“Yo. (Pause) No, we’re finished. Sabre’s woman just invited us to eat with her. C’mon man, it’d be rude to say no. Besides, she makes her own tea and shit, you should taste it.”
Again my face warms at being called Sabre’s woman. Why does he keep saying that? Why do I like it so much?
“Hey, Peaches? Torch and Beast want to come over and eat too, is it cool?”
I blink. Torch and Beast? Still, he asked, and it’d be rude to say no. I was always taught to never be rude. Then again, I was always taught to never have strange men in my home, either, and now I will have four.
“They’re all part of the club, Sabre would be cool with it,” Shaft says and I don’t know why that makes me feel better, but it does. “Sure, but I’m afraid it’s just meatloaf and mashed potatoes, some corn, and I am going to make a….”
“They’ll be here in ten,” he cuts me off.
I decide to just go with it. After all, Sabre would approve. Maybe I’m coming down with the flu? I shrug it off and ask the question that’s been on my mind since they introduced themselves.
“Now, I have to know, how did you get these names? Sabre? Keys? Shaft?”
The men look at each other for a minute and shrug. Shaft is the first one to speak up. “Well, Sabre got his because he’s freaky with knives. Like, I think he could kill a fly by throwing a knife from 100 feet away. Though some of the men say it’s because he’s like a sabre tooth tiger, once he bites into something, he really latches on. He doesn’t let go until the problem is gone or solved, whichever.”
I listen to him talk and put my dessert together without really paying attention. My mind pictures Sabre holding a knife and caressing the blade while he’s talking to me, and my breath lodges in my throat. I try to concentrate on the dessert, but I’m still thinking over what Shaft said about Sabre. I can’t help but be intrigued—even if I shouldn’t be.
Brittany, my big tabby cat, picks that moment to come in. She sniffs around the feet of Keys and swishes her tail at him. When he doesn’t take the hint, she grabs him with her claws, at the back of his leg. I’ve been on the receiving end of that little temper tantrum. It’s never good, even if he is wearing jeans.
“Ow! Son of a bitch!” He growls looking down to where Brittany is meowing at him and waiting. I get the feeling he wants to kick her into next week. To his credit, he doesn’t.
“That’s Brittany. She doesn’t like to be ignored. Sorry. If you pet her, she’ll move on,” I tell him, not bothering to admit that she’ll just move on to Shaft. “Now, how did you get your name, Keys?” I ask and look up to see he’s stroking Brittany behind the ear.
“There’s not a car I can’t hot-wire and start. You named your cat Brittany?”
I begin to answer him and then stop, “Why would you need to hot-wire a car?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He asks in return and looks so thoroughly confused, I let it go. “So then, how did you get the name Shaft? Was it because of mechanical work? Or did you really get into that TV show or movie?” The silence stretches for so long that once I put the top layer of cream topping on the dessert and move it to the freezer, I have to look at them. “Well?” I prompt.
Shaft looks like he almost blushes but says nothing and neither does Keys. I close the freezer and go back to the bar. “C’mon, tell me how you got your name?”
I was so intent on my guests that I failed to notice the door open. In walks two more men. I can only assume these are Torch and Beast. Holy hell. Where is this garage and how in the world did I miss it all this time? Do they not have one ugly man in the bunch? One man is big and brawny and has this shaggy beard. Normally, I’m not a beard kind of girl; right now I so am. He has on this white t-shirt my girlfriends in college used to refer to as wife-beaters. I always thought they were ugly; but somehow, he makes it look like the best thing a man could wear. He’s covered in ink everywhere. I’m just assuming this is Beast because well, the name fits. The other guy is muscled for sure, but he’s leaner and more…pretty. Still, he’s sexy, there’s no doubt about that. His hair is kind of long and falls over to one side, and it makes a woman want to run her fingers through it. I bet he got his name because women all over carry a torch for him.
“Peaches, this is Beast and Torch,” Keys says, pointing to each one to confirm their identity and yeah, I was right. I smile at them and then decide, as big as they look, I better make more food. I pull out the dough I had rising earlier and start shaping rolls.
“Hello,” I answer, feeling slightly intimidated with all four of them staring at me.
“What are we talking about?” Torch asks and before I can answer, Shaft does.
“Peaches wanted to know how I got my name.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Torch says.