Last Mechanic Standing by L.A. Witt

Author:L.A. Witt [Witt, L.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-380-5
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-07-05T16:00:00+00:00

AN HOUR or so later, Chandler was still pissed. Still stewing. He kept to himself as much as he could, and he kept an eye on Tom. They needed to have a few words in private, and he vowed to jump on the first opportunity that presented itself.

The opportunity came when Tom went out for a cigarette. Chandler glanced around, and when he was sure no one was watching him, he followed.

He stepped outside just as Tom was bringing the lighter up.

“Hey,” he said. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure.” Tom lit his cigarette and took a drag. “What’s on your mind?”

“You really don’t know?”

Turning his head, Tom blew out some smoke. “No.”

Chandler forced his voice to stay even. He glanced back to make sure no one—specifically, no camera—had followed them outside. Then he faced Tom again. “You want to tell me why Jim was in my face about a quote, and the price he was bitching about just happened to be written in your handwriting?”

His coworker didn’t flinch. He brought his cigarette to his lips again and took another drag.

The silence answered Chandler’s question well enough, and impossibly, he felt even more exhausted. Ever since the first representative from the network had darkened the garage’s doorway, it had been a continuous downward spiral of bullshit, and Chandler had lost the will to even get angry.

“Why?” he asked, barely whispering. “Just… tell me why.”

“We all need this show, Chandler,” Tom said matter-of-factly. “I know you think you’re better than the rest of us and you can make it on your own, but we need this. I’m not going to let you fuck us over.”

“Fuck you over?” Chandler blinked. “I signed the contract. What more do you want?”

“They want drama. You know they do. They’re here because they like watching you and Jim fight. So—”

“So you’re going to make sure he has ammunition to blow up at me? And… I mean, great, you’ll all be getting job offers when this is all over, but what about me? I’ll be a fuckup nobody wants to hire.”

Tom half shrugged, the gesture landing somewhere between apologetic and flippant, and exhaled some more smoke. “We gotta play their game.”

“Do we?”

“Yeah. We do. Listen, man. Everyone here is struggling to make ends meet and find work outside of this town.” Tom spoke through clenched teeth. “We shouldn’t have to depend on you, but we do. I mean, what if they hadn’t gotten that tape of you and Mark? How long would—”

“What?” Chandler stepped up in Tom’s face. “How do you know about that?”

Tom set his jaw. He didn’t speak, though.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Chandler asked, every word seeming to require all the energy he had left. Shoulders sinking, he added, “You put Adam up to it, didn’t you?”

Still, Tom didn’t speak.

“Look me in the eye and tell me it wasn’t you.”

Tom held his gaze without flinching, but he did back down slightly. After a moment, he dropped his gaze. “Look, I knew you guys were hooking up.

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