Wicked Things We Crave

Chapter Two

Astrid awoke to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee lingering in the air. Since she never used the timer, she could only assume Jonah never made it back to his house. She hoped he'd at least made it to the guest bedroom since he'd fallen asleep on the couch. She put her robe back on over her pajamas she'd changed into the night before and walked into the hallway, noticing her guest bed no longer had tidy sheets.

His favorite bar to play pool in was only two blocks away from her small house. Jonah said he enjoyed it because everyone was local there, kept far enough away from all the tourists traps. When it was getting late, or he didn't want to drive, he'd crash at her place and did so often enough where he kept a few sets of clothing in the dresser in her spare room. Because of that, he also was one of the very few privileged enough to have a key.

With her having dated Jack for as long as she had, it was a bit of a miracle the two never crossed paths until the breakup.

Jonah was standing in front of her living room window, the early morning sun filling the room with light. His sandy hair was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled, and looked about as tired as she still felt, given they'd been talking until one in the morning talking.

When he turned at the sound of her footsteps, he looked so damn tired, but still vibrant in his own 'Jonah' way. Jonah could easily pass for his early thirties, despite being forty-two. No one ever mistook her for his daughter. Not a single time. It was a comforting thought, even if it was a lie, thinking when her father grew old, Jonah would still be the same.

He worked hard to keep young. Minus a few beers on the weekends, Jonah kept healthy. He wasn't an overly muscular guy, not like a lot of men she was around at the repair shop, but he had been back while he was still turning wrenches.

Jonah had a few age lines gained throughout the years, but besides those, nothing proved his age. The man was forever young, both in personality and appearance, which was what made their friendship so easy.

"Happy birthday," he said with a tired smile.

Astrid's birthday wasn't until Monday, but the two of them always celebrated on their own the weekend before or after, depending on what day it fell on.

"Thanks. I'm just happy you didn't miss it." Though they hung out regularly, it was usually with a group of guys from the repair shop after they were all done with work. When they celebrated her birthday without her mom and dad, it was just the two of them.

"Dinner and a movie?" He assumed, seeing as how they'd done so on every adult birthday she'd had.

Truth be told, as much as she enjoyed spending that day with him, it'd also become predictable and uninspired.

"Or we could go to the fair in Brentwood," Astrid suggested. "Like we did when I was younger."

Jonah rubbed at the stubble on his cheek, then dropped himself onto the couch. "I figured you grew out of that."

"You never grow out of a fair." That was probably a lie, but she wasn't too old to enjoy one yet. "That was always my favorite. Unless, of course, you've grown out of it, old man."

Jonah shot her a half-hearted glare, but a smile played at his lips. "If that's how you want to celebrate, I'm more than happy to oblige."

Astrid knew he would. Jonah always took her out to fancy places for her birthday celebration, but appeared uncomfortable and out of place. She supposed it came with the territory of working in auto repair for most of his life. It's how he met her father; working in her grandfather's shop when he was in high school, doing oil changes.

Even though they'd expanded the business after her grandfather retired and handed it over to her dad, and now owned three shops together, he was still a guys guy at heart and never appeared to enjoy the sophisticated scene.

Joke was on him. Neither was she. Since she grew up the same way he did, her father having her do oil changes at the shop on Saturdays and now worked the service desk full time, she wasn't a big fan of fancy dinners either. She was happy with hanging out with the guys at the bar and enjoyed a good burger more than entrees she couldn't pronounce.

"Anya's band is playing later tonight at Hideout. We could go there after the fair." A little child at heart, a little adult in reality. Perfect mix.

Jonah thought for a moment before he answered. "Sounds kind of perfect, actually." He smacked the armrest of her couch cushion, then stood. "Pick you up at five? Few hours at the fair, couple hours at the bar?"

Astrid gave him a confirming nod. "What are you up to until then? Heading to work?"

"Screw that. I'm going back home and going the hell back to sleep." Jonah gave her a quick kiss on the head. "See you later."

It wasn't until her front door closed that Astrid questioned why she got out of bed in the first place, then turned on her heels and decided more sleep sounded damn good.