Which Way the Wind Blows
folder
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,895
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
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Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,895
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Chris tightened the bolt until it refused to go any further then stepped back to survey his work. The engine wasn’t going to fall out, he determined, feeling a sense of pride at accomplishing something he’d never before dreamed he’d want to. He’d only been working at the shop with Tony for a couple of weeks, but he felt he’d already learned so much. He was working on an old Camaro right now for one of Tony’s side jobs. The body had been a bit rusted, but he’d scraped it down and treated it, like the older man showed him, so now it was fine. The original engine had seized, apparently due to a negligent owner. But Tony had a rebuilt engine already waiting for it, and that morning he and Chris lowered it into the car and bolted it in.
“Is good,” Tony grinned as he stepped back from his side of the car. “Now we fill with fluids.”
“Don’t we have to install the oil pan first?” Chris smirked at him.
“I not fooling you twice, eh?” he laughed at the blonde. When Chris shook his head, he smiled. “It was fun though!”
“Not for me!”
“I bet your hair was never softer!” Tony teased.
“It was never so water-resistant, either!” He shook a finger at the older man. “Remember, I still owe you for that one.”
“I know!”
They worked in silence for another hour, installing the oil pan and making sure the various fluid systems were closed before adding the transmission fluid, oil and brake fluid to the appropriate areas. Chris struggled a bit with the battery connections but soon it was connected.
“I bet you have callous now!” the older man said as he slid behind the wheel of the car to start it up.
Chris looked at his hands and nodded with a smirk, actually proud of the hardened skin he saw on his hands. If only his father could see him now, he thought. He looked up when Tony gunned the engine. The car looked like it was ready for the final step.
“What color are you painting it?” Chris asked when Tony got out of the car, letting it idle for a while to get the fluids running through the new engine.
“Black, maybe?”
Chris frowned as he studied the car and tilted his head. “I think red would be better.”
Tony looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Red?”
“Fast color,” Chris shrugged. “Seems to go on a sports car like that, no?”
The older man chuckled and clapped Chris on the back, almost sending him tumbling down. “You get the hang of this quick, hmm?”
Chris nodded and grinned.
“Hey!” Victoria called as she walked up to the garage. “Joe and Kee are here with the rental van for the stuff!”
“Van?” Tony quirked an eyebrow at Chris.
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “The furniture’s leaving. Not us.”
“Yeah,” Vic added when she reached them. “We decided we didn’t like it anymore.”
Their landlord nodded and sighed. “Is good you two can make change then.” He sat down on a fold out chair he kept in the bay area and watched the new car as it idled. “Many couples would fight over such things.”
Chris and Victoria traded uncertain glances, not sure of how to address the issue. They hadn’t meant for their landlord and his family to think they were an actual couple, but they weren’t sure what the reaction would be to the truth.
“You’re not couple?” Tony asked but his eyes held more amusement than surprise.
Chris leaned back against the bay door and crossed his arms. If the last two weeks had taught him anything, he knew not to put anything past the older man. “You know the answer to that already, don’t you?” he smirked.
Tony shrugged.
“You do?” Victoria asked.
“I make guess,” he smiled up at her. “I meet your friends when they help you move, remember?”
“And you don’t mind?” Chris asked. “I mean, if you made the guess I think you did.”
“Why should I mind?” Tony replied. “You two pay rent on time, help even when is not necessary and don’t make noise. You perfect tenants for us.”
“Yeah, but …”
“But nothing,” he grinned up at Chris. “Who you date makes no difference. Is how you act that matters. And you two are good people.”
“Um … thanks.”
“Besides,” the old man snorted. “I live in New York long time now. Is not unusual here.”
Chris gave Tony a grateful smile. He wished his own father were even a fraction of the man he was.
---------------------------------------------
Warren waved to Lloyd as he passed him on his way back from the deli. The guy was nice enough, but Warren couldn’t shake the sense of disappointment he was feeling since Chris and Victoria left a few weeks back. He shook his head and sighed, telling himself he was supposed to be happy that the blonde was gone. And he was in a way. But seeing Chris again, even briefly had him rethinking his behavior of late. He still went with Jake to the bar but he hadn’t picked up anyone in a while, deciding he needed a little time to examine whether or not there was any weight to Chris’ parting words that night.
“Ah! There’s my cappuccino!” Mindy grinned as she took the taller cup away from her brother.
“How do you drink that stuff?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same question,” she quipped. “Plain coffee is too … well, plain.”
“It’s better plain than loaded down with milk and sugar,” he shrugged. “I brought some bagels, too.”
“You’re the best!” she smiled.
It was the first smile he’d seen from her in a week. Stress was getting to her at work, as she was vying for a promotion with two other women in the office and she didn’t feel confident she’d get it.
“Everything okay, little sis?” he asked as they sat down to their breakfast.
“Fine,” she said softly.
He gave her skeptical look and she grunted as she slathered a copious amount of butter on her bagel. “I don’t think I’ll get the job,” she whispered.
“Why not?”
“I just … heard things through the office grapevine.”
“What things?”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute before she opened them and took a bit of her bagel, licking a small bit of butter from her finger. “Just that I don’t have … the right look for seeing clients.”
The right look? Warren wrinkled his nose as he thought about it. Mindy worked in the sales department of a fashion magazine as an assistant, and she’d been trying to get her foot into a sales position for the last few months. When this one opened up, Warren thought she’d get her chance.
“You look fine!”
“For any other type of magazine, maybe,” she replied. “But the other two I’m up against?” She grimaced. “Fully coiffed and armed to the teeth in accessories.” She put her bagel down and shook her head. “I don’t think I can compete.”
“Did they make a decision yet?”
“Not yet. They have another two months before Janet goes on maternity leave.”
“Then you still have time.”
She gave him another dubious look. “To completely transform myself? I don’t think I know where to begin.”
---------------------------------------------
“How does my furniture look in your place?” Joe asked Chris as the two started unloading the black leather couch that just arrived at the condo.
“Much, much better than this did!” the blonde laughed.
“I have the ottoman!” Victoria announced as she scampered away with it toward the freight elevator.
“Damn!” Kee called after her. “That means I have to get this chair by myself?”
Tom and Lauren snuck around the back of the van while Kee’s back was turned and Lauren put a finger to her lips to shush Chris and Joe.
“Boo!” Tom yelled, sending Kee jumping. He hit his head on the side of the van and cursed … loudly.
“You ass!” he yelled. “That’s it! No bachelor party for you!”
“Yay!” Lauren cheered as she tackled Kee from behind and hugged him.
“Ah! Breeder alert! Get this crazy woman off of me!”
“Chris, this is my partner’s friend, Tom,” Joe said as he shook his head at his boyfriend’s antics. “Tom, this is my partner in crime at work. Chris.”
They shook hands and Chris noted that Tom didn’t look all that enthused to be there at the moment. But he remembered Victoria mentioning that would probably be the case. She and Kee seemed to have forged a tight new friendship since they met, and he was glad. She seemed happier now that they’d settled into Brooklyn. And Kee and Joe were moving into the borough now, too. Things actually started to feel right for the first time since he moved to New York.
“Nice to meet you,” he nodded to Tom.
“What’s going on here?” Victoria demanded as she emerged from the elevator. “Lauren!” she exclaimed when the other woman finally released Kee.
“Vic!” she laughed. “Let’s get this party started!”
“Oh, good. You brought your muscle.” Victoria smiled up at the new blonde. “I’m Victoria.” She stuck her hand out and Tom nodded dumbly as he took it. “Not much for words, huh?” she smirked.
“Get over yourself!” Lauren smacked Tom’s arm. “And get busy with that couch. It’ll probably take all four of you to get it into the building unharmed.”
“But I’m too delicate,” Kee whined.
“He’s willing to move it,” Victoria said pointing at Chris. “And he worked all morning!”
“Worked?” Joe asked as he helped Tom pull the couch the rest of the way out of the van.
“On cars,” Chris clarified. “With my landlord. I help him on weekends.”
“Sounds cool,” Tom said reluctantly. “What’d you do today?”
“Put a new engine in a Camaro.”
“Z28?”
“Yep.”
“Cool,” Tom whistled. “I used to have one back in the day.”
“Before you let that idiot girlfriend of yours drive it into a ravine,” Kee added helpfully making Lauren snicker.
“Okay, that wasn’t my brightest move,” he conceded, giving Kee a glare. “But how was I supposed to know Desiree was going to wreck it?”
“The fact that she’d had her license suspended six times didn’t clue you in?” Kee snorted. “Either you’re a dumb blonde or Little Tommy was doing the thinking for you.”
“Probably a little of both,” Lauren sighed theatrically.
Chris tightened the bolt until it refused to go any further then stepped back to survey his work. The engine wasn’t going to fall out, he determined, feeling a sense of pride at accomplishing something he’d never before dreamed he’d want to. He’d only been working at the shop with Tony for a couple of weeks, but he felt he’d already learned so much. He was working on an old Camaro right now for one of Tony’s side jobs. The body had been a bit rusted, but he’d scraped it down and treated it, like the older man showed him, so now it was fine. The original engine had seized, apparently due to a negligent owner. But Tony had a rebuilt engine already waiting for it, and that morning he and Chris lowered it into the car and bolted it in.
“Is good,” Tony grinned as he stepped back from his side of the car. “Now we fill with fluids.”
“Don’t we have to install the oil pan first?” Chris smirked at him.
“I not fooling you twice, eh?” he laughed at the blonde. When Chris shook his head, he smiled. “It was fun though!”
“Not for me!”
“I bet your hair was never softer!” Tony teased.
“It was never so water-resistant, either!” He shook a finger at the older man. “Remember, I still owe you for that one.”
“I know!”
They worked in silence for another hour, installing the oil pan and making sure the various fluid systems were closed before adding the transmission fluid, oil and brake fluid to the appropriate areas. Chris struggled a bit with the battery connections but soon it was connected.
“I bet you have callous now!” the older man said as he slid behind the wheel of the car to start it up.
Chris looked at his hands and nodded with a smirk, actually proud of the hardened skin he saw on his hands. If only his father could see him now, he thought. He looked up when Tony gunned the engine. The car looked like it was ready for the final step.
“What color are you painting it?” Chris asked when Tony got out of the car, letting it idle for a while to get the fluids running through the new engine.
“Black, maybe?”
Chris frowned as he studied the car and tilted his head. “I think red would be better.”
Tony looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Red?”
“Fast color,” Chris shrugged. “Seems to go on a sports car like that, no?”
The older man chuckled and clapped Chris on the back, almost sending him tumbling down. “You get the hang of this quick, hmm?”
Chris nodded and grinned.
“Hey!” Victoria called as she walked up to the garage. “Joe and Kee are here with the rental van for the stuff!”
“Van?” Tony quirked an eyebrow at Chris.
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “The furniture’s leaving. Not us.”
“Yeah,” Vic added when she reached them. “We decided we didn’t like it anymore.”
Their landlord nodded and sighed. “Is good you two can make change then.” He sat down on a fold out chair he kept in the bay area and watched the new car as it idled. “Many couples would fight over such things.”
Chris and Victoria traded uncertain glances, not sure of how to address the issue. They hadn’t meant for their landlord and his family to think they were an actual couple, but they weren’t sure what the reaction would be to the truth.
“You’re not couple?” Tony asked but his eyes held more amusement than surprise.
Chris leaned back against the bay door and crossed his arms. If the last two weeks had taught him anything, he knew not to put anything past the older man. “You know the answer to that already, don’t you?” he smirked.
Tony shrugged.
“You do?” Victoria asked.
“I make guess,” he smiled up at her. “I meet your friends when they help you move, remember?”
“And you don’t mind?” Chris asked. “I mean, if you made the guess I think you did.”
“Why should I mind?” Tony replied. “You two pay rent on time, help even when is not necessary and don’t make noise. You perfect tenants for us.”
“Yeah, but …”
“But nothing,” he grinned up at Chris. “Who you date makes no difference. Is how you act that matters. And you two are good people.”
“Um … thanks.”
“Besides,” the old man snorted. “I live in New York long time now. Is not unusual here.”
Chris gave Tony a grateful smile. He wished his own father were even a fraction of the man he was.
---------------------------------------------
Warren waved to Lloyd as he passed him on his way back from the deli. The guy was nice enough, but Warren couldn’t shake the sense of disappointment he was feeling since Chris and Victoria left a few weeks back. He shook his head and sighed, telling himself he was supposed to be happy that the blonde was gone. And he was in a way. But seeing Chris again, even briefly had him rethinking his behavior of late. He still went with Jake to the bar but he hadn’t picked up anyone in a while, deciding he needed a little time to examine whether or not there was any weight to Chris’ parting words that night.
“Ah! There’s my cappuccino!” Mindy grinned as she took the taller cup away from her brother.
“How do you drink that stuff?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same question,” she quipped. “Plain coffee is too … well, plain.”
“It’s better plain than loaded down with milk and sugar,” he shrugged. “I brought some bagels, too.”
“You’re the best!” she smiled.
It was the first smile he’d seen from her in a week. Stress was getting to her at work, as she was vying for a promotion with two other women in the office and she didn’t feel confident she’d get it.
“Everything okay, little sis?” he asked as they sat down to their breakfast.
“Fine,” she said softly.
He gave her skeptical look and she grunted as she slathered a copious amount of butter on her bagel. “I don’t think I’ll get the job,” she whispered.
“Why not?”
“I just … heard things through the office grapevine.”
“What things?”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute before she opened them and took a bit of her bagel, licking a small bit of butter from her finger. “Just that I don’t have … the right look for seeing clients.”
The right look? Warren wrinkled his nose as he thought about it. Mindy worked in the sales department of a fashion magazine as an assistant, and she’d been trying to get her foot into a sales position for the last few months. When this one opened up, Warren thought she’d get her chance.
“You look fine!”
“For any other type of magazine, maybe,” she replied. “But the other two I’m up against?” She grimaced. “Fully coiffed and armed to the teeth in accessories.” She put her bagel down and shook her head. “I don’t think I can compete.”
“Did they make a decision yet?”
“Not yet. They have another two months before Janet goes on maternity leave.”
“Then you still have time.”
She gave him another dubious look. “To completely transform myself? I don’t think I know where to begin.”
---------------------------------------------
“How does my furniture look in your place?” Joe asked Chris as the two started unloading the black leather couch that just arrived at the condo.
“Much, much better than this did!” the blonde laughed.
“I have the ottoman!” Victoria announced as she scampered away with it toward the freight elevator.
“Damn!” Kee called after her. “That means I have to get this chair by myself?”
Tom and Lauren snuck around the back of the van while Kee’s back was turned and Lauren put a finger to her lips to shush Chris and Joe.
“Boo!” Tom yelled, sending Kee jumping. He hit his head on the side of the van and cursed … loudly.
“You ass!” he yelled. “That’s it! No bachelor party for you!”
“Yay!” Lauren cheered as she tackled Kee from behind and hugged him.
“Ah! Breeder alert! Get this crazy woman off of me!”
“Chris, this is my partner’s friend, Tom,” Joe said as he shook his head at his boyfriend’s antics. “Tom, this is my partner in crime at work. Chris.”
They shook hands and Chris noted that Tom didn’t look all that enthused to be there at the moment. But he remembered Victoria mentioning that would probably be the case. She and Kee seemed to have forged a tight new friendship since they met, and he was glad. She seemed happier now that they’d settled into Brooklyn. And Kee and Joe were moving into the borough now, too. Things actually started to feel right for the first time since he moved to New York.
“Nice to meet you,” he nodded to Tom.
“What’s going on here?” Victoria demanded as she emerged from the elevator. “Lauren!” she exclaimed when the other woman finally released Kee.
“Vic!” she laughed. “Let’s get this party started!”
“Oh, good. You brought your muscle.” Victoria smiled up at the new blonde. “I’m Victoria.” She stuck her hand out and Tom nodded dumbly as he took it. “Not much for words, huh?” she smirked.
“Get over yourself!” Lauren smacked Tom’s arm. “And get busy with that couch. It’ll probably take all four of you to get it into the building unharmed.”
“But I’m too delicate,” Kee whined.
“He’s willing to move it,” Victoria said pointing at Chris. “And he worked all morning!”
“Worked?” Joe asked as he helped Tom pull the couch the rest of the way out of the van.
“On cars,” Chris clarified. “With my landlord. I help him on weekends.”
“Sounds cool,” Tom said reluctantly. “What’d you do today?”
“Put a new engine in a Camaro.”
“Z28?”
“Yep.”
“Cool,” Tom whistled. “I used to have one back in the day.”
“Before you let that idiot girlfriend of yours drive it into a ravine,” Kee added helpfully making Lauren snicker.
“Okay, that wasn’t my brightest move,” he conceded, giving Kee a glare. “But how was I supposed to know Desiree was going to wreck it?”
“The fact that she’d had her license suspended six times didn’t clue you in?” Kee snorted. “Either you’re a dumb blonde or Little Tommy was doing the thinking for you.”
“Probably a little of both,” Lauren sighed theatrically.