Shifting Gears (Crossroads Series Book 2) (14 page)

“Hi, Rod. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” His mom used a sugary, sweet voice that told him she’d decided she liked Rod already.

“I’ve heard wonderful things about you.”

His mom waved a hand at Rod. “Oh, there’s no reason to lie. I’m sure Landon hasn’t said a word about me and that’s okay.”

Actually, Mom, I told him about what happened.
He knew more about Landon than anyone, which was kind of sad because he didn’t feel like there was a whole lot to actually know.

“No, he does. I’m not lying. Are you kidding me? I’d get him in trouble if I could, but he told me about the group you joined and how you’ve been making extra meals for them.” He looked at Shanen, fitting in with them the way Rod could fit in with anyone—or at least play it off well. Landon envied him that. “And I know you’re getting married soon. Congratulations by the way.”

“Thank you,” Shanen replied as his mom looked at Landon as though she’d needed to hear what Rod said. He was suddenly glad that Rod had spoken.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Bryce asked from the background and everyone laughed. Jesus, he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten the man was there.

After their second round of introductions, Bryce went back to work on a bike, and Rod said, “I just stopped by to say hi. I should get going.”

When he looked at Landon, he could have sworn he almost saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes. Landon frowned. “You don’t have to go. I’ll be working, but I’m sure Bryce won’t mind if you hang out.”

“Don’t leave on our account,” his mom said before Rod could reply. “We don’t want to chase you off. We really just stopped by to say hi. We’re heading out in just a minute.”

Rod hadn’t answered yet and Landon knew he would say no. Surprising disappointment curled low in his gut.

“That’s okay, really. I have paperwork I need to get done. I was stopping by as a way to procrastinate. It was nice to meet you both. I’ll talk to you later, Lando.” He nudged Landon with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

His car was only a hundred feet away. There was no reason he couldn’t walk by himself, but still Landon found himself saying, “You guys can fight over the chair if you want. I’m going to walk Rod to his car. I’ll be right back.”

Rod had already started to walk away. Landon jogged to catch up with him. “Hot Rod?” he asked.

“Maybe it was overkill. All they had to do is look at me to know I’m hot.”

The words were definitely something Rod would say, but they still didn’t ring true. “Are you okay? Sorry if they were being strange. That’s the first time they’ve met…one of my friends.”

“Special friend?” Rod smiled.

“You’re such a crazy bastard.” But he sounded more like himself now. “You really don’t have to go. Or you can come back once they’re gone. Maybe they’re tracking you. It’s a big coincidence that they showed up when you did.” Or he just had really shitty luck.

But the thing was, it hadn’t gone as bad as he assumed it would. It hadn’t been as awkward as Landon envisioned that kind of situation. It was just his family meeting a friend of his, someone who was important to him. Another truth? He realized he didn’t want Rod to go. It made him feel good that Rod had stopped by. He wanted to see him.

“No, I need to head out.” Rod shook his head. “I need to get some work done.”

Landon nodded, understanding the need to get back to work. “Okay… Thanks for stopping by and for the coffee.”

“No problem. I’d kiss you goodbye, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

Cracking a smile, Landon reached out with his left hand and briefly touched Rod’s waist before pulling his hand back. “So fucking crazy.”

“Oh great. Now you just ruined it by touching me. Your family is going to think you’re in love with me, and I’m having a hard time not agreeing with them. You have no one to blame but yourself.” Rod winked at him, got in his car, and drove away. He was always leaving Landon at a loss for words when no one had ever done that to him before.

With a sigh, and definitely not mentally prepared for dealing with Shanen and his mom, Landon went back for the shop. Bryce was talking to them but excused himself when Landon approached.

“He is very nice,” his mom said.

“He is. I like working with Bryce.”

She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about Bryce and you know it.”

“He’ll be crushed to discover you don’t think he’s a nice guy.”

She huffed and Shanen laughed. “Lay off him, Mom. He’s an adult. He’s not going to talk to you about Rod and if they’re dating or not.”

He’d never loved his sister more than he did in that moment.

They stayed and talked to him for about five minutes, about their shopping trip, and other wedding crap that could have been discussed when he wasn’t at work. They left just as Bryce came out again.

“This is driving me crazy.” Bryce sat at the bike again. Landon was about to apologize for having people stop by, but just one look at Bryce told him that wasn’t what he was talking about. He’d seemed a little on edge here and there throughout the day.

“Is everything okay?” Landon headed back over to his bike. He needed to get the carburetor out and clean it.

“Yeah…I think. Nick is with his mom and youngest sister, Michelle, right now. They’re the two who took it the hardest when we got together, as though two people loving each other is something that anyone should take hard.” He shook his head. “Anyway, his sister’s husband is a real piece of work and didn’t want Nick around the kids. This will be the first time he’s seen them since we got together.”

“Are you shitting me?” Landon’s gut clenched. He couldn’t imagine that. No matter what, he’d always known his mom would accept whoever he was with. “They won’t let him around the kids?”

“Yeah, I guess they think being gay is a virus they can catch or something. It’s been fucked all the way around. It’s hard on him, and it pisses me off that I can’t be there to support him. I don’t want him to know it bothers me, because it will make him angry at his sister. I just want them to have a relationship. That’s the most important thing.”

Bryce’s eyes were firmly on the engine of the bike in front of him. He figured it was probably easier to talk that way. Landon understood that. “Hell, man, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry the two of you have to deal with that.”

“Yeah,” Bryce said. “Me too.”

“His family has never accepted him being gay? Or bi?” Landon wasn’t sure how he identified.

At that, Bryce looked at him. “Neither of us had been with a man before each other. We’d never been interested in men before each other. We couldn’t explain it, still can’t, but we give each other something that no one else can. That’s all we know and it’s enough for us. Not everyone has come around quite as easily as we did.”

Now that he thought about it, he remembered Rod telling him a little about how they’d gotten together. Still, it was different hearing it from Bryce himself. “Wow…that’s wow…” He didn’t know how to respond. For Landon, he’d almost always known he was interested in both men and women. There had never been any surprises. It’s who he was, but there were people, both gay and straight, who didn’t get it. They thought he had to be one or the other, that he couldn’t make up his mind or whatever the hell other excuses people used. Landon knew differently, so whatever happened between Nick and Bryce, that was their thing and he believed it. He didn’t think it had to be one or the other.

“Yeah, it’s been a wild ride. We’re good, solid. I just want this for him. Want it so fucking much I can’t stand it. I’d do anything to fix this for Nick. I need today to go well. No one deserves it more than he does.” The strength of Bryce’s love for Nick hung on every word, every fucking syllable. It was in the tone of his voice, and his posture. It was a pretty incredible thing to witness. When he looked at them, he couldn’t imagine the two men trying to hurt each other the way his parents had done. He couldn’t imagine one of them walking away.

Bryce went quiet after that, and Landon could tell he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. That didn’t stop Landon from thinking about it.

“Got any Easy Ride?”

Rod turned when he heard Landon’s voice behind him. He’d been stocking the shelves and hadn’t paid attention when he heard someone come in, so it was a surprise to see Landon standing there. “Still giving your hand a good workout? I’m beginning to get my feelings hurt.”

“You? Not a chance.” Landon crossed his arms and leaned against the shelf. “Did you get all your paperwork done yesterday?”

Actually he’d gotten it done before he’d gone to the shop and seen Landon, but since he hadn’t told the truth about that, he just nodded and said, “Yeah. Do you really need more lube?”

“No. Do you realize how much I’d have to jack off to go through all the lube I have? You’ve kept me in good supply.”

“You know me, I’m your go-to guy for anything sex related. It’s my specialty. Only thing I’m good at.” Rod winked at him and Landon frowned. “What’s the frown for?”

“It’s not the only thing you’re good at.”

Rod smiled at him. “I was joking, but maybe I should pretend I wasn’t so you can make me a list of all the things you think I’m good at.”

Landon leaned closer to him. Rod smelled soap, like he’d washed his hands well after getting off work, but he smelled like fresh air too. It was almost as though the outside air seeped into his pores when he drove, the scent clinging to him. Those pheromones that drove Rod crazy. “Always looking for a compliment,” Landon said next to his ear. His breath brushed across Rod’s cheek, making him shiver.

“You’re being different. Sex loosens you up. You should have it more often. Getting off with me has kept you going for over a week, unless you’ve been with someone else since then.” He shrugged as though it wouldn’t matter, but his gut felt like it was suddenly full of cement.

Landon got that wrinkle in his forehead that he got every time his eyebrows pulled together. “I haven’t been with anyone else and I’m not being different. I’m just in a good mood.”

He liked Landon in a good mood. Landon in a good mood was fun, and a little sweet. And he should probably stop thinking shit like that because they were only
friends.
Friends who had fucked, but friends all the same. “Is that why you stopped by? Because you’re in a good mood?”

“No, I came over because I have an idea.”

“Your first one?” Rod asked. “I’m happy to share this moment with you.”

“There you go again, always bustin’ my balls.”

“It’s fun.”

“Fun for you. I’d rather you did something else with my balls.”

Rod’s cock liked the idea of that. The rest of him did as well. He could think of a hundred different things he’d like to do with Landon, his balls, and every other part of him. “Is that what your idea is about? If so, I think it’s a great first idea. I’d definitely be willing to help you out with that.”

Landon grabbed one of the Big Daddy vibrators from the box and put it on the shelf for him. “No, that’s not my idea. I mean, sex is always a good thing but motorcycles are too. I was thinking when we’re both off on Monday, if you’re still interested, I can start teaching you how to ride.”

Excitement pricked at his skin, making its way up his arms, over his shoulders to land in his chest. “You’re really going to teach me how to ride?”

The corners of Landon’s eyes wrinkled. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

People didn’t always do the things they said they would. Promises were easy to make but hard to follow through. It didn’t matter if they were big or small. Maybe this felt like something small to Landon, but it sure as hell wasn’t to Rod. “What am I going to ride?”

“My bike. It’s a little big for your first one, but I think you can handle it. We’ll take it slow. If you’re serious about riding, I’ll start looking around for you, see if we can find you a good used bike. You’ll need one eventually, anyway.”

Landon’s words hit him like a punch to the chest. Logically he knew they shouldn’t have that kind of effect on him. It was a nice thing Landon was doing for him, and he wanted it. Wanted to learn to ride a bike and maybe have his own. He didn’t really have much in his life besides the damn store. Still, he hadn’t expected something like this from Landon. He didn’t expect things from most people, so they didn’t let him down. This was…hell, he didn’t know what this was.

“Why do you look like you’re going to vomit?” Landon touched his shoulder. “It’s not a big deal. If you don’t really want to ride, you don’t have to ride. It was just a thought.”

“No, I want to ride.” Urgency lit fire to Rod’s words. He needed to get them out before Landon took back his offer. “I’m excited. Can’t wait to have all that power between my legs.”

Like Rod hoped he would, Landon laughed.

“Monday sounds good, now stop talking so I can put these vibrators away.”

Shaking his head, Landon grabbed another package from the box, and helped Rod finish stocking the shelves.

***

Rod stood on his porch when Landon pulled up to his house on Monday. He’d brought his Switchback because it would be easier to teach Rod how to drive. If he was being honest, he’d admit he almost backed out. The thought of someone else driving his bike, especially someone who had never ridden, scared the shit out of him. She was his baby, and he’d lose his mind if she got fucked up, but then he realized he was actually looking forward to teaching Rod. He wanted to see Rod on a bike, wanted to show him this part of himself that Landon loved so much. There was something about Rod that told Landon he needed it, that it would mean something to him, and
that
meant something to Landon.