until then, they fit in surprisingly well with their light brown color.
I won’t lie—I feel really proud of myself. I’ve done a lot of stuff with Ron, but never on my own and never such a big project. I hate to admit it, but the no-good son of a bitch has taught me well.
To see the results feels like getting a piece of me back. It’s something that isn’t tainted by the current drama of my life. This is what I’m good at. This is what I enjoy doing. This is real.
The pile of possible trash has moved outside into the driveway while the stuff to sell is now cluttering the dining room. I’m just about to load the trash onto my truck to take it to the junk yard when I hear a happy voice behind me. Ugh.
“Hey stranger, I’ve heard you’ve been borrowing Mike’s equipment. It sounded like a whole building crew was working in your house. Care to share the result?” Allie leans against the side of my truck with a smile on her face, while Muffin is sniffing around it.
“What if I say no?”
She grins at me. “You know you want to.”
Sadly, she’s right. There is no one to share in the glory of all my hard work. I want to show someone. I know it’s petty, but fuck, it is what it is.
“Come on, Sunshine.” She follows me inside, Muffin scrambling to keep up with her. As soon as she enters the house, she stops dead in her tracks.
“Holy crap. I mean, wow. I mean…you did this?” She looks at the living room, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
“Yep.”
She turns around and runs out of the house, and I’m left wondering if her screws came completely loose. Left standing in my living room, I watch Muffin sniff around the corners.
“Yappy, if you pee in here, I’ll make a carpet out of you,” I mutter to the dog, but she stays oblivious to my threats.
A few seconds later, I hear a commotion from outside.
“You guys have to see this. It’s awesome. I want a living room like that. Jake, why don’t you make our living room look like that? I’ll give you all the blow jobs you want.”
Allie’s babbling is followed by Mike’s groan. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Allie.” I shake my head when the three of them enter the house.
“Fuck me sideways,” Jake mutters, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“No, thanks, man. Don’t swing that way,” I reply, which only makes him scoff at me.
“You’d be lucky to tap this ass.”
Mike is the only one who’s silent and just looks around before he wheels over to me.
“I think I might have a few more jobs for you than just my kitchen cabinets. This is fucking impressive.”
I can’t stop the smug grin from appearing on my face. My life might be a mess, but at least I have one hell of a living room.
We spend the rest of the night kicking it back at my place, drinking pop and water, and listening to music. Mike and I talk shop, discussing all the work that has gone into making the living room what it is now, while Allie gives Jake a hard time for being all thumbs.
Although I enjoy their company and not spending the evening alone, it doesn’t stop me from feeling fucking empty inside.
The only people that know anything about me are over three thousand miles away and probably want to tar and feather me.
After Allie, Jake, and Mike leave, I turn on my laptop and look through my photos. I look at the picture of Frankie from her graduation party.
Frankie, Dave, and I went down to the park at the river with a bunch of her friends and a few of ours. She’d been excited to leave for Northampton to follow her best friend Dean and to get out from under her parents’ thumb. She was unusually happy that day—less sarcastic and cynical.
I hated that she was leaving even if I wouldn’t admit it to anyone. I hated even more when that fucker Drake showed up on his fucking Harley. When he stuck his tongue down her throat, I wanted to rip it out. The worst thing was that he wasn’t a bad guy; actually he was easy to get along with. Still, it didn’t
I won’t lie—I feel really proud of myself. I’ve done a lot of stuff with Ron, but never on my own and never such a big project. I hate to admit it, but the no-good son of a bitch has taught me well.
To see the results feels like getting a piece of me back. It’s something that isn’t tainted by the current drama of my life. This is what I’m good at. This is what I enjoy doing. This is real.
The pile of possible trash has moved outside into the driveway while the stuff to sell is now cluttering the dining room. I’m just about to load the trash onto my truck to take it to the junk yard when I hear a happy voice behind me. Ugh.
“Hey stranger, I’ve heard you’ve been borrowing Mike’s equipment. It sounded like a whole building crew was working in your house. Care to share the result?” Allie leans against the side of my truck with a smile on her face, while Muffin is sniffing around it.
“What if I say no?”
She grins at me. “You know you want to.”
Sadly, she’s right. There is no one to share in the glory of all my hard work. I want to show someone. I know it’s petty, but fuck, it is what it is.
“Come on, Sunshine.” She follows me inside, Muffin scrambling to keep up with her. As soon as she enters the house, she stops dead in her tracks.
“Holy crap. I mean, wow. I mean…you did this?” She looks at the living room, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
“Yep.”
She turns around and runs out of the house, and I’m left wondering if her screws came completely loose. Left standing in my living room, I watch Muffin sniff around the corners.
“Yappy, if you pee in here, I’ll make a carpet out of you,” I mutter to the dog, but she stays oblivious to my threats.
A few seconds later, I hear a commotion from outside.
“You guys have to see this. It’s awesome. I want a living room like that. Jake, why don’t you make our living room look like that? I’ll give you all the blow jobs you want.”
Allie’s babbling is followed by Mike’s groan. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Allie.” I shake my head when the three of them enter the house.
“Fuck me sideways,” Jake mutters, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“No, thanks, man. Don’t swing that way,” I reply, which only makes him scoff at me.
“You’d be lucky to tap this ass.”
Mike is the only one who’s silent and just looks around before he wheels over to me.
“I think I might have a few more jobs for you than just my kitchen cabinets. This is fucking impressive.”
I can’t stop the smug grin from appearing on my face. My life might be a mess, but at least I have one hell of a living room.
We spend the rest of the night kicking it back at my place, drinking pop and water, and listening to music. Mike and I talk shop, discussing all the work that has gone into making the living room what it is now, while Allie gives Jake a hard time for being all thumbs.
Although I enjoy their company and not spending the evening alone, it doesn’t stop me from feeling fucking empty inside.
The only people that know anything about me are over three thousand miles away and probably want to tar and feather me.
After Allie, Jake, and Mike leave, I turn on my laptop and look through my photos. I look at the picture of Frankie from her graduation party.
Frankie, Dave, and I went down to the park at the river with a bunch of her friends and a few of ours. She’d been excited to leave for Northampton to follow her best friend Dean and to get out from under her parents’ thumb. She was unusually happy that day—less sarcastic and cynical.
I hated that she was leaving even if I wouldn’t admit it to anyone. I hated even more when that fucker Drake showed up on his fucking Harley. When he stuck his tongue down her throat, I wanted to rip it out. The worst thing was that he wasn’t a bad guy; actually he was easy to get along with. Still, it didn’t
Similar Books
