Bang Gang

“But the garage already does well…” I ran my fingers over the cash and it felt so weird, so dirty.

“Yeah, it does, but you gotta make hay when the sun shines, Jo. That latest rig cost me forty fucking grand. The truck cost thirty. With Petey and Jimmy O learning the trade… well, it all costs. Bang Gang money’s not tied to anything… and the only overheads are condoms.” He laughed and slipped on a crisp white shirt. I fought the urge to help him with his collar.

“So you take it while it’s there? Put it in a box for Mia’s university fund?” I could barely believe it. My voice felt heavy in my throat.

He shrugged. “And for Rubes. But she’ll probably end up with me, in the yard. Can’t keep her away.” He fastened up his bow tie. “So, now you know, alright?”

I met the gaze of the man I’d known better than anyone. “How, Darren? When?”

He pulled on his trousers and smiled. “Charity calendar three summers back, remember it?”

Of course I remembered it. It was to fund the local hospice, and workmen around the county had signed up for it. Trent’s team had been June — a glossy picture of them half naked, straddling tyres in a field full of hay bales. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Got a call after that. Got several actually. Women with a lot of money, looking for more.” He shrugged. “Word spread.”

“Three years, that’s how long you’ve been doing this?”

He nodded. “Right after I stopped seeing Stacey… When you were hooking up with Brian…”

I cringed at the memory. A couple of years with Brian was enough to make anyone cringe.

He checked the clock. “I gotta go, Jo.”

I stacked the money back in the box and handed it to him. His fingers felt so hot when they touched mine. “You could stop,” I said. “There’s a lot of money there, Darren.”

He didn’t answer, just slid the box back under the bed.

I continued. “I mean, enough to pay for tuition fees, surely… that’s enough, no?”

“I’m not stopping, Jo,” he said. “It’s too good a thing.”

My heart dropped and it wasn’t just the village rumours. I didn’t even know what it was anymore.

“I’ll leave you to it,” I said. I turned away, but he reached me in the doorway, his fingers on my wrist.

He spun me around and his face was in mine, his breath hot. “I fucked up with Mandy Taylor. I fucked up and now it’s round the whole fucking village, but I’ll sort it, alright?”

A knock at the front door and a trample of feet and wolf-calls. I didn’t need to look to know it was Hugh, Jimmy O and Petey come to join the gathering.

“Just sort the rumours, Darren,” I said. “For the girls.”

He nodded.

I adjusted his bow tie, smoothed down his shirt and let out a sigh. “This is so fucked up,” I said.

“Life’s fucked up, Jo.”

I sighed. “Then you’d better just go nail the shit you’ve got to nail, hadn’t you?”

He gave me a nod, and stepped away. And I missed him. I missed his body as hard as I’d missed him in the beginning, when I could barely fucking breathe because it hurt so bad. It was crazy, and ridiculous, and so fucking over, but it hurt like a bastard, right in my gut.

His eyes caught mine. “You alright?”

I smiled. “I’m good.” I let the feeling pass, pushed through it. “Just do what you’ve got to do, Darren.”

“Righto,” he said.

I followed the guys outside when they went, and they looked a picture. Five suited studs, all set to service some rich cow or other.

Seeing them together made my tummy tickle.

They’d been working out, all of them. Seeing them all suited up made it so obvious.

Hugh smiled at me and gave me his best. He was a silver fox, in his late forties, but still quite the dish. I wondered how his wife felt about this shit, but didn’t ask, just smiled and gave him mine back.

Jimmy O still looked like a wiley coyote, even in a tux. His curly dark hair blew loose over his eyes, and made them even darker, more mysterious. His eyes ate me up, his smile dirty. I felt it between my legs.

And Petey. Cute little Petey. His cheeks were glowing and his smile was bright. I could already see the tent of his cock in his trousers. The whole thing must be a bit much for a youngster like him.

They climbed into the back of the truck, and Buck climbed up front, leaving me with Trent to say my goodbyes.

“So, this is it?” I smiled. “This is your bang gang?”

He smirked. “One face of it. The rest is mainly sweat and oil.”

“Where you off to?” I quizzed.

“Cotswolds.”

I sighed. “Then you’d better go. I’ll head back home.” I met his eyes. “Just be careful, Darren. Don’t…”