47

~Darlina's POV~

I brushed my hair out as I finished getting ready for work, glancing in the mirror as Atlas lounged in my bed while waiting for me to finish getting ready. As his first shift at the mechanic shop he was hired started today, he was evidently a little anxious because he kept asking me if he looked okay, a little frown on his face each time.

"Are you done yet, Darlina? You're driving me, yeah?" He asked, stretching a long leg out across the blankets. I nodded, pushing my feet into my shoes before I spritzed a bit of perfume on and grabbed my purse. "Yep. Let's go!" I chirped, leading the way out of my room and down the hallway. We went out to my little car and I glanced at his large frame while buckling my seatbelt. "What time do you get off? I want to be on time to pick you up." I wondered, cocking my head to the side curiously.

"I think they said five PM. But you don't have to rush here or anything if your shift runs later than that. I can always just walk home or something." He told me, but I gave him a flat look before reversing out of the parking lot. Did he really think he could just walk all the way home? The drive there was about ten minutes, so I wasn't sure how long it would take for him to walk that but certainly too long for someone to walk.

"You're not going to walk home, Atlas. That'd probably take an hour." I scolded, casting him a glance as I drove. He chuckled, an amused smirk on his lips. "Okay, okay. I'll just wait for you, then." He assured, shaking his head. "So bossy." He hummed with a slight smile on his lips.

My eyes flicked towards him in a narrowed look. "You promise you'll wait?" I pressed, lifting an eyebrow inquisitively. He nodded and then drew an x over his chest, right where his heart would be. "Swear it, smalls."

Satisfied, I nodded and turned onto the street his place of work was located, pulling up in front of the building. He now looked noticeably nervous and I smiled softly, reaching over to brush my hand against his as he stared out the window. "Are you alright?" I asked, admittedly a little bit worried. The fact that he was this nervous was telling enough just how much he really wanted this job, and of how much he wanted it to go well.

Atlas looked over at me, running a tattooed hand through his hair. "I haven't been this fuckin' nervous in a long time. It's been years since I've had a job or even really interacted with anyone that I wasn't forced to or in prison with." He said, causing my lips to part in surprise.

Rubbing my thumb gently over the back of his hand, I leaned over the console between our seats and kissed him on the cheek. "You're going to do great, Atlas." I assured him softly. "But remember not to glare at everyone." I added, as I had noticed the glaring and dirty looks he gave people seemed to almost be a second nature for him. I think he did it rather subconsciously, a lot of the time, which wasn't good in this sort of situation. Hopefully reminding him of this habit would make it easier for him to catch himself before doing it.

Chuckling, he glanced down at my lips. "That's a challenge in and of itself, Lina." He said playfully, though it was pretty true. He didn't like people very much at all, which I knew well by now. "But maybe I'll have better chances if you kiss me before I have to go."

Though I certainly knew what he was doing in asking this, I still couldn't help but to giggle. "Maybe just one." I responded quietly, my voice a whisper.

I leaned forward and he gripped the back of my neck, tugging me closer over the console until our lips collided. The kiss was supposed to be a short one, but Atlas seemed to have a different idea because he swiped his tongue across my bottom lip. A flush crept up my neck but I parted my lips, allowing his tongue to sleep between them and into my mouth. He hummed against my lips as his tongue fought with mine before he reluctantly pulled away, peering down at me. "Mhm." He hummed, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. "I think my day will go much better now."

Still in a bit of a daze from the feeling of his lips on mine, I just watched him as he got out of the car, heading towards the mechanic shop. I traced my fingers over my tingling mouth and then shook my head, unable to believe that he had such an affect on me. Even though this wasn't our first time kissing, I still reacted to him as if it was and I couldn't explain how he could do that to me without having to do much.

After I moment I started driving again, heading in the direction of Dina's once I had gotten myself together. The day was pretty normal and nothing out of the ordinary happened that shift, but I still felt a little bit off due to Atlas' absence. It felt quite empty around without him there, and even the dogs had noticed him being gone.

So when I ended up getting off of work at five thirty PM that night, I couldn't help but to feel a little bit excited when I got into my car to go pick up Atlas from work. I pulled up in front of Jac's and got out of my car, waiting patiently for Atlas to come over. However, I didn't see him standing around anywhere, causing me to curiously scan my gaze over the other men who were standing in and outside of the shop in hopes of seeing him with some of them. At the realization that I didn't see him around anybody, I frowned, wondering where he was.

He'd said his shift ended at five PM, so he should've been out here by now, and he also promised he'd wait for me. I doubted he would lie to me just to be able to walk back home.

I waited for a few minutes longer and, when he still didn't appear, I walked up to the building and stepped inside, looking around for his large frame. Atlas was a rather hard person to miss, even in a room full of people, so it'd be rather easy to find him.

"Hello." A man suddenly approached me as I was standing around cluelessly, still unable to find Atlas. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked, tossing something into the trashcan just behind me. I looked up, a frown on my lips. "Oh, um, yes." I nodded, assuming that this man probably worked here, judging by the fact that he wore a jumpsuit with the logo for Jac's on the front of it. "Is Atlas still here? I'm supposed to pick him up." I said.

The man's brown eyes lit with recognition at the name. "Oh, the new guy. Yeah, he's just in the back right now. I'll get him for you." He said, to which I quickly gave him my thanks before he left, leaving me standing by myself outside of the building's large garage.

Only about a minute passed before Atlas came out, throwing a muscular arm around my shoulder. "Hey, Lina." He greeted with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. I smiled, peering up at him. "There you are. I've been waiting for you." I told him with a pout, beginning to head towards my car with his arm still thrown around me, which I certainly didn't mind.

"Sorry for making you wait. I was just sort of chillin' in the back. Maybe you should text me before you head over so I can be outside before you get here." He said, causing my lips to tip up into a small smile. I clicked a button on my keys to unlock my car as we approached the little vehicle. "That's probably a good idea." I agreed with a nod of my head. That would certainly solve the issue of this ever happening again.

We got into my car and I looked over at him as I stared up the engine, biting on my lip. "How'd it go?" I asked hopefully, peeling out of the parking lot. He smiled at the hopeful, giddy tone in my voice and chuckled softly. "Better than I thought, I guess. Most of the dudes I work with were pretty chill, so that's cool."

A wide smile formed on my lips at his words. "Really? So it went well, then!" I chirped, very happy to hear that. Atlas nodded, reaching over to place his hand on my thigh. "Yeah." He affirmed. "Though I still think I like Dina's a little better than Jac's, honestly." He grumbled, pursing his lips. I giggled, slowing to a stop as the light at the intersection ahead turned red, and glanced at him. "You do? See, I knew you secretly like dogs more than you want to let on." I said, teasing him a little.

Atlas scowled, but there was a slight tint of pink in his tan face. "Not because of the dogs, moron." He huffed, casting his gaze out the window. I just laughed, beginning to drive again once the light turned green. "Sure it isn't. We both know you like dogs." I snickered, taking a peek at him ever so briefly. "Which is something I actually find rather endearing about you." I added after a moment, my voice coming out much more shy than before.

He looked at me, his deep gaze boring into the side of my head as I refused to look at him, feeling a little timid. It was true, however. I loved the way he got along with dogs, the way they loved him and he loved them back, even if he tried to deny it for whatever reason.

"Endearing?" He echoed in a mutter, earning a little nod of the head from me. "Mhm." I hummed, curling my hands tighter around the steering wheel. "How's that?" He asked, causing me to bite my cheek in thought. "I dunno. It's just...cute to me, I guess. I like that you like dogs." I responded. Yet Atlas pursed his lips and looked down at his lap. "I don't like dogs." He argued, though that only made me raise an eyebrow doubtfully, not buying that even for a second.

"Why do you always do that?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. "Act like you don't like dogs, I mean. I can tell you do."

There was a brief silence that passed between us as he considered the question. "I dunno. I used to have a dog, believe it or not." He admitted quietly, causing my eyes to widen in surprise. "Really?" I gasped, not expecting that. "But then why do you pretend you don't like them?" I wondered.

"Doug, the dude my mom was dating, didn't like dogs. I'd had a dog named Bones and because Doug didn't like me and knew I loved dogs, he...killed him." He muttered, the confession causing my eyes to widen in disbelief. He had killed the dog?! That's horrible!

My eyes threatened to prick with tears but I forced them not to, as I couldn't afford to start crying while I was in the middle of driving. "That's absolutely disgusting." I said weakly, still shocked by what he had just told me. I didn't even have the right words for how abhorrent that truly was.

"Yeah." Atlas muttered, glancing out the window. "But since then, I haven't liked being around dogs as much. I felt like it was my fault that he did that, because he only did it because I loved Bones."

Suddenly, it made a lot more sense to me why he had seemed to unwilling to admit to liking dogs, if he blamed himself for something like this. "You don't still believe that, right?" I asked, frowning deeply as I turned into the lot of our apartment complex. He quickly shook his head, meeting my gaze as I pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car, tugging my key from the ignition.

"Fuck no. I haven't believed that for a long time, but a part of me still gets a little...anxious I guess when I'm around dogs." He said, almost looking embarrassed to admit this to me. However, I just smiled at him softly and fiddled absentmindedly with my keys. "You seemed to get along well with Buddy." I pointed out, tilting my head to the side. A slight smile tugged at his lips. "He's a good dog..." He stated, as if defending himself for why he gets along with the large dog so well.

The two of us exited my car and I smiled as I looped my arm into his after rounding the vehicle, peering up at him. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." I told him softly as we entered the apartment building together. He just shrugged, his gaze trained on the side of my face even as we were walking. "There's nothing to be done about it now." He murmured.

I pressed the button for the elevator and brushed a strand of my hair back when it fell in my face. "You know," I said after a moment of silence, sneaking a glance up at him. "Buddy still doesn't have an owner, if you ever decide you want a dog again." I mentioned.

He just hummed, not responding, but I noticed the way he seemed to peak with interest ever so slightly.