Across the Square

Chapter sixteen

Laminate gets laid, amongst other things

 

 

 

I hadn't expected to wake up to a note the next morning. I had expected Patrick, awake, laid beside me. But according to the note, he'd left extra early to try and get the job back at the house done. He wished me a happy day in the office, explained that there were sandwiches for my lunch in the fridge and then, right at the bottom, he asked me if I would return after work and help him finish up. I didn't really want to go back to where Ian and Dave were. They were peculiar and I didn't feel at all comfortable around them but I also knew that Patrick wouldn't ask me to help if he didn't need it or think I was capable of doing the job. So I was going. And it was all I could think about at work.



"So what did you end up doing last night that was so important that you blew me off?"



We were sat in Jerry's office since he had all the windows open, eating our lunch as we chatted about this and that. Generally he ruled the conversation topics on our lunch breaks since I'd become sexually active with Patrick. He liked to know stuff.



"Patrick has this big job to redo a house inside. He only works with two people and they don't seem to get a great deal of work done so he asked me if I would go and help."



"You... Doing building work?" No need to sound so disbelieving.



"Not building. More like... DIY? I was painting last night. I'm not sure what's on the cards for tonight though. I'll have to wait and see."



"Did you get on with the other guys he works with then? Was it weird? Did they know you were together? Did they know their boss was gay?" Even stuffing his face full of sandwich, he could fire questions out.



"Dave is okay. But the younger one, Ian, is a bit of a dick. I had to wear overalls so I didn't ruin my work clothes and the only ones spare were this hideous mint green. They all got a good laugh out of that. They know he's gay and that we're together now and they didn't freak out or anything. There was vagina talk and I sort of phased out."



We sat in silence for a while, me finishing my sandwich and him staring at his phone that was still flashing red all over the place.



"Shouldn't you like... Answer some of those calls, Jerry?"



"Lunch break is lunch break. If they're still trying to get through when I'm done then I'll answer. They should have lunch too and it ain't my fault if they want to try working through." He gestured for me to move over to him as he finished up his food, opening a desk drawer as I approached his lap.



Two donuts. With pink icing. Smelling heavenly.



"For me?"



"Yes for you, gorgeous. I know it doesn't make up for how much of a dick I was and how... I shocked the balls off you with Ty's proposal but I want to let you know that I still love you. I still want to be with you and hopefully Patrick can still make it work."



We ate our dessert together slowly. Every bite made raspberry jam spurt out and dribble over lips and chins and we took a moment to clean each other up. Thank fuck for proper blinds in his office.



"So I won't be seeing you tonight then?"



"He asked me to go help out again and I don't know what time we'll get done but you can always call me or send me a message. It's not like I can't talk to you."



We kissed and parted ways, leaving me waiting for the rest of the office day to be over with.

This time I drove to the house, thankfully able to remember the general route and only getting lost twice. Okay, once was down a one way street but who cares? Yes, it was rush hour and people swore at me and leaned on their car horns but I couldn't give a damn.



"I smell my cupcake, coming up the hall!" Patrick was yelling from the kitchen and I couldn't help laughing.



"Are we alone for the time being? You sent the other two out to buy stuff or something?"

"Nah. They've gone home, gorgeous. It's just me and you."



"You don't think we need the extra help? You know... The kind of help that know what they're doing?" To that, I got a grumble.



"Isaac, you did a fantastic job on that room last night and now it's your chance to make it complete." It was already painted. Was he going to send me out to buy a damn sofa? When Patrick saw my confused stare he smiled and stroked my arm. "You gotta put down the floor, baby."



Oh. Right. Put down the floor. Put down the floor?



"Is that some sort of builder term for something I should know more about than I really do?" Before I could try and figure it out more I was being taken back to the room I'd been working on the previous night. Now, instead of a bare, empty room there was a painted one with a stack of laminate flooring in the middle. "Oh."



"It's easy, baby. Go get your gear on and I'll show you how."



Five minutes later and I was in my good old mint green overalls, on my hands and knees, ripping into one of the huge packets of laminate.



"Alright. Take one out and line it up in the corner... Now take another out and set it down next to it and then you," He bent down beside me and did a little wiggle with the two laminate boards until we both heard a soft click as it slid into a locked position. "Just like that. Have fun."



This was my job for the entire night? Great. Two lines in and I'd run out of laminate from the pack I'd opened and set about tackling the next. A shuffle with one side here, a wobble of the entire stack there and the one I'd wanted was coming crashing down. I had no idea how much laminate cost and immediately worried that it would go out of Patrick's wage if I broke anything. In my haste to save the falling flooring I forgot where my fingers were. The next thing I knew, I was roaring at the top of my voice. It had fallen on my middle and index finger and I was stuck there, unable to haul it off with just my free hand.



"Isaac? Isaac! Are you okay?!" Patrick turned up in the doorway with his pants undone, elastic around his boxers twisted in, looking uncomfortable. What the hell had he been doing?



"Lift it off, lift it off, before I lose my damn fingers."



He took it slow, gently lifting the package off and setting it to one side. We both stared down at my fingers and I gave a whimper as they started to throb, watching as he carefully held onto my hand, kissing the sore fingertips.



"I think they'll be okay, sugar plum. Want me to stay with you? Move some of the packs of laminate so they're out of your way?" I nodded to the latter and he got to work shifting them into the hall. It meant I had to move further when I wanted more but it was better than losing my fingers.



"Patrick?" It was half an hour or more later and I'd got to thinking about his pant situation. He was painting the wall up the stairs so I knew he could hear me.



"Isaac?"



"What was going on with your pants when I trapped my fingers?" Another line done and onto the next.



"I was in the bathroom, mid flow. What did you think I'd been doing?"



"I dunno.. Maybe you'd been humping a paint tin or something. It looked funny. Sorry for interrupting your pee though."



"It's fine and ... Why would I hump a paint tin or 'something' when I have you right there? You shouldn't hump while at work anyway. Not good. Especially if the owners of the house were to come back early and walk in at the wrong moment."



"Oh. But it's okay to pull my dick out and amuse yourself with it while I finish the ceiling like last night?" I eyed him carefully as he moved down the stairs, roller in hand, to check out how well I was doing.



"Yes. That is okay. Do you wish to make a complaint about my services?" I had to laugh as he put on his fancy tone of voice.



"I'm good, I'm good. Is my floor good too?"



"Pretty damn good, yeah. Keep going and you might get something nice to say thank you when we're done."



Bloody well should.



01010



"Just going outside to get some fresh air, cupcake. I won't be long and I'll be right outside so don't panic your panties." He spoke as he headed out of the front door and I thought nothing of it. I also thought little of a car driving past and stopping close by. It was getting dark but still relatively early for some people. Besides, I had my floor to finish and I was so damn close it was exciting. Who'd have thought I'd get excited by DIY? Not me.



"Patrick? Is that you?" I'd heard the door open and close thirty seconds ago but hadn't seen Patrick. When he rounded the corner and smiled at me I was relieved... And then my stomach churned and my eyes settled on the pizza box. "Is that what I think it is?"



"It is indeed." He moved close, wafting the gorgeous scent around the room.



We ended up on the floor - my new fabulous laminate floor - with the pizza. I'd clambered into Patrick's lap and we took turns pulling off slices, nibbling trails of creamy, oozing cheese. Patrick got my crusts. I got Patrick's mushrooms.



"You like it here?" I had to look up at him, mouth full of pizza, confused. "The house. I mean the house."



"Oh.." I swallowed. "Sure, it's nice. I don't really know the area very well-"



"Have you thought about living in a house like this before?"



"I try not to dream of things that simply won't happen, Patrick. This house is huge and detached and I don't even know if it has a garden but I bet it does. I can barely afford to pay for my apartment from month to month, nevermind saving up for a bigger place." I shrugged, trying not to think of all the nice rooms I was missing out on as I ate the last bit of my slice.



"But it's possible. You rarely even stay in your own place now anyway.."



"What are you trying to say, Patrick?" The pizza was pretty much gone and he licked his fingers clean before lifting me out of his lap so he could stand.



"You could move in with me, we could save together and then we could get somewhere bigger. We could get a lot more for our money because I could fix stuff up and make it nice."



The problem was that he sounded serious. It was just so out of the blue that it had knocked me on my ass and I was having trouble forming any words to respond with. What were you meant to say to an offer like that Was it an actual proposal to move in with him or was he just thinking about things?



"Isaac, I can see I just freaked you the hell out so don't worry about it. We'll take our time and I know what is holding you back. I'll sort it." He kept saying that, but I still hadn't seen anything come from it. "Let's go home, cupcake.. My place?"



I nodded and headed out, eager to get back to somewhere more familiar and warm. The drive was simple enough since it was so quiet and we made it back in good time. A shower was most certainly in order and we opted to have one together.



"Feels like I've just worked a double shift." I couldn't stop myself from yawning every few minutes, leaning against the tiles while he cleaned me. I was thanking my lucky stars he didn't own a loofah when he spoke up.



"You sorta did. You worked your normal job and then you worked with me for several hours. But it's the weekend now so you can rest as much as you like. Plus, I don't think I have any huge jobs lined up for the next couple of weeks." When he noticed me pouting he started laughing. "You liked working with me, huh?"



"It's hard, but I sort of did. I got to know what you do."



"I still don't really know what you do. Maybe you could make up a 'take your boyfriend to work day'?"



"I don't think that would be taken too well, especially since I'm now being watched by my boss and Jerry by his because I was late to start work-"



"Yesterday?" I nodded. "But I dropped you off in plenty of time!"



"Yeah... And you also told me to talk to Jerry and so I did. It made me late to my floor. Only by a couple of minutes but I ended up having to tell my boss that I was seeing both of you."



"Bet that went down like a lead balloon."



"... He thought I was cheating on you. Awkward moment... Awkward moment indeed."



I shuddered as he turned the water off and grabbed us some towels, bundling me up like a newborn baby so that I could barely shuffle my way out and into the bedroom.



"Don't make the bed wet!"



But it was already too late. I'd crashed out in the middle of his lovely bed and was unwilling to move. When he joined me there was no complaining, only snuggling and the sly removal of my towel.



"Sleep with me?"



"You just want to sleep?" When I clambered onto him, I'm pretty sure he got the hint.

Turns out slow sex with Patrick was damn good. So what if I was so tired I felt like I was constantly half asleep? He kept things gentle and slow, making me lose all sense of time as I laid on my back, allowing him to do most of the work. Why not? He didn't seem tired at all. I don't remember how it ended. What I do remember are the distinct words, now etched into my brain, 'I love you'.



Best evening ever?



I think we pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one.

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Author notes: I'm still trudging through the latter parts of this story and it's -still- tough as hell so... Reviews would be delightful.

Update notices can be found on Facebook at Alinna Words.

Beta'd by MissusAnn (fp).

Eroburn: The light keeps popping up all over the place. I don't approve at all.

Lisa: Stuff starts to go tits up (xD) from Seventeen onwards >:D Are you excited?! I am. Thanks for reviewing.