T. A. Chase

Wednesday Work in Progress….

Well actually my works in progress are the same. At First Touch and Every Shattered Dream (Yes…I did change the title for that story. Decided this shorter version was catchier…lol) So I’m not sure what to share with you. Maybe a snippet from a short story I’m hoping to finish up next month. 🙂

It’s titled Restoration Project...and features a mechanic and the race car driver he’d fallen in love when the driver was a teen. 🙂

Restoration Project copyright c. 2013 T.A. Chase

The garage was deserted as Billy Joe strolled in to start his work day. Glancing around, he noticed all of the guys gathered around the front of the building, nudging each other and grinning like school kids.

“Angelina Jolie better be standing at the front door, gentlemen. That’s the only excuse you can give me for why you’re all huddling like a group of girls instead of working,” he quipped as he pushed through the crowd.

“Better than that, boss.” Jimmy turned and winked at him. “Though most of us don’t know whether to bow down to the bastard or punch him out.”

“What bastard? What the hell are you babbling about, Jimmy?”

Billy Joe’s mouth dropped open as he made it to the front of the crowd and set his eyes on what the rest of the guys had been ogling. Shit, it was better than Angelina Jolie, not that Billy Joe ever got a hard-on for her, but his dick got stiff when he saw the car., though there was something familiar about this particular car.

“Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda,” he whispered, hands itching to touch the gleaming fender. He stuffed them in his pocket.

“Yep.” Jimmy’s eyes sparkled with envy and lust. “Can you believe that the lucky bastard who owns this car smashed in the rear quarter panel? God, he shouldn’t be driving a car if he can’t keep from getting a scratch on this one.”

The rest of the guys nodded and Billy Joe snorted.

“Where’s the owner?”

“In with Dwayne.” Jimmy gestured over to the manager’s office.

Billy Joe headed that way. “Maybe you guys should start working before Dwayne comes out and kicks all your asses.”

They scrambled to their bays, none of them wanting to be standing around idle if Dwayne left the office. The manager of the garage liked busy employees. He didn’t like them drooling over customers’ cars.

He knocked on Dwayne’s door, then waited for his boss to call come in before he entered.

“Ah, Billy Joe. Glad you’re here. We got a new project just come in that I want you to take.”

“Sure.”

The man sitting in front of Dwayne’s desk stood before turning. Billy Joe’s mouth dropped open for the second time in as many minutes.

“Fuck me.”

Axel Robinson bit his lip and Billy Joe could tell the man was trying to not comment on what he’d just said.

“What are you doing here? Is that your ‘Cuda?”

Axel nodded. “Delacourte took a bat to it after he got disqualified during our last race. The asshole drove me into the wall going into the second turn, and he gets pissed at me because he lost the race.”

Billy Joe managed to tear his gaze away from Axel’s face to see the sling holding Axel’s right arm and the scraps on the man’s face. “Delacourte always was a cowardly bastard and a poor excuse for a driver. I bet your father was shitting bricks when that happened.”

Grinning, Axel nodded. “Chuck had Pop wrapped up tighter than a nun’s thighs. Pop wanted to beat the jerk to a pulp.”

“Can’t blame him. You’re a far better driver than he is, even with one arm tied behind your back.” Billy Joe winked at Axel before giving the man a quick hug. “What brings you to the garage?”

The younger man accepted Billy Joe’s hug without wincing and afterward, gestured in the direction of the ‘Cuda with his chin. “I knew you worked here and there isn’t anyone else I wanted touching my baby.”

Billy Joe looked over at Dwayne who nodded. “I’ll take Jimmy off the BMW and put him on your job. You can take this one.”

“Thanks, boss.”

“No problem. We have enough good mechanics that I can humor a request.” Dwayne wiggled his eyebrows at Billy Joe from behind Axel’s back.

Billy Joe rolled his eyes and settled his hand at the small of Axel’s back to lead him out of the office.

“Do you want to go over the car with me? Or should I call you with an estimate?”

Axel checked his watch. “Shit, I have to get back to headquarters. We have a meeting to discuss the next race. Why don’t you call me? We can meet up for dinner tonight and talk about the cost.”

“Great. Your number the same?”

“Yeah. Didn’t have a reason to change it.” Axel slapped Billy Joe on the shoulder. “It’s great to see you, man. You need to come over to our garage and see Pop. I know he misses you.”

“Tell him I said hi and I just might make it out to the races some day soon.”

Axel tossed him the keys to the ‘Cuda, then headed out of the garage. Billy Joe turned to see all the mechanics staring at him.

“No way? It’s just not fair that you get to work on this car.” Jimmy pouted, but Billy Joe saw the twinkle in the man’s eye.

“Hey, why settle when you can have the best mechanic do the work?” Billy Joe made his way to the car. “I know this car better than anyone but Axel. I helped him drop the engine in it after we got the body restored.”

After climbing in the car, he ran his hands over the steering wheel and grinned. It was good to see Axel again. Of course, the man had been all of seventeen when Billy Joe quit working for his dad, but still Axel’s boyish good looks warned of how devastatingly handsome he would become as he matured. Now at twenty-five, Axel was sex walking and Billy Joe didn’t know if going out to dinner with him was the wisest choice.

He turned the key and the roar of the engine brought back memories of the night they dropped the engine. Axel’s smile filled his whole face when they started it and it roared to life on the first try. The kid’s enthusiasm was contagious, but Billy Joe hadn’t been prepared for what the kid did next. Axel threw his arms around Billy Joe and hugged him tight.

The shock of their bodies touching from chest to knee just about drove Billy Joe to the floor. When his cock got hard at the scent of Axel’s sweat and grease, he knew he needed to stay away from Axel until the kid was older. No point in getting into trouble with Big Phil, Axel’s dad and Billy Joe’s boss.

Of course, back then, he didn’t know if Axel was into guys or not. There had been some signs of flirting while they worked on Axel’s baby, but Billy Joe always believed it was wishful thinking on his part.

By the time Axel turned eighteen, and Billy Joe could set about discovering which side of the fence Axel played on, Billy Joe had quit and left the racing scene behind him. Now he was getting another chance to reconnect with Axel. He’d admit, only to himself, that he missed Axel more than working on the race cars.

Someone slapping the window drew his attention back to the present. Turning his head, he saw Dwayne standing outside the car.

“Take her to bay fourteen. You can work on it there. If you need another pair of hands, you can get Heath to help you.”

“Thanks.”

He drove the car carefully into the garage before parking it in the bay Dwayne specified. After climbing out, he stood, glaring down at the dented rear panel and the scratches. Damn Delacourte. The bastard was childish and hateful, blaming others for things he brought on himself. If Billy Joe ever got close to the man again, he’d introduce his fist to Delacourte’s chin.

After grabbing his coveralls off the hook, he tugged them on. It was time to figure out how much it was going to cost Axel to fix the damage.

Filed under: At First Touch,Excerpts,For Every Dream that Shattered,International Men of Sports,Restoration Project,Wednesday WiPs,writing | |3 Comments