Similarly, I had helped Becca apply for a few jobs just outside of town and had encouraged her that if she wanted the unpaid internship, to take it. It was a promising job that could lead to a career and would be worth it in the end. The only downside of applying for those jobs was that she had to actually put on real clothes, a disappointment for both of us. Though it meant we got to have fun with me taking them off her when she got back home, so it seemed to work out okay.
Becca sat with me in the bed, shoulder to shoulder as we ate and watched silly TV. It was a wonderfully slow, easy way to start the day, and we couldn’t help but steal a few kisses as we made our way through our meals. Before long, I was feeding her whole strips of bacon and “accidentally” dripping syrup down her chest, which I, as a gentleman, had to clean off her. She giggled as I licked the sweet syrup off her body and made a few detours along the way. Then I kissed her deeply and returned to my spot to finish my food.
After breakfast, I showered and shaved before getting dressed and kissing Becca on my way out of the door. I had work that evening, and Becca was planning on hanging out at the house and taking a nice long soak. As much as I wanted to be there when she was covered in sudsy bubbles, I did enjoy knowing she was pampering herself a little and enjoying some peace and solitude in my house. She had free rein of the kitchen and anywhere else in the house she wanted and had not yet missed an opportunity to have some kind of dinner waiting for me when I got back. I looked forward to getting home those last couple of days more than any other since it meant a usually near-naked Becca, food, and the promise of our bodies melding together again before bed.
The drive to work was uneventful, and I found myself humming along to the music on the way in a manner I hadn’t done in a long time. There was both peace and excitement all at the same time in me. It took a little bit to figure out, but when I did, it shook me.
I was happy.
For the first time in a long time, I was actually happy. I had good times before Becca, and I was still bummed about Nick and worried about how that was going to be resolved, but it didn’t dampen that happiness I was feeling about Becca. It quite literally put a pep in my step as I walked into the bar, and I found myself singing with the music in the bar lightly under my breath as I bopped around getting the place ready for evening service.
The bar was a bit of a wreck from daytime, and I helped clean up and patch things together. One of the theme nights was coming up, and the decorations were being hung while I was busy cleaning. It was an eighties night, and I had barely remembered before I walked out of the door to grab my neon sunglasses and hair gel. I planned on doing as much of a Mohawk as my hair would allow me to when I got the chance and was chuckling at the ridiculousness of the idea when I saw Mason come out of the backroom.
I wasn’t even aware Mason was there yet, and he made a beeline for me. I had just finished sweeping under the booths when he made his way to me. I couldn’t quite read his expression, but it didn’t seem like he was upset.
“Hey, Tyler, can we take a seat for a minute?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said. “I just cleaned under that one. You want a drink first?’”
“No, I’m fine. This won’t take long. I still have decorations to help Ava get up.”
“Cool,” I said as I sat. “What’s up?”
“Well,” he said, folding his hands over themselves and scooting up in the seat. It squeaked under him, and I made a mental note to convince him to let me replace the faux-leather seating with something else. “I wanted to ask you about how things were going with Becca,” he said. “I heard that maybe she was back to staying with you?”
“Yeah, she is, actually,” I said.
“And how is that going?”
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“It’s fucking amazing,” I said.
Mason’s face brightened up, and he smiled wide. “That is good to hear, brother. Very good to hear.”
“I really haven’t talked to anybody yet about it,” I said. “It’s still so new, and Nick isn’t quite on board yet…”
“I get it. And he will get on board. You guys have been best buddies since, what? Middle school?”