“Come in.” Morgan’s deep tones travelled through his door.
Slowly, I entered to see he was sat in front of a workbench looking at paperwork. Multiple tools lined the wall above the desk and the wall to the side.
“Hey, only me. I forgot to give you the library plans,” I said quickly.
“Oh hey, come in.” He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor.
The room smelled of wood and varnish, with just a hint of Morgan’s aftershave underneath. Being alone in the room with him was awkward and my heart rate had rocketed. I walked over to him and placed the plans down before looking around. The room was clean and tidy, everything in its place. A table sat in the middle of the room holding a small wooden carpark.
“Wow, did you make this?” I circled the table, taking in all the tiny details. The carpark had ramps, petrol pumps and barriers.
“Yeah, just something I’m building for Charlie.”
“It’s incredible.” I reached out and pressed the edge of the barrier. To my delight, it rose and lowered again when I took my finger off it.
“Thank you. Working with my hands relaxes me.” He stepped closer, his gaze wandering over the carpark.
“I love handmade things. I love those boxes, you know? Like puzzle boxes?”
“Yeah, I know the ones. They are beautiful pieces of work.” We stood together awkwardly for a moment.
“Shall we look at these plans then? Take a seat.” He gestured to the stool in front of his workbench, which I took as he stood over me and rolled out the plans. “These look good. So, the fireplace is going on this wall?”
As he pointed at the plans, his forearm brushed against my arm. Electricity shot through me, my breath caught, and I jumped to my feet. Our eyes met.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t feel that?” He took a step towards me.
I didn’t know what to say. Of course, I felt it, it was like an electric shock between my legs, but I couldn’t tell him that.
When I didn’t answer he went on, “Please, just one chance, give it a try.” He placed his hands on the outside of my armswhich were crossed against my chest in an effort to get some distance from him.
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head and moved backwards a few steps. “We have nothing in common. I’m older than you…”
“Pfft, by five years. That’s nothing.” He shrugged, not deterred.
“I’m getting divorced.”
“I’ve gotten out of a serious relationship,” he countered.
“Even more of a reason not to dive into anything.”
“It’s not diving. Brooke and I parted ten months ago. We’ve”—he gestured between us—“been spending so much time together on this project. From week two, I knew how much I liked you. That kiss we shared on the sofa? Wow, I’ve not felt like that before.” He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it up; it looked good messy. “I waited this long because I knew you needed time, but I like you so much.” He took a step towards me.
He was so close I could almost feel his lips on mine, and I found I wanted to kiss him, to feel his soft lips on mine again, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I’d left my husband eighteen months ago and moved back home. Since then, I had not looked at another man until that first kiss with Morgan. I had a high sex drive and being abstinent from sex for that long was driving me crazy. But was I crazy enough to sleep with my friend’s son?
“Maybe we should get to know each other a bit first?” I took a step back. I was desperate to get out of the conversation, the situation and was grasping for things to say that wouldn’t lead to me falling into his bed.
“Okay, what do you want to know?” Morgan leant against the table in the centre of the room and indicated I should sit back on the stool.
I sat, grateful as I wasn’t sure how much longer my wobbly legs would hold me up.“Well, I know where you live and what your job is, so the baby, he’s two now right?”
“Yeah, Charlie, he’s two. I get him every other night. I live at home so I can save for a house of my own whilst also supporting Brooke and Charlie.”
My heart grew, checklist for good men; kind, check. Considerate, check. Respectful, check. Good father, check. Responsible, check. Good in bed? Unknown. I wanted to ask more but could hear Nolan shouting to everyone for movie night.
“Shall we go for coffee tomorrow?” I thought coffee was a good idea, we could talk about the new book he was reading and there was little chance of my thoughts going south whilst out for coffee.
“I can’t, I have Charlie. He always comes first.” He looked disappointed.
