Ozzy snorted, but that was all the response. “Jack, need to talk with Ev a little bit. You can hold down the fort on this?”
“If not, I’ll scream.” He took a swig from his bottle and waved Ozzy away.
“Okay, Evander.” He walked a little way away, just enough that they might have been out of earshot of Jack. “Need an opinion on privacy here. I have permission for whatever I want to do.”
“Sounds dangerous. You going to put in a greenhouse full of exotic, temperamental fruits?”
“Tempting, but no. I care if they can use the space.” He gestured around the edge of the existing patio. “How do we feel about completely closing this area off? No line of sight out into the yard, but also no line of sight in.”
Evander followed the train of thought right away. “Safety concern. Not that I think they’re going to fall and break a hip, but if they do—”
“Exactly.” Ozzy clicked his tongue off his teeth. “So I’m not sure. I want them to get as much privacy out of this as possible. Nobody wants their kids cramping their style, and it’s bad enough that they’re supposed to be living out here in their back yard.”
Evander looked at the space and put it together in his mind. Not with specifics, but ifhewas designing it in his own style, with their needs. He talked it out as the picture came together. “Back side open, privacy wall with slats on the side closest to the house, and some railing or hedges or something on this side, with a walkway?”
Ozzy turned around and looked at the house proper. “They’d be able to see from the kitchen window, and if there were gaps in the privacy wall, it would at least besomesafety. Plus it would help deaden the noise in case they get too raucous.” He turned back to Evander and nodded. “Thanks. My head was a bit buzzy with all the ideas.” He opened his mouth, like he was about to say something else, then closed it so fast and so tight his teeth clacked and walked back to Jack.
Evander couldn’t help himself. “I know being nice to me hurts. Don’t strain yourself.”
Chapter eleven
Ozzy
Where did that evencome from?As Ozzy walked his happy ass out of that scenario, he heard Ev saying something behind him, but the words didn’t penetrate. He was too tight and anxious.
He said his head was buzzy, then almost transitioned it into a joke about head. With Evander. A line they weren’t going to cross again. Ozzy was happy in his life without Evander, and Ev was happy without him. Their last big blow-out fight had ended things for good reason.
They’d been out with everyone at a restaurant in Seattle. They’d rented one of the back rooms so they could all have some privacy and were getting absolutely hammered. Jake was hanging on Robinson, Bunny and Mason were dancing to some random electronic music on his phone, and even Aras had a wide grin on his face.
“Don’t drink too much,” said Evander, running his fingertips along Ozzy’s neck. “I want your dick to actually work tonight.”
It stung. Everyone dealt with liquor dick at some point. Except, apparently, Evander, who was always raring to go, even when he was three sheets to the wind. That didn’t mean Ozzy wanted it advertised to all his closest friends.
The others heckled him over that comment before slipping back into their individual conversations or dancing or whatever. Ozzy leaned his head into Evander’s chest. “You know I’m going to have to spank you for talking like that in front of my friends.”
“Ooh, I’m so scared.” He patted Ozzy’s cheek. “You really want to punish me, threaten to take me home to your parents again. I think I’d rather jump out of a moving train.”
Ozzy laughed, but it stung again. He didn’t have the best relationship with his parents, obviously, but there were still some things that belonged in the privacy of a relationship. He didn’t want his personal business spread all over to every single one of their friends.
Evander sighed. “Or better yet, why not regale me with more stories about how terrible they were while you pack up for one of your visits. That’s really the awful part.”
Ozzy stiffened and raised his head up. “That’s enough, Ev.”
Evander kissed him on the forehead. “I’m just saying, you need to stop pretending they were so bad. If they were, you’d cut them out of your life and piss on their doorstep. Hell, I’d help you. Your family sucks.”
Ozzy shook himself free from the memory before he let it consume him. That wasn’t the beginning of their collapse, and it wasn’t the final straw, but it stuck in his mind. It was the threshold for him. Once it got crossed, he was in a different place.Theywere in a different place.
Which meant no talking about sex with him, even in a snide joke. How the hell was justproximitymaking Ozzy into this? It wasn’t like they got along out of nowhere.
He couldn’t worry about it at the moment. A glance over his shoulder confirmed that Evander had already headed back inside. There was at least one wall between them. He could refocus on what mattered: the job.
He stood next to Jack and looked at the framed-out hole in the ground. “Last chance to change where we put the shed. Although I’ll kill you if you make us move it now.”
He shook his head. “This is perfect. Annoying there’s no door in the back of the garage. Would make it a lot easier. But this should get the job done.” He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “You work this hard on every job?”
“Harder. Don’t always have the extra assistance.” He clapped Jack on the back a couple times. “We’ll let them set the foundation. You and me can go look at the sheds on offer. You look like you’re about to keel over if I don’t get you some air conditioning.”
He laughed and waved the concern off. “I’m tougher than I look.”
