Touch And Go - Aiden Bates Page 0,64
found myself explaining things out loud in a way I hadn’t done since practical exams at college. In return, he gave suggestions for how to apply codes I’d used previously to the new lines. I executed a long string, and we sat back to watch the progress as the program searched for a way into Ben’s documents.
“How long have you been here? At the Tower, I mean.”
Matt ignored my sidelong glance and continued staring at the screen. “Since the beginning.”
“Oh, right—Derek said you and Sean helped him renovate the warehouse?” They’d created something so they could stay close, be a family. I missed having a family. Missed my parents. Missed being a part of something. Loving. Needing. Caring beyond myself.
“Yeah.” A smile twitched at the corner of his straight-lined mouth. “You wouldn’t believe the work it took to get this place looking this good. Sean and I put in a lot of muscle, but it was Derek who really pushed the project through. He’s a good man, you know.” No hidden message there. And I didn’t disagree, but seven brothers along with me and Derek made for one crowded relationship. That was a lot to think about.
And in spite of my thoughts, I smiled as I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my wrist. “Yeah. I know.”
His voice dropped to a near-whisper. “I don’t know how much of his past he’s told you. He keeps that close to his chest, mostly.”
I was intrigued, and so desperate to hear more, I held my breath and silently willed him to continue.
“He saved all of us, one by one. More than that though, he gave us hope. Gave us a family. That’s some kind of magic.” The slight smile on his face made my heart surge with affection for Derek, and Matt, and the whole family of brothers. Derek meant so much to so many people, and it was dawning on me how lucky I was to be one of them.
I lowered my voice and nodded, sincerely. “He’s really special.”
“He is.” Matt locked his gaze onto mine, and the darkness in his gray eyes sent a spike of fear from my stomach to my throat. I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of Matt, which it seemed also meant staying on the right side of Derek. “Don’t fuck with his feelings.”
“Got it.” Yeah. Not the news bulletin he thought. I could read a room and this one was pro-Derek’s happiness. I would be welcome so long as I could maintain that happiness.
I wasn’t sure whether to be appalled or pleased. I didn’t know where this thing between Derek and me was going. Maybe it was the start of something…serious, but we hadn’t talked about it. Even I knew a few morning kisses by dawn’s early light did not a relationship make. And it wasn’t like I had anything legitimate and long-term to compare it to.
It would have been nice to have spoken to him that morning, not that I’d normally trade shower sex for a deep and meaningful conversation… And maybe it was better than we hadn’t had the time for him to straight-up dump me before work. And good sex or not, I still couldn’t see why Derek would tie himself down to a runt like me. Hot guy like him could go anywhere and get laid.
“Good.” Matt seemed satisfied, and turned back to the computer, but Sean whistled from the living room area and held up a pair of beers.
Matt looked at me. “Take a break?”
“Nah, you go.” I turned back to the screen and focused on the lines of code while the three of them toasted something then switched on the television. Sports. Predictable.
“Is this too loud?” Eli called.
“Nah, it’s cool. I like the ambient noise—”
“TOUCHDOWN!” Sean cried and Eli howled.
Amidst their yelling and cheering, betting and grousing at the screen, I slipped back into my meditative state and became one with the code. I collated the bits that I’d been working on and sat back biting my nails as the program ran.
And there it was. The file directory. I downloaded them all to my laptop. I just about cried out with as much excitement as the brothers had given the sports game when the download froze. My hard drive wasn’t big enough. Fuck. I checked the files. Some were huge. No way would they all fit.
I tinkered with the networking and rerouted the download to save to Derek’s computer, then held my breath and watched as