Page 10 of Hammer and Hops

“Thanks. Uh, you, too.”

He waved and walked back into the building. Was he going to tell Everett I’d been there? Did I want him to? Oh hell. It felt like high school all over again, and I’d barely made it through the first time. Nope. Not going back. I’d kick and scream and poke myself in the eye before that happened.

There was only one thing to do. I blew a raspberry, not wanting to ever take myself so seriously. I’d be back during operating hours the next day. Decision made, I headed home.

I jumped right into the shower, sticking my head under the cold water, hoping to cool the fuck off. What the hell was I doing anyway? Obsessing over a stranger? Me?

It wasn’t normally my style, but this man had my gut twisted. Not to mention, my dick hard. I gave in, turned the water to a warmer setting and grabbed my cock. I gave it a squeeze, then grabbed the soap to jack off. It was fast, furious, and full of images of Everett Lundy. I wondered if he tasted like his beer…

Not long after releasing the tension, I stretched out in bed, hoping sleep would claim me before all the dark thoughts I didn't want to have surrounded me. That seemed a little dramatic, but honestly, I didn't want to deal with my doubts. Maybe I could get a man like Everett Lundy. Maybe not. I sure couldn't do much else but bounce around from job to job, blaming my lack of education for every wrong decision I'd made. But thoughts of doing anything about it paralyzed me.

I rolled over and focused on how I could win Everett over. Even if it was a fantasy, it was better than the rest of the crap in my life.

Chapter seven

Grumpy or Not… Everett

Lukas knocked on my office door and stepped inside. “Yo, Boss!”

I glared at him. He knew I hated him calling me that. He was entirely more than an employee. Maybe not a partner financially so much, but he'd put in hours and hours right beside me and deserved better. He knew it, too, only doing it to get under my skin. “Yes, worker?”

He stuck his tongue out at me, but sat down in one of the side chairs, crossing his leg over his knee. “We had a visitor a minute ago, and you’re never going to guess who.”

“Unless it’s a new client, I don’t want to know.”

“Oh, I think you’ll want to know. Not a client, but…”

“Fine. Who?”

He put his foot back on the floor and leaned forward. “The name Cameron Telliyard ring any bells?”

Shit. I’d told Lukas all about that gremlin. Of course I did. I told Lukas everything.

He chuckled at my reaction. “Gonna tell me now that you’re not crushing on him? I see why, though. He’s cute.”

“Shut up.”

“Seriously, this proves that he’s into you. Call him.”

“It proves nothing. He’s into the beer.”

Lukas shook his head as he sat back in the chair. “You’re so full of it. Don’t let Dastardly Donny dictate the rest of your life.” He snorted at his alliteration. “See what I did there? And that was dick. D-I-C-K. Tate. Dick-tate.”

“Seriously?”

He roared with laughter, and I couldn’t help laughing along with him. Lukas was the one person who could get me to relax and joke. “Ah…you’re killing me, Everett. You should really call him, though.”

“Nope.” That was all I had to say on the subject. “Let’s close up and get out of here.”

“You got it, Boss.” Thankfully, he knew when to let some things drop.

But I didn’t stop thinking about Cameron. Actually, I couldn’t get the gremlin out of my mind from the moment we met. It was so not right, but he made my nightly jack off sessions better, and I was looking forward to another one when I got home to my little house that I was still trying to fix up. I had boxes of stuff still stored in the spare room, mostly books and crap my mom insisted on giving me so I wouldn’t die of boredom out here in the wilderness. As if.

My bedroom was mostly finished with a queen-sized bed, freshly painted walls, and new carpeting. The attached bathroom had been renovated before I moved in. It was the one thing I insisted on. The front rooms weren’t in terrible shape, but still needed work that I didn’t have the time or money for yet. That meant I often skipped right to the bedroom, ignoring the rest of the house unless I needed dinner or wanted to crawl into the recliner to watch a movie. But I had no interest in watching anything and wasn’t hungry for food at the moment.

I stripped down, planning on getting off, then getting a shower, when I derailed my mission. I could imagine Cameron in my bed, looking up at me with hooded, dark eyes, staring at me with longing.

Had he really come by the brewery? Why would Lukas make that up? He wouldn’t.