Page 17

Chapter sixteen

Chris

I peer out the workshop window, the rain a steady patter on the roof. The foggy October morning hides the tops of the tallest trees in the neighbourhood. The wet weather has kept me cooped up all week. On top of that, Anna went to the mainland for some advanced hairdressing courses and the realization that I desperately miss her hits me hard. Only getting part of a night at her place last Saturday wasn’t near enough.

“You gonna get a space heater out here this winter?” I breathe into my hands and rub them together.

“Is it a business expense?” Isaac looks up from the table saw .

“Hell if I know, but I miss summer.”

“Will you stop pining and help me with this?”

“I hate all things pertaining to staircases. I never want to see one again. And I’m not pining.”

“You’re a very disgruntled employee today.”

“I’m a business partner , actually.”

“Yeah? The grumpiest one.”

I scoff and leave the window. We’ve been meeting up in the early mornings before heading to the job site so we can focus on the restoration of a very intricate banister. Isaac’s fine carpentry education and lessons from his grandfather gave him a lot of knowledge to pass on. Even though I’m in a pissy mood, I appreciate the lessons. The detailed work is tedious and every time my mind wanders away from the workshop it’s Anna who appears.

“You been hanging out with her much?”

He doesn’t have to say her name, we both know who he’s talking about.

“Yeah. And I took her to family dinner.”

He glances up at me with raised eyebrows. “You ever done that before?”

“Hell no.”

“Everything sounds good then. Why are you so sullen?”

My arms twitch with the urge to cross them over my chest. “She’s out of town. ”

“Aww, you miss her.”

I gesture to the tool in my hand. “I’m holding something kind of sharp, you know.”

He laughs.

The short phone calls and texts I’ve had with her while she’s been away this week aren’t close to enough. And the photo she sent of her bare thighs stretched out over the hotel bedding that accompanied a message that simply said, ‘Thinking of your hands,” destroyed me.

“And I, uh, haven’t had sex in almost six months,” I admit with a groan.

“Oookay. Thank you for sharing.”

I run my hands through my hair. “Great advice.”

“What the hell kind of advice do you need? What, you forgot how?”

I stick my hands deep in the pockets of my work pants. “I’m…onasexban,” I mumble.

“Huh?”

“For fuck sake. I’m on a sex ban,” I enunciate my words and Isaac’s eyes are sparkling with amusement when I finish.

The lights in the workshop hum, rain patters on the glass, and if you really listen, you might be able to hear my dick cry.

“You’re telling me that you’ve never gone six months without having sex before?”

“I mean, I probably have, but not on purpose. This is, like, a thing I’m trying.”

“Because…” He gestures for me to continue.

“Because I’m ready for more. And if Anna isn’t more, I don’t know what is.”

Isaac blows air out of his cheeks. “Great so it sounds like you can, you know...”

The idea of sleeping with Anna after nearly six months of celibacy is almost more than I can take. It’s too early and she’s too far away for me to get this turned on.

If Anna is ready, then so am I. I’m more than happy to do slow or medium or whatever she begs for next time she’s in my arms.