Another tap, followed by a scraping sound.
I sat up and looked around, and when I found nothing out of the ordinary – not even the alpaca I’d wished for, which is a shame – I glanced to the left. I shouldn’t have done that, because right outside my damn window, standing on a silver ladder wearing a Blackhawks beanie and an ivory fisherman’s sweater, was Myles.
Why in thehelldid he have to look so fucking cute at such an ungodly hour?! This wasn’t fair to me. AT ALL.
There was a screw pressed between his teeth, and a marker tucked behind his right ear. He had a wireless drill machine in one hand, and it took me a few long seconds to realize what it is exactly that he was doing.
I stood, grabbed a spare notebook and pen from my nightstand, and marched over to the window before opening it with a resoundingbang.
Myles looked up, a bit startled, and then pulled the screw out of his mouth. “I’m sorry I woke you,” he said casually – like he couldn’t see the warring emotions on my face. “I was trying to be as quiet as I could, but aluminum can be a bit tricky to work with, so it got a bit noisy.”
Almosttwoweeks of absolutelynothing, and now he wanted to talkmetalto me?! Was he serious?
I clicked open my pen and began writing in the notebook.
What’re you doing?
He read it, and then shifted his weight on the ladder. This close, I could see the stark flush on his cheeks and nose, and tiny flakes of snow on both his day-old stubble and dark lashes. He wasbeautiful, there was no doubt about that, but that very thing was frustrating me beyond measure because I couldn’t just reach out and touch him, nor ask him to touch me.
“You wanted my help with the food tray, remember?” His voice pulled me out of my train of thought. When I blinked at him, he continued. “It took me a while to come up with the idea, but I think this’ll do just fine.” He jerked his head forward, and I noticed, for the first time, that he had attached a roof a few inches above the tray, along with two aluminum sections on either side of it.
“I thought that covering the tray from three sides would not only help keep the food safe, but also turn the area into a refuge for birds who need a place to sleep in,” he said. “Aluminum can get very cold during winters, though, so I was thinking maybe I could screw pieces of wood plies over or under them.” He scratched his jaw. “But wood might not do well against the brick wall. It prolly won’t give a neat finish, but I’m still working on the whole thing, so we’ll see.” He knocked on the roof then. “Thishas a door as well.” He flipped said door upwards. “See? You can easily clean the tray this way, and also replace food and water without a hassle.”
The whole time he was talking –explaining– I kept staring at him in awe.
He’d thought ofeverything, and had even come inhoursbefore his daily schedule just to work on the food area.
I swallowed when he exhaled a long puff of air, and then quickly scribbled a few words in the notebook as the snow outside grew thicker.
You shouldn’t be out for so long. It’s freezing like the devil’s balls outside.
His lips twitched as he read what I’d written. “I’m heading over to the office in a few. Taron and I have a client coming over in about forty minutes.”
Okay.
What else could I say to that? It was awkward small-talk at its best, and it was making me itchy all over.
Myles sighed, and I saw the struggle on his face as he looked at me.
Stop resisting, I wanted to tell him.Just stop, and fuckingtellme what’s making you pull back so earnestly.
But instead, I put the tip of my pen on the almost-full page and wrote:
How much will the whole roof thing cost? I’ll make a note of it now so that I don’t forget about it later.
He shook his head after reading that. “I’m not going to charge you for this; it’s for a good cause.”
You have to.
“I don’t want to.”
Don’t do this.
He shook his head again. “I’m not going to take money for this, Carina, and that’s final.”
Carina, notRina.
I tried not to let that little change affect me, but God, it did. Itreallydid.
