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“Like hell you’re going home early, asshole,” Kace joked with Charlie. “You’ll come have fun with us.”
Soon, everyone was seated, and the house lights dimmed. A presenter for the club got up on the stage and thanked everyone for coming before introducing the episode, and after riotous applause from the crowd, the show began.
For a moment, I forgot myself.
It was fucking fun to see The Fixer Brothers come to life, finally, as a real, full episode of TV in front of a room full of people.
At first, it felt like any other fun home renovation show. At the beginning of the episode, Shawn and Nathan introduced themselves and talked about the origins of the construction company, and how they’d built it from the ground up as a brother duo. The first renovation project was introduced, which was a fun, simple house flip for a woman that had been selling her house at the edge of town in Jade River. It showcased a killer kitchen remodel and some cosmetic repairs to the exterior.
Shawn and Nathan were instantly naturals on the camera, and immediately I knew that The Fixer Brothers was going to be on the air for many, many seasons. The crowd laughed at their little jokes during the demolition process, and gasped when they found a cluster of snakes beneath the back deck of the house.
But when it came time for the custom marble island, Charlie finally appeared on screen.
And while I knew Charlie was already a fan favorite from making cameos on Kace’s show, I wasn’t prepared at all for how the crowd would react when Charlie came on screen and introduced himself.
His introduction segment appeared, and after half a second of being on screen, cheers rang out from the whole club.
“My name’s Charlie Benson, and I’ve been working with the Fixer Brothers for years. Brick, stone, marble, whatever it is—if it’s hard, heavy, and beautiful, I’m the man for the job.”
My heart skipped a beat seeing him up there.
That’s my man, I thought idly, aching with pride and awe at how goddamn good he looked. Everyone loved his portion of the show, where he was showing the process from start to finish about how he planned for a custom countertop installation, sourced the materials, and finally installed it.
It was a total thrill watching him.
My heart felt like it was twice its normal size when they showed a brief segment of “the Fixer Brothers in real life,” with video of the guys at Jade Brewery.
I only appeared on screen for a brief moment, behind the bar, pouring beers. At the time of recording the first episode, Charlie had still been single, and they’d showcased a conversation where he made his usual jokes about wanting nothing more than love, and lamenting his awful dating life.
And then, at the end of the episode, the producers had tucked in one brief shot, where I’d handed Charlie some nonalcoholic cocktail, and I saw it on my face: I looked at him like he’d hung the fucking moon.
That was a look of love. I could see it, and I was sure anyone else could, too. At the time they’d recorded it I’d been so clueless. I’d had no idea that what I felt for him was love—and attraction, and trust, and total fucking infatuation.
I couldn’t help but reach over toward Charlie in those final moments of the episode, squeezing his thigh under the table. He turned to me, giving me a look I couldn’t quite read.
Was he feeling all of this as deeply as I was?
Or was he just ready for this whole thing to be over?
The episode finally ended to riotous applause from the audience. It was clear everyone had enjoyed the hell out of it and had a great time, and it had all gone by way too fast.
“You guys,” Rush said, leaning in across the round table, “are going to have a massive hit. Say goodbye to walking around in public without being recognized, because this is going to take off like wildfire.”
“Shucks,” Nathan said. “Too kind, Rush.”
“He’s right,” Kace agreed. “Charlie already gets recognized sometimes, and all three of you are going to catapult, now. Strap in for the ride. Take it from me, it’s a wild one.”
I knew they were right. And even if the three main members of the show were going to be the most famous, I also would be catching more attention soon, too, when the show caught up to our dating story. The show was mostly going to showcase home renovations, but also shade in parts about the lives of the main characters.
We were about to get ten times more attention than we already had.
Soon people descended on Charlie like girls rushing into a Beatles concert in the sixties. The night was young, the audience was milling around again, and a live band had started playing.
