Page 12 of Center of Gravity
“They’re useless now, but back then it was like the world at my fingertips.” I’d watched his hands as they flipped pages, turned up dog-eared corners, a kind of reverence in his touch.
“You could keep them,” I’d said. “Souvenir, decoration.”
But he’d just shrugged. “I’ve got enough of that.”
I wondered what his life was like back in the city, tried to picture him in a house or apartment. A social life, maybe a boyfriend? Maybe a girlfriend? Him ditching me at the club made more sense if I included a significant other. But it also made him a dick, and after spending more time with him today, I didn’t get that vibe off of him. He just seemed really cautious.
“Hey.” My gaze drifted up from the clipboard as I spoke, interrupting his train of thought, judging by the thousand-yard stare he gave me. “I didn’t mean anything by telling you what to do with the house the other day. That was over the line and I just thought—” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
“You thought what?”
I couldn’t tell by his expression whether he was genuinely interested or if it was more of a challenge. His brows rose slightly. They were good eyebrows. A solid, dark frame for his deep brown eyes.
I pinched at my lip ring and saw his gaze slant away. He wet his lips.
“You just seem like…well you look like…” Fuck, I was going to botch this.Wasbotching this. Where had all my suave gone? Jesus. His brows rose higher and I thought I detected humor in the twinkle of his eyes. I was committed now, so I just said it.
“You look like you could use a vacation.”
His expression flattened out. “At the home where my parents passed away.”
“Well, I didn’t mean it like that, exactly—” Oh fuck me, I’d actually stammered. I clenched my teeth, inwardly cringing, and then he laughed.
An honest to God laugh that rippled through the air, that sounded like it was sourced from a fabulous dinner party after a lot of booze. It was rich and full and it sent warmth up from my toes to my gut. Instant addiction. I immediately wanted to hear it again. Even if it was at my expense.
When it died down, we were just two awkward people in an empty room again. Rob flicked one of the curtains hanging on the window. It seemed like one of those aimless gestures meant to avoid having to meet my eyes.
“I don’t hate my job, by the way.” He scratched his jawline where a solid patch of five o’clock shadow had sprouted. “There’s just a lot going on right now.”
I nodded like an idiot. “I’m sure,” I said, and because I could tell it was an uncomfortable subject, I changed gears, not quite ready to leave him behind yet. “So what’s next, then? Painting, patching, and market?”
We both looked at the bookshelves. They needed a coat of paint. The walls, too. The carpet needed to be cleaned or replaced. Things you never noticed when a house was full, but stripped bare, all of the wear and tear came through. Rob frowned and I got a sense he was thinking the same thing.
“Yeah. Looks like a lot more work now than I initially thought.” He reached out, hooking the corner of his thumbnail beneath chipping paint and stripping it away in a pale blue ribbon.
“I think that’s the way it always is.”
“I don’t suppose you have any good sources for painting and drywall repair, carpet cleaning, stuff like that?” He gave me a hopeful look. “I planned to do most of it myself, but…” He lost steam as he glanced around the room again.
I didn’t know if he was feeling overwhelmed or just ready to be done with the place, but I saw my chance to avoid another telemarketing job, and I took it. And maybe he had something to do with it, too. It wasn’t that he was easy to be around, exactly. But he wasn’t hard to be around either. It was difficult to explain, this kind of compulsion that wasn’t quite compulsion but more like a softwanting.
“I could help you. It’s what, a couple of weeks of work depending on how hard you’re going at it? I can do it around my moving gig if you’d be okay with that.” I’d sure as shit rather be patching drywall than calling old ladies. “I’m pretty good with a hammer and a paintbrush.”
I beamed him a winning smile while he hedged. He shook his head with a grimace that was almost insulting. I didn’t think I was that bad to be around, and even if our previous hookup made it awkward, it was very clear that that was over and done, even if I was starting to get the idea I’d be up for a round two.
I gave it one more try. “Look, not that you owe me anything, and I know you’ve obviously got a lot on your plate, but it’d be good for me, too. I was going to look at construction gigs next instead of telemarketing.”
He rubbed at his jaw again and I let myself fantasize briefly that it was me nuzzling him, instead. I blamed it on the stoic thing he had going on. I was a sucker for it.
At last he nodded slowly and I let out the breath I’d been holding as he said, “All right, sure. Why not? It’ll save me a little money, a lot of scheduling headaches, and I can do it around work like I meant to.”
“I figured you’d gotten laid off or something.”
“Boy, that would have been the killing blow,” he said, and I didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter anyway. “No, I’m just…on semi-hiatus.”
“So you want me, then?” I couldn’t help it. I mean, I didn’t bat my eyelashes or anything, but my expression probably came across as if I had.
He blinked, his brows sharpening as he frowned. I read surprise and something else. An enigmatic flash for sure, then he closed off again. “Day after tomorrow,” he said. “And there are some ground rules.”