Corbin (The Theriot Family)

I’d started this is a challenge to distract myself. I thought it would be fun to play with him, to tease and torment him a little, but now I was way too fucking invested. I wanted him to learn something, not as a punishment, but so he could have what he wanted—his family’s respect.

In the late afternoon, after watching him eat a piece of king cake like it was going to make him come, I called him over to an Escalade I was working on. “You ready to learn something?”

“Um… sure.” I’d never seen him look so nervous.

“You might be a brat, you might not have worked as hard in your entire life as you have these last two days, but never have I thought you weren’t smart. If I teach you something, you can learn it.”

He looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

“Corbin?”

He shook his head. “I’m not… I don’t catch on all that quick, not like…”

“You need to stop comparing yourself to your brothers. Decide you want to do something, and just do it.”

“Okay. Whatever. Just show me.”

I wanted to bitch at him and demand he rephrase that to show himself and me some respect, but I didn’t. I bent and popped the hood. “Tell me what you know.”

Corbin stared at the inner workings of the car. “I’ve never…” He blushed and looked away. “Someone’s always taken care of my cars for me. I mean, I know one of these things checks the oil. I guess it’s this. He pointed to the handle labeled Engine Oil. I know there’s someplace you can put water in a radiator and… Look, if you want to humiliate me, just—”

“Corbin, look at me.”

He did, and for the first time, I saw pain in his eyes instead of anger or arrogance. “I’m not trying to humiliate you. I genuinely want to know what you know so I can teach you what you don’t.”

“Just assume I don’t know anything.”

I shook my head. “What kind of car is this?”

“It’s a Cadillac Escalade. Probably 2018 or 2019.”

“See? You do know something.”

“All I know is aesthetics. I know what I like when I see it or sit inside it. But that’s nothing.”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing wrong with appreciating cars for their aesthetics, but it’s also good for everyone to know some basic maintenance.”

“Okay.” Corbin braced his hands on the front of the car and leaned in to look more closely. I stepped beside him and despite knowing I shouldn’t, laid my hand flat against the middle of his back. He sucked in his breath, and I swear I could feel his heat through the thick fabric of the coveralls.

I leaned in close. There was no need to whisper, but I found myself keeping my voice low, talking right by his ear. He shivered under my touch, which only made me press against him more. I laid my hand over his and guided it. Sure, I could’ve just pointed things out to him, but I needed to touch him, and I wanted him to touch the car and not be afraid of it. He needed to recognize he could learn new things, and putting your hands on something was one of the best ways to learn.

I guided his hand over to the radiator overflow tank. “This holds coolant used by the radiator.”

“The radiator keeps the car from overheating, right?” He turned to look at me as he said it, and suddenly our lips were inches apart. I wanted to kiss him so badly. My heart pounded. He licked his lips, and it was all I could do not to go after his tongue, suck it into my mouth, and bite his plump lower lip. His eyes widened as I moved my hand slowly up his back to cup his neck.

I felt him tremble. “B-Beau.”

“Beau!”

It took me a moment to realize it wasn’t Corbin saying my name the second time; it was Sam. She was shouting, and I heard other people yelling. There was some kind of commotion outside. Reluctantly, I let go of Corbin. “I need to go see—”

More shouting interrupted me. I heard the word fire and took off running. Corbin was right behind me.

“What the fuck is going on?” I yelled when I reached Sam. She was walking around the side of the secondary garage.

Before she could answer, Leland came running up. “He’s gone. We lost him.”

“How the fuck did he get in?” Sam asked.

“He cut a hole in the fence.”

“Somebody better tell me what happened right fucking now,” I demanded. Whatever it was, I knew it was bad. I realized Corbin was right behind me, and somehow that helped the tension leave my body.

Joey joined us then, and he spoke first. “I went out to see if I could use a part off that old Corvette near the back fence and saw someone I didn’t recognize. At first, I thought it must be a customer that had wandered back here, then I saw he had a gas can.”