“Doesn’t Keifer own a garage?” I asked, grabbing my shirt that I pulled out of the top of my pile.
“No,” he smiled. “He owns a chain of them. Vassago Motors.”
My mouth dropped open.
“You’re shitting me,” I said in surprise. “They’re fucking everywhere!”
He nodded in agreement as he lifted the shades of the window. “They are, which is how and why Keifer’s able to afford a great big place like this.”
He pointed out the window, and I squinted, just barely able to see the tops of the sanctuary.
“Are you coming with me?” I asked him.
He gave me a look that quite clearly said what he thought of that absurd question.
“You can’t wear that, though,” I told him, pointing at his shirt, that I just now realized was covered in sawdust.
He looked down at the shirt that said, ‘Drink Up, Fuckers.’
“Why not?” He pinched the shirt and pulled before letting it go, causing a cloud of sawdust to fall off his shirt and land in an arc all around him.
I gritted my teeth and vowed to make him vacuum later before heading to the closet for my shoes.
I was pleasantly surprised to find not just the one pair of shoes I’d been going for, but all of my clothes that’d been in my closet at my apartment.
Somewhat excited that he’d brought my belongings, I picked out a comfy pair of pants and an old t-shirt, as well as my old Nikes that looked like they’d seen better days.
I’d be doing a shitload of walking, and likely running around after the couple’s children and dog, so I didn’t want to be stuck in ones that hurt my feet.
I didn’t bother to do much more than brush my teeth and use the restroom before I was dragging Ian out the door.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To my apartment,” I said. “I need to get my other camera and the rest of my lenses and equipment.”
He cleared his throat. “Your stuff’s here.”
I stopped.
“What?” I asked.
“I had it brought here, along with the rest of your shit.”
“Where?” I asked, looking around his house.
He pointed to the door that led to the backyard, and I followed his directions to a shed I’d only seen, but not been into.
“But…why?” I asked.
He gave me another one of those ‘are you kidding me’ looks, and I stifled the urge to smile.
“Your apartment was broken into three times by your neighbor before I decided to bring all your belongings here,” he said. “I was able to recover your panties and computer, as well as your camera, but I chose to throw the panties away, and store the rest until you asked about them.”
I grinned at him and twisted the knob to the shed, freezing the moment I got inside and saw what he’d done.
It smelled like fresh cut wood, sweet and clean, and I loved it instantly.
The walls were made of cedar planks, and the floors were much the same.
At just a little bit over ten by ten, the entire thing was just about perfect in size.
“This is like an office,” I said in awe. “Is this yours?”
He nodded his head. “It was. Then I moved to my new shop and didn’t have use for this place anymore. I used to do some woodworking in here, that’s what you smell.”
“It’s nice,” I told him honestly. “What are you going to do with it now?”
“Now…” he turned his eyes to study me. “It’s yours. If you want it, that is.”
I was already nodding my head.
“Oh, I want it.”
He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket.
“I just unlocked it this morning, but usually it’s locked. Here are the keys.” He gave them to me, dropping them into my outstretched hand and smiling as he did.
“Where’s my camera stuff?” I asked him, looking back down at my watch.
“Check the shelves over there,” he gestured to the wall to ceiling shelving unit that was all the way across the room. “I didn’t see them unpack it, but I know it’s here because Jean Luc asked me where he thought that I should put it.”
I found it with a loud ‘ah ha!’ and came running toward him.
“Are we taking the dragon or your car?” I asked.
He grinned at me.
“Neither.”
Thirty minutes after we pulled up into the park that I was shooting at, and I couldn’t have been more elated.
That was my first official long ride on Ian’s Harley.
Ian, apparently, used to ride his bike quite a bit before I came into the picture.
Now, though, he had too much on his hands.
That, or it was raining, which seemed to be the norm in our state at the moment.
Today, though, was an absolutely beautiful day, and couldn’t be better for the pictures I was taking of the soon-to-be-newlyweds and their about-to-be-blended family.
I spotted them the moment we pulled in, and I dismounted and started waving almost immediately.