There was something infectious about the guy that Bryce liked. He had this easy charm about him. He wasn’t trying to be anyone or anything other than who he was. Nick didn’t have a problem laughing at himself, or laughing at Bryce, either. They did a lot of that together, laughing. Bryce enjoyed becoming friends with him.

The third Saturday, Nick told him he’d officially changed his schedule so he would be off each week. He hadn’t given himself time off on the weekends in years so he figured he was due a little weekend fun. That third Saturday they’d worked together in the backyard for a few hours and then went out and had beer and pizza.

Bryce forced him to play videos games in the arcade and spent half of the night laughing at Nick, who really fucking sucked at games.

“You’re like a sixteen-year-old trapped in a thirty-two-year-old’s body,” Nick said when they headed home that night. “Video games, beer, and pizza and you’re happy.”

“So?” Bryce replied, and Nick shrugged.

“Just making sure you know.” And then Nick smiled and Bryce wasn’t sure why. The grin made him smile, too, and he wasn’t sure the why of that, either.

What he did know was that much the way it had been when he met Christi, he felt an immediate closeness with Nick. From the start he knew Christi would be an important part of his life, and as fucked up as it sounded, he knew that was true of Nick as well.

CHAPTER SIX

Nick was exhausted.

It hadn’t been a particularly busy night at work, but it still had felt long. Maybe because it had been a little slower than usual it made the hours drag by. His body felt like weights had been added to it as he dragged himself into the gas station on his way home.

His tank was full. He hadn’t wanted to stop, but he knew if he didn’t, he’d just drive himself crazy.

“Can I help you?” the cashier asked as he stepped up to the counter.

“I was in here around noon to get gas. I didn’t realize it until I was already at work, but two tens were stuck together, so I got an extra one with my change.”

The guy stared at Nick as though he’d sprouted another head. “You’re bringing back ten dollars from twelve hours ago?”

Was that a trick question? “Well, yeah, it’s not mine. I was only supposed to get ten, but I was given twenty.” Was it really that rare that a person would return something that didn’t belong to them?

“The drawer from earlier has already been counted down. They’ll already have considered it short...”

That didn’t matter to Nick. They could put the ten back. He knew that. He still wouldn’t keep something that wasn’t his. “Leave them a note that you’re ten over because the drawer earlier was ten under.”

He reached out and took the bill from Nick’s hand. “Oh...yeah...okay. Thanks, man.”

Nick headed out, and made it back to his truck before looking at the bar that sat across the street. He really needed to get home, but then he thought about how shitty Bryce ate. He often tried to bring him home food from the restaurant. Since he spaced it today, Nick slammed the door to his car and jogged across the street.

No, potato skins from a bar still weren’t the best food, but Bryce liked them, and the guy had been really great to Nick. He appreciated the friendship, and the fact that Bryce had taken him out every week for the past three weeks. The least he could do was grab the guy some food. Half of the time he was still working on the bike he loved so much when Nick got home from work.

He laughed when he thought about the time they’d spent there the other night. How Bryce said it would be easier to work on it at the shop, but that he was scared someone would touch it there. He was really fucking serious about no one touching his bike.

It didn’t take them long to make the potato skins and then Nick was on the road again. He was late. Bryce could very well be inside by now. He felt a slight disappointment at that. They’d fallen into a pattern together that Nick realized he kind of counted on. He’d miss not being able to at least shoot the shit with Bryce for a few minutes at the end of the day.

Which might actually be weird of him to feel, so he decided not to think about it.

He passed Bryce’s house to pull into his own driveway. The light was still on, Bryce sitting on a bench as he looked at the bike in front of him. When Nick pulled in, he looked over, nodded and smiled.

It was automatic, the smile he gave back, even though he wasn’t sure Bryce could see it in his dark vehicle. It was a ridiculous thing to think about, but he wasn’t sure he ever smiled as much as he did with Bryce.