can drive.” He frowned at Bodie. “Not trying to take your...control away.”

Bodie laughed, and before he could stop the words, muttered, “You’ve done enough of that already.”
Well hell, I’m really on a roll now, aren’t I?
He couldn’t seem to stop flirting now that he’d let that lascivious cat out of the bag.

Jay gave Bodie a small smile. “What do you mean?”

Bodie shrugged. “Nothing.”

Jay’s cheeks flushed again, and Bodie was glad that Jay had such fair skin so he was able to read him like a human thermometer.
Score one for Bodie. He blushed.

Yeah, Jay was right. He did have control issues.

Jay turned away, then looked back over his shoulder. Abruptly, he stood. “Bodie...shit. Where the hell is Sassy?”

Bodie leapt from his chair, eyes scanning the crowd. The picnic table Sassy had been sitting at was now empty. His eyes darted around, searching for her head of dark curls in the crowd, but he couldn’t locate her. “She’s not out here.
Damn
it!”

“Take it easy,” Jay said. “She probably just went to the bathroom. Come on, follow me.”

Bodie followed Jay through the crowd and into the house through a back door. He was furious with himself. His job was to keep eyes on Sassy, especially while they were out of the house. Eben had placed his trust in him. And Bodie had already dropped the ball, because he was distracted. Distracted by
Jay
. It was inexcusable.

He followed Jay as they both speed-walked through the house, looking in every room they passed, which included an empty bathroom. No Sassy.

“Mom,” Jay said as they stumbled upon Theresa in the kitchen. “Did you see where Sassy went?”

Theresa looked startled by the urgency in Jay’s voice. “Yes, she’s upstairs with Billy in the office. They’re playing a computer game.”

“Ah, shit!” Bodie said before he could censor himself.

“What? What’s wrong with that?” Theresa called out, because Jay was already moving, Bodie hot on his heels.

They stomped up a carpeted staircase, and Bodie followed Jay as he took a corner. Bodie felt the blood drain from his face when they stepped into a small office and saw Sassy in a desk chair, seated in front of a computer, her hands on the keys. Next to her was the young dark-haired boy she’d been sitting with outside.