Jason unclipped the stand that was holding up the hood of the car and stashed it away before letting the lid go, slamming shut. He picked up his rag off the side of the toolbox before scrubbing away at the excess oil coating his hands.
"I just need to clean up," said Jason over at Tyrus, who was once again at the small table in the corner with his laptop open in front of him.
"Take your time," replied Tyrus in a deep, calm voice.
Heading to the office, he opened the door and went through a secondary door leading to an ensuite with a small toilet and shower.
As he took off his greasy overalls, casually throwing them in the corner of the room and getting into the shower, he couldn't help but have a nervous swirling of butterflies chasing throughout his stomach. Tyrus was probably one of the most attractive men he had ever seen in his life and he had trouble getting the image out of his mind of his gorgeous dark brown eyes that commanded attention. The way Tyrus held himself, confident yet modest, and that suit that defined his muscular psyche made Jason want to stare at him all day.
Yet he shook off the thought. The last thing he needed was to be uncomfortable down there for the afternoon, and that was exactly the direction he was heading. So he spent the rest of the shower thinking of his 7th grade math teacher who was a craggy, wrinkly old woman with multiple moles spread awkwardly on her neck. As soon as he imagined her naked, his situation was quickly resolved.
Shaking off the disgusting image, he hopped out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the nearby rack and wrapping it around his waist. Jason paused for a moment, leaning on the counter of the sink and wiping the fog from the mirror in front of him.
What was he doing? He thought to himself as he stared back at the tired reflection in the mirror. He should head home to see Riley but instead he is about to go out again with Tyrus to god knows where. Rubbing his tired eyes with a sigh, he felt the exhaustion and lack of sleep seeping through to his bones. He was just so tired.
A gentle knock at the bathroom door pulled Jason out of his daze before Tyrus's voice echoed outside. "Jason, are you okay?"
"Um... yeah, fine. I'll be out in a minute."
Oh shit. His clothes were in his locker, which was in the office. The exact room it seemed Tyrus was now occupying.
Crap.
He took a deep breath, leaning his hand on the doorknob for a few moments before opening the door and stepping out into the office. There he found Tyrus, casually leaning back against his desk, gazing in Jason's direction.
Making a quick beeline to his locker, he pulled out a fresh set of clothes and placed them on the small bench to the side. In normal situations, he wouldn't care too much about changing in front of other people. It often happened at his previous place of work—but this was different. He felt an unusual sense of vulnerability with Tyrus, where he would otherwise be so confident in himself.
Glancing up quickly, he saw a smirk on the corner of Tyrus's lips, with his eyebrow slightly raised in what seemed to be delight as Jason was clearly being checked out. He gulped, looking back down at his clothes on the bench.
"I'll turn around," said Tyrus in a calm tone as Jason watched him move away from the desk and over to the window, to stare out into the empty plot of land and vacant building next door.
Jason couldn't be completely sure that he wasn't being watched in the reflection of the window, but he removed his towel and hurried to put on his boxer shorts, followed by a quick motion of pulling his dark blue jeans over his legs. Once he had his jeans on, he felt more comfortable and slowed his movements to pull his light grey t-shirt over his head and down his toned chest.
"So, where are we going?" asked Jason as he picked up his keys and phone from the desk and placed them in his pocket.
Tyrus turned around, his eyes lingering over Jason's body for a brief moment before he walked to the door of the office and opened it. "My place," said Tyrus, moving to let Jason exit the office first.
Great. Trapped alone with Tyrus at his place sounded like a recipe for disaster, but Jason hid away his concern and confidently walked out the door, with Tyrus following close behind. They walked towards the Porsche and Tyrus opened the passenger door for Jason. It had been a long time since anyone treated him this nicely, with the exception of his siblings, of course.
The drive was quick and soon they found themselves out the front of a very nice-looking apartment block. However, it seemed off-key for Jason. Even with Tyrus's sharp looks and confident business-like exterior, he didn't think that an apartment suited him. He didn't know why. It just struck him as odd.
As he was still staring at Tyrus's jaw line and analysing his clean-shaven face, Tyrus looked over curiously at his quizzical stare.
"Is something the matter?" said Tyrus.
"No, it's just... You live here?"
"Yes, I do," said Tyrus, getting out of the car as Jason did the same before Tyrus could come around and open the door for him again.
"I just didn't imagine you would live in an apartment block," continued Jason as they proceeded to the front double glass doors to the luxury building.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, it's just... It doesn't seem to suit you, that's all."
Tyrus turned around, momentarily silenced as his mouth parted, but no words came out. It was the first time that Jason has really seen him stunned off guard with anything before.
After a brief pause, Tyrus turned back around, heading towards the elevator and pressing the up button. "You're right actually," said Tyrus. "This is a temporary residence. I don't normally live in an apartment."
"Oh," replied Jason as the doors to the elevator opened and they both stepped inside.
Although it wasn't a large apartment block, Tyrus still pressed the button for the top floor. Floor number five.
"So where do you normally live?" asked Jason.
"It depends. I travel a lot for work, but I have a permanent residence on the outskirts of Riverbend. About an hour from here," said Tyrus as they exited the elevator on the fifth floor.
They turned left out of the elevator into a tiny hallway that contained only two apartments. One now directly behind them and one in front of them, indicating he was one of only two residences on this entire floor.
When they stepped into the apartment, it was not like Jason had expected, yet it was uniquely Tyrus. A small modest hallway leading into a wide open living area adorned with floor to ceiling windows. There was dark granite, floor to ceiling fireplace which brought together the ground and first floor of the two-storey apartment into a giant open space living area. White and cosy furniture contrasted against the sleek concrete tiling of the floor. Yet it wasn't as cold and distant as it sounded. The room was covered in dozens of large pot plants, bringing nature and warmth into the room.
But what took Jason's breath away was the stunning view from outside the windows. Past the windows there was a massive outdoor deck that was tastefully decorated in natural light wooden furniture. Beyond the desk was the most amazing view of a river flowing past the apartment with a staggering mountain backdrop.
"Wow," was Jason's only word as he gravitated closer to the windows.
"Would you like to see outside?" said Tyrus, heading into the kitchen as he pulled out a couple of beers and walked back to Jason.
Tyrus opened the door, and they both headed outside, directing Jason to the edge of the railing, past the many outdoor plant pots with all types of ferns and miniature trees. It truly was a little piece of paradise. Tyrus popped open the caps on the beer bottles and passed one over to Jason.
"Cheers," said Jason, watching the sight of the rivers and mountains before him.
The moment was almost perfect. Standing on the wood decking of the patio as the sounds of the river gently coursed down below them. Even close by, Jason could hear the sounds of various types of birds calling out through the gentle breeze that caressed against his face.
It was the second time he had hung out with Tyrus outside of work, and both times, he had shown him the most amazing things.
"How do you like the view?" asked Tyrus, stepping close to Jason against the railing.
"It's stunning," replied Jason as he took another sip of his beer, trying to ignore his once again racing heartbeat.
"I have to agree with you on that." Tyrus, however, wasn't looking at the view. He was looking directly at Jason and saw that his gaze was falling back and forth between his eyes and his lips.
"Come on," said Tyrus, breaking his gaze away from Jason's lips. "I cooked us up some lunch."
Jason's stomach growled at hearing the word lunch as he skipped out on breakfast this morning because of the events of the previous evening. "Well, now you are spoiling me," he said as Tyrus led him back inside towards the kitchen.
"Do you cook often?" Jason enquired, already smelling the delicious scent of freshly baked bread throughout the air.
"When I can," responded Tyrus. "I hope you like lasagne. I made it this morning, so it only needs heating up. I'm sure you want to get home soon, so I prepared food earlier. "
Jason didn't mind at all. Actually, it was very considerate of Tyrus, considering Riley had been on his mind all morning. Even though he was dreading going back to face the situation, another part of him desperately wanted to make sure she was safe and unharmed.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
"I hope everything is okay? With your brother and sister, I mean."
"Yes, it's fine. Thanks for asking." responded Jason, without going into any detail about the situation. He had talked briefly with Tyrus about Noah and Riley; however, he hadn't gone into any detail about their past.
Tyrus turned the oven on, placing the lasagne on the middle rack and closing the oven door before heading to the fridge and pulling out a salad. He placed the salad on the kitchen bench next to Jason before leaning his hand on the counter, casually placing one of his hands over Jason's.
Their eyes locked as they stood gazing at each other. Again Tyrus's eyes dashed down to Jason's lips and he subconsciously wet his lips as Tyrus took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
His skin heated up as Tyrus moved his fingers up Jason's arm, past his throat and across his jawline, skimming his finger across Jason's bottom lip. His skin was on fire as Tyrus moved his head in closer and he heard his heart beating loudly in his chest.
A loud bang of the front door opening jolted Jason out of his gaze and he pulled apart from Tyrus. Tyrus let out a sigh of frustration as he stepped away, running his hand through his hair.
A voice Jason hadn't heard before echoed through the hallway as he heard the noise of a bag being dropped, keys jingling into a bowl and footsteps heading down the hallway. "She's so frustrating. I don't see the point of this. Why do I have to..."
The voice stopped when the man came into view, slightly younger than Tyrus with piercing blue eyes and wavy dark brown hair, dressed in casual jeans and a shirt but still looking impeccably dressed. He looked slightly familiar, but Jason couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you had company," said the young man, now standing frozen at the edge of the kitchen.
Tyrus moved forward, directing his attention toward the young man. "This is Jason," said Tyrus, motioning in his direction. "And Jason, this is my younger brother. Kain."