I led them to the small hallway that would otherwise be missed. I remembered it from when I walked through the night before. There were barely any books and the curtains were so dark no light was even coming through. The built-in shelves were barely hanging on, and most of the books were almost out of their binding, too.
After they looked around that room they reconvened in the kitchen. The countertop looked very unstable, especially under their solid arms as they leaned forward over the tablet. They mostly spoke in hushed whispers and jargons I didn’t understand.
“I’d offer you guys something to drink but there’s nothing here. I don’t want you guys to think I’m a bad host or something.” I leaned against the far wall and I thought I felt the sheet rock crumble. I figured it was just my n
erves crunching against each other.
“No problem, hun.” Levi winked at me. I swallowed at his pet name and wondered if he called every other woman that. He looked like he got a lot of women easily. Tate, too. But he just smiled and shook his head at his friend.
“So, based on everything we saw we can get the job done,” Tate said.
I felt like a weight was lifted off me. “Really? That’s great!” I smiled wider than I had in a long time.
Tate smiled and turned it to Levi.
“But, there are some red flags here. The electrical already looks bad, so we’ll need to get someone in here for that. The plumbing too. It smells like there is some mold, so we have to err on the safe side and do a complete inspection. But it’s doable.” Levi grinned like he didn’t just spin my head in a million circles.
“Whoa. Okay.” My face fell and I felt my nerves creeping up again.
“It isn’t as bad as it sounds. You can trust us,” Tate added. I felt a little better, but it was still very overwhelming.
“How much will it all cost? Like a very rough estimate.”
“Uh…fifty to eighty. It really depends on how bad the electrical and plumbing are. If the whole place needs a re-do, it will be on the higher side.”
“Oh. Okay.” Fifty thousand dollars. Thank God she had left me some money.
Levi saw my panic. “When we’re done, you’ll double your money if you sell. Promise.”
“Okay then I guess that isn’t too bad. When can you start?”
I swallowed nervously.
“Today. Tomorrow. Whenever,” Levi replied. It sounded like he was talking about sex but that could just be me with my head in the gutter. And my eyes unable to peel themselves from either of their muscled bodies.
“Awesome. Thank you.” I crossed their space to shake their hands. I didn’t even know if that was something done, but I did it anyway. And the feeling of their calloused, rough, large, hot hands…I was bubbling with nervous energy, among other things.
“No problem. But, while we work you’ll want to stay with a friend or in a hotel. It won’t be livable in the early stages,” Tate said. “We like to do all the demo at once.”
“Oh.”
I don’t know why I was partially disappointed. Time in a hotel could be a mini vacation.
Maybe it was because I wouldn’t have a reason to be here. Staring at their muscled bodies, working and using their hands…
It was good I’d be in a hotel. Really good.
7
Adley
The only long term hotel I could stay in was about twenty minutes away, on the New York mainland. I didn’t want to get anything too expensive because I wasn’t sure how long I would be there, and I needed a place with a fridge so I wouldn’t be eating take-out every day.
My suite had a kitchenette and cute little living room. It was about the same size as my old apartment. It was crazy to even think I would be living in a real house soon. I was so glad they could make it what I wanted; I thought it touch and go for a minute there.
That first night I checked in, I went to the hotel gym to try and work off some of my pent-up energy. It didn’t work. And it didn’t work because it wasn’t really energy.
It was arousal.