The garage door slides open with a glorious noise.

“Here it is,” Donnie, the gray-haired, ball-cap-wearing owner of the building says.

I step into the garage, taking in the space that rings with each footstep. The spot is bare, nothing more than a small warehouse with short windows ringing the top of it, but that’s all I need. With two rolling steel doors, there’s plenty of access and enough room to put the necessary tools. The only thing missing is an office-area, but that can be built to the side.

“How old is this place?” I ask, stepping into the middle of the garage.

“Only about ten years old,” Donnie explains. “My brother left it to me when he died. He had it running for a few years, just fixing cars. I figured I might get around to re-opening it after he went, but it’s a lot of work. The old lady already complains I got too much going on.”

He chuckles, and the sound of a ringtone fills the garage. Donnie pulls his phone from his jeans and inspects it.

“I gotta take this. Have a look around. I’ll be right back.”

He steps out of the garage, going around to the side yard. There’s nothing else to really inspect, so I just stay where I am. Assuming the price is right, I’ve just found what I’ve been looking for.

The thought of being so close to opening my shop fills me with excitement. I want to share the news, to tell someone right away.

Taking my own phone out, I pull up my mom’s number, but then stop. She’s at work…and she’s not the person I want to talk to.

Over a week has gone by since that night at Violet’s house, and she’s been on my mind each and every second. The way she gave herself over completely to me and Frank did something. Somehow, it further cemented the suspicion I already had. There’s no one else in the whole world like Violet.

Surprisingly, that night didn’t make things weird between me and Frank at all. I would never admit this shit, but it was kind of exciting to share a girl. Though I have absolutely zero desire to see Frank’s naked ass or balls, watching Violet submit to him had me going crazy. I have a suspicion he liked it as well.

If anything, sharing Violet has made us both more eager to win the bet. I’ve been sitting on pins and needles, waiting to hear if she’s pregnant—and also just waiting to hear from her.

But neither of those things has happened. The few texts I’ve sent have gotten ‘sorry, busy’ responses. Judging by the overtime hours Frank’s been working and his daily visits to the gym, he also hasn’t been seeing Violet. But is she avoiding us? That’s what I really want to know.

Forgoing my mom’s number, I call Violet’s instead.

“Hi,” she answers in a pleasant voice.

So far, so good.

“How are you?”

There’s the sound of a door closing. “Good. How are you?”

“Great. I might have just found the garage to put my repair shop in.”

“Sean, that’s great!”

“Yeah.” I smile to myself. “Hey, what are you doing tonight? I was thinking maybe I could take you out to dinner. You know, to celebrate.”

It’s a bad cover, but fuck. I’m only so creative.

Silence. Too much silence.

My mind races. I’ve said the wrong thing. Violet’s gonna know that I want more than sex from her…maybe even more than friendship.

Shit, shit, shit.

“That sounds nice,” she finally says. “But I’m really busy.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.” The words leave a sour taste on my tongue.

“Also, I’ve been tracking my cycle these past few months, and this is my most infertile time. It probably wouldn’t take right now.”

Her words are a knife right in the center of my chest. I suck in a breath, willing the pain to go away. It doesn’t.

I open my mouth, thinking about telling her I just wanted to spend some time together, but then close it. That would be a dumb move. We have an agreement, and it’s not up to me to break it.

“Right,” I say, staccato-like. “That’s cool. Well, I’m going to Kahuku next week, and I’ll be gone for a few weeks.”

“Oh.” She sounds disappointed, but maybe I’m imagining it. “Have a good trip. I guess I’ll see you when you get back.”

My ears buzz. This phone call needs to end. Now.

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” Violet says. “Have a good—”

I hang up before she can finish and cover my eyes with my palm. What the fuck was I thinking, calling her up and asking to hang out? I should have known I’d get shot down.

This is all wrong. I’m not supposed to be into Violet in this way…A way that I’ve never been into any woman. Without warning, her popping back up in my life has me rethinking everything. The house in the country. The life of one-night stands. The years spent without children, without a wife by my side.

It doesn’t matter that she’s the only person I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. I can’t have her. She’s made that perfectly clear.

With nausea rising, I put my phone away and face the truth. Once Violet gets a positive pregnancy test, things will go back to the way they’ve been the last eleven years. What I want doesn’t matter one bit.

“Sorry about that.” Donnie’s voice makes me jump.

“That’s all right,” I answer, my voice thick and weird.

“Well, what do you think?”

I give the building another good look.

This is what my life’s about. This shop. My goals. I can’t get caught up in wishing things were different. I can’t get caught up in her.

“I like it,” I say. “Let’s talk money.”