"Deal."
I turned around slowly and avoided eye contact as I slipped into bed next to my best friend. It took a while for me to fall asleep, ruminating over what had happened, but eventually my thoughts settled. I dreamed of Emery all night.
I woke early, before Emery. It was still dark outside, the sun just coming up. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve either gone back to sleep or kicked Emery awake and insisted we have breakfast before we got going. I couldn’t imagine doing that now, though. Instead of waking him, I slipped out of bed and got right to work. I was committed to turning the power to the cabin back on. Maybe if I could get the power back on and the bathroom functional, things would feel a little less charged. More normal. Maybe.
I worked hard, focused on the tasks at hand, until Emery knocked on the doorframe a few hours later, just as I was finishing the repairs I was working on. I spun to face him. "Hey."
He gave me a weak smile. "Hey."
There was a palpable tension in the air, an awkwardness between us that hadn’t been there before. The last time things had been this uncomfortable between us was when we both wanted to date Julie Hansel in tenth grade. In the end, she’d rejected both of us, but things were weird for a while after that.
“This bathroom is almost done. Next step is to check the wires and make sure nothing needs to be reworked before I turn the power back on."
"Need any help?"
"Sure, if you want."
Emery nodded and stepped into the small bathroom. "What do you need me to do?"
I gave him instructions as I climbed the ladder to check the wiring in the light fixture and the fan. He did his best to help, mostly handing me tools and materials and adjusting the little lantern when necessary. When I was sure I’d done everything I could, I nodded at him. "Time to check the breaker." As I climbed down from the ladder, I missed a step and wobbled, my toes catching the step at the last second. I let out a very unmanly squawk as I fell. Emery moved quickly, and the next thing I knew, I’d fallen directly into his arms.
Emery grunted as he caught me, taking a step backward, but he managed to keep his footing long enough to right both of us. Once I was on solid ground, my feet firmly on the floor, I stepped away from him, trying to pretend I hadn’t liked his touch as much as I had, trying to ignore my growing erection. My face warmed and I looked away from him, swallowing hard.
"Sorry about that."
“No problem.” A long moment passed, a tense silence stretching between us, before Emery spoke again. "Now what?"
"Now we check the breaker box. You stand here. I’ll be right back." He nodded and I hurried out of the room, discreetly adjusting myself as I did. I made my way to the breaker box and flipped the main switch.
A second of silence passed before he called out to me. "It’s working."
I exhaled in relief. Power in the cabin and the fixed leak meant two working bathrooms. It meant we could cook and take hot showers in our own spaces. Though, frankly, with as much as Emery was affecting me, I probably needed cold showers more. He stuck his head into the hallway where I was standing and my heart thumped, butterflies in my stomach.
"Want to clean up and head into town for groceries?"
I frowned. “We already went into town for groceries.”
Emery rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That was junk food. I mean real groceries. Now that we have fully functional power, we can use the stovetop. Actually cook. Hell, we could even bake a cake if we wanted to.”
“Fine, whatever you say, Captain. Grocery store it is. But I need a real shower before we go.”
“Yeah, same.”
“You want to go first?”
Emery laughed softly. "If you insist."
Once he’d made his way into the bathroom, I puttered around the living area, taking inventory of what cooking supplies we had and making a mental list of what we’d need. Stuff for sandwiches, spaghetti, and tacos. Milk and cereal, or at least protein bars. And more beer. Definitely more beer.
As I began to rummage for paper and a pen to make a written list, Emery popped out of the bathroom. "Coming through." He had a towel around him, water dripping from his blond hair, his bare chest damp.
I was glad I was sitting, because immediately, I was sporting wood. I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. "Jesus, put some clothes on." I couldn’t tear my eyes away and I was sweating.
He grimaced. “I forgot to take clean clothes with me. Sorry.” His cheeks were flushed, and the blush crept down his neck and onto his chest. The next thing I knew, he disappeared into the bedroom we were sharing and closed the door behind him.
"Why is it so fucking hot in here?" I muttered as I tugged at the collar of my shirt. I needed to get my clothes out of the bedroom so we wouldn’t have another nearly naked run-in, which meant I had to wait until Emery was finished in there before I could get what I needed.
He came out in a T-shirt and cargo shorts, looking the same as he did every day in the summer. Somehow, the temperature in the room skyrocketed again.
