Take What You Want (74 page)

“
There's
not much in construction I
can't
do,” Chase said. “Same goes for Jayson.”

“
Sounds
good,” Cooper said. “I have to say, the thought of
Jayson bent over and working in my my bedroom doesn't upset me.”
The smile that followed Cooper's comment was lecherous.

“
Hey!
I'd be working right along side him,” Chase said. “You
drooling over Jay while we're supposed to be working wouldn't exactly
get your job done anytime soon.”

“
I'll
pay you by the hour, that way it won't matter how long it takes you
to finish,” Cooper said. “What's your hourly cost?”

“
A
hundred bucks,” Chase said.

“
Double
it and you've got yourself a deal,” Cooper said.

“
I
still want to see the job,” Chase said.

“
Will
you bring Jay?”

“
Fuck,
Coop! Since when do you get hung up on a guy?” Wheland said,
adding his two cents worth to the conversation.

“
Since
I finally met a
nice
guy,” Cooper grumbled. “You should be happy for me.”

“
And,
next week you'll want me to be happy for you because you met some
smoking hot, twenty-year-old stripper,” Wheland said.

Cooper's eyes danced between
Wheland and Chase. “I'm not the man-whore he's portraying me
to be.”

“
Bullshit,”
Wheland said.

Chase rolled his eyes.
“Whatever,” Chase said. “Just don't fuck him over
or you'll have to deal with me.”

Cooper lifted one eyebrow
and grinned.

“
I
know. Poor choice of words,” Chase said. “But, I think
you know what I meant.”

“
Point
taken, but you don't need to worry,” Cooper said. “I
like Jay. Have him fly out and take a look at my job.”

“
I'll
talk to him, but no promises beyond that,” Chase said.

“
Perfect,”
Cooper said.

Chase thought about the
suggestion. It could actually work, that is, if Jayson wanted to
come out to California for a bit. Besides a few text messages, Chase
had yet to talk to Jayson about the situation with Alex. All Chase
knew was Jayson was overseeing Chase's jobs while he was gone. Chase
knew he couldn't expect Jayson to do that for any long period of time
before it became too much of a burden for him. There was a lot to
think about, but Cooper's job might be a solution to part of their
problem.

“
I'll
give Jay a call tonight,” Chase said.

“
Does
that mean you two will do the job?” Cooper asked.

Chase grinned at Danni.
“I'm getting the feeling Cooper has a little thing for Jayson,”
he said out of the side of his mouth.

Cooper crossed his arms over
his chest. “I won't deny I like your friend, Chase. It was a
shame you didn't introduce us until the night before I left.”

“
I
wasn't aware you'd be interested in Jay, nor did I know he swung that
way until recently, either,” Chase said. “Otherwise, I
would have introduced you sooner.”

Cooper shrugged. “I
like dudes and chicks, just like Alex, but unlike Alex, I prefer to
do one at a time.”

“
Okay,
so now that we've sorted all that out,” Wheland said, shaking
his head. “I think we managed to solve your problems.”

“
I
wouldn't say that, Wheland,” Chase said. “Far from it.”

“
Well,
it's a start, then,” Wheland said.

“
Yes,
it's a start,” Chase said. “But there are other things
to think about, too.”

“
Care
to elaborate on that?” Wheland asked.

“
Yeah,
but not here,” Chase said.

Wheland took the subtle hint
and directed Chase and Danni back to the hallway. “I'm
guessing this part has something to do with Alex?”

Chase leaned against the
cool wall. He dropped his head back and closed his eyes. “Before
we make any further plans on staying here for Alex, we need to find
out if that's what Alex wants.”

“
It's
what he wants,” Wheland said.

“
That's
what you say, but if its all the same, Danni and I need to hear that
from him.”

“
I
understand,” Wheland said. “Maybe tomorrow you'll be
able to talk to him.”

“
And,
then there's also the issue with Adam,” Danni said.

“
That's
right,” Chase said. “If he's back in Alex's life on any
level, we're gone.”

“
There's
no way in hell we want to get involved with that,” Danni said.

Wheland shook his head.
“Look, I know for a fact Alex isn't interested in Adam. We
talked about it several times in the weeks leading up to the
accident. He and Alex talked on the phone a few times and Adam
showed up at his house one night and Alex asked him to leave. They
met up at a restaurant a few days later, but that was mainly to get
closure. Alex still had a few things that belonged to Adam, and that
was the extent of it. I swear to you, that part of Alex's life is
over.”

“
Still
...” Chase said.

“
I
know, you want to hear it from Alex,” Wheland said.

“
Exactly,”
Danni said. “I'm exhausted. Can we go back to your place?”

“
Yeah,
sure,” Wheland said with a warm smile. “Do you like Thai
food?”

“
There's
not much I don't like to eat,” Chase said.

“
Okay.
Done. I'll order some take-out and we'll pick it up on our way
home.”

-0-

They left the hospital,
stopped for the food, then drove back to Wheland's house. After
dinner Chase and Danni settled into the guest room. While Danni
showered, Chase picked up his phone to call Jayson.

“
How
is Alex doing?” Jayson answered.

No hello. Jayson simply got
right to the point. Chase liked that; it showed him Jayson cared.

“
He's
in and out of consciousness,” Chase said. “Danni and I
still haven't had a chance to talk to him at length yet.”

“
What
are your plans?” Jayson asked. “Are you staying out
there for a while?”

“
That's
actually why I called,” Chase said. “If we stay, I need
a job and it sounds like Cooper needs some work done at his house
that he'd like me to do.”

“
Cooper's
house?” Jayson said.

“
Yeah,
Cooper's house,” Chase said with a chuckle. “You
remember him, right?”

“
Every
last tattoo and piercing,” Jayson said, with what sounded like
a sigh.

“
Why
didn't you mention you'd been in touch with Cooper?”

“
I
wasn't sure it warranted you knowing,” Jayson said.

“
I
thought it was a casual hook-up for you?” Chase said. “Cooper
said you've been talking about possibly coming out for a visit. That
doesn't sound like something casual to me.”

“
It
was casual – or so I thought, and then he started texting,
saying he missed me and wanted to see me again,” Jayson said.
“I don't know what 'it' is now, but I like it. He's …
really nice.”

“
Nice?
I'm not sure I'd describe Cooper as being nice. More like smooth …
and sexy as hell. I can see why you'd like him.”

“
Hands
off, stud,” Jayson laughed.

“
He's
all yours,” Chase said.

“
Yeah,
yeah. You only have eyes for Alex.”

“
And,
Danni,” Chase said. “Well, since you think Cooper is so
nice, why don't you fly out and we'll take a look at his job; see if
you want to tackle him – I mean tackle the job.”

“
I've
already tackled him,” Jayson said. “Several times. But,
I'm happy tackle him again
and
take a look at his job.”

“
Too
much information, Jay.”

Oh,
whatever. You like to fuck Alex. I enjoyed fucking Cooper and
wouldn't mind doing it again. I see no crime in that.”

They
laughed for a bit, then Chase said, “It's good we can talk like
this – weird, but good.”

“
I
would agree,” Jayson said. “When do you want me to come
to Cali?”

“
Oh,
I almost forgot to mention that part,” Chase said. “Wheland
will have a charter jet fly you here. How's that sound?”

“
You're
shitting me!”

“
No
joke,” Chase said. “I guess fucking a rock star comes
with a few perks. One being you don't have to fly commercial.”

“
Shut
up,” Jayson teased.

“
I'll
call you back when I have more information.”

“
Sounds
good,” Jayson said. “And, keep me posted on Alex's
progress. I hope you get to talk to him soon.”

“
Me,
too.”

Alex was awake and inclined
in his bed when Chase, Danni and Wheland walked into his hospital
room around nine o'clock that morning. Seeing Alex smiling at them
weakened Chase's knees. It truly was the best thing Chase had seen
since Danni agreed to date him again after their break-up.

“
Dude!”
Wheland said. “It's about fucking time you woke up!”

“
I
tried, man, you have no idea how hard I tried,” Alex said.

Chase came to the side of
Alex's bed and bent to embrace him. “Christ, you look good,”
Chase said. He tipped his head and caught Alex's mouth, lightly
kissing him; cupping his jaw line when he did.

“
You
look a hundred percent better than I do,” Alex said.

“
Yeah,
and I wasn't hit by a truck,” Chase said, and stepped back to
allow Danni space to move forward.

“
Danni,
come give me a hug,” Alex said. He held out his arms and waved
her into them. “Damn, baby, I've missed you,” he
whispered.

His words had her eyes
filling with tears. “Welcome back,” she said. “We
were worried you'd never wake up.”

“
It'd
take more than a truck to get rid of me,” he said. “Besides,
only the good die young, and everyone knows I'm sin on a stick.
Haven't you figured that out, yet?”

“
No
comment,” Chase said, but his grin spoke for him.

“
You
know, I think I'll go get some coffee and give you three some time to
chat,” Wheland said.