Peeling out of her work clothes immediately, she hopped into the shower. Today she wasn’t so bone-deep exhausted, but her strange sleep schedule was demanding that she close her eyes soon. She refused to give in. Tomorrow was a normal work day and she didn’t want to wake up at two in the morning for it.
* * * *
Taryn and Cora rounded the corner and headed to her apartment. Taryn felt a small thrill seeing the door to the store open again. She was excited to see what progress he’d made. Yesterday when she’d come home, the store had been locked up and he’d been nowhere in sight. She had to admit, she’d been a little disappointed.
Cora said, “Oh! Is the shop open again? Did he change the blue? Tell me he changed the blue.”
Laughing, Taryn said, “I’m not sure. He said he was changing the paint color, but I don’t know for sure. We can stop in and see.”
Cora eyed her slyly and said, “Clearly this isn’t the first time you’ve stopped in.”
Taryn narrowed her eyes and said, “I’ve got a vested interest in the success of the shop. I live above it.”
“And you want to bang the owner,” Cora quietly murmured.
“Seriously, Cora. Cut it out. He’s my landlord,” Taryn said, frustration clear in her voice.
Cora held up her hands and said, “Fine. Fine. Okay. Does that mean I can have him?”
Taryn shot her a venomous look but said nothing.
“I think I made my point. I’ll lay off you, but at least be honest with yourself about it, Tare. You’re clearly interested.”
“Fucking psych major,” Taryn muttered.
Her annoyance was forgotten when she popped her head in the front door and saw the painting under way. There were two shirtless male bodies, one of which she immediately recognized as Evan’s. He was rolling paint on the wall. The other, equally ripped guy, was messing with a paint sprayer.
Cora finally spoke up, saying, “Ooh. This is much better than the blue,” as she focused on the warm ivory wall.
Evan gave a small start and then turned around. The other man turned around and managed to simultaneously fire the paint gun at Evan’s leg, covering it.
Evan stood stock still for a minute, shock written on his face. “Fuck, Jamie, really?”
Taryn watched, biting her lip as the other man tried to keep a straight face. “Sorry, Ev. That was totally an accident.”
She watched Evan’s eyes narrow for a moment before he turned his attention to them. “Hey ladies,” he said, giving them both a grin.
“Hey,” Taryn said, “I like the paint.”
“It’s coming together,” he agreed. “Oh. This dumb ass is my brother Jamie. Jamie, this is Taryn, my tenant, and her sister Cora.”
After they exchanged greetings, she and Evan went over the changes he’d made to the shop. He showed her the built-in glass shelves he’d added behind the tarps, and the remodel of the office.
When they walked back into the front area, she was feeling a little guilty just ditching her sister, but when she found her, Cora seemed to be engrossed in conversation with Jamie. She heard the giggle and realized that Cora was flirting with him.
Evan smirked and gestured toward his brother and her sister. She grinned in response.
He said, “Hey, listen. We need to finish painting the walls tonight so I can start moving the coolers back in. We were thinking pizza and beer later tonight at my place. You and your sister should come over, too.”
There must have been a lull in the other conversation because Cora said, “I’ll take a pass on the beer, but we were planning on ordering a pizza anyway. Right?”
Taryn nodded agreeably, even though they had explicitly discussed going out for burgers. She added, “A definite no on any sort of alcohol for a long time, but pizza sounds good.”
Jamie grinned, and in that moment, she saw the startling resemblance. Looking directly at Cora, he said, “I’m sensing a story.”
Cora laughed and said, “We’ll let you get back to painting. Just stop by when you’re done.”
Reaching for the roller, Evan said, “Later Princess, Cora.”