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"You got a place you can stay for about a week, maybe more?" I reply before downing the water in one long chug. “Might be a great time to go on a vacation,” I laugh.
"That bad, huh?"
"That bad. The control board is bad and the manufacturer is going to have to ship you a new one. It could be a week. Or more because they're in short supply at the moment."
"Sounds like I'm going to be warm and toasty for a while then. My parents really did pick a great time to take a cruise.”
I’ll give her credit, unlike some other customers I’ve dealt with in the past, she doesn’t cuss me out or blame me. And she doesn’t pout or try to bribe me to somehow magically fix it. Which only serves to turn me on even more.
I think this fucking heat wave is making me delusional. That’s theonlyexplanation for what comes out of my mouth next.
“Stay with me. I’ve got a spare room.”
The shocked look on Alex’s face rivals my own silent shock inside my brain and has me quickly trying to somehow make my offer not nearly as weird as it feels now.
“I’ve got a spare room. And thanks to Mother Nature, I’ll probably be working long hours so I won't be home as much. You’d have the place mostly to yourself.Andwhen I am there, we can catch up. Like old times.”
Alex laughs. “Like old times? Jake, youneverinvited me to your house back then. We were barely friends.”
Que the embarrassment.
“Okay, that may be true. But, what kind offriendwould I be now if I didn’t show you a little hospitality?”
“Well, aren’t you just a charmer? It’s fine though, really. I’m sure I can crash at my parents place for a few days. Not a big deal.”
“That was probably an odd offer anyway, right? Twenty years makes us practically strangers.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Maybe more like acquaintances, right?”
I smiled. “We’ll go with that. Still feeling up for lunch? My treat since I had to deliver the bad news."
"Are you sure you have the time? I wouldn't want to hold you up or anything. And you don't have to pay."
"I've got the time," I scoffed. "And I insist on picking up the tab. There's a really great place around the corner from here that has one of the best lunch menus around. Could I use your bathroom first to wash my hands? Maybe borrow a rag to clean my face? I normally wouldn't ask a customer that, but since we're acquaintances," I add with a smirk.
"Of course. There's a half bath right over there,” she points to a door off between the kitchen and living room. Mom keeps some washcloths on the shelf in there."
"Great. Thanks, give me five minutes."
I freshen up as quickly as possible and resist the very unprofessional and inappropriate desire to rub one out. I've clearly got to get laid because this is obviously out of hand and so not like me.
Alex is waiting by the front door, scrolling through her phone when I come back out.
"Thanks again. All set?"
She nods. "Let's do this."
"I can drive if you want. Don't worry, I keep my truck pretty clean on the inside so you won't get any dirt on you," I offer while grabbing my tools.
"Oh. Okay. Sure."
THREE
ALEX
I can’t believe I’m having lunch with Jake Edwards right now.
The very same Jake that I may or may not have had a crush on my senior year of high school. Not that I would haveeveradmitted to anyone at the time. Mostly because I dated his best friend before that and I had no interest in drama or rumors. Instead, I kept him in the friend zone.
