“Not on her days off she isn’t, no,” I yawn again as I turn and say hi to the rest of the guys. Nick is grabbing coffee. E is putting the burritos on a cookie sheet, and Bay is sitting beside Zander.
“What’s the plan, Z?” Seb asks, leaning his arms on the island.
“Since Summer is already up, I’ll take E and Nick with me to the lumberyard to grab the materials after we eat. The rest of you set up the tools and saws, so we’re ready to go when we get back.”
“Okay, sounds good, Z man. E, how long for them to warm up?”
“Only 10 minutes, Seb,” Elijah responds.
“Time to check the basketball scores from last night. Come with me, Sunshine. I’m grabbing your hand,” Seb warns, as he pulls me over to the couch and turns on a sports channel with highlights running on the screen.
“Okay, so I don’t like to play favorites, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the Celtics. Do you follow basketball, Sunshine?”
“No, not really. I know the names of some teams, I think.” I could tell you all about the NHL teams because of Jake, though.
“That will have to change now that me and E are in your life. The playoffs will start when we get back to school, and I expect you to be at our games. We all try to support each other, so you’ll learn all about diving and martial arts, too. Don’t worry, we will be cheering you on when you run that cute butt off around the track, too.”
We watch a few minutes of highlight reels until E pulls the burritos out of the oven. We each grab a plate and dig in. The burritos are amazing, and I let E know. He simply smiles at me with a soft blush on his high cheekbones. I offer to clean up so the guys can drive to the lumberyard and Seb and Bay can go outside to set up. I wrap the leftover burritos in foil and place them in the fridge. Next, I load the dishes into the dishwasher and start it.
Going outside to the back deck, I see Bay carrying a few drills and batteries. “Can you grab two extension cords, Summer?” He asks.
“Sure thing.” I walk to the garage as Seb passes me and smiles, carrying some type of saw. I look at the wall slats and locate the cords in the back corner. Grabbing two, I bring them back to Bay. “Here ya go. Where do you want them plugged in?”
“There’s a plug on the wall to the left of Zander’s patio doors and another to the right of your patio doors. Plug in one cord at each end of the house,” Bay instructs.
Plugging each cord in, I glance around. Seb crooks his finger at me, so I unwind the cords until they reach the spot where he’s standing. “Thanks Sunshine. I’ll take these. Go to the garage and help Bay with more stuff, will you?”
Nodding, I go back to the garage. Bay is already coming around the corner with a folding table, so I help him set it up. Next, we go back to get two of everything: hammers, boxes of screws, tape measures, levels, and tool belts. I follow him back to thetable and copy him in placing everything. By the time we are done, Seb has another identical saw set up. “That’s everything,” Bay tells him.
“Why did we get two of everything?” I ask.
“Makes things go faster, Sunshine. Me and E will do the cutting while you, Zander, Bay, and Nick do the installing.”
“Uh, I’ve never done construction before.” I’ve hammered a nail and used a screwdriver, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.
“That’s okay; we’ll show you how to do it. It’s simple stuff. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.” Seb assures me.
I’m skeptical, but I’m willing to learn. Zander’s truck pulls back to the side of the house, and the guys all haul different-sized lumber onto the grass. Everything gets divided into two separate piles at each end of the house. Zander and Bay each put on a tool belt and grab a drill. Bay, Nick, and Seb go left, while E and Zander go right. “Summer, you’re with us,” Zander calls. “Have you done anything like this before?”
“No, not really,” I shake my head. “Consider me a complete beginner.”
“That’s fine. For today, you’re going to assist me. I’ll call out measurements to E, and he’ll cut the lumber. You grab it from him and either hand it to me or hold it in place for me while I attach it. Easy enough?” Zander asks.
“Yup, got it,” I nod. I follow E to the saw, where he adjusts the height of the legs and plugs in the extension cord. He attaches a dust bag and checks the saw blade over. After he dons safety sunglasses, he looks up.
“Hey, does anybody have an extra pair of safety glasses for Summer?” He calls out.
I see Nick disappearing to the side of the house. A minute later, he comes back carrying a pair of sunglasses. Without a word, he hands them to me and goes back to his side. I call out my thanks to the silent guy as I slide the sunglasses over my eyes. Zander calls out his first measurement toE, and we’re off.
I carry 4x4 pieces between Zander and E and hold them in place as Zander screws them down. Nick and Bay are both doing what Zander is on their end, but we’re working at about the same pace. It takes until lunchtime to complete the posts and lower horizontal boards. Zander orders pizza for everyone as we all drink water and wait in the air conditioning until it arrives. The guys demolish 5 large pizzas with ease. After everyone has eaten and hydrated, we resume work.
It’s getting warmer as the day goes on, and I’m glad I wore shorts today. Nick and Seb shed their t-shirts. I try really hard not to look, but I’m only human. Each of them is in great shape. Their muscles flex as they haul the wood around. Seb has a six-pack and well-defined arms and back. Nick is even larger without an ounce of fat on his body. Despite being huge, he’s not overly bulky. He’s covered in tattoos that I’d like to get a closer look at sometime. It’s strange to notice their bodies when I haven’t ever noticed anyone since Jake. Another part of my healing, I guess.
All the spindles go up next, but I learn it’s a pain in the ass to get them all lined up perfectly. Work slows down as I help Zander try to wrestle all the spindles into place. Nick and Bay help us finish the last section around 4pm. Dinner is being picked up by Troy today, so we put the tools and extra wood away. There’s a stack of lumber behind the garage I hadn’t noticed yet. The guys bring out a dining set from the garage, and we set it up by the kitchen patio doors while we wait. It’s only a few more minutes until Troy shows up with Italian. E and I grab paper plates, utensils, and water for everyone. The food is pretty good, and the guys finish every bit.
Everyone heads home right after dinner. Seb tries to give me a hug, but I run away, claiming smelly cooties. Zander and I both grab showers, then relax on the couch for another Marvel movie.
Chapter 22
