“I’m kidding.” I laugh. “I mean, I’m tired, and I have been working hard, but I love it.”
“Just tell me if it’s too much. I can get a little obsessive when I want something done quickly.”
I try to bite my lip from laughing because those are true words. I haven’t known him long, but I can already see that when he has his mind set on something, he doesn’t rest until it’s done.
Even with these bookcases. It’s not like we’re on some crazy deadline and they need to be done in a week, but he has been hell-bent on getting them done as quickly as possible.
An hour later, we’re standing next to each other, admiring his work.
“Wow,” I say on an exhale. “They look amazing. I love them!”
I can feel his eyes on me as I gawk at my new office.
“I’m glad you like them.”
When he doesn’t move, I look up at him, and his eyes are darker, more serious than they were a moment ago. A charge sparks in the silence, subtle but undeniable, like the very air around us has turned, conscious of the shift.
My body is suddenly very aware of how close we are standing. If I lean an inch closer, we’d be touching. The temperature seems to rise with just the thought of my skin coming in contact with his.
The pull between us is irrefutable.
He looks away, back at the bookcases, and coughs. “So, uh, I’ll have someone drop off some paint swatches. You can pick what color you want them to be.”
A flicker of disappointment burns in my chest at the loss of connection.
I nod my head in response. “That sounds great. Thanks again for doing this. I still can’t believe you were able to do this by yourself in a week.”
He chuckles lightly. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
I smile. “Sorry. I just didn’t think someone whose suits were worth more than my entire savings account could be good with their hands.”
The moment I say it; I regret the words. His face changes instantly as he looks me up and down slowly. I don’t understand how his eyes on me can garner such a reaction.
I shift uncomfortably in my spot, looking for a way to change the topic—again.
“What are you doing the rest of the evening?” I ask quickly.
He seems caught off guard by the question. “Nothing. I was just going to shower and watch some TV.”
“You’re welcome to hang out here. I was planning on doing the same thing.”
He shrugs his shoulders like he doesn’t think much of my invitation, though I’m not sure where it came from. “You got more beer?”
I smile. “I do. Come on. I’ll get some snacks out too. You can’t do a Friday night hangout without food.”
“I didn’t realize that was a requirement.”
I gasp as we enter my kitchen. “How could you not know the rules? That’s a universal girl rule.”
“Believe it or not, Eva, I’m not in the habit of hanging out with girls on the weekends.”
My eyebrow rises in doubt. “Why do I feel like that’s a bunch of bullshit? You hang out with my brother. I know what you guys get into on the weekends.”
I open the fridge and pull out two beers. He grabs my magnetic bottle opener from my fridge and pops open the top for both of us.
“Cheers,” he says as he knocks our drinks together. “To hanging out with my first girl friend. Emphasis on the space betweengirlandfriend.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not surprised that I’m your first girlspacefriend.”