“I wouldn’t mind that at all. I’ll get you into a swimsuit and we can go off on our own and stir up a little trouble.”
That got me a shove.
“You hungry? We never had dinner.” I had to feed my woman.
“Starved. Do you have some clothes I can throw on? I’m not sure where mine ended up.”
I got out of bed and put my boxer briefs back on—looked like they weren’t ripped after all. “I prefer you naked, but I guess I can find something for you.” I rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts.
“You’re a prince among men, Nate.”
“What are you in the mood for? Chinese? Pizza? Thai?” I asked as I walked toward the kitchen. I got no response. “Laney?”
“Oh, hell no!” was all I heard from the bedroom. I went back to investigate and found her wearing my t-shirt and throwing the shorts on the bed like they’d done something to offend her.
“What?”
“How is it fair that your shorts are too tight on my ass? I could hardly pull them up!”
Having been a guy for thirty-one years, I knew there was no right answer to that question. Silence, however, did not seem to be one of my options. “I love your ass. It’s perfect.” She still looked unsettled. “If you recall, I actually tried to take a bite out of it I loved it so much.”
She still pouted and it was fucking cute. “Whatever … let’s order Chinese.”
Phew. I might actually be good at this relationship stuff.
We ate delivery Chinese in bed, managing not to make a huge mess, and we talked about everything and nothing. I told her more about my dad and how we were all struggling with the changes that had to be made. We also talked about Austin and my life back there—a life I wasn’t missing at all anymore. She told me more about Rocco’s dad and about Gavin and some of the struggles her family had been having. After dinner and some more conversation, I finally ended up taking that shower, but it was considerably more fun with Laney. Maneuvering in the tiny stall was a challenge, but we managed. And the next morning I felt quite proud when we walked into Laney’s kitchen and, upon examining Laney’s face, Fiona gave us a golf clap.
One Month Later
This last month was perfect. Well, actually, that’s a lie. One thing I learned is having a five-year-old underfoot is a recipe for constant blue balls. But outside of that, life was amazing. Laney and I spent every possible moment together, and I didn’t know about her, but I’d never felt this way about another girl. I was trying not to think about it too hard and just enjoy. We had to get creative about the locations and times we had sex due to the aforementioned little cock-blocker, but let’s just say her shower got a lot of action—and, luckily, it was considerably larger than mine. I still hadn’t spent the night, though we’d discussed it. She was going to sit Rocco down for a talk this week and feel him out a bit. I knew she trusted me, so I was glad I wouldn’t have to jump that hurdle again.
As for work, Doug and my dad had all but taken over the administrative headaches (although my mom constantly looked over Dad’s shoulder and tried to keep him on a short leash). I was back to getting my hands dirty. If I’d had to conduct one more bid-development or client meeting, my head would have exploded.
I took over as foreman on the Old Oak Ridge project and helped out at a couple other sites during the downtime. I still couldn’t answer the neighbors’ concerns about potential tenants, but Laney trusted my good intentions, and her word seemed to be good enough for everyone else.
Halloween was just around the corner and we were sitting on Laney’s back patio enjoying a perfect fall afternoon. A cool breeze blew in and the sun was starting its descent, coloring the sky that perfect shade of orange. Rocco squealed out in the yard as Fiona chased him up the ladder of his completely amazing and innovative treehouse—if I do say so myself.
“That thing is ridiculous.” Laney shook her head and laughed at me, knowing that I was admiring my own work. I just winked at her. I knew she loved that treehouse almost as much as Rocco did. It had a ladder with safety handles (Laney’s idea) and a split-level design with built-in seating and a table. It also had porthole windows and even a pulley system to haul up important kid stuff. If I had a treehouse like that when I’d been his age I would have charged a cover to everybody who came over to play.
As it was, only Rocco and all of us adults had been inside so far, which I knew still bothered Laney. But I thought Rocco seemed like a perfectly happy kid. He was hardly even doing the nose twitching thing anymore, and he was anything but shy with me.
And the best part? Laney pulled him from that “up their own asses” daycare and he was now in a much smaller program run out of a former teacher’s house. Charlotte’s son went to the same place when she worked at her part-time job, and by happenstance a full-time spot had opened up in the daycare. Laney snatched it up and Rocco was much more at ease with a smaller and less asshole-ish group—my term, not Rocco’s.
We had all gone over to Charlotte’s house last week and I’d seen the two boys playing together. I’d also seen the gleam in Laney’s eyes and could feel her relief. Next step was an invite for Aiden to play in the treehouse, which I liked to refer to as “The Batcave” but Rocco had dubbed “The Fart Fortress.” You can’t win ‘em all. Oh, and in case you’re keeping track, I did indeed apologize to Charlotte for being an asshole the first time we met.
“You know what you need?” I asked Laney as I glanced around the yard.
“Uh oh, what now? You’ve damn near fixed everything in my house and you already have a list a mile long of upgrades you want to make.”
I pretended I hadn’t heard her. “You need a screened-in porch. I bet you’d spend a lot more time out here in the summer if it weren’t for the damn mosquitoes.”
She turned to me, flashing some leg in her cut-offs and making me want to haul her to the bedroom. “Nate, I would love a screened-in porch, but you have got to stop doing all these things for me. You have enough to do with work and you haven’t even started to look for your own place.”
Yeah, about that. It was no mistake I hadn’t started looking for my own place. I knew it sounded crazy, but I was in love with this girl and I was jumping ahead in my mind. It seemed ridiculous to buy a place when she clearly loved this house and I was seeing a future with her and Rocco. And besides, The Batcave was here so there was that. But I knew she wasn’t ready to go there yet, so I kept quiet except for a small “Meh.” It was the most noncommittal noise I could come up with.
“Meh? You’re weird.”
“And you’re pretty.” I leaned in for a kiss.
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Gavin’s voice came from the back doorway.
I removed my lips from his sister. I could see things from his perspective—if I had to watch some guy pawing Bailey I would probably feel a little ill myself. Gavin wandered out onto the patio and took a seat next to me.
“I’m going to grab a drink. Anyone need a beer?” Laney asked, rising from her chair.
“Sure,” Gavin and I responded simultaneously as Laney went into the kitchen.
“Is it strange that I’m jealous of a five-year-old?” Gavin asked, taking in the treehouse and the two faces peering out the window.
“If we’re talking about Fiona, I can’t answer that, dude. If we’re talking about the treehouse, I’m right there with you.”
“Definitely the treehouse. I can get laid without pissing my sister off, thank you very much.”
I laughed at the mental image of Gavin hitting on Fiona with Laney as a witness. “Smart man.”
Gavin sat forward in his chair and put his elbows to his knees. “Hey, I know it’s late notice, but do you think there’s any chance I can take Thursday off? There’s somewhere I’ve really got to be and I can only do it on Thursday.”
“Shit, man,” I started, not looking forward to what I had to say next. “You haven’t earned any vacation days yet, and if I let you take off it sets a bad precedent. It puts me in an awkward position, especially considering Laney and all, but I have to say no. I’m really sorry.” I shook my head. I hated having to do this, especially to Laney’s brother, but the rules are the rules and if I let one person break them then it’s just a slippery slope. That’s not the kind of work environment I can tolerate.
He looked like he’d already known the answer before I told him, but I still felt bad.
“Hey, no problem. Just thought I’d ask.”
An awkward silence settled until Laney came back out with the beers and a glass of wine for herself. She hollered out to the treehouse, “Hey, any of you adventurers thirsty?!”
“Only if it starts with ‘w’ and ends with ‘ine’!” Fiona shouted as she and Rocco descended the ladder.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?!” Laney answered and headed back into the kitchen.
Fiona and Rocco approached the table, Fiona rubbing at her hands trying to wipe the dirt off. “I swear this red clay dirt is so hard to wash off sometimes.”
“You should use douche,” suggested Rocco as casually as can be, wiping his own hands on his jeans.
We all froze. Well, all of us but Rocco. His only parent was out of earshot, and the three of us were waiting for each other to come up with the correct response. Nothing.
Just as Laney emerged from the house, Gavin hissed at Fiona and me, “Do. Not. Tell. Laney. I like my balls where they are.”
Chapter Eighteen
Now Accepting Applications for a Corner Man
LANEY
It was official. I was in love. And everything all those damn movies and romance novels said was true. Well, almost. Nate couldn’t get it up ten times in a night, and doing it against a wall was ridiculously difficult, not to mention entirely impractical. But all the parts about food tasting better and jokes being funnier and finding yourself with a great big smile during a boring-ass meeting? All true. It was a little like being drunk but still able to operate a moving vehicle and hold down your day job. I was saying hello to complete strangers at the grocery store and complimenting them on their outfits. I was singing in my car and getting caught by other drivers at stoplights and not caring in the least. All I had to do was think about that sexy man and I turned into a fool.