A Restored Man (9 page)

Ty swept his arm upward and stopped. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Cole. Even through the paint mask, Cole could see Ty's glare fixed on him.

For once, he didn't mind having a pair of Calloway eyes staring back at him.

Ty walked toward the door and pulled the mask off.

Cole shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm, uh, finished and can help with the rest of the priming," he said, turning away, hoping the hard-on he sported wasn't noticeable.

Ty looked past Cole at the clock on the wall. "Have you taken a break for lunch yet?"

Cole shook his head. "Nah, I was in the zone. Didn't want to stop."

"Go eat something then we'll continue," Ty said, retreating back into the paint booth.

Cole held the door open. "Uh, no. If I'm taking a break, so are you."

"I'm good. I still have to finish these."

"You've been painting too long, you need to take a break and get some fresh air."

Ty hesitated.

"I'll sic Stacie on you," Cole said with a grin.

Ty muffled something that sounded remotely like a curse as he disconnected the paint gun then removed his paint coveralls.

They walked back to the mechanic bays, which seemed to be the busiest areas of the shop. The technicians were enjoying the sandwiches Stacie had ordered for lunch and quieted as Ty and Cole approached, their expressions curious. Ty met with Stacie and signed off on a few papers while the techs continued to silently watch him.

"We'll meet back up in an hour," Ty said to Cole before walking toward his office.

Cole grabbed a sandwich and joined the other techs.

"So, how was it working with the boss man?" Wayne asked, pulling up a chair.

"He's a bit of a smartass, but cool," Cole said with a shrug as he bit into his sandwich.

The techs stared at him.

Cole stopped chewing and stared back. "What?"
Great, what the fuck did I say now?

"A smartass?" one of the techs asked.

Cole nodded. Had he said something wrong? "But it's good. He's funny."

The techs continued to stare at him.

"What did I say?" Cole asked, finishing his bite.

"Cole, what did he do?" Jeff asked.

What the hell was up with these guys? Cole put down his sandwich, suddenly feeling defensive. "He cracked a couple of jokes and we laughed about it. It's fine. What's wrong with that?"

Stacie reappeared with her clipboard and the other techs began picking up their lunch remains and went back to work. Cole shook his head and took another bite.

"Cole?" Jeff prompted.

"What?" he said, chewing while he focused on the sandwich wrapper in his lap. He didn't feel like continuing the conversation. He replayed what he had said and couldn't understand why the techs were looking at him as if he had sprouted a third head.

"Whatever you did…with Ty, keep doing it," Jeff said quietly.

Cole looked up and cocked his head. "I didn't do anything. We were sanding and priming."

Jeff placed his hand on Cole's shoulder. "I've known Ty for years, ever since he was this high," he said, holding his hand up flat, palm down, about three feet off the ground. "I worked for his father in this same shop before I started working for him."

"So this was his dad's shop?" Cole asked, taking another bite, listening attentively.

Jeff nodded. "Most of Ty's work was in customization and restoration. He did a lot of shows, worked the PR part of things, always great with the customers."

Cole swallowed the last bit of his sandwich. "Did he ever do SEMA?"

Jeff laughed. "Every year and he'd showcase a custom project there. He has tons that have won awards," he said, pointing to the row of plaques along the wall. "It always seemed to nail us a few extra projects. He has worked his ass off to build a strong reputation."

Cole emptied his trash in the garbage and Jeff led him off to the other end of the bay, away from the other techs.

"He hasn't done a show in almost two years. He said he won't do any more of them."

"Why not?" Cole asked, not even trying to hide his curiosity.

Jeff sighed and looked over to the other techs. "It's not my place to say."

Cole pursed his lips. "You're the one who brought up the shows."

Jeff smiled. "No, you did."

Cole crossed his arms. "So, you're trying to tell me something but you don't want to tell me anything. And people say I'm twisted."

Jeff laughed. "The point I was trying to make is, I know Ty. Whatever you're doing with him, just keep doing it."

Cole uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his waist. He wasn't going to deny Ty was hot as hell but he didn't want anyone thinking there was something going on when nothing had happened. "We're just working. Me sanding, him painting. It's really not that tough to understand."

Jeff smiled smugly. "And you defending him this much has absolutely everything to do with sanding and painting only?" He crossed his arms and peered down at Cole.

There were times when Cole hated not having the height advantage. He scrutinized Jeff. He had that whole father figure thing going on that seemed more protective than intimidating. "We were working. Period."

"You said he cracked a couple of jokes?"

"Yeah, so?" Cole said, crossing his arms and firmly holding Jeff's stare.

"Did he laugh?"

Cole scrunched his brow. "Yeah, he thinks he's funny. So?"

A slow smile spread across Jeff's face. "Like I said, keep doing what you're doing," he said then walked away.

Cole stood there, replaying the conversation again and again. Absolutely nothing made sense. Someone had obviously spiked the secret sauce in the sandwiches with something. He shrugged it off and went back to work.

He was placing the second fender panel on the stand when Ty joined him in the booth.

"Hey there, you were supposed to take an hour," Ty said.

"So were you," Cole said, steadying the fender on the stand. "The fenders are set up and ready for primer."

"I could have set up the fenders," Ty said quietly. His shoulders were a little slumped and Cole hoped he hadn't done anything wrong. He just couldn't stand thinking about the wince of discomfort he saw earlier when Ty tried to shift the door panel.

"I know, and you could have sanded and primed everything on your own. We're working
together
here. I figured I'd set these up for you so we can finish all the primer work today and work on the painting tomorrow."

Ty was smiling and it looked as if he was holding back a laugh.

"What did I say?" Cole asked, realizing he'd repeated the phrase entirely too many times lately. These guys were all going to have him developing a major complex.

"Speaking of superheroes," Ty said and pointed to Cole's midsection.

He looked down and saw his green Incredible Hulk underwear peeking out from his work pants.
Dammit
. He should have kept his work shirt on. He tucked his T-shirt into his pants and stared back at Ty.

Ty did that low rumble-laugh that shot straight to Cole's dick. "I didn't realize they made those in adult sizes."

Cole walked up to Ty and pushed his chest against him. Ty didn't back away. Instead, he held Cole's gaze without flinching.

"It's extra-large," Cole said.

Ty's mouth twitched, holding back a smile.

Fucker
. "Extra, extra large."

Ty continued to stare down at Cole, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "If it gets any more 'extra,' we're going to have to haul you around in this rig when we finish it."

Cole squinted. "I don't think the rig will be big enough."

Ty tightened his lips, fighting to hold back a smile. "That Napoleon complex is really kicking in, isn't it?"

"No one's ever complained about my size."

"Who said I was complaining?" Ty said with a raised eyebrow.

Cole was spared the need to comment when the radio chirped.

"Mr. Calloway, are you available?" Stacie's voice echoed in the paint booth.

Ty backed away slowly, his face still holding a playful smile. "Go ahead, Stacie," he said into the radio.

"The delivery is here. Do you want me to schedule the service out for the end of next week instead while you work on getting ahead on the painting?" Stacie asked.

"Yes, please," Ty responded.

Cole grabbed the tape and rolls of paper, setting them along the wall, making sure to flex every visible muscle. He looked over at Ty as he spoke with Stacie. Each time he'd glance over, Ty was still watching him.

Two can play that game.

He turned to face Ty and leaned against the opposite wall of the paint booth, watching as Ty's focus stayed pinned on him. There was no way he was letting Ty win this. He lifted the edge of his T-shirt to dry the nonexistent sweat off his face, exposing the abs he worked extra hard to keep ripped. When he pulled the shirt down and made eye contact with Ty, Ty quickly looked away and swallowed heavily.
Bench pressing and sit-ups are so worth it
.

Cole smiled. "Aren't you going to answer her?"

Ty's focus snapped back to him, the playfulness gone from his expression. "What?"

"Stacie? She asked you a question about one of your service customers," Cole said and slowly walked around the fender propped on the stand between them.

Ty tracked Cole's slow, cat-like gait toward him. "She did?"

Cole nodded slowly as he continued to walk toward Ty until he was standing in front of him again.

"Stacie, what was that?" Ty said into the radio, looking away.

"Never mind, I'll check with Jeff and take care of it, sir," she said.

Ty shoved the radio in his pocket, dropped his hands to his side and looked back at Cole, a hint of want flickering in his eyes.

Cole took that tiny step forward and inched up to whisper in Ty's ear, "Careful. I like to be in control."

Ty closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, flattening his hands against the wall behind him. Cole backed off enough to see Ty's reaction. Ty opened his eyes and looked directly at Cole, the want still clearly burning in his gaze.

"Think you can take the hood to booth one so I can get started?" Ty said in a hoarse voice, his gaze still firmly focused on Cole.

Cole lips twitched. "I think I can manage that," he responded and stepped back slowly. He adjusted the bulge in his work pants while maintaining eye contact with Ty before he turned and walked away.

They continued to work the rest of the day, Ty finishing up the primer step while Cole handled block sanding the dry primer to prep for paint. He couldn't see Ty's face behind the paint mask unless he made it a point of doing so and he thought it best to not push the point. Cole kept replaying their earlier conversation. He thought he may have crossed the line but Ty didn't seem to have been bothered much since it happened. They exchanged the bare minimum of words, but the work moved along swiftly. Cole hoped that was the only reason few words had been said. Not only did he want to keep the job and not risk losing his car, but he didn't want to push Ty away. Something about him drew him in like a moth to light.

Cole glanced at the wall clock and saw the time. Julian would be there to pick him up at any minute. He wrapped up the last of what he was doing just as he heard the paint compressors shut off. He steeled himself and walked over to Ty's area, arriving just as Ty pulled off his paint mask.

Cole tugged the edge of his beanie. "I set everything up so it's ready for early tomorrow morning. So you should be good to go."

"You sound like you're abandoning me," Ty said, leaning against the booth door.

Cole shoved his hands in his pants and looked away.

"See you tomorrow," Ty said.

Cole stilled and turned to Ty. "You still want me to come back?"

Ty crossed his arms. "Why do you keep asking me that?" he asked, watching Cole intently.

Cole tugged at his beanie. "I'm not usually told to stay at a job for more than a day. I've been here almost a week. I didn't want to push my luck."

"Lucky for me they didn't keep you," Ty said with a half smile.

Cole's pulse raced and his chest tightened. "I'm sorry about the Hulk stuff earlier. And the teasing stuff," he mumbled.

Ty ducked his head, trying to maintain eye contact with Cole. "I'm not."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Careful what you wish for."

"Bring it on, short stuff," Ty said with a huge grin on his face.

Cole shook his head and walked away, giving Ty a backward wave. "See you tomorrow."

He punched out and exited the shop to see Julian waiting in his truck. He climbed in and still had a silly grin on his face. The energy thrummed through his body so fiercely he barely felt the strain in his arms from a hard day's work.

A couple of hours later, he was still humming and on a high from his workday. He was in the kitchen with Matt, Julian, and Luke when a knock at the back door echoed through the hallway.

"I'll get that," Matt said, leaving them in the kitchen.

Aidan walked in and greeted everyone then stared at Cole.

Cole looked up from his seat at the dinner table but didn't say a word.

"Matt tells me you've had a good week at the shop," Aidan said.

Cole nodded. "Yeah, I guess I must have done something right."

Aidan rubbed his thumb and index finger along his brows. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked Cole.

"If you're going to beat the shit out of me, I'd prefer to have witnesses this time," Cole deadpanned.

Aidan sighed heavily. "I don't plan on hitting you. Just give me a minute."

"Did you plan on hitting me before?"

Aidan muffled a curse. "Do you have to make this difficult? One fucking minute, asshole."

Cole exhaled heavily then rose from the dinner table and followed Aidan into the living room.

Aidan ran his fingers through his hair and paced the living room. "I want to apologize for the other day," he said then quieted.

Cole held back a smile. "What did you say?"

"Fuck you. You know what I said."

"You said you wanted to apologize but I didn't hear you actually apologizing," Cole said, crossing his arms.