“Be back in a minute.” I rushed into my room and opened my closet. Tugging off my shirt, I pulled on a light blue T-shirt and gave myself a moment to cool down. We’d definitely had a moment. Christ, the past few weeks had been filled with connections, and I was sure I hadn’t been misreading the signs.
I often wished there was a crazy simple way of discovering someone’s sexuality. Admittedly, outright asking a person, in theory, was just that, but I didn’t appear to be the man who had super gaydar senses. I wasn’t blessed with that gift. It was, however, getting to the point where I needed to know for sure or not. My ability to screwup signals was too prevalent. The last thing I wanted was to make things awkward, especially since Tanner was working for me. I didn’t want to lose him in any facet of my life.
I groaned and placed my head in my hands. Gay or straight, attracted to me or not, I had to clear the air and move on one way or another. While my balls would ache from spending time with him, I could easily be friends with him too. I hoped.
Kicking myself into gear, I headed to the pile of old material for the dumpster. Tanner had already moved a load while I’d been getting my head straight. He reentered just as I bent to lift a heavy board. He jogged the short distance to the other end when he saw me, hands immediately on the board, and lifted.
“Got it?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
He nodded, and we heaved the board outside to the waiting dumpster. It was the third one I hired so far. Amazing how quickly these things filled up.
“On three?”
“Sure,” I answered with a smile as we lifted, swung, counted, and threw the plank inside. “Is there much more?”
Tanner fell into step beside me as we headed to the pile. “Just a couple more. They’re smaller and lighter though so we can grab both at once.” His arm brushed mine as we maneuvered to enter the house, sending a delicious tingle along my skin.
“Okay.” It was all I could manage. He affected me so much,toomuch. It cemented my need to clear the air with him all the more.
Together, we made swift work of the clearing up and just fifteen minutes later, I headed into the kitchen to pull the lasagna out of the oven. As I removed the prepared salad from the refrigerator, Tanner entered the room. His face and hands were clean after a quick wash.
“You know, you’re always free to have a shower or whatever here before we eat.” The words were out of my mouth before I had time to think them through.
His brows rose before a smirk lifted his lips. “You saying I’m dirty, stink, or both?”
Unable to stop myself, my gaze roamed his face and then his body, my lips parting when I wondered just how dirty he was underneath his clothes. I’d happily offer to help him shower. Clamping my mouth shut as heat scuttled across my cheeks, I cleared my throat. “Erm, I just meant it can’t be comfortable staying in your work gear while eating or trying to relax.”
He stepped further into the kitchen, heading to the fridge while chuckling. “It’s all good. I may just do that. Thanks.” He threw me a wink before turning his back on me and sorting our drinks. We’d created an easy routine over the weeks around dinner time that included Tanner preparing our drinks and setting the table. He’d also clear the table and dry while I washed. The moments were companionable and effortless, adding to the reasons why I loved these evenings.
Moving around the kitchen together, it didn’t take long before we sat and were eating. Lasagna was one of the meals Tanner loved most. I made sure to make it once a week for him. Not only was he an appreciative eater with his ready compliments, but the noises he made while eating my lasagna were so hot. That may have also been why I made it eagerly.
“We’re expecting a big delivery on Friday. I’ll coordinate with the supplier and make sure I’m here. It’ll be during the day.”
I nodded. “I’ll give you a key. Remind me before you leave.” I took a sip of my merlot and then asked, “Are you still set to start full-time the following week?” I held my breath in anticipation. I’d get him to myself five times a week. No doubt the Saturdays would stop, but still, five out of seven days a week was enough to have nervous excitement bubbling in my chest.
“Actually, I’ll start on Friday. The day of the delivery. Everything else should be wrapped up by then, so I should be set.”
Grinning, I placed down my glass. “Perfect.” I bit my bottom lip while I built the courage to pry a bit further. “So I imagine you can have your Saturdays back.” I smiled, though it was a little forced. “I imagine the…” I faltered.Screw it.“…man in your life will be happy with that.” I kept my smile fixed in place and watched him carefully. There were so many potential scenarios for the outcome. The worst being a punch to the jaw and him walking off the job for suggesting he was gay.
He stopped eating, putting his cutlery down before bringing his beer to his lips. His eyes remained on me the whole time. It was torture, and by the glint in his eye, the sexy bastard knew it. He placed his bottle down, rested his elbows on the table, and leaned forward slightly. He angled his head to the side. “I’ll be here on Saturday.” He grinned, leaned back, picked up his fork and shoveled lasagna into his mouth.
What did that even mean? Frowning, I squinted at him. I wasn’t great at looking hardass. That was confirmed when he laughed and took another swig of beer. I lifted a brow at him in challenge. I needed him to answer the stinkin’ question already, but he seemed far too amused by my wayward attempt at prying information out of him.
“You okay?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Fine.” The word came out as a sigh.
Leaning forward again, Tanner asked, “You have something you want to ask me?”
He was really going to make me ask. Why did it feel like I was in high school again? Not that my high school experience was anything like this, at all actually. Absorbing the amusement rolling off him, I smiled. How could I not when such a fine specimen of man was playing me?
“Do you date men?”
I said it. Despite feeling slightly moronic, relief filtered through me. Ireallyneeded to know. Did I have a chance or not?
He pursed his lips into a small smile that made it seem like he held back laughter. With his hands cupped before him, elbows on the table, he brushed a thumb across his bottom lip. I followed every movement, wishing more than anything to replace his thumb with my tongue.
