Kyle
I opened my second beer as I sat back down at the table, waiting for Claire to come home. I was rehearsing what I was going to say as I looked at the bill for the furniture and glared at the new TV, not sure how much that was going to cost me. I took a big swig of my beer as I heard the key rattle the front door.
Claire walked carrying a shopping bag, more new clothes no doubt. She said, “hey babe, why didn’t you wake me when you got home last night?”
I said, “I was too busy looking at the new TV, I thought we agreed to wait on that for now.”
She smiled, trying to see if that would make my tone less harsh, “it was on sale babe, I got a really good price.”
I shook my head, “you know what a really good price would be? That would be not buying it all, that’s free.”
She looked shocked, “I was just trying to make our home a little nicer, what’s the big deal?”
I growled, “the big deal is the new furniture, the new TV and it looks like you went shopping again today. Were you planning on helping me with the rent this month? I thought that I made myself clear, I don’t want to spend any more money until the shop is paid for.”
Claire rolled her eyes, “I heard you say you just finished a big job that was worth over a hundred thousand dollars last month.”
I shook my head, “yes, we did. But after we paid for the materials and the wages for our 4 employees, Luke and I had about ten thousand dollars left. That is going to make our payment to Frank for the next two months. I have told you time and time again, all our profits are going to pay off the shop. You keep telling me you are looking for a job, so you can help with some of the bills around here, yet you haven’t even had an interview yet.”
She shrugged, “I sent out a resume last week, I just haven’t heard back yet.”
I laughed, “one resume, boy, that’s really looking for a job.”
She rolled her eyes again, “you’re just upset because someone in your family died, you don’t have to take it out on me.”
I saw red, “someone in my family? It was Gavin, my cousin, my best friend, he was my brother. It wasn’t just someone in my family. A real partner would have gone with me to the funeral, to be there and support me, hold my hand. You know, like I did when your grandmother got sick, and then when she died. But no, you had to go Jill’s birthday party, that was more important than being there for me.”
She shrugged, “we had planned that party for months, I had to go.”
I said, “well, I am so sorry that Gavin died at time that wasn’t more convenient for you.”
She said, “well, I sorry, but I really didn’t know him that well.”
I shook my head, “of course not, because you never wanted to go home with me, you have never tried to spend any time with any of my family. You always have some girls’ night out planned.”
Claire sighed, “I sorry, what do you want to me do about it now?”
I laughed, “I don’t want you to anything about, but I think you should call Jill and she if you can stay with her, because I don’t want you here anymore.”
She looked stunned, “you’re kicking me out.”
I took a deep breath, “yes, I am.”
She asked, “what about all my stuff?”
I laughed, “what stuff? I paid for everything in this place, the only thing you have here is your clothes.”
She said, “the TV is still on my credit card, are you paying for that?”
I shook my head, “nope, you can take that with you when you get your clothes.”
She glared at me, “I can’t believe you are doing this to me.”
I rolled my eyes, “yes Claire, you are always the victim.”
She grabbed her bags and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I sighed as I finished off my beer and my blood pressure began to return to normal. I opened another beer as I walked around the apartment, gathering up anything that was Claire’s. It was mostly just pictures from the walls and knick knacks. I unhooked the new TV and sat it next to the door, I wanted her to spend the least amount of time here when she came back for her clothes. By the time I had everything boxed up, Claire texted me that she would be here at 9 the next morning for the rest of her things. I called Luke and filled him in on the afternoons events and said that I would be in after Claire had gone. I had already scheduled a locksmith to come by and change the locks at 10.
The next morning, I poured myself a cup of coffee as I waited for Claire to arrive. I set my cup down when I heard a knock at the door. I took a deep breath as I opened the door, Claire stormed in past me and was followed by her brother, Jon.
Jon said, “hey Kyle, how have you been.” Of all of Claires family, Jon was really the only one that I got along with. Her dad never really seemed too interested in any of the people his kids brought home, and her mom just tolerated me. I always got the impression that she thought her little girl could do much better than some cabinet maker that was always covered in saw dust.
I said, “doing ok Jon, how about you?”
He shrugged, “the same.” Claire had already headed to the bedroom to gather up her clothes.
I said, “these boxes are hers, and the TV, and I guess she’s getting her clothes now.”
Jon rolled his eyes, “yeah, I’m sure there are more clothes than anything else.”
Jon made several trips out to his truck and about a half hour later, took the last box out. He returned and asked Claire if there was anything else.
She snarled, “no, I think that’s it, since I obviously have never paid for anything.” She gave me a glare, just for good measure.
Jon shook his head, “oh give it a rest Claire, it’s about time someone called you out on your shit. Don’t worry, if you leave anything behind, I’m sure you and mom with just make dad buy you a new, bigger, better one.”
I stifled a laugh as Claire shot him a look that could kill and stormed back out the door.
Jon rolled his eyes as he looked back at me, “you put up with her longer than I would have, give me call some time, we’ll go have a beer.”
I smiled, “thanks Jon, yeah, I’ll be glad to grab a beer with you some time.”
Claire yelled from down the hall, “are you coming, Jon?”
Jon just grinned, “right behind you dear sister.”
10 minutes later, the locksmith arrived, and I was soon headed to the shop. After a quick recap to Luke about the morning, I asked, “so, what are we working on, what do you need me to do?”
Luke said, “Joe and Todd are out installing the Simpson job, they should be done in two days. Blake and Eric are staining the Hopkins cabinets. Joe and Todd will start installing them on Thursday. I have started laying out the Wilcox job and Blake and Eric will start to assembly while we wait for the finish to dry on the Hopkins job. You can help me with that.”
I smiled, “sounds good, I need to get back to normal, I hope all the turmoil is behind me now.”
Luke nodded, “I know buddy, so how are you feeling?”
I shrugged, “I’m good. I have to admit, things between Claire and me haven’t been good for a while. It’s almost a relief.”
He said, “no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, Olivia and I noticed that you and Claire have been acting differently the last few months, so that really wasn’t a surprise. What I was asking about is how are you doing since Gavin passed.”
I felt a lump in my throat as I sighed, “I guess ok, I really miss him though. It’s going to be tough going home from now on. I already miss the texts and phone calls. Shit, he was so young, life isn’t supposed to work this way. Why can’t we all grow old, Gavin had so much to offer, I know he would have done a lot of good things with his life.”
Luke put his hand on my shoulder, “I know buddy, it isn’t fair. I can say all the regular cliches, but I know it won’t help. Just know that Olivia and I are here whenever you need to talk. If you just need to be alone and don’t want us to bother you, just let me know. I will tell you that Olivia will want me to invite you out with us whenever we go out, so be prepared.”
I smiled, “thanks, I appreciate that. I also know that I haven’t exactly been pulling my weight around here the last couple of months, thank you for picking up the slack.”
Luke grinned, “now that you mention it, you haven’t been much help lately, why don’t you get your ass out to the shop and get to work.”
I gave him a hug, “yes, sir.”
Over the next week, I was back into the swing of things. We had three jobs lined up to be completed by Thanksgiving, just a month away. It was just what I needed, early mornings and late evenings helped keep my mind off of Gavin and Claire. Although Claire really wasn’t bothering me too much anymore. The month went by quickly and by noon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we had the last cabinet installed and we sent the guys home early and told them not to come back until Monday. From now until about mid-February things would be kind of slow in the shop. No one wanted construction going on in their homes during the holidays and they were busy paying off credit cards in January. It gave us time to clean the shop and get ready for when things get busy again in the spring. I was headed back to Omaha for Thanksgiving, it would be the first holiday without Gavin. For the first time in my life, I was not looking forward to a holiday. I threw my bag in my truck and headed out, I few hours later, I hit Interstate 80, making my way across Nebraska.
Colby
It had been 2 weeks since Gavin’s funeral, I was finally able to somewhat function. Bob, my landlord and boss, was being very patient with me. He told me to come into work when I was ready and hadn’t hounded me about the rent that I owed him. I had some money saved for college, but when Gavin got sick, it went pretty quickly. I knew I had to get back to work, but it was so hard to be pleasant when I was so miserable. While Bob had been understanding, I wasn’t sure how much longer he would go before he replaced me at the bar.
I worked a few weeknights over the last week, but the tips aren’t that great on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with only five customers.
Bob said, “the Huskers play on Saturday night, I need at least two bar tenders, do you think you are up for it?”
Nebraska is a big football state, the Cornhuskers are almost a religion to a lot of people. The bars are usually packed on game days and the tips are always good. This year the team was doing much better than it had over the last few years, so the crowds were getting bigger each week. I knew I needed to suck it up and get back to work, or I was going to starve and soon be homeless. Not to mention my Ranger needed a new battery before winter.
I made myself a sandwich and got ready to go to the bar around noon. I crawled into the Ranger and turned the key, hoping the battery had enough to turn the engine over. I let out a sigh of relief when the engine roared to life. Bob smiled as I walked in, he gave me nod and mouthed, “thank you” as I tied my apron on. Leah, one of the other bartenders wrapped me in a big hug.
She said, “Colby, I’m so glad to see you.”
I forced a smile, “thanks Leah, it’s good to see you too.”
I looked around the bar, it was already starting to fill up with people watching the afternoon games. I slowly got back into the swing of things, the crowd kept me busy and for the first time in over a month, I had even smiled. By the time the game started, the bar was packed, and Leah and I didn’t have time to think about anything other than serving the next drink. By the end of the night when I counted my tips, I was pleased to have enough to make a big dent the rent that I owed Bob. I felt a little guilty when I realized that I had gone a couple of hours without thinking about Gavin.
As we were cleaning up after we closed, Leah asked, “are you doing, ok?”
I smiled, “yeah, I think so.”
She said, “well, you haven’t lost your touch, you’re still best bartender we have here.”
I chuckled, “you go to hell for lying, Leah.”
She laughed, “I’m going to hell for a lot of other things first, lying isn’t going to get me there any sooner. Besides, I’m not lying, you are a good bartender.”
I smiled, “thanks, tonight did help me a bit, but…”
She turned to me, “but what?”
I shrugged, “when we were busy, I kind of didn’t think of Gavin.”
She said, “Colby, I won’t pretend to know what you are going through, but just because you didn’t think of Gavin for a few minutes doesn’t mean you have forgotten about him. He is still a big part of your life and always will be. Pretty soon, you are only going to remember all the good things you two shared, the last few months will be what you forget. Hold onto those good thoughts.”
I smiled, “I know you’re right, but life really sucks right now.”
She gave me a hug, “you got this, we all love you here, you know you can lean on all of us. Gavin would want you to go on and be happy. I know that might take a while, but just take as much time as you need.”
I knew she was right, Gavin would not want me sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I took a deep breath and told Bob to give me any shift he had open, I needed to get back to work.
Bob said, “of course, but remember to take it easy and don’t burn yourself out.”
We finished cleaning up and thankfully, my Ranger started, and I headed home. Once I got home, I made myself something to eat as I fell onto the couch and turned the TV on. There really wasn’t anything that caught my interest, but the picture of Gavin and I at the beach when we went on spring break two years ago caught my eye. I smiled as I remember the last night we spent there. We spent all day on the beach with friends and after a short nap we went to eat some dinner and then took a long walk on the beach, alone. We walked hand in hand talking about everything and nothing at all. Before long, Gavin stopped and looked behind us.
He laughed, “we are a long way from the hotel, maybe we should go back before we get lost.”
I said, “I don’t care if I get lost, as long as it’s with you.”
I pulled him in for a kiss. Gavin said, “what if someone sees us?”
I shrugged, “let them look, I don’t care if the whole world knows I love you.”
We resumed kissing and before we knew it, we were both naked. I went to my knees and ran my tongue across the swollen head of his rigid manhood. Gavin moaned as I wrapped my lips around the length and took him down my throat. I couldn’t get him deep enough, it was like I was a starving man eating his first meal. The moon light highlighting every curve and muscle of his sexy body. Neither of us were muscle bound studs, but he looked like a Greek God to me. I massaged his cum-filled nuts as I worked his manhood to full hardness. Gavin groaned as he pulled me to my feet. He kissed me and said, “you had me close, I don’t want this to end just yet.” He went to his knees and returned the favor. We had done this many times before, but every time I saw him on his knees before me, every nerve in my body begins to dance. I felt my cum begin to boil, before I erupted, I pulled him to his feet for another kiss. I needed to feel him inside me, I turned toward the tree that we were standing next to. I put my hands up on the tree as I pushed my ass out for Gavin. He grinned as he ran his hands down my side, sending a shiver up my spine. He went to his knees again and spread my waiting cheeks. I exhaled as he raked his tongue across my pucker, again, no matter how many times we do this it always takes my breath away. Within minutes, Gavin had my hole covered in his slobber and stood behind to give me what I really wanted. He kissed the back of my neck as his cock found my hole. I held on tight to the tree, as my knees had suddenly decided to buckle. A love bite on my neck and his cock found its way up my welcoming love chute. We soon found our rhythm and I was putty in Gavin’s hands. I was holding onto the tree for dear life as Gavin pounded my ass, sending me into orbit. Every stroke was hitting my love button, and my juices were finding their way to the surface. Gavin gave my neck one more bite and the jizz was soon flying from my cock and covering the tree in front of me. I heard him let out a final grunt and felt his juices fill my hole as he fell against me, only that tree keeping us from falling to the ground.
We caught our breath as Gavin’s deflating cock slipped from my well-fucked hole. I turned and we shared another passionate kiss before we stepped into the ocean to clean up a bit. We got dressed and went back to our hotel room for another round.
I sighed as I came back to the present day. I guess I can put this under one of those happy memories that Leah told me to remember. I shut the TV off and went to bed, I had to work the next day.
I was in my new routine, I was working almost every day. To be honest, keeping busy was helping me. The holidays were approaching, Carla called and invited me to Thanksgiving at her house. I hesitated to accept, I was sure that Kyle would be there. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see him. I was still wondering why he left me his number on that note. Carla told me it would help her deal with Gavin not being at Thanksgiving, if I were to come. I guess it might help me too, so I decided to go.
The temps had dropped, and I got in my Ranger to head to Carla’s on Thanksgiving morning. I turned the key, the Ranger let out a groan and then nothing. Shit, the battery was dead.
To be Continued…
