Followed by tripping over thefuckingtree root and skidding on his face. Blades of grass slid right up his nose and he sneezed and batted at his face.At least there were cameras around. God forbid this not be caught on video.
After the shock of all the workers and seeing the house seemed to have passed or dulled or whatever, everyone settled into their roles. As expected, Jake didn’t find any major structural damageon the inside of the house. Knowing Mason and Evander, there was a better than average chance he would still be needed for some basic interior work—there was always at least one wall they wanted to consider taking out—but beyond that, most of his work looked like it would be outside. The back deck would obviously need to be rebuilt from the ground up—literally—but the front porch had significant damage too.
Jake stood next to Ozzy, hands on his hips. “I don’t know if it’s even worth trying to save it. Any part of the landscaping design deeply reliant on keeping the original porch?”
He shook his head. “We’ll have to makeshift a way to get in and out, since the front door’s elevated. But tear it out and have a bonfire for all I care.” He reached over and wiped something off Jake’s face. When he came back, his sleeve had a smudge of brown and green on it. “You ate shit in the lawn again?”
“No, I just fell. Scat’s not my jam.” He tilted his head to one side, grinned, then headed for the contractor Homescapes had hired in. More than anything else—the travel, the makeup, all the cameras—having someone else on the job site like was the hardest thing to get used to. And Jake certainly wasnotused to it yet. “Linda!”
A Hispanic woman in overalls and a white tank top turned around. She was about forty-five, a tiny silver stud on the right side of her nose, and with an undercut dyed bright blue. She waved him over. “What’s the story, Jake?”
He sighed. “Front porch has to go.”
She nodded. “I figured as much, but a girl can be hopeful. Anything else?”
“Not yet. But thanks. We’re kind of used to do everything ourselves.”
“Me too.” She socked him lightly in the shoulder, then headed over, presumably to get the rest of her team up to date.
When Jake turned and headed back toward the house, he saw Quinn sitting on one of the chairs on the porch. Jake walked over and leaned in. “You know none of that’s super stable, right? Wouldn’t want you to fall.”
He looked up, mouth cut into a tight frown. “No wood-based innuendos?”
“What, just because I see you sitting on big wood on your front deck? Let the neighbors make deck judgments, not me.” Jake squatted down so he could look Quinn straight on, and couldn’t help but notice the red rings around his eyes once he got down to that angle. “Look, you and I are probably as useful as…I’m bad at metaphors, but I don’t think we’re that helpful.”
“Similes. ‘As blank as blank’ is a simile.”
“Well, I promise I’m not any good at metaphors either. Point is, what if we just got away from everything? We can talk gaming setup or something. Better if I get a start on those plans early so I can pick up the supplies I need.”
“I’m okay.” Quinn stood up in spite of his protests and dusted off his hands. “You don’t need to watch over me.” He circled his hand quickly in front of his eyes. “Allergies. All this dust and soot and stuff.”
Jake shrugged, putting on the best face he could. “I’m just saying, neither of us are much help during the ‘drag trash out and demolish the deck’ portion of this. Too many cooks already. May as well make ourselves useful.” He scanned Quinn up and down. “You strike me as an RTS player.” Jake gestured down the stairs and grinned, doing his best not to let his eyes linger too long on one spot. Like Quinn’s lips. Or his chest. Or his ass. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Quinn hesitated, then headed down the stairs with a sigh. “Not my favorite. I’m more into shooters and RPGs. Fighting games sometimes. I like games I can play on my own and still be satisfied.”
“Yeah, when I think solo games, I think fighters.” Jake nudged him in the side as they went to the back of the SUV. It was as good a spot as any for them to get some privacy, and maybe the big hulking mass of vehicle would be enough to block out the view of the house.
“The good ones are. And if I really need someone to play with, I can connect to a server. But I’m definitely more of an RPG buff.”
Jake nodded. “What would be your ultimate setup? Money no object. Not that we’re budgeting to buy you a new rig or anything. Call it curiosity.”
“Already got what I want, anyway. My PC could practically run the ISS.”
“Okay. What about your actual physical setup? You have a good gaming chair? Monitor? Sound system?” Jake prodded himself in the chest. “Mine’s dogshit, but I want to hear how the upper crust games.”
Quinn snorted. “Upper crust. Right. Come look at all the duct tape holding my chair together. And my headphones. And the cord on my mouse.”
Jake chuckles. “Well, probably should go with electrical tape on the mouse, but sounds about like mine. But I’ll take care of you.” Jake heard it as soon as it came out of his mouth.Just move on and don’t draw attention to it. “I shouldn’t have much to do once the deck and the porch are done. So I can make you some good shit.”
Quinn nodded, but said nothing.
Chapter five
Quinn
I’ll take care ofyou. As Quinn stood in the living room, sorting through the piles of his grandparents’ stuff, Jake’s damn voice played through his head over and over. He couldn’t excise it, just kept hearing it and seeing his deep blue eyes and soft pink lips.Dangerous.
Somehow, Jake kept pulling Quinn into his orbit. Sure, it wasn’t exactly easy to avoid him while they were working on the property. But still, Quinn needed to be cautious. No matter how much he wanted to run his fingers through Jake’s hair, he knew better. It wouldn’t be the first time Quinn got caught up in a pretty face and a hard body that he knew would lead nowhere.
