Page 47 of Grind
“I amnotharmless,” Dex said, ticked off as if not being a menace to society was a bad thing. “I’m literally—”
Someone banged on the door, which opened as soon as Frank shouted for them to come in. A tall man entered, stopping in his tracks when his gaze settled on Ezra. At first glance, he looked stylish, and handsome enough to be a cover model for the bad boy romance novels one of Ezra’s acquaintances consumed en-masse in his free time. But the simple outfit composed of jeans, a pale T-shirt, and a leather jacket was marked with real MC patches, and the shiny dark hair couldn’t divert Ezra’s attention from the large scar cutting through the stranger’s cheek and lip. He also wore some sort of harness to strap a large item to his back, and Ezra stiffened, worried it might be a machine gun.
“You have a guest,” the man said in a low voice, shutting the door behind him. He let his arms hang at his sides as he stepped toward the table, staring Ezra’s way as if he were considering whether this particular spider was worth squashing.
Frank nodded. “And you might need a shorter leash on Dex, Hammer.”
Dex spread his arms. “What? I was just being friendly!”
Oh. This was interesting.
Also, what kind of name wasHammer?
The tall stranger squared his shoulders, sturdy like a human battering ram. “What is he talking about?” he asked, settling his cool gaze on Dex, whose jokes died like fire during a storm.
He rolled his eyes. “I was just sayin’ Ezra’s pretty. Nothing wrong with that. We all have eyes.”
“Last time I checked, eyes can’t flirt,” Hammer said, squinting at him.
Ezra swallowed, because the last thing he wanted was for Dex to blame him for relationship turmoil. “It wasn’t serious.”
Frank seemed happy with this development as he packed tools into a duffel bag.
“I figured,” Hammer said, cocking his head as Ezra finished Frank’s lunch with a water bottle and a thermos with what was left of the coffee. “He knows I'd drop him like a hot potato if he goes behind my back.”
Dex was back to grinning and slid his finger into a belt loop at the front of Hammer’s jeans. “And that’s why I never will. It was the pancakes. They were so good I lost my mind.”
Hammer shook his head and leaned in, kissing Dex’s lips so gently Ezra looked away, feeling like an intruder, even though the two men knew they weren’t alone.
Ezra turned to Frank, who smiled at him, seemingly ready to go, and oh, he was so handsome. Ezra was by no means small, but next to a tank like him, he felt like the frailest twink, and kind of liked it. He’d rather not wait for him all day long, though.
“Can I come with you? I promise I won’t be a bother,” he said, handing Frank the food.
Hammer and Dex exchanged glances, then Hammer patted Dex’s shoulder. “We’ll wait outside.”
Frank sighed as soon as they were out. “It’ll be extremely boring to you. Just motorcycle parts and a bunch of bikers spending far too much time ogling them as they drink beer and waste my time.”
Ezra cocked his head, letting his mouth curl. “Come on, Frank, I know exactly what you all are doing out there.”
Frank stalled. “You do?”
Ezra sighed. “Duh. It’s obvious those parts are stolen. You’re moving cars and other goods, right?”
“Y-yeah. I didn’t want you to know.” Frank stroked Ezra’s hair with an unreadable expression.
Ezra offered him a smile and reached for the warm hand hanging at Frank’s side. “It’s okay. And I’m just so bored. I cleaned everything twice already. There’s nothing to do!”
Frank leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ve got something for you.”
Ezra’s heart beat faster when Frank opened a cabinet by the sink and pulled out a massive box. He put it on the table.
“I’ve got these receipts I haven’t sorted through. You could arrange them by date and type. Groceries, services, home stuff and so on.”
That obviously meant Ezra wasn’t invited to join Frank during business hours, but the massive box offered a challenge Ezra could easily take on while listening to music. He picked up a few of the papers, which Frank must have been squashing for a while, to fit more in, and frowned. “This is from two years ago. Why is it at the top, and… when’s the last time you’ve done this? Please, tell me it’s not work expenses mixed with personal ones too?”
Frank kissed him on the lips once more, then put his lunch in the duffel bag and zipped it up. “And that’s for you to work out. I’ll be back later.”
Ezra hummed, putting the box down. “Okay, I’ll be waiting here like Cinderella while you guys go to the ball. Make sure that prospect guy from the motorcycle club comes over, so I have more receipts to file,” he told Frank, a bit more at ease. He supposed the bikers might not want an outsider poking around in their business.
