I was tightening the last screw when I heard Sam come into the room.
“How’s the light coming?” she asked, her voice coming from right beneath me.
I turned around to look at her while I responded, but my foot slipped on the rung. One leg dropped down, the other leg still on a step. My arms flailed as I tried to find the step with my foot and I felt myself tip backwards, everything happening in slow motion.
Sam must have leapt up onto the ladder because suddenly she was behind me, standing a few rungs beneath me and pressing me into the ladder to stabilize me. I gripped the metal with my hands, one of the metal rungs digging into my belly, my breath coming quickly.
“Shit, sorry, thanks for saving me,” I said.
“Yeah.”
That’s when I realized that Sam’s breasts were pressed into my back, her arms caging in my ribcage as she held onto the ladder. It shouldn’t have been an erotic moment, but somehow it was.
I stood completely still, afraid to move somehow, and Sam didn’t move either. We stayed in place, my body pressed between Sam and the ladder, the heat of her body making me hot inside and out. My breath was coming in short bursts, but I wasn’t sure if it was from my almost-fall or the proximity to same.
After what felt like hours we heard Barney clear his throat.
“You gals okay there?” he asked, looking down at us.
“You good now, Princess?” Sam asked, her breath warm on my neck.
“Yeah, thanks again.”
She pulled away slowly and walked down the ladder, then waited for me to do the same, as if she thought I was going to fall and wanted to catch me again. Fortunately I got down without incident. When I turned around, she was still right behind me, only a few inches separating us. My eyes bounced between hers, searching for I don’t know what, neither of us moving.
“Hey boss lady? Can you look at something in here?”
We both jumped as Jose bellowed from another room.
“Coming,” Sam said, turning away and hurrying off.
When I turned back to the ladder Barney was watching me with a speculative gaze.
“How about you flip that switch and we’ll test your install?” He nodded to the switch.
I hit the switch and glanced up as the ornate chandelier lit up, the light sparkling against the crystals. I couldn’t help the huge smile on my face.
“Oh! It’s beautiful!”
It was strange really. I’d negotiated multimillion dollar deals for my family’s company, but nothing had given me as much satisfaction as the work I was doing here. There was something so satisfying about working with your hands, seeing the immediate results of your work. I glanced around the dining room where I’d helped pull off wainscotting, remove floorboards, replaster walls, and now install a light fixture.
I was a part of something important here. Sure, I knew that Sam’s company would sell this house for a profit, a hefty profit, if I knew my Seattle real estate market, which I did.
I’d been doing a deep dive into the market at night after work as I prepared for my plan to move out of my parents’ mansion. My mother was in denial, changing the subject every time I brought it up, but my father had mentioned at least twice that he thought it was a good idea.
Hopefully the new owners would love this house as much as I did. As much as Sam and Barney and Jose and the rest of the crew did. This house was special to the whole team. They’d donea lot of rehabs, flipped a lot of properties, but they’d shared that none had the historical appeal or the charm of this one.
I didn’t see Sam for the rest of the day. She’d retreated into her office after catching me on the ladder. Sure, maybe she had paperwork to do. In fact I was sure she did. But I couldn’t help but notice the way she’d make herself scarce whenever we got too close.
I wondered what her deal was. Based on how she’d kissed me, I was ninety-nine percent sure she was a lesbian. Or maybe she was bisexual like me. I’d subtly asked about her status, but all the guys would tell me was that she was single and she kept her dating life private.
I knew they all thought I had a crush on Sam, and they were right. I just wasn’t sure how to move things forward. Then again, we still had some time.
“Okay guys, time to hit the road.”
I jumped as Sam made the announcement about quitting time, lost in my thoughts. I cleaned up my workspace, then went into the kitchen to wash my hands. We had a hand washing station in the scarred old kitchen sink with various soaps that could remove anything we came in contact with, as well as hand sanitizer, lotion, and an eye washing station in case something accidentally came into contact with our eyes.
Letting the guys all go first, I took my time scrubbing at my hands, making sure I got all the paint and plaster from beneathmy fingernails. Last night at dinner my mother had noticed all the grime underneath my fingernails and nearly had a stroke.
