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I’m not particularly handy when it comes to home maintenance, but I couldn’t stop myself offering to help Melody. I’d only been inside the house for a few minutes, and while I could tell she’d cleaned up downstairs, the place was still run down, with peeling wallpaper and flaking paint. It’s going to take some fixing up, and she’s going to need some help if she can’t get ahold of her asshole landlord.
That’s not the only reason I offered to help, though. There’s another reason. A selfish one. I want to get to know her. The spark I felt when I touched her hand was something I’ve never felt before. I can’t explain it, I just know I want more of it. It’s crazy and makes no sense considering I know nothing about her, but I want to. I want to know everything.
* * *
Isleep in longer than normal, and when I wake the following morning, it’s after ten. The last four days on shift have been intense, with three fires and two wrecks. The busy shifts had wiped me out more than I’d realized.
When I’ve showered and dressed, I grab my tools from the garage and head over to Melody’s place. Roman is playing on the porch in his pajamas.
“Hi, Roman. Do you remember me from last night?” He nods shyly. “What have you got there?” I kneel down next to him and he looks at me warily, holding a fire truck up for me to see. “Do you like fire trucks?” He nods again and I smile. “Have you ever been in one?”
He shakes his head. “Have you?” he asks quietly.
“Every day, buddy. I’m a firefighter.”
“A real one?” he asks, his face lighting up.
I chuckle. “Yep.”
“Wow. I’m going to be a firefighter when I’m big.” He stands and runs inside the house. “Mommy, the man next door is a firefighter,” he shouts, and I smile as I follow him inside.
“How do you know…” Melody trails off when she sees me in the entryway, her cheeks flushing pink. My eyes drop to her tiny sleep shorts and tank, and my mouth goes dry. She’s fucking beautiful.
“Oh, hi, Lucas. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you yet.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just show up unannounced. I can come back.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she rushes out. “I’m just a little behind this morning. I had hoped to have showered by now, but I was so tired last night I didn’t have the energy to clean upstairs. It’s taken me until now and I’m still not sure it’sreallyclean.” She grimaces. “Come on in. Do you want some coffee? I managed to find the coffee machine.”
I walk farther into the house and follow her through the living room and into the kitchen. “Are you having one?” She nods over her shoulder. “Okay, then. Thanks.”
She busies herself with the coffee machine, and to stop myself from staring at her, I move my attention to the broken faucet. I place my tool bag on the countertop and turn on the tap. It lets out a rumble, and I quickly shut it off. I kneel down and open the unit under the sink, groaning internally when I see the mess of pipe work. I’m no plumber, and I can’t pretend to know what I’m doing. I wonder if trying to get the tap working when it’s in as bad a state as it is, is something I’m capable of. I can figure out why she has no water, though. The isolator tap is turned off.
“Do you take sugar?” Melody asks.
Her back is to me, and I steal a look at her, my eyes dropping to the curve of her ass that’s peeking out from underneath her sleep shorts. I swallow thickly. “One, please.”
“Do you think it’s beyond repair?” she asks as she places a steaming cup of coffee in front of me and leans her hip against the countertop.
“The pipe work is old and really needs replacing. I think I can get the water running, but I can’t guarantee how long this pipe work will hold up.”
She sighs. “If you can get the water running, that will be great. I’ll have to add the pipe work to the long list of things I need to speak to the landlord about.”
“You still haven’t gotten a hold of him?” I ask as I put my head back under the sink and turn the isolator tap. Reaching up, I try the sink tap, and after some gurgling, water gushes from the faucet.
“No, and I have a horrible feeling I’m not going to. If I could afford to rent somewhere else, I would. I don’t have that luxury, unfortunately. I’m going to have to make it work… somehow.”
“What can I do to help?”
"You’ve already done enough with the tap,” she says, gesturing to the running water.
I glance around the kitchen and take in the loose cabinet doors and the blind that’s hanging from the window. It won’t take me long to fix things up in here. I didn’t have any plans for today anyway. “Why don’t you go and shower, and I’ll straighten up what I can in here?”
“I can’t let you do that. I’m sure you have better things to be doing today.”
“All I had planned was some grocery shopping. Anything is better than that!”
I turn, grab a screwdriver, and begin to tighten one of the cabinet doors before she can say anything.
“Thank you, Lucas,” she says quietly. “I’ll be right back.”
“No rush.”
I can’t help but watch her over my shoulder as she walks out of the kitchen and heads upstairs with Roman. Despite wanting to chill out on my rest days, I suddenly find myself looking forward to some home maintenance.
