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I give him a look. “I had your underwear hanging up to dry, dude.” I look at Dom. “No, you don’t need to take our laundry.”
“You sure? It’s no problem.”
“No.” I lower my brows. “I mean, yes, I’m sure.”
“I’m leaving for a road trip tomorrow, but when I get back, Zane and I will fix the dryer.”
Next to me, Cam makes a noise that sounds a lot like a swoon. I shake my head.
“No, seriously.”
He grins. “You need a working dryer. It’s no problem.”
“You don’t even know what’s wrong with it.”
He reaches for another piece of pizza. “I’m pretty sure it’s a bad heating element. I looked at it when I finished the door.”
This is starting to feel like a hidden camera show. I’ve gone from troubleshooting home repairs on Google with my sister to having a hot hockey player at my home repair disposal.
“Can we talk outside?” I ask Dom.
“Dom’s in trouble!” Beck says.
I lead Dom out the back door, which opens onto our tiny, cracked concrete patio.
“What’s up?” he asks, still eating pizza.
“I’m not sleeping with you in exchange for dryer repairs and a storm door.”
He laughs. “I don’t remember asking you to.”
“Why else would you do any of this?”
He shrugs. “Because I can. And I want to.”
“I just...” I look away, trying to think of a good argument. “I don’t get how someone who knows nothing about cars can diagnose a bad heating element on a dryer.”
“It’s two totally different things. My dad’s a building contractor. I can do pretty much any home repair or building project. He doesn’t work on his own cars, though, so I never learned anything.”
I don’t know what to say to that. He clears his throat and says, “Look, this is a way for Zane to get in his hours working for me and learn a few things, too. We’ve got people at the arena who spray down hockey gloves and sweep the floors.”
I groan inwardly at his reminder that this was all my idea. I’m the one who insisted Zane do jobs for Dom, and now I’m complaining about the jobs Dom’s choosing.
“I just...” I cross my arms, unable to meet his gaze. “I don’t want Zane to get attached to you. His dad has been out of our lives for a while now, and on the rare occasions he says he’ll show up for the kids, he usually doesn’t.”
“He’s a fucking idiot, then, because Zane’s a great kid.”
Tears flood my eyes and I find myself wishing it was darker so he couldn’t see my face.
“I think so, too.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’re just not used to anyone doing things for you. Or at least not someone who doesn’t expect anything in return. But I don’t expect anything, okay?”
The existence of such a person goes against everything I believe deep down inside, but I nod anyway. Dom asked me out and I turned him down. Surely, he’s trying to charm me into saying yes.
“I don’t date,” I remind him.
The corner of his mouth lifts in a grin that’s becoming familiar to me. “I know. I won’t ask again.”
