When I make a sharp whistle in warning, she stops, looks at me for a hot second, then ditches Nick, runs past me, and makes a beeline to Grace, who’sstanding on the porch with a steaming coffee mug in her hand.
I wave like a tool because I don’t want to pretend like I can’t see her watching us. She smiles back and I’m a little floaty with hope that she’s not mad at me for leaving her so suddenly just now.
Nick slaps my back, jarring me. “Ready to get this day going, bro?”
He’s here to help me install the bathroom in cabin 2 today. The instant I got my hands on Grace, I completely forgot he was coming over this morning. Honestly, I forgot my own fucking name and everything else, too. Grace is infiltrating every cell in my body, every thought in my head, and every instinct I own. Now, with her scent all over my beard, my dick is hard enough to drive straight through concrete.
And I’m supposed to install a tub and some cabinets like this? Talk about torture.
Oscar leaps onto Grace’s porch. She’s not usually this interested in guests, unless it’s a kid. She typically sticks with me, but it seems Grace has become her new favorite human.
I get it.
“Is that the woman from the bar last night?” Nick asks, knowing damn well that it is. Grace is so gorgeous, her image burns into your brain the instant you see her. You can’t unsee that kind of beauty. Or ever forget it.
“She’s rented the cabin for two weeks.”
Nick’s eyebrows rise, and before he can ask any questions, I open his tailgate and get to work. “I appreciate your help, man.”
“No problem.”
He keeps staring at Grace.
I might beat him in the head with this new toilet if he doesn’t stop.
“Just let me put my stuff down,” he says, still facing Grace’s direction.
She scratches Oscar’s head and sets her mug on the railing, then digs her cell out of her coat pocket. With both of us watching her, she hops off the porch and starts walking towards her car.
Oscar follows closely.
Too close.
“Whoop!” Grace pinwheels her arms and stumbles because of course my damn dog just tripped her.
“Oscar, get back here!” I snap, frustrated that my dog knows no boundaries, and neither do I at this point. “Leave Grace alone.”
“She’s fine.” Grace says, giving my hard-headed demon spawn of a pet another head scratch.
“Ready?” Nick climbs into the back of his truck. “One, two, three.”
We lift the massive freestanding tub out first and carry it inside.
When we come back out to grab the toilet and the rest of the stuff, Grace is driving away.
“Come on girl, get inside.” I’ll be damned if I’m letting Oscar run around without someone to make sure she stays out of the stream. I’m not giving her another bath, and she can’t be trusted unsupervised.
Halfway into our installation, Nick sets up his phone camera.
“You’re kidding me.”
“Content is content, Dean. Don’t judge me.” He strips out of his shirt. “I never thought I’d be here, but… thirst trapping isn’t so bad.”
He’s such a liar. He loves the attention. The man has more followers than I do. Probably because he posts a ton more than me or our friends.
Nick started his account with shirtless grouting videos. Then he went viral with a carpet stretching video and it fed his ego to the point where he makes more thirst traps than me, Bennet, and Conner combined.
Well… if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
