I let out a sharp shriek as I scramble backward, arms flailing. The water feels like a thousand tiny needles piercing my skin. Desperately, I reach for the knob again, but the blast intensifies,spraying in all directions as something clearly breaks inside the wall.
Water cascades onto the floor, pooling around my frozen feet. With chattering teeth, I grab a towel, wrapping it around my shivering body while the bathroom transforms into Niagara Falls. My fingers, shaking both from cold and panic, fumble for my phone.
Jake will know how to fix this. Jake always knows how to fix things.
He answers after three rings. “Sarah?”
“Yes, come down! There’s a water explosion in my bathroom. Hurry.”
In what feels like seconds, the doorbell rings. Having barely managed to throw on sweatpants and a t-shirt, I rush to answer, leaving wet footprints across the apartment.
Jake bursts in, dressed to the nines in his work suit, his hair slightly mussed like he’s just come from work. His eyes widen as he takes in my soaked hair.
“Where?” he asks, already moving past me.
“Bathroom.” I follow him. “It won’t stop.”
Jake assesses the disaster zone, water now spraying from a crack in the pipe. His white shirt turns translucent instantly as he reaches into the spray, trying to locate the valve.
“Do you have any tools laying around?” he asks, wiping water from his face.
“Over there,” I gesture toward the corner of the living room. “My dad left his toolbox when I moved here.”
His jacket comes off in one fluid motion, tossed over the shower curtain rod. Sleeves rolled up to expose tanned forearms, he grabs the toolbox and charges back into the watery chaos.
The doorbell rings again. Heart still racing, I rush to answer it.
Lance stands in the hallway, brow furrowed with concern. My jaw drops at the sight of him, unexpected as a penguin in the desert.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I heard loud noises.” His eyes scan past me. “Came to check if you’re okay.”
After I give him a rushed explanation of my plumbing nightmare, we both dash back to the bathroom, where Jake drops into a crouch beneath the sink, water soaking through his once-pristine work clothes as he wrenches at the stubborn valve.
As I watch him work, an unexpected comfort washes over me—the way he tackled the problem without hesitation. Like he used to, back when we were—
I shake off the memory.
Lance crouches beside him, pointing a flashlight at the pipes. “Is that where it’s leaking?”
“It’s stuck,” Jake grunts, muscles straining against the valve.
Lance pushes Jake aside with a determined look, jumping in like a game show contestant. He snatches the wrench, twisting it at random points along the pipe. When that doesn’t work, he reaches for a hammer, improvising a plan that has absolutely nothing to do with plumbing knowledge.
The water continues its merry assault.
“Move,” Jake orders, shoving Lance back with his shoulder. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
With two wrenches working in tandem, Jake braces the valve body steady while turning the nut with controlled force. The water sputters, slows, then stops, blessed silence rushing in to replace the hiss and spray of the broken pipe. A triumphant grin splits his face as he looks up at my next-door neighbor. I know that competitive look. Boys will be boys.
Lance rolls his eyes, defeated in this round of testosterone theater. “Call me if you need anything else,” he tells me, then makes his exit, shoulders rigid with wounded pride.
“You did it!” I bounce on my toes, lifting my hand for a high five. Jake’s palm meets mine with a satisfying smack, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
He grabs a clean towel from the rack and comes toward me, gently blotting my dripping hair. Our eyes meet, and for one electric moment, everything between us feels simple again, like it was in the past.
My breath catches as his fingers brush my cheek. Old feelings stir, dangerous and tempting, like quicksand waiting to swallow me whole. But reality claws its way back in. He broke my heart into pieces too small to ever fully gather. I need to lock this fluttering thing away before it betrays me again.
