"If you want running water to return to this cabin, you’ll stop daydreaming and help."
"Fine, fine." I followed Mason with the flashlight, shining it in his path while he used his to illuminate nooks and crannies I couldn’t see.
After a moment, he spoke. "There it is."
"A snake the size of a tree branch?"
"That’s my dick you’re talking about." He snickered and I rolled my eyes. A moment later, he clarified. "No, I spotted a leak. It’s not big. In fact, it was probably here before the storm, but either way it’s going to take time to fix. Until then, no running water."
"Shit," I muttered. I really missed having indoor plumbing.
When Mason crawled out from under the cabin a few minutes later, he was covered in mud, dust, and cobwebs. "Let’s hit the hardware store. I can get some replacement piping and some other tools." He reached out his hand and I grabbed it to haul him to his feet. Sparks hit me like there was a live wire between us, and my breathing tightened. As his hand gripped mine, heat crawled up my arm. I had the strangest urge to pull him close. Instead, I released him a bit too soon and he nearly went tumbling onto his ass, grunting as he hit the ground. Once he’d righted himself, Mason brushed off and nodded toward the truck. "Fuck you, too, dude. Thanks for dropping me on my ass."
“Sorry,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.
A while later, we were at the tiny hardware store on the outskirts of town. We wandered up and down the aisles, picking out supplies we needed. Mostly Mason did it without my help, of course, but I tried to be there for moral support at least. And providing what minimal assistance I could offer.
On one aisle, Mason pointed to a special waterproofing sealant. "We’ll need at least two tubes."
I reached for it at the same time Mason did, our fingers brushing as we both grabbed the tube of sealant at the same time. I pulled away and chuckled nervously and Mason frowned and narrowed his eyes at me.
"Yeah," he said after a minute. "This is the stuff."
Weirdly, I found myself hyperaware of his body next to mine. I kept wanting to pull him closer, or to drift into his space. The pull was practically magnetic, but I resisted and vowed to keep my distance better. I was probably just being weird and imagining the growing tension between us.
As Mason and I wandered the aisles, looking for the supplies we’d need, an older woman, maybe seventy, approached us.
"Excuse me, young men," she said, tapping Mason on the shoulder. "I hate to bother you but could you possibly help me?"
Mason turned to her, giving a kind smile. "Of course. I’m Mason. What can I do for you?"
"So polite! I’m Margaret. I just can't tell what I'll need. All of these products are so complicated these days."
"What are you hoping to do?"
"I have some water damage from the storm. I had a contractor come take a look but he was out of my budget. I need to… well, it’s a lot." She explained to Mason the work she was attempting,which included drywall repair and painting, plus roof repair. It was clearly going to be too much for her to handle alone.
Mason nodded in sympathy. "Thatisa lot. Do you live nearby? We could come take a look. Maybe we can help."
She waved a hand and shook her head. "I can't afford the help. I don’t even have insurance on that old place. But thank you. I'll manage. I'm not just a frail old lady, you know."
He chuckled. "Of course not. But I'm a professional. We’re happy to help. No charge. Right, Em?"
I nodded quickly. "Of course."
"I'm sure you two have better things to do than help me."
Mason looked at me and laughed. "Actually, we’ll be finished with our current project in three weeks or so, and this one’s on summer vacation. He’s a teacher. We've got plenty of time to help."
She gave Mason a genuine smile. "If you're sure."
"It's absolutely our pleasure. What's your address? We'll come out tomorrow and take a look."
She gave Mason her info and it turned out, she was a neighbor, only a little way down the road from my family’s cabin. Margarettook a moment to squeeze his hand. "You're too sweet. Thank you so much."
Once we’d checked out and headed back to the cabin, things seemed more normal. I was less focused on the intense feelings I’d been getting from touching Mason, at least. I helped Mason as he tarped the roof to keep debris out of the cabin, which took about an hour. Our next step was to board up the broken windows, eating up the rest of the good daylight, and then finally he announced it was time to patch the leaking pipe. Once Mason shimmied under the cabin again, this time in the dimming light, we set up a battery-powered lantern near where he would be working. It didn’t take him long to patch the pipe to his satisfaction, and when he was done, Mason crawled out from under the house again. As he stood, he groaned and stretched his back.
"You good?"
