I Can Fix That

“I doubt she will like it much; even when they redid their own house, she still found things she didn’t like. But at least she would recognize that I did it instead of selling.”

Ashley nodded her head and noticed Grant’s arm placed above me and our proximity to each other. She looked back and forth between Grant and me suggestively. I roll my eyes, knowing the car ride back to my apartment would be full of questions that I don’t know how to answer.

Beau broke into the conversation, asking Grant to look at something in the kitchen. Grant excuses himself and places a hand on the small of my back as he walks out. Ashley watched him walk out and turned back to me.

“Oh my gosh. You didn’t prepare me for how cute his coworker is!”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m pretty sure a month ago you told me you were swearing off all men.”

She shakes her head no, “I told you I am swearing off all boys. I am, however, down for some men. And trust me, he is all man.”

I wanted to argue back with her, but she made a good point. Beau and Grant both have this old-school caveman look about them, both rugged and tough and you can’t help but want to tear those big solid walls down. Beau was remarkably attractive, of course, and he was more socially pleasant than Grant- who still has that prickly attitude, even if he is warming up to me slowly. But something about Grant was intoxicating, his irritability made me worked up in a way I couldn’t describe.

“If you go out with him you can’t end it poorly. I still need him to finish the house.”

“Does that mean you give me permission to climb him like a tree?”

“Well, I definitely did not say that.” She giggled and put her hands together in an excited clap. She pulled my wrist to walk me back to the front of the house where the boys stood. She whispers just go with it in my ear and I am tempted to run out of the room before I witness whatever she is planning.

We walked into the kitchen, where Beau and Grant looked at the backsplash and I swear this picture could be the cover of PlayGirl.

My grandmother would have passed out on this floor seeing these two hot burly men in her kitchen. Beau was wearing a wife-beater that his arms are bulging out of and Grant’s shirt showed off his muscular back and broad shoulders. Grant took his hat off to run his hand through his hair and placed it back on his dark waves. Ashley must have been drooling over them as well because I turned toward her to see her in a trance.

Beau saw us out of the corner of his eye and took his direction from the backsplash to the entryway that we were hanging on to. Ashley snapped out of her daze and elbowed me to pull me in the exchange. Grant looked toward us, we made quick eye contact before I glanced away.

“So, June and I were just discussing that the pub has $7 drafts tonight.” Very subtle, Ashley.

Two things were wrong with this: One, I don’t drink. Two, by the end of the night, Ashley would have Beau wrapped around her finger- and I would never hear the end of it. I looked back at her, giving her my best frustrated-mom look but she didn’t glance my way.

Beau looked back at Grant and shrugged “Sure, why not?” Ashley did her small heel raise to show her excitement.

“Great! So excited, see you there at 7:00!” She grabbed the back of my arm and pulled me out of the kitchen and to the back door before I had time to intercept.