“I wish it would happen again,” I said lightly.
I’d never meant anything more.
“Plus, I believe we’ve already established that I started it.”
“Regardless, I’m sorry.”
I wondered if she’d worried about it all weekend. I had the feeling she had. Where I’d been daydreaming about kissing her again, Sam had clearly been beating herself up.
“Please stop apologizing,” I said with a deep sigh. “You’re making me feel bad. It happened, we both enjoyed it, but I hear you saying that you don’t want it to happen again. I get it.”
It was painful to say, but I could tell she needed to hear it. We were both silent for a few seconds before we heard another car driving up, breaking the staring contest we were having.
“You’re with--.”
“I know. Barney.”
She nodded. “Okay, see you later.”
I followed her into the Victorian, in search of Barney. He was setting up to re-plaster some walls.
“Hey Livi, today you can help Jose pull tile in the bathroom.”
“Can I help you instead?” I asked. “I’d like to learn to build something, not just tear it down.”
He looked surprised. “Okay, grab a trowel and I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Sam
“That’s it Livi, stroke it nice and soft. Be gentle. Good girl.”
The male voice was pitched low, the words encouraging. I cocked my head as I walked around the corner heading into the parlor. What was going on?
Barney was standing facing the wall, his arms around someone much smaller than him. Livi. It looked… intimate.
“What’s going on here?” I demanded, my voice harsher than I’d intended.
They both jumped, then a trowel full of plaster went flying through the air, landing on the floor with a splat. Fortunately we’d pulled up all the ancient hardwood and the plaster connected only with the subfloor.
“I’m teaching Livi how to plaster,” Barney said, giving me a curious look as he moved away from her.
As much as I hated myself for it, I looked down to see if being pressed against Livi’s back had excited him. Fortunately it hadn’t. I’d hate to have to kill my team lead, plus I really liked his wife. Yes, my jealousy was uncalled for, but it didn’t stop me from feeling it.
We’d known each other long enough for him to pick up on the tension in my body.
I looked over at Livi. She had globs of dried plaster all down the front of her, and somehow a bit in her hair, but she looked pretty pleased with herself.
“Barney says I’m a natural.” She pointed at a section of newly plastered wall. “He’s such a great teacher.”
My eyes went back to my buddy, whose face turned a little pink. He shrugged. “She’s not half bad.”
Just then Jose walked by. “Lunch time, peeps.”
As if he’d blown a whistle, the rest of the crew all started straggling in from whichever parts of the house they’d been working in.
“Joining us for lunch, Sam?”
I could hear the dare beneath the question. The truth was, I always ate lunch with my crew. Except for last week, when I’d made excuses to eat in my office. Barney knew as well as I did that the only thing that was different was our court-mandated intern. Shit, I needed to join them, or it would only look weirder than it already did.
