Shifting Gears (Crossroads Series Book 2) (13 page)

They were slick, their sweat mixing together, Landon’s dick still buried in his ass when he said, “What took us so long to do that?”

“You…it’s all your fault,” Rod said between breaths, and hoped like hell they would be able to do it again.

Rod’s reply made Landon feel like an idiot but also made him smile. Rod was absolutely right, and now that he’d had him, he was even more frustrated at himself for holding out so long. “Always busting my balls.”

“Always making it so easy,” Rod replied, still straddling Landon’s lap. Landon had his arms wrapped around him, holding his ass. It was a nice ass, tight and firm, and so fucking hot. “That was fun.” Rod grinned at him, and damned if Landon didn’t feel another one tugging at his lips as well. He was good at that—being funny and quirky to the point where it was impossible not to have a good time when you were around him.

“Yeah…yeah it was.”

“My ass is sticky.” Rod stood up, grabbed his underwear and pulled them on. He tossed Landon’s to him, before going into the kitchen. It took Landon a second to realize he watched him, taking in all of Rod—his long, lean muscles. His come was no doubt drying into Rod’s skin as they spoke, and Landon’s dick perked up at that thought. It was more than that though. Watching him stirred unfamiliar emotions in his chest.

Landon turned, pulling off the condom before the damn thing leaked everywhere. He tied it and then tossed it in the trash. “Do you have plans the rest of the day?” he asked without thinking it through.

“No.” Rod pulled a jug of orange juice from the fridge. “Want some?”

Landon nodded. “I’m tired. Mind if I hang out here?” Part of him knew there was no reason he couldn’t go home. It wasn’t
that
far, but then, he had just come like a fucking geyser and the plan was to continue on as friends the way they’d always been, so there was no reason he
had
to leave either.

Rod stopped pouring the orange juice and looked at him. “You’re staying?” There were questions in his eyes, think lines formed along the edges.

“Um…yeah?”

There was a pause and then Rod winked at him, before pouring their drinks again. “I’m giving you shit. Of course you can stay.” But something didn’t sound right about the way he said it. Not that Landon thought Rod wanted him to leave, but maybe that he was surprised that Landon was staying. He had no one to blame for that but himself.

Landon took one of the cups of juice from him and then went back into the living room. He set the glass on the table before pulling his underwear on.

“We still have
Young Guns Two
that we need to watch. You game?”

Young Guns Two
. It still surprised him that he met a guy close to his age who liked the same kind of movies he did. “We’re weird,” Landon told him, and Rod just shrugged.

“At least we’re weird together.” He nodded to the hallway. “Let’s lay in my bed and watch. There’s more room. You’re a couch hog.”

“What? Me? Who’s the one that’s always lying down while I have to sit up? You put that big head of yours on my lap and I can’t move for two hours at a time.”

“That’s because you’re a couch hog and taking up space I want.” Rod looked at him as though what he just said made perfect sense.

“Yes, but you’re lying down and I’m sitting up.”

“Because you have my space.”

“But—never mind. You win. There’s no sense in arguing with you.”

Rod smiled, raised his glass like they were going to toast, and then took a drink. “You keep that attitude and you and I will get along just fine. Let’s go watch sexy men roll around in the dirt and shoot each other.” Rod went for the hallway, leaving Landon standing there wondering what in the hell he was going to do with the man.

Landon turned the living room light off and then followed Rod to his bedroom. Rod already lay sprawled out on the bed, his head on the pillows, the remote pointed at the television.

He was sexy, Jesus, he was sexy, but in a comfortable way if that made sense. He was the guy who drew people to him, but maybe didn’t realize that he did. He’d joke and tease, but Landon wondered how much of that might be a smokescreen for other things that were going on with him.

As Landon stood in the doorway watching Rod set up the movie, studying the rise and fall of his chest, the trail of hair that dipped below his boxer briefs, and the slight smudge of black liner under his eyes, he realized he wanted to know those things. Wanted to know if there was more to Rod than he showed the world. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever wanted to know someone else that deeply before.

“You want to fuck me again, don’t you? Give me a little while and I’ll be ready for you. I’ve heard once with me usually isn’t enough.”

That jerked Landon from his thoughts. Leave it to him to say something like that. “You’re so hot, Rod. I don’t know how I ever keep my pants on around you.” Landon walked over and climbed onto the bed beside him.

“Hot Rod? I like that. You can call me that from now on if you want. It can be our code to let me know when I get your engine running.”

A light, airy feeling loosened up some of the tightness that always sat in his chest. “That was corny, and you’re crazy if you think I’m calling you that.”

“I thought it was creative. You’re no fun.”

“Never?” Landon cocked a brow at him.

“Okay, sometimes. Maybe you used all your fun for the day when we had sex. We might have to wait until tomorrow before I can enjoy you again.”

Landon opened his mouth to reply, what he was going to say, he didn’t know, but he figured a comment like that required some kind of response. Before he got the chance, Rod said, “Shh. We’ll talk later. The movie is on. I’m going to cover us up. You can’t watch a movie in bed without being covered up. I turned the AC up, so we won’t be too hot.”

Christ, Rod was crazy. He went a hundred miles per hour all the time, flip-flopping from one subject to another and never saying what Landon expected him to say. Never doing what Landon expected him to do either.

And he liked that. Liked it more than he’d realized until this second. “Don’t be a blanket hog.” He tugged on the corner of the light blanket, and then they settled into the movie to do just as Rod said, watch sexy men roll around in the dirt and shoot each other.

An hour and a half later, Rod was passed out, his breath floating over the hair on Landon’s chest, his head resting on Landon’s arm. “Rod? Wake up. The movie is over.” When Rod didn’t reply, he added, “Hot Rod?” just to see if he was playing him.

After waiting a minute, and Rod didn’t stir, Landon sighed, thought about staying, but instead forced himself out of Rod’s bed. He turned everything off and then made his way to the room across the hallway. He wasn’t there thirty seconds before he wished he’d stayed in the other room.

Rod was bored.

He’d been at Rods-N-Ends most of the morning, working on paperwork and other parts of the job that weren’t as fun as selling sex toys. This part of it always bored the hell out of him—the sitting still, going over paperwork, and running numbers. On the other hand, it made him feel good. It didn’t matter that he ran what some people wouldn’t consider a reputable business, the kind of place his father would have hated, but wouldn’t be surprised that
someone like Rod
appreciated it. He still ran a fucking business and that made him proud as hell. A few years ago, he never would have seen that for himself.

He was a disgrace after all. Not the kind of son any man would want, so working in a dirty store might be something he could handle, but not running one. It didn’t matter that he’d graduated both high school and college at the top of his class, that he’d done it by himself, because his father sure as shit wouldn’t help him. It didn’t matter that he’d accomplished things in his life his father never had.

Rod was dirty.

Rod was a faggot.

Rod ruined his father’s life and his good name.

Why the fuck was he thinking about that right now?

He usually did a pretty good job at keeping all that shit in the past, where it belonged.

Since he was done with paperwork for the day, and it was technically his day off, he had nothing to do. Landon and Bryce were both at work. Nick was busy today, and since the three of them were the only people he spent any time with that meant he was shit out of luck.

That also meant Bryce and Landon would be forced to keep him entertained between cleaning carburetors and playing with their tools.

He wouldn’t mind playing with Landon’s tools, but he was pretty sure Landon wouldn’t sneak away to Bryce’s office with him. It had been over a week since they fucked and Rod had fallen asleep during the movie. He hadn’t seen Landon since, but he knew Landon had been busy. They’d spoken on the phone every day.

They were practically married. He wasn’t sure why Landon didn’t realize that.

He made the drive to the shop, making a quick stop at a coffeehouse, up the street where he got iced drinks for himself, Landon, and Bryce.

He pulled up to the small building with a sign that boasted that they would work on all makes and models, foreign and domestic, parked and then got out carrying the drink holder.

“I’m bored and you guys are my only friends, so you’re stuck with me.”

Landon’s eyes snapped up from where they’d been focused on a blue bike. He smiled, and that damn smile made his cock start to wake up. Or at least made it aware that Landon was here.

“Can you believe he thinks we’re his friends?” Bryce said to Landon.

“No shit. That’s what I was thinking,” Landon replied and Rod stopped walking.

“Fuck you both. I’ll take my coffee and go.”

“Hey! No! Don’t do that!” They both called him back and Rod smiled. It was Landon who stood and walked over to him first.

“One of those for me?”

“Nope.”

“Funny guy.” He pulled one of the cups from the holder and then turned to hand it to Bryce. He took the next for himself before saying, “Let me get you something to sit on. Thanks for this. I appreciate it. It’s hot as hell out here.”

“No problem. Like I said, I was bored so I thought I’d bribe the two of you.”

Landon winked at him and then walked away. Rod watched him go. There was a smudge of black on the ass of his faded jeans. They were worn, frayed edges at the bottom, curving around his ass just the right way, having many wears to take shape.

“You’re drooling,” Bryce said.

“Fuck you.”

“He’s all right. He’s no Nick but…”

Rod shook his head at Bryce. “He’s sexy, that’s all there is to it.”

“Never said there was more to it.”

Damn it. He was right. Why had Rod added that part?

“Here you go.” Landon walked back into the room with the chair from behind the desk. He set it close to the door because Rod wasn’t technically supposed to be where they worked on the bikes since it was a liability.

He hadn’t had his ass in the chair for five seconds when Landon said, “Oh shit.”

Rod looked over his shoulder to see two women walking toward them. One was in her late twenties or early thirties with a familiar smile. The older woman had eyes he’d know anywhere. “Oh shit,” Rod repeated what Landon said. “That’s your mom and sister, right?”

The women both smiled big, his sister looking like she was trying to speak out of the corner of her mouth so no one could see, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it. He had no idea what in the hell she would be whispering that she wouldn’t want anyone to know about, but it was definitely something.

“She’s smooth,” Rod said and Landon chuckled.

“Can I help you?” Bryce asked, obviously unaware that they were Landon’s family. Apparently this was the first time they were here. Of course it would be when Rod stopped by.

He’d never met the family of someone he was fucking before, and he had a feeling it would make Landon act like Rod had asked for his hand in marriage again.

“It’s okay, Bryce. I got it,” Landon said just as the two women approached them.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

“We were doing some shopping, so we thought we’d stop by and see where you work,” his mom said.

Landon’s sister picked up right after with, “Who’s your friend?”

So obviously they’d heard about him, what he didn’t know was what in the hell that meant.

***

“Subtle, Shan, real fucking subtle.” He took a drink of the iced coffee Rod brought. He hadn’t planned on doing this whole awkward-meet thing, but they were all here now, so he decided to make the best of it. He wouldn’t have a problem with his family meeting Bryce, Nick, or anyone else, so why should it matter if they met Rod? “Mom, Shanen, this is my friend Rod. Rod, this is my mom, Joy, and my sister, Shanen the Subtle.”

Rod held out his hand, and said, “Hot Rod, nice to meet you.”

Oh fuck. Leave it to Rod. Shanen and his mom smiled as bright as the fucking sun and Landon just dropped his head back and looked up at the sky. He was so fucking screwed.