Was it possible to get carpal tunnel from masturbating too much?
Maddie: So I just found out I have a staff meeting tonight :(
Dammit. Tonight was supposed to be date number two. Now it wasn’t happening? Fuck, this sucked.
Me: How late will it go? Can we meet up later tonight instead?
Maddie: I don’t think so. All signs point to it being a long night.
Me: How about Thursday night? Friday’s too far away.
Maddie: I was thinking the same thing. Thursday it is. I promise to make it up to you!
Of course my mind went to a million different erotic ways Maddie could make it up to me. Her wearing those sexy librarian glasses and a tight pencil skirt as I bent her over the—
“What are you doing?” Austin’s voice boomed behind me.
We were all in the shop working on the cereal company bike. Or Ryan and Austin were. I was smiling down at my phone like a lovestruck teenager.
I typed a quick reply to Maddie.
Me: Promises, promises!
Then I shoved my phone in my back pocket. “Nothing. Did you guys get the lights wired up?”
It was only when I looked up that I realized Ryan was gone. He probably left for lunch while I was busy texting with Maddie. Fuck. A quick glance to the side told me that the cameras hadn’t left. They were still focused on the two of us.
“Not yet. You know Ryan has two left hands when it comes to wiring.” He rocked back on his heels and gave me his Dad look. Austin might’ve only been older than me by two years, but ever since our mom’s death, he’d tried to fill in the parental hole left that even Aunt Wendy couldn’t fill. It’d worked with Ryan and Dylan. Not so much with me. We were just too close in age. “Who were you texting?”
“Just another one-night-er.” I immediately felt shitty for referring to Maddie like that. She was the furthest thing from a one-night-er to me. It was fucked up on my part to use her to score points off of Austin. And did nothing to prove they were wrong about me.
“Nathan, come on. You know—”
I flung the long-forgotten wrench in my hand at my bench, cutting him off. “What I know is that you all still think I’m a hothead who’s too volatile to be a relationship. What I know is that you got no problems insinuating that I’m just like our fucking sperm donor.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“But that’s what it sounded like. You know that’s what I heard because I told you that during the same fucking conversation. And I haven’t heard a single thing from you to say otherwise.”
Austin exhaled harshly then scrubbed a hand at the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that. I thought we were bullshitting. And I just said it to prick you a bit. ‘Cause that’s what we do. We tease and we roughhouse. It’s how we show affection in this family.”
“Right. I guess it’s my fault for being annoyed that you all but called me a fuckboy and that was because I hit women.”
“One, that’s not what I said. I know you. You would never hit a woman.” He turned and jabbed a finger at James. “And you better not edit this so it sounds like he does. You got me?” He waited for James to nod before turning back to me. “I thought you were on the same page as me, but clearly I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”
Austin held his hand out for me to shake. I took it and pulled him in for a quick hug. “Thank you.”
We both laughed as we heard James’ disgusted huff from off to the side.
Stepping back, Austin gave me a side eye. “So who were you texting with before?”
“Someone important to me.”
“Really?” Austin’s eyebrows went up. “That’s all I get?”
“Yup.”
“Fine. But you’ll let me know when you’re ready to introduce her to the family.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure. You’ll be the first to know.”
“Good. Gotta make sure she’s good enough for my little brother.”
“Pretty sure when the time comes, it’ll be the other way around.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I laughed. “You’ll see.”
“Huh, sounds like you’re actually serious about this one.”
I closed my eyes with a sigh. “Seriously?”
“What?”
“It’s bullshit like that that got us in this shit in the first place.”
Austin’s brows twisted as he thought over what he’d just said before he nodded slowly. “Maybe I should just shut the hell up.”
“Smartest thing you’ve said all day.”
“How would you know? You’ve had your face buried in your phone texting with your girl all morning.”
My girl. It was too early for talk like that, but still I didn’t correct him. I didn’t want to. “I stand by what I said.”
“You ready for lunch?”
“Sure, is it just the two of us?”
Austin walked over to his bench to put away his pliers. “Ryan had to run home and check on Fliss and Hope. Sabrina is at the animal shelter, and I don’t think Dylan is here today.”
He said the last like it was a totally normal statement. “Then where the hell is he?”
“I dunno. Working on his art or some shit? He finished up painting the cans last night.” Austin nodded at the gas tank and fenders emblazoned with the cereal company’s design. The fenders painted to look like giant-sized pieces of cereal. “We don’t have any other jobs going until next week. I doubt he’ll be in until the unveiling Friday.”
“So why don’t we have him on the phones then? Why are we hiring someone to do a job when Dylan is already getting paid to be here?”
“Huh, that’s an idea.”
“Won’t work,” James interjected.
I turned to
