A built-in desk for sure, with plenty of storage. As much backlighting as he could manage, probably smart lighting so Quinn could adjust the color. It would need good ventilation for the tower, places to store accessories, a sofa and a TV for his consoles.This corner would get the least glare from the window. And if Quinn had any other hobbies or interests, he could backfill some of the unallocated space. Or maybe install a second setup for whoever got lucky enough to snatch Quinn up. They could game together.
Jake sighed and walked out, and did his best not to let his mind drift too far that direction. A fantasy that slipped throughhis fingers wasnotthe kind of hurt he needed to bring back from Illinois as a souvenir.
Chapter seven
Quinn
The sun was juststarting its descent when Quinn pulled up into the absolute storm of activity around his grandpa’s house.
His house.
Thehouse.
A large, white tent had been set up in the side yard by the back gate, full of power tools and lumber. Thick posts were being erected, attached to concrete blocks set into the ground out in front of the house, ready for the new covering to be attached to the roof. The siding was currently primed, a dull off-white that hid the original blue coloring. Quinn had agreed to repaint the exterior, but wanted it to match as much as was possible. Something had to stay the same.
“You’re here!” Mason stood in the front door, sticking half his body out and waving. “Come on up. We’ve got your mic in here so we can show you what’s up!”
Past the crew working on the porch and up the stepladder into the house. Quinn’s back stiffened and his breath caught as he looked on what had happened in just a few days. The floor was gone, just bare plywood with some kind of thick padding laid over half of it so far. Primer on the walls. The wall separating the kitchen from the hallway missingentirely. A lot more open and clean. A lot more modern, probably.
His stomach tensed and his eyes burned with the effort of holding back. Part of his brain was logical, knew this needed to be done, that it was part of the process. But it still felt like picking the scab off a wound and letting the grief flow again. It threatened to consume him, as if he could drown in the icy pain. He could never return to his grandpa’s house. Not really. It would neverbehis house again.
He only barely noticed as some member of production attached a lav mic to his shirt and slipped a pack onto the back of his waist.
When he stepped around the corner into the living room, Quinn’s eyes focused on strong arms jutting out from a black tank top, running a saw blade over some lumber, and he finally feltsomethingcrack through the icy numb.I shouldn’t focus on him. But I need something.
“Jake!” Mason stepped into the room as well, and the hunky guy in the black tank top turned. Sure enough, there was Jake, forehead glistening with sweat, cheeks and arms covered in sawdust from whatever board he’d been cutting down.
He smiled at Quinn, then looked over at Mason. “We doing the walk-through?”
“Yep. Unless you’re really in the middle of something.”
Jake waved his hand in the air like that wasn’t even a consideration, then swiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving a streak of damp wood residue behind. And Quinn hated how endearing he found that smudge of sawdust.
Mason turned toward Quinn and smiled. “So, we’re not changing the layout of the downstairs too much. I know we went over these plans in sort of nebulous terms before we did anything, but it’s always good to show you the progress, get your thoughts. Easier to visualize the end results once things are in motion.”
Quinn nodded. Two cameras fixed on them and he did his best to ignore them. Hopefully, they’d fade into the background quickly enough so he wouldn’t keep looking directly into them. “Let’s go, I guess. Show me what’s going on.” He could do this just fine. No need to break down on camera. No need to let that out. Especially not in front of Jake. Crying because the house he asked them to fix up was getting fixed up, in front of a hot guy?No way.
Mason sighed. “We’ll run into Evander along the way, but you can see we’ve done some real work already. Opened up your kitchen as much as we could so you have a lot more light coming in. This entryway was a little claustrophobic, and it’s a little hard to see the full results right now, but this should help brighten things up, alleviate some of that.”
“I’m going to put in a custom peninsula there, so it still marks out the space.” Jakeleaned on his shoulderand pointed into the kitchen, tracing an invisible line from the sink out to some point in the floor. Quinn couldn’t really focus on anything other than the hot, strong weight on him and the smell of literal wood in his nose from the sawdust clinging to Jake’s body.
“Apologies. Ran afoul of Oswald.” Evander rolled his eyes as he hauled himself up the ladder and through the front door. “How far did we get?”
“Just opening up the kitchen.” Mason looked at the camera operators. “Should we run it back with Evander here?”
Affirmations buzzed through the house. As they set up to re-record the footage, Quinn let his mind drift inward. He couldwithdraw safely, barely listening and moving as they reset and went through the spiel again. The only thing that broke through was Jake once again leaning over him to point out the future peninsula.
“Now, in here, I’m thinking we’ll make this very homey.” Evander gestured vaguely into the living room as he spoke. “You don’t strike me exactly as the sort of guy who wants minimalist decor. Something more comfortable, a little cozier. A place you can sit down after a long day and totally let your worries go. So texture, cushy furniture, and just like we’re doing in the kitchen, I want to use some built-ins to help cordon off the space a little more. Give you the extra light in the space, give you the option for it to be more open, but still keep it from being too overwhelming when you’re actually using it.”
It allsoundedgood, but even as the grief receded a bit, allowing sensation again, he struggled to visualize it. Maybe he didn’t click with the way Evander described things, or maybe he was straight up too distracted. Or hell, maybe Evander just wasn’t communicating his vision well. But Quinn nodded. Hard to disagree with words like ‘cozy’ and ‘comfortable.’
They did a very brief flash by the rest of the kitchen, then looked into the bathroom. Robinson had the walls open, squatted down, fitting pipes in where the bathtub used to be. When they stepped inside, he turned, then right himself. “Shower fitting. Last bit to set up before we can get to the tiling in here, then add the fixtures.”
“Which means we’ll need to talk colors once we finish up,” said Evander. “But in here, nothing crazy. I want to go a little more out there with your master bath, but this will be nice and functional, and give you an extra shower and some storage, just in case you need one.”
They walked out and Jake pushed to the head of the pack, opening the door to the back bedroom. What used to be the backbedroom, anyway, although as far as Quinn could remember, no one ever actually slept in there while his grandpa lived in the place.
Jake was still a little sweaty, still covered in sawdust, his arms still on display, and wearing a grin that took up most of his face. “This is where I’m putting most of my brainspace, lately: gaming room.” He paced along the wall opposite the door, around the corner by the window. “I want to build you a desk here. It’ll be well-ventilated and give you storage and display room. A good chair. And we won’t block the window, for obvious reasons, but putting it here should reduce the glare you get on your screen.” He gestured toward the other corner. “I have some ideas for the rest of the space, and I’ll run them by you, see what you’re thinking, but it would really help to know if you have any other interests. We’ll get you a place for a TV and whatever consoles you use, but that still doesn’t take it all up. This could be a general rec room or hobby room if you wanted it to be. Reading nook, place for board games, knitting. Whatever else you might be into.”
