“You need to take care of yourself more.” His voice had a soft, concerned tone to it, and I wanted to punch him. He didn’t know I did all of this for him and our other brother, but I couldn’t say it. I didn’t want to scare the shit out of him with my visions.
He deserved better.
“Alright, get out of here- I’ll close up shop on time tonight. Is that a good enough break?”
“Well, yeah, you’re off three hours early then. Wow.”
I knew he was just teasing me, but he wasn’t wrong. I basically lived in the garage.
“Bye, go have fun with your friends. No drinking.”
“I’m old enough to drink,” he shot back.
“You’re 20. If you touch more than water, you’ll have mom turning in her grave.”
He made a hurt face, and I realized I took it too far.
“Shit, Isaac, I’m sorry-”
“No, you’re right. Good night, Heather.”
I watched him walk off and sighed in frustration. I needed to sleep eventually.
Grabbing my phone, I shot off a quick text to my brother. “Look, I’m sorry. I say stupid things sometimes.”
The message was changed to ‘read’ almost immediately, and I was surprised at how quickly he started typing back. “Just take this Sunday off. You need rest.”
I frowned at this text and got back to closing up the garage.
What the hell was I going to do with a full day off?
As this thought crossed through my mind, I heard a knock at the door. Looking up, I felt a strange mix of dread and excitement. What if it was Dralle? I almost wished it was a customer instead, which could be straightforward and handled efficiently.
“Shop’s closed,” I shouted to the door.
“Good!” It was Dralle.
Ugh, why did the corners of my mouth twinge into a smile just at hearing his voice? Something about him called to me, and I couldn’t track why or when that started. Maybe I’m just so simple that I can be wooed into liking a man if he’s good-looking and feeds me delicious food.
I’d never admitted that to anyone, though.
“Hey.” I opened the door, and he looked me over and smiled. I was wearing the same cruddy work clothes I always wore, but he looked at me like I was wearing lingerie. My face heated at this realization, and I stepped back a little. “What’s going on?”
“Do you want dinner?”
I wanted to say no.
My mind told my mouth to say no.
There was no way that this was good for me; I needed to stop this.
“Sure, where are we going?”
Within half an hour, I was changed, he was on the back of my motorcycle, and I was driving us to a local 70s themed bar that had been updated recently. Another biker gang called it home, but I hoped my brothers wouldn’t mind if I was there for just one night.
I’d changed into a dressier version of my everyday wear, a pair of jean shorts and a button-front short-sleeved shirt. The motorcycle ride had shaken my short black hair loose, and I knew I probably looked ridiculous, but Dralle seemed into it. His hand was on my lower back as we walked into the bar, packed with people dancing and talking.
“Do you want to dance?” Dralle leaned in close to my ear to ask, his lips hot against my skin. The feeling of his breath against my ear covered my whole body in goosebumps.