Filed to story: Penny and Navy Brother Asher
“How long can you hold your breath underwater?”
“Three minutes.”
He doesn’t look up, just tightens something with a wrench.
I blink. “That’s terrifying.”
“He shrugs like it’s no big deal.
I kick my foot lightly against the chair leg. “Do you eat real food in the Navy or is it just like, protein bars and sadness?”
“Real food,” he says, reaching for a new tool.
Pause.
“Mostly sadness.”
A snort escapes before I can stop it.
Progress
-screw it.
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Are you scared of the dark?”
“No.” even a little bit?*
God, he’s worse than a Magic -Hall.
Still – no smile.
I narrow my eyes, tapping my fingers again. Thinking.
New strategy: absurdity.
I sit up straighter, clasping my hands together like I’m Interviewing him for a very serious government position.
“Can you kill someone with just one hand?”
This time, he pauses.
Straightens up a little.
Turns just enough to look at me not a full turn, just a sharp sideways glance under dark lashes.
He doesn’t answer.
Just raises one eyebrow in a slow, deliberate way that basically says, what do you
The air between us tightens, something hot and strange threading through it.
I clear my throat and plow on like I’m not blushing- blok?
“Right, dumb question,” I say brightly. “You’re probably a Level Twelve Ninja Assassin or whatever.”
He doesn’t even bother to correct me. Just ducks hack under the hood.
I keep going because now it’s a mission.
“Have you ever been attacked by a shark? Got stranded on a desert island? Escaped a prison camp?”
“No. No. No.
Each word clipped, dry.
I hum thoughtfully. “Well, that’s disappointing.”
A beat.
Asher finishes tightening something, wipes his hands off on a rag, and leans his hip against the car.
Crosses his armNS
Looks straight at me.
“Do you always talk this much?” he asks, voler low and deadpan….
I fake a thoughtful frown, tapping my chin.
“Hmm. Most of the time, yeah.”
He nods once, completely serious.
“Explains why Tyler would rather kick a hall.”
I blink
Did.
Did Asher Hayes just make a joke?
For a second, I’m too stunned to react.
Then laughter bursts out of me before I can stop it bright and unexpected and way too loud in the empty garage.
“You’re a jerk,” I say, half laughing, half accusing.
I grab the nearest thing a crumpled rag and toss it at him.
He catches it without even blinking and drops it neatly onto the workbench like I just handed him something fragile.
I cover my mouth to stifle another laugh, watching him like he’s some weird wildlife discovery.
Grumpy Mechanic Makes First Joke In The Wild: A Rare Sighting,
He shakes his head once, almost like he’s disappointed in me, and goes back to working on the car.
I fall quiet after that.
Not because I’m upset – not even close-but because watching him is somehow enough.
The way he moves.
The focus
The lines of tension running through him even when he’s still.
He’s so different from Tyler, from everyone I’ve ever known, that it almost makes my chest ache. He scares me and makes me feel safe at the
Same
I just sit there, legs swinging lightly, and let the silence stretch between us.
Not awkward.
Not empty.
Just… there.
Less than an hour later, Tyler’s car is purring like new.
Asher wipes his hands off on a rag, tosses it into the back of the garage, and slides in it. into the driver’s seat like he owns the world and everything
I buckle myself in a little slower, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
He doesn’t say anything – just starts the engine and pulls out of the lot, steering us toward the neighborhood like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
The silence stretches for a beat too long, thick enough to chew.
So I, naturally, decide to fill it.
“Okay, serious question,” I say, twisting toward him. “What’s your favorite color?”
He doesn’t even glance over. “Black.”
I nod solemnly, like I’m absorbing this great revelation.
“Favorite food?”
“Tacos.”
Another pause.
I squint at him, suspicious. “That sounded… almost normal.”
He flicks a look at me, brief and unimpressed.
“Don’t get used to it.”