Page 36 of Developing Hearts (Pine Point Fixer-Uppers #5)
Chapter thirty-six
David
David felt more than a little awkward, blindfolded in the elevator with Eliza attached to his elbow so he didn’t run into anything. This was his own building, heading into his own house. “Honestly, you should let me lead. You’re the guest.”
“I think that wouldn’t be advised.” The elevator stopped and, with a gentle tug, Eliza guided him forward. “We’re just going to have you stop right here and then we’ll get the cameras rolling.”
David nodded, then waited as he heard shuffling and bustling around him.
Then he heard a voice, up close and soft and familiar. “I’m your tour guide, but try to control yourself. I don’t think we have approval to have sex on camera.”
David rolled his eyes, then realized Mason wouldn’t be able to see that. “I have plenty of self-control, thank you very much. But I’m holding you to that modeling contract.”
“Contract? So I’m getting paid?”
David clawed blindly next to him, but Mason got his meaning quickly, grabbing his hand while David leaned his head in closer. “I will certainly make your effort worth your while.”
Mason laughed low, then let go of David’s hand and backed away. After a few more seconds, his voice came out a lot clearer and louder. “Well, you think you’re ready to take a look, or you want to just move on?”
David tapped his chin. “Tempting as it might be to just move along, I think I’d like to at least take a look at my place. See if I need to hold you to account for anything.”
“Well, I’m glad you have so much faith in us.” He heard some footsteps and felt body heat move in next to him, along with a familiar cologne. Mason had stepped up right next to him. “Let’s get that blindfold off and we’ll show you around.”
David didn’t wait for any further confirmation of the plan before he peeled the fabric up and away from his eyes. It took a bit for his eyes to adjust, but he still recognized the hallway leading to his condo, and it wasn’t long before the open door clarified enough for him to make it out.
Then it was a flood. As he’d seen, the door had been left open, so he was met right away with a look inside.
The floor was the same fawn-colored faux-hickory, but it seemed to catch and reflect more of the light than usual.
David couldn’t help but smile as he stepped over the threshold, remembering the reveal at the very beginning, and the water damage that had made the floor too dangerous to even start working on the place.
Everything seemed to be in the same place—there was only so much that could be done with the layout of a condo, after all—but it had a new level of polish, completion, and grandeur.
The front door opened straight into the kitchenette, which was now bedecked with hammered copper and a waterfall-edge island.
Even the fridge was copper, and David wasn’t even sure if they made them like that.
His eyes darted around the entire space.
There was a pot filler faucet behind a new, electric range, a deep farmhouse sink, and even a brand new set of knives.
Mason moved ahead of him and pressed gently on one corner of an overhead cabinet. “We went with these easy open options. Nice, modern, sleek look so that all the copper finishings can be the real star of the show.
“I don’t know.” David walked up to the cabinet, which had just swung upward like the doors on a DeLorean.
He pressed on the one next to it. There was a tiny click—physical, not audible—and then that one rose up as well.
It was impressive, but David did clock a problem right away.
“Is there one of those rolling library ladders so I can climb up and close them?”
Mason stared at him, then grabbed David’s hand and led it up to the bottom edge of the cabinet. David felt a tiny, shallow button. When he pressed it, a white LED flashed a couple times, and then the cabinet slowly, silently closed itself.
“We’re professionals. We thought of that..” Mason gestured out of the kitchen, toward the living room, where Evander was standing next to…David’s old couch.
Ev walked up, hands on his hips, and grinned.
“This place might look familiar, but what can I say? I know good taste when I see it.” He ran his hand along the curved back of David’s turquoise sofa.
“Now, we did spruce up a few things here and there. Including getting you a better TV, and actually getting your couch cleaned. You wouldn’t believe the grime that had settled into those cushions. ”
“I would, actually. I know what I’ve used that couch for.” Which sounded way more sexual than he intended—he had a tendency to sit on that couch when he was covered in glue or ink or paint before thinking about it—but David didn’t bother to correct or clarify himself.
“Well, if you want to take a real look at it, why don’t we open up these curtains?”
Mason approached again, pressing a black remote into David’s hand. “There’s also an app that you can use to control this and all the other smart home stuff I sneaked into this place if you want it, but I like to make sure everything has its own dedicated remote.”
David looked over the remote and found the button to open. So he pressed it. All the curtains began to slid apart, revealing the familiar look out onto Elliot Bay with the sun sinking lower, the ocean dyed from gray to shades of apricot and cherry.
They also revealed Bunny standing on newly redecorated balcony. Mason took the remote, his fingers lingering a breath longer than was probably necessary, then pushed his shoulder gently. “Go. We’ll be here when you’re all done.”