As the car lift gently placed the silver Honda Accord down on the floor, Mason breathed a sigh of relief. It was his last job for the day, finishing up at quarter past eight.

Only a few other garages were open past six, and he’d experienced a rush in the last couple of hours. He’d just finished up a tire change for some kind of IT consultant. Mason recognized the pass hanging around his neck, he definitely worked at the CIA field office in town.

“You’re all set here, Mr. Stone.” Mason handed the keys over to Peter Stone.

“Thanks, man, been meaning to get her looked at for a while. I’m amazed those tires lasted so long after…” Peter paused, it seemed to Mason he was choosing his words carefully. “The car went through some intense driving a while back.”

Peter finished his cryptic explanation as he signed Mason’s bill.

“Do you accept Bitcoin?” Peter asked.

“Nope,” Mason answered. “We do accept PayPal and all major credit cards.” Mason handed Peter his copy of the invoice as Peter handed over his credit card.

Peter unlocked his Honda, jumping into the driver’s seat. Mason strolled to the filing cabinets, putting Peter’s invoice in with the other paid ones.

“Err… hey man.” Mason looked around to Peter in his silver Accord. “I kinda wanna leave.”

Peter motioned at the big metal doors that Mason had closed to stop any more customers from coming in after eight.

“Oh, right, yeah — sure thing.” He hustled forward, unlocking the big doors and sliding them open. The cold night air drifted into the garage, and Mason found himself worrying about Rhys. He’d spent all day out in town, handing out as many pamphlets as he could. He’d texted earlier to let him know he was grabbing dinner at Phoenix. Mason hoped he’d get home okay.

He sealed the doors closed, locking them for the night. Rhys would be able to unlock them no problem. He felt a pang of loneliness stabbing through his chest. He’d done days without Tristan before, but he was already missing Rhys.

Which was silly. Why would he miss him so bad?

Mason made his way up the wooden stairs at the end of the garage, entering his apartment above. He’d been able to sneak up between jobs and leave some wet food down for Socket. As Mason made his way into his apartment, he saw the empty bowl and Socket on top of the kitchen counter.

“Y’all okay there, little lady?” Mason locked the door behind him, Socket watching his every move with her wide eyes.

Mason opened his fridge, pulling out one of his microwave meals for his dinner. He would eat, then head off to bed. Then back up at seven am, to get himself and the business ready for an eight-o’clock start.

He wolfed down his sloppy macaroni and cheese, downing a beer along with his meal. Within six minutes he was in the shower, washing the dirt off from the day.

He emerged from his ensuite bathroom, throwing on a clean T-shirt and pair of boxers for pajamas. He collapsed onto his bed, grabbing his phone from his nightstand to text Rhys that he’d gone to bed early.

Mason was halfway through writing his message when he heard the big metal doors downstairs sliding open.

He threw on his blue robe as he sat at the kitchen island, eager to share the day’s events with Rhys before going to bed.

He heard Rhys’s footsteps coming up the wooden staircase, followed by him fumbling with his keys.

“Oh dammit!” Rhys exclaimed, followed by the sound of his keys falling back down the stairs.

Mason got up, Socket’s eyes darting along with his every move as he unlocked the door and looked down the stairs.

Rhys was heading back up, keys in one hand, a half-eaten burger in the other.

“Mason?” Rhys yelped in shock before scrambling up the stairs. He gave Mason a big bear hug, sighing deeply. “You are a very cuddly man!” Rhys giggled before letting go, stumbling over to his couch.

“Had a couple drinks at Phoenix?” Mason asked with a smirk.

“More than a couple!” Rhys said like it was obvious, gesticulating with his half-eaten burger.

Rhys’s eyes widened, as if he’d only just realized the burger was in his hand. He took a huge bite, moaning as he chewed.

“The chef at Phoenix, Harrison, he really knows what he’s doing!” Rhys explained as he swallowed. “Great seasoning, fresh meat slammed into patties. Man.”

Mason chuckled as he poured Rhys a big glass of tap water, handing it over to him. Rhys awkwardly pocketed his keys before taking the water with his free hand.

“You are a very kind man! Very kind.” Rhys took a big gulp of water. “Big kind man with big muscles and a big heart.”

Rhys looked around, his eyes widening once more as he noticed the nearly finished burger in his other hand. He took another big bite, moaning once again. Mason felt his stomach squirm from Rhys talking about him with such praise.

“It’s not just because I’m drunk, because I am. Very. But this is one of the best burgers out there. That chef at Phoenix, Harrison, he really knows what he’s doing,” Rhys proclaimed once more.

“Yeah, you mentioned that, buddy.” Mason took a seat at the kitchen island, looking down at Rhys on the couch.

“I don’t know why you put up with me. Silly drunk college boy, can’t even get himself home,” Rhys said before putting the last mouthful of burger in his mouth. Mason felt his chest tightening. Was that what Rhys thought Mason felt about him?

“C’mon, you know that ain’t true.” Mason moved off the stool, sitting on the couch next to Rhys. “You just had some bad luck. Besides, you’ve already doubled my business.”

“I shouldn’t say this… nope, not gonna. No, yeah. I’m gonna say it.” Rhys took in a deep breath before turning to face Mason, looking deep into his eyes.

Mason was stunned. Rhys’s eyes were captivating. His whole face was stunning. His thick black hair. Dark brown eyes that lit up when he looked at Mason. That beautiful smile. Mason knew Rhys was good looking, but up close he realized just how. It made him feel different. Off-balance for some reason.

“You need to fire Tristan,” Rhys said. “Look, I know it’ll be tough, but he’s a dead weight. He’s dragging you down. And he’s always watching proposal fail videos on YouTube, like, always! He’s not kind. You’re kind. You’re very kind. And have very nice muscles.” Rhys nodded, happy with his statement.

“Great minds think alike,” Mason said. Rhys smiled as he took a gulp of water. “I fired him earlier today,” Mason told him. Rhys spluttered, spilling cold water all down his front.

“Dude — that’s amazing!” He gently put his glass of water on the floor before pulling Mason into another hug.

“Oh, you’re a hugging kind of drunk. That’s cool.” Mason cradled Rhys close to him, Rhys’s wet T-shirt dampening his blue robe. Rhys let out a smoothing sigh, clutching Mason.

“I wish this hug could be real,” Rhys confessed.

“What do you mean?” Mason asked. Rhys was still clutching him tight. Mason didn’t dare let go.

“Big kind man. Even if you did like men, why would you like me? I’m leaving soon, which is stupid. My job is gonna be stupid.” Rhys sighed deeply, nuzzling into Mason’s neck.

“Okay, wow, err…” Mason wasn’t too sure what to say to that. Could Mason ever find another man attractive? Just now he thought Rhys had looked gorgeous. His stomach was always squirming when they were near. And they were still hugging. “Look, I think that when you’re sober, we need to—”

Mason stopped as Rhys’s breath formed into a gently snore. Mason sighed, rolling Rhys onto his back. He gently slid the sneakers off Rhys’s feet, noticing a large silicone Band-Aid under one of his socks. How far had he trudged around Hidden Creek, just to promote Mason’s business?

Mason felt touched Rhys would go that far. He stood up, making sure he didn’t stretch out and crack his back, not wanting to wake up Rhys. He lifted the blanket from the side of the sofa, covering Rhys with it. He then topped up Rhys’s glass of water before turning off the lights and heading to his bed. Alone.

As he looked up at his bedroom ceiling, a million thoughts whizzed through his head. They all drifted away except for one.

How exactly did he feel about Rhys?

After opening the shop at eight, Mason had spent the first couple hours catching up on paperwork. Almost all of the invoices had been paid, and as he’d suspected, his business had practically doubled overnight.

He’d also lost half his workforce. He began typing up an ad for the mechanic job online. He’d also contact the Hidden Creek Horn to put an ad in their classifieds.

Just after ten o’clock, the door to his apartment opened, and out came a groaning Rhys, who, despite being indoors, had on a pair of sunglasses.

“How’s the hangover?” Mason cheerfully asked as Rhys collapsed onto the customer sofa. How much did he remember from last night?

“I think after the last couple months, I decided I needed to blow off some steam last night.” Rhys half explained, half moaned. “I barely remember coming home. I didn’t weirdly hug you, did I? I’ve been told I’m a hugging drunk.”

Rhys sat up on the couch, lifting his shades to look Mason in the eyes. Mason felt disappointed. How was he meant to bring up that Rhys had basically declared his crush on him last night?

How did Mason even really feel about that?

“There was hugging, but that wasn’t weird,” Mason finally settled on.

“Thanks for the glass of water. Drunk Rhys always forgets to set that up.” Rhys took his shades off, running his hands through his thick black hair. He then paused, looking outside, and then back in the garage. “Where’s Tristan? The tow truck is still here. Did he call in sick?”

“You don’t remember?” Mason asked, Rhys frowning at him.

That was when Mason realized Rhys really didn’t remember last night at all.

“Yeah,” Mason began. “He was messing around with customers too much, so I let him go.” Mason felt a weight lifting from his chest, finally having his favorite buddy to talk to. Even if that buddy might have a crush on him.

But how was he going to bring up their talk last night without upsetting Rhys?

“Oh. It wasn’t anything to do with me, was it?” Rhys looked up at Mason with nervous concern. “I know he wasn’t happy about the redesign.”

“Nope. We got busier, and he wasn’t up to the challenge. He wasn’t up to the basics, if we’re honest.” Mason realized, looking back on Tristan’s bad employment record. “My business is worth too much to have him messing around.”

“Good for you. Firing a crappy employee is a business owner milestone. You gonna look for a new full-time mechanic or get an apprentice from the community college,” Rhys casually asked, leaning back on the couch.

“An apprentice? From H Triple C? I hadn’t thought of that,” Mason confessed, leaning back on his chair.

In theory, they would have less knowledge than a certified mechanic. But Tristan had been certified and an absolute moron. He would have to supervise them a bit more, and they wouldn’t be able to go on callouts for a while. He could pay them a fair wage as they carried on learning, and maybe even convert them to a full-time hire once they completed their certification.

“Yeah, if you offered a paid internship it would be less than what you were paying Tristan. But probably better-quality work.” Rhys had practically parroted Mason’s thoughts back to him. Mason couldn’t help but grin at him. They were in sync on so many things. Why did Rhys have to leave in a weeks’ time?

“That is a great idea.” Mason began looking up the details for the community college on his computer. He’d looked in on the workshop a couple times on his way to his night classes, the instructor there knew what they were doing, for sure. “We should celebrate tonight.”

“Aren’t you open until eight?” Rhys asked as Mason jotted down the phone number for Hidden Creek Community College.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t have any bookings after six.” Mason double-checked his schedule. “We could take one of the beauties out for a drive. It’ll be great.” And then Mason could gently bring up what Rhys had said last night. He couldn’t live with the awkwardness hanging over them.

“That does sound good, but…” Rhys began. Mason looked down at him on the couch. “You really need to be consistent with your brand. Also, most local garages close at six, right? Surely you’d get a rush from their closed business.”

Mason sighed. Rhys was right. “Yeah, but we should talk soon.”

“About what?” Rhys asked, sitting up on the sofa, looking self-conscious, a million times more nervous than Drunk Rhys last night. “Have I done something wrong?”

“What, oh no, nothing like that,” Mason assured him. He didn’t want Rhys feeling down on his behavior. “It’s just that…” Mason paused, trying to think of the right wording. Should he even bring last night up?

“So sorry I’m late!” Right at that moment, Mason’s ten-o’clock appointment came strolling into his shop. Matt, the owner of Mason’s gym Lift. They’d had this appointment on the book for months. “We got the new treadmill delivered today, and it arrived late.”

Matt looked down at Rhys before grinning.

“Hey man, how you doing?” Matt asked as Rhys stood up, shaking his hand.

“Yeah, I’m good. Glad the machine is up and running.” Rhys looked back around at Mason nervously. “I’m gonna go grab some breakfast. See you guys soon.”

And before Mason could say another word, Rhys had darted out the open door.

Mason used all his energy to force himself out from his chair. Had he just messed it all up with Rhys?