Never Forget

Thanks so much to Silentbystander who edited this story. You're amazing!

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Chapter 1

April 2001

Cody Willington was riding his bike to his father's dealership thinking how in the world he ended up working on a perfectly good Saturday, instead of hanging with his friends. Oh yeah, he thought, I promised my dad that I'd let him teach me what hard work felt like. That was his second mistake. His first mistake was asking his dad for money.

"Cody, you need to learn the value of a dollar," his dad had said to him. Cody knew it was pointless, but he'd argued anyway.

"But I do know the value of it. I just don't have any. I just want to go see a movie. Can I just get a little advance on my allowance? You know mom won't let me get a job in less it's during the summer," Cody begged. His mother thought that it would affect his grades if he had too much on his plate. It wasn't like the track team, debate and glee club weren't enough on his plate.

"Well, I talked to her and we both agree that it's okay for you to work a few hours after school on certain days. You don't do anything on Tuesdays after school and you can work a few hours on Thursdays as well," his dad said shifting in his leather chair.

"Ok, that's great. I'd love to work. I'll start looking for a job. Bennie's is looking for a busboy any way. This is even better. Instead of just giving me the money you can loan it to me, and I'll pay you back when I get my first pay check," Cody said with a huge grin.

"Cody, you're not going to need to find a job. I have a job for you already. You'll be working in the garage," his father said picking his pen back up and getting back to work.

Cody just looked at him for a minute, trying to figure out if his dad was teasing or if he was serious. It was more than definitely the latter because his father never lied and rarely, if ever, teased. He said nothing if he didn't mean it.

"What?" Cody asked. Cody was not opposed to hard work, but him and cars just didn't mix. Did his father know how hard it took to get that oil smell off your hands? Ok, Cody wasn't into stereotypes, so just because he was gay didn't mean that he didn't roll around in dirt, play sports, or act just like a "guy" was supposed to act. And, he didn't feel that the work was above him just because his father owned the dealership and garage. He was going to be a busboy for gosh sakes. But he didn't know a damn thing about cars and didn't really have the urge to learn.

"It's the perfect place to work. The guys already know who you are and it's a great to learn about that car that you want so bad. Mac knows all about all kinds of cars. If you work there for those two days a week, then by April that custom 1980s Camaro that you love so much that sits behind the garage, that'll be yours."

And that's how his dad had got him. With the promise of that damn car; the car that Cody had eyed for months. One day a guy had dropped off the beat up Camaro off at the dealership and walked away from it. His dad had had it fixed up in no time, with a new custom paint job and a new motor. The car drove like a dream now. Cody wanted that car so bad he could taste it. Which is why on perfectly good Saturday in April, he was walking into his dad's garage.

He got off his mountain bike and leaned it on the side of the brick building. He took a deep breath and walked around the front where the doors on the garage were open and stood just watching for a minute. There were men in overalls walking around with clip boards, under cars, bent over engines. The noises of metal against metal, engines revving, a radio playing rock, and men yelling to be heard over the noise, seemed so damn frightening. He'd been in here lots of times with his dad. So why did it feel so daunting now?

I can do this, he thought. He puffed out his scrawny chest and stepped forward, but instead of the graceful manly entrance he was expecting, he tripped over his shoe lace; and he wasn't going to just trip, he was heading for a full on face plant. To save face, literally, he reached out and grabbed onto something to keep himself from falling. It just so happened that it was the wall were the button to the hydraulic lift was, which just so happened to have a car on it at the time and a guy under it as well.

"Shit!" someone yelled and raced towards the switch. Right before it crashed on the guy that was walking under it at the time, it stopped.

"Damn it kid, you gotta watch where you're going. What the hell are ya doing in here anyway?" a deep male voice with a slight east coast accent boomed.

Cody looked up into the darkest bluest midnight eyes he'd ever seen. They were also the most pissed off eyes he'd ever seen. The god that had to be over six feet that was standing over him was by far the sexiest man he'd ever seen...ever. His skin was naturally tan, as if he had Mediterranean decent, with long black hair that was tied at the nape of his neck. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to narrow hips which lead to what Cody was sure were muscular legs, even though they were covered in overalls that were just zipped to the waist. His face was angular and his nose was slightly crooked, probably from having it broken before. And the tight black shirt that he was wearing showcased a beautifully muscled chest. What Cody wouldn't do to run his hands down over those strong biceps that the shirt hugged so snugly?

"I'm Cody," he said kind of breathlessly before he cleared his throat. "I'm here to see Mac. My dad sent me to work here."

"Wait, you're Cody?" the guy asked. His voice was a deep timbre that rolled through Cody like water. If he wasn't more careful, he'd show the guy just which team he was batting for.

"Yeah," Cody responded biting his lip. When he was nervous he chewed on his bottom lip, and this man was definitely making him nervous. "Is Mac here?"

"You're looking at him," the guy drawled. Cody stared for a moment.

"You?" he half yelled. "What how old are you twenty?" Cody had this really bad habit of speaking before he thought. If he was thinking instead of trying to figure out how soft the guy's lips were, he'd have definitely censored his words. Or not fucking said them at all, he thought wryly.

"Look ya little shit; I'm doing this for the boss 'cause he said that you needed a job and that you would work hard. I don't need you and ya mightier-than-though attitude in my garage. Ya don't like me, that's fine 'cause I couldn't give two shits, but you will respect me and listen because if you fuck up in here, you could kill someone." And with that he walked into the office and slammed the door.

Cody didn't know what to do. His first day of work and he'd already insulted his boss. How was he supposed to know that Mac wouldn't be some old guy with a beer belly and graying hair, but a chiseled twenty year old? Yeah, so much for not buying into stereotypes.

He knew Mac was really pissed, but he didn't want to stand in the middle of the garage where the rest of the workers were staring at him, so he walked to the office and knocked.

"What, damn it?" Mac snapped. Cody pushed the door open and walked in.

"I'm sorry about what I said out there. I'm not a stuck up prick, I promise. I was just expecting someone older with more weight. I wasn't trying to say that you wouldn't know anything about cars. My dad rants about you all the time. It's Mac this and Mac that. Mac knows so much about foreign cars and Mac knows how to make an entire car from scratch." Rambling was another one of his bad habits. "I really am sorry. If you just—."

"If I say I'll forgive you will you please shut up?" Mac asked rubbing his forehead. When Cody didn't respond Mac continued.

"Look kid, I don't have any problem with letting you help out and teaching you 'bout that Camaro, but ya gotta learn to talk less and listen. I can't have another mistake like that out there. Shit like that is dangerous, ya understand?" Mac said leaning back in the wooden roller chair.

"Yeah Mac, I understand. It won't happen again. So what do you want me to do?"

"Well, since ya don't know shit about cars, I'm gonna have ya cleaning up. Sweeping and washing the tools. You can assist when you're needed. Hand the mechanics stuff when they ask. Try to stay out of their way. You're my problem not theirs. How old are you kid?" Mac asked him.

"I'm eighteen. That's why I'm working for the car. I—," but Cody stopped himself before he kept going. If Mac wanted him quiet, then he'd be quiet.

Mac arched a very sexy eyebrow at his abrupt silence. Cody shrugged and smiled.

"I'm trying," he said before he stood up and walked to the door. He stopped with his hand on the door knob and turned around. "Are there some overalls I can wear?"

"If there are they'll be in the closet outside this door. Hey," Mac said as Cody turned to go. "I'm twenty- four." Then he gave the sexiest half smile Cody had ever seen. Cody felt his heart stuttered in his chest and his stomach fluttered. If that half smile did that to his eyes, Cody wondered what a full blown smile would do.

~*~

By April Cody was content. He spent Mondays and Wednesdays in glee club. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the garage, and Fridays with Mac learning how to fix the Camaro. Spending so much time with Mac was probably not good for his crush, but damn if he didn't want to stop. The first couple of months had been strained and pretty boring, but slowly Mac started opening up to Cody. They laughed and joked around. Mac would even take Cody along to get parts and had stopped sighing when he walked in the room after the first week.

Mac was a very quiet guy buy had a dry humor that made you laugh. The only thing that Mac didn't talk about was his family. Every time Cody would bring it up, the light in Mac's eyes would shut down and he would get evasive. Cody hated seeing that, so after broaching the subject twice, he never brought it up again.

Cody knew, just knew in his heart that Mac was attracted to him. He'd seen him looking one day when Cody was changing form his track outfit to his overalls. Mac had walked in when he was stepping into the overalls.

"Damn kid, ya got and an ass like a girl," he'd chuckled. Cody had blushed and hurried up and pulled up his pants.

But he had so many deterrents from getting Mac to look at him, really look. First, he was seven years younger and though in theory it's not that much older, it is when one of the parties is twenty-four and the other is a pimply little eighteen year old. He was also thought maybe it was his looks. He was only five foot eight and extremely skinny and scrawny. He also had this wild curly hair that didn't want to do anything; on top of his baby face. He was definitely not sexy, cute maybe adorable even, but not sexy.

He would put a stop to that today though. He would show Mac just how sexy he could be. The Friday after his birthday, he jumped in his Camaro, which he was in love with, and drove over to the garage. Mac had an apartment above the garage, so Cody used his key and went into the garage. He walked up the stairs in the back and knocked on Mac's door. Mac answered a few seconds later in nothing but jeans with his hair dripping.

"What's up kid? What ya doing here?" Mac asked stepping back to let him in.

"I was out driving and I thought I'd stop by. Were you heading to bed? I didn't think it was too late, it's only a little after ten. Should I go? I—," he started to ramble, but Mac cut him off.

"Whoa Cody, what did I tell you about talking so much? It's not too late. Have a seat," Mac said walking to the fridge and grabbed a beer. The apartment wasn't big, but it was clean. The living room only had a love seat, a long wooden block for a coffee table, a recliner and a T.V. The kitchen was just as miniscule. Just a small fridge, stove and a little counter space. Cody hadn't been in the bedroom yet, but he hoped that tonight he could remedy that.

Mac walked to the love seat and sat down and put his feet up on the wooden thing that was masked as a coffee table.

"Can I have one of those?" Cody asked pointing to the beer in Mac's hands. Mac just looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Cody figured that if he had a little to drink he'd loosen up. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer, opening it on the edge of the counter. He came back to the living room and sat down on the love seat putting his feet up next to Mac's.

The beer was gross, but he wanted to look cool so he kept sipping it. They sat there in silence for a long while Cody waited for the alcohol to do its job. It didn't take long. He and his friends had gone through his father's liquor cabinet before and just one sip of bourbon had him giggling like a school girl. He figured a whole beer would have him passed out in an hour.

Feeling lucid, Cody rose and stood up over Mac. With his legs on either side of Mac, he took Mac's beer sat it on the floor, and then he sank down into Mac's lap kissing his neck. He smelled so good like the pine soap he used, and man. It felt so good and he was so much in the moment that he didn't even notice that Mac wasn't responding. The next thing he knew, he was hurled to the love seat and Mac was standing over him glowering.

"What the fuck Cody?" Mac snapped. He ran his hands through his hair.

"I thought that's what you wanted. I saw you looking at me," Cody said in a small voice. He felt like shit. Mac didn't want him. There was disgust in his eyes.

"Hell no! Why would you think that? Look at you and look at me. You're just a fucking kid. Shit, just go Cody. You can't drive so take the bike and I'll tell your dad that I needed to look at something." When it looked like Cody was just going to sit there Mac snapped, "Now!"

Cody jumped up, tears running down his face. He pushed past Mac and ran out the apartment. He had never been so humiliated in his life. What would possess him to think that Mac was gay? God, he wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Leaving his car he grabbed the bike and pedaled home as fast as he could. When he got home he staggered into his room and passed out in his bed from humiliation and beer.

The next morning when he went to get his car, he saw that his father's car was sitting next to his. He really didn't want to run into Mac, but he was more scared that he had told his father. He'd been so lucky that Mac hadn't kicked his ass for what he'd pulled. He thought maybe it was because they were friends. Well, used to be.

Cody's father was standing off to the side talking to Mac. Crap, Cody thought. He's so telling him what happened. Cody felt sick. He couldn't continue to be around and not want him or feel the humiliation. He turned to leave when his father called him over.

"Cody come over here will you," his father smiled. He can't be that unhappy if he's smiling.

"Hey, there's this new Mustang that my friend wants remodeled and I want you and Mac to work on it," his father said when he was standing next to him. Cody wanted to look over at Mac, but he was afraid of what he would see.

"I wanted to talk to you about that. I don't want to work on cars anymore," Cody said.

"What, but you love cars. I thought you've been getting along really well working at the garage. Mac says you smile all the time and he has to beg you to leave." Cody flushed and looked at the floor. Yeah, like he needed another reminder of Mac telling him to leave.

"I think that it's a waste of time. Plus I thought I'd go to New York. You know how Meg always wants me to come and stay with her. I talked to her this morning and decided to move with her. You said I could, I just had to ask," Cody said as he felt Mac's eyes on him.

"But son, you've been so happy here. I thought you wanted to stay in Florida with us? That's what you told you're mother," his father said frowning.

"I think it would be a great experience. I'd get to meet new people and experience new things."

"Ok, that's ok with me. We'll talk to your sister when we get home. Sorry Mac, I guess you just lost your most enthusiastic partner," Harold Willington said patting Mac on the shoulder and walking to his car. Cody turned and left without even looking at Mac. Yeah dad, Cody thought, he really did.

~*~

Chapter 2 Ten Years Later

Cody was lying in bed next to his boyfriend of three years, sweaty from unsatisfying sex. He never thought he'd be here, in a loveless relationship in a crappy apartment having horrible sticky sex.

It was really ironic that the only reason he was sweating and sticky wasn't from raunchy roll around the bed sex, but from a broken air conditioner. He'd called his damn apartment manager to fix it a week ago. He bet if he offered the bastard a blow job he'd be there in no time to fix it. He'd noticed the pudgy old man leering at him when he went up the stair after his morning runs.

"You make me so happy," Trent Michels said rolling his head to look at Cody. Cody just wished he could say the same. It's not like he didn't like being with Trent. He was funny and sweet and considerate, but he was just so boring, especially when it came to sex. Cody was all for slow and sensual sex, but sometimes he just wanted Trent to throw him on the bed, hold him down, and fuck him....hard. Even after two years, Trent still asked Cody if it was okay to have sex with him. It had been sweet and kind of hot the first couple of times he'd done it, but now he was just fucking annoying.

The other problem about the sex was that it was horrible. Trent was sixty percent bottom and forty percent top. Which would be okay, but Cody was a hundred percent bottom. He loved to get fuck and didn't want anything to do with fucking...anyone. Their relationship had been going alright until Trent had asked Cody to fuck him. When Cody had so no, that he had no desire to do that, Trent had gotten pissed and left. It had taken a week but Trent had come back and swore he could live without getting fucked. Cody had to wonder if he wasn't getting it somewhere else. Besides that dilemma Trent was just not that great at sex. He didn't last very long and most times he fucked with this weird rhythm that Cody had never found the beat of.

"Thanks," Cody said getting up and walking to the bathroom to shower. They needed to get going anyway. They had a plane to catch in a few hours and it would take an hour to get there in New York's traffic.

Trent stepped into the bathroom a few seconds later and got in the shower behind Cody. He wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled Cody's neck.

"Don't I make you happy, baby?" Trent asked.

"Of course, you know I love you," Cody said shrugging out of Trent's grip, hoping it would be perceived as trying to rush, and not the brush off it kind of was. He washed quickly, got dressed and double checked to make sure he had everything. His and Trent's things had been packed and sitting by the door for nearly two days, but you could never be too cautious.

"Are you happy that you're going home? You haven't been there in ten years or more," Trent said walking up to grab their bags.

Cody turned around and was looking directly into Trent's eyes. He was just a few inches taller than Cody which wasn't saying much because Cody was still only five eight. Yes, he hadn't gotten any taller to his disappointment. But Trent was lean and handsome with short cropped brownish gold hair and beautiful sparkling green eyes. He was damn near perfect...but not quite.

"Yeah, I've missed it. There's nothing like Florida in the winter. If I never saw another flake of snow it would be too soon," Cody said laughing and grabbing the rest of the bags.

They packed the car and drove to the airport. Trent's sister would pick the car up later that day and drive it to her house. Thank goodness, Cody thought, because it would cost them twenty dollars a day to stay there. Twenty times fourteen.....way too much money.