Page 15 of Structure of Love

Damn, I hadn’t been on a proper date in over a year. I wasn’t even sure what Gage was into—something I’d have to figure out.

Heather stood behind the bar doing some deep cleaning. We had a few spots that needed a strong disinfectant, and she’d volunteered to do it for extra pay, which I was more than willing to provide. I’d come in for paperwork, mostly, but was happy to see her scrubbing down the bar.

“Good news, Logan?”

“Good news on top of good news,” I answered as I joined her. Heather was one of the first hires I’d ever made, and I considered her a friend, so I had no problem spilling the tea. “First, the building is a go. The contractors I hired gave it a once-over and said the renovations will actually be easy, as the top and bottom floors were originally one room to begin with. So I put in an offer on the building.”

Heather high-fived me. “Yes!”

“I’m super stoked, for sure.”

“What’s our timeline for moving in?”

“They need to do a full inspection first. Not sure what all’s broken. I have a feeling it’s going to be about six months? Give or take.”

“Ah, so this is more like a winter move in.”

“Probably.” I wasn’t too bothered. I knew renovations took time.

“All right, so…I’m sensing something else is making you happy. ’Cause a six-month wait wouldn’t make me happy.” Her brown eyes narrowed, and she poked me with a manicured pink nail.

“I”—my smugness was obvious even to my own ears—“have a date.”

She blinked. “How’d you wrangle a date while looking at a building?”

“Asked out the structural engineer.”

“Ha! Wait, wait, I just remembered, you hired that gay renovation company.”

“I did.” She’d put the pieces together, judging from her face.

“So how yummy is the structural engineer?”

“On a scale of one to ten, he’s a solid twenty.”

Heather whistled, eyes dancing. “Look at you, actually asking a man out. I’m so proud. When’s your date?”

“We exchanged numbers to figure out a plan. Speaking of, I’m gonna go pretend to do paperwork and shit.”

“Uh-huh.” Heather shooed me on, smile indulgent. “I am here for advice on where to take him. Please hear that as I want to be kept updated.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I quickly absconded to the back, because I wasn’t letting moss grow on this rolling stone. Plus, I actually needed to do some bookkeeping, pay some bills, that kind of stuff. The second I entered the office, I closed the door and then immediately plopped into my chair.

Now, how to phrase a text to sound right. Well, let’s start with logistics.

Me:Hey Gage—

Wait, should I sayHey sexyinstead? No, sounded cheesy. Let’s stick with Gage for now.

Me:When’s a good day and time for a date?

I wasn’t expecting an immediate response, and didn’t get one, so I opened my laptop and signed in.

Ding!

Oh? Hopeful, I lifted my phone, and a few butterflies performed some loop the loops in my stomach when I realized he’d responded already.