We’d already discussed the fact that once upon a time, for a semester, I’d been his teacher. But we both agreed that enough time had gone by that this wasn’t a problem. At the time, everything was purely professional.
Now, what might have started out as a professional friendship was quickly morphing into something else. As each day went by, I became more acutely aware that a friendship wasn’t enough for me.
When I saw him, I held up the bags. “I brought breakfast.”
“Is it something sweet?” His tongue came out and licked his bottom lip as his eyes went wide.
This boy was trying to kill me. “No, not for breakfast, but if you eat the thing that’s not sweet, I might have a sweet treat for you.”
He bounced on the balls of his feet and clapped. “Yay!”
The more time we spent together, the more he let some of his Little traits come through. It made me happy to see that he trusted me that much. We sat at one of the tables and unpacked the food. “What are you up to?”
“I was just uploading some files for the permits.” He unwrapped his croissant and took a big bite, closing his eyes and enjoying the delicious flavors. “Mmm…”
I reached up and brushed away a sesame seed from the corner of his mouth. The croissant was covered with them for some reason I didn’t understand, but they worked, so who was I to question it? “Sorry, you had something…”
His eyes locked with mine, and he looked at me with an expression I wasn’t able to quite decipher. “Don’t be sorry.”
And the truth was, I wasn’t sorry at all. The look on his face as he enjoyed his first bite had me wanting to lean in and press my lips against his for just a little taste. Had I given in to that impulse, I would’ve been sorry…and a dick.
I couldn’t get that image out of my head as he went back to his paperwork, and I went to the super fun job of putting the new baseboards on.
When I was about three-quarters done, a timer went off. I’d started setting them so Ethan wasn’t working through his hunger and thirst.
“Time to drink.” He came bouncing into the room I was in. I loved seeing how much lighter he’d been lately. “Coffee, I mean.”
“Yeah, I knew that.”
He chuckled, and we got comfortable at the counter on folding chairs with our coffees. “So, tell the truth. This is the worst job you’ve ever had, right?”
I hadn’t thought of it as a job, since I was a volunteer, but in a way it was. “Worst? No. There was one summer when I thought it would be a great idea to work the French fry truck that went around the city during flea markets and those little fairs they had in church parking lots. It was five million degrees inside there, and I came out smelling like oil every day. Trust me, that smell does not wash off easily.”
He cringed and put down his coffee. “I thought my first job was bad.”
After waiting for a moment, I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna share what it was?”
“Oh, well, I worked at a parking lot. When there was a baseball game or concert downtown, I would stand there in my orange vest and tell people where the open parking spots were. Most people were nice, but there were some assholes who decided I was making them drive too far, or that the spot was too small,or that I was charging too much, as if any of that money went to me.”
“That does sound sucky, but I’m still taking the victory on this one. That job ruined my favorite concert tee.”
“That’s one prize I’m happy not to win.” Ethan stood up and stretched his arms wide, making his shirt ride up just high enough to tease me. “It’s time for me to get back to work. The electrical inspection is in a few hours, and I need to make sure everything’s ready for them.”
He made the most adorable grumpy face, and once again, I wanted to lean in and kiss him. Bad Daddy.
Ethan put his hands on his hips and pouted. “Why is there so much paperwork, anyway?”
“Because everybody wants their dollar.” I shrugged and got up too.
“Yeah, I suppose that’s right.”
The inspection went off without a hitch, which meant I was able to fix the A/C unit that wasn’t draining properly. I had just enough plumbing knowledge for that part of it.
“That feels so good.” Ethan stood in front of the vent and cooled off. “I figured it would be weeks before I could afford to get someone in to fix it. Oh, that reminds me.” He stepped back and turned to me with clasped hands. “I’ve been testing cold-brew recipes, and I think I have a winner.”
“Can’t wait to taste it.” The learning curve for coming up with unique and delicious recipes was steeper than I expected it to be, but the successes were giving Ethan a ton of confidence.
As he was pouring me a cup of his latest creation, I couldn’t help but stare at the man. He was conventionally hot, there was no denying that, but it was who he was on the inside that attracted me the most. When I looked up, I realized I was officially the worst Daddy ever.
