Brad laughs, opening his lunch bag. “You’re lucky that I think for the both of us.” He tosses me a turkey, cheese, and mayo sandwich on a brioche bun. The same one he made for us last summer.
“Yeah. Lucky me,” I mutter, looking down at it, perfectly wrapped in cellophane.
A bunch of us are in the living room area, sitting on the ground, enjoying our lunch. I listen in, laughing at the shared stories about their personal lives and such. Brad does the same. He’s clearly a listener like me. Every now and again, he glances over at me, like he’s looking to see if I’m having a good time or not. With him so near, it’s hard not to.
I fill my mouth with my sandwich, wanting to swallow down how badly I wish he would just scoot over an inch. Enough for me to lay my leg on him or something.Anything.
“So, Noah, how’s living with the Boss? Does he loosen up after hours?” Terry calls out to me, all the eyes jumping to mine for an answer.
Heat crawls up my neck. How do I answer that, knowing just how loose he can get?
Brad looks over at me like he’s curious too.
Does he loosen up? I mean…with a little prepping—
Suddenly, the front door to the house swings open.
“What’s up, fuckers?” A tall guy, looking like he walked straight out of a country song, storms into the house, snagging all of our attention.
He’s dressed similarly to Brad, but his dark brown hair flips out from under the brim of his baseball cap. A dark moustache sits above his lip, with a hint of stubble on his cheeks.
“Heyyy, Kev.” Brad dusts off his hands and stands up to greet the newcomer.
They connect hands in a firm grasp and a pat on Brad’s back. “You guys busy or what? Looks like you’re hardly workin’,” he laughs, pulling up his pants by his belt buckle. The guys all laugh it off, shaking their heads and returning to their lunches.
“Kev, I want you to meet someone,” Brad says, leaning into him like it’s some kind of secret.
“Hm? Who?” he fires off, avoiding eye contact as I get up. He must’ve noticed me sitting here when he walked in. I’m the only guy he wouldn’t recognize. But, he’s acting as if he didn’t see me? Weird.
“Noah. Noah Bauchman.” I extend my hand as I walk up.
He looks down at my hand, giving his gum a few extra chews, before he connects his hand with mine.
“Veronica’s son? Huh.” His eyes curiously scan me from head to toe. “Would you look at that?”
His grin is wide, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He grips my hand just a little too tight—holds it a second too long.
“No one told me you’d be such a looker,” he says, patting my shoulder like we’ve known each other for years. I bite back the instinct to flinch. Something about his energy is unsettling. I wish I could pin why. Friendly? Mocking? Threatening? I honestly don’t know.
“Been out of the picture a while, haven’t you?” he adds, chewing his gum slowly.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice tight. “I wonder why I’m just meeting you now.” My eyes narrow as I hold his gaze.
Kevin doesn’t respond right away. Just keeps chewing, eyes fixed on mine like he’s sizing me up.
Brad cuts in, clearly missing the tension between us.
“Be careful of this one, Kev, he bites,” Brad jokes, tossing me a glance that’s hotter than it should be. Just like that, my focus wavers.
“Kevin’s our Project Manager,” Brad adds, slipping back into professional mode. “Pops in now and again from the office, so you won’t see him often.”
I nod, eyes still flicking between the two of them.
“Me and this guy go way back. Known him since high school.” Brad grins.
Brad’s been friends with this guy for that long? They seem to have completely opposite personalities.
“Dang, that’s how long?” He takes off his hat and wipes his forehead before putting it back on his head.
