13. Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
Robinson
As Chuck’s eyebrows knitted together in the middle, Robinson stumbled over his own tongue to reassure him. “Nothing crazy or bad or anything. Just, you know, as a fellow gay, I know there can be some…preparatory needs. And I could install some in here, if you wanted.”
Robinson’s face froze and red crept up his cheeks. “Oh. Like…prepping.”
Robinson’s whole body vibrated as he nodded. It was silly, and it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d helped out a gay guy with anal prep in their bathroom. He had a bunch of gay best friends who used him for their plumbing adventures. Still, this was Chuck. Handsome, strong Chuck, who was currently in a white button down, tie, and khakis that hugged his legs and made him look like a guy who meant business.
Business Robinson wouldn’t mind getting into.
He pushed forward, even if the topic was causing his thoughts to wander to…lascivious areas. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ve seen them. They have douching stations that hook right up to your shower so you’ve always got one ready and it’s easy access.”
Chuck nodded, the red in his face not even close to fading. “I actually haven’t. Andrew and I just kind of…did it the old-fashioned way.”
“Oh.” Robinson dug out his phone—at least it hadn’t cracked during his fall—and ran a quick search. It actually took him a few tries to get pictures that showed a kit installed, but once he did, he scooted closer—Chuck’s cologne was spicy and woodsy and citric all at the same time—
Robinson sighed and forced himself to refocus. “They’ve got all kinds of options. You can go really simple, just a tube and a hose, if you want to keep your current shower head setup.” A master bathroom it may have been, but all Chuck had in there was a simple, fixed head that was, frankly, not enough water for the size of this shower.
“I’m not sure I like the look of that. No offense.”
Robinson shook his head. “No offense taken. It’s your bathroom. If you want to go a little different, I can get you a nicer shower head and install something like…” He scrolled down a bit, waiting until something looked familiar. “Ah. Something like this.”
He showed Chuck the picture. There were two shower heads—a giant one that was fixed, and a sprayer that could be taken down and used—alongside the nozzle. All of them sprouted out from a single connection point down low, but the whole thing looked a lot less ramshackle than the previous option. It was also exactly what Robinson had in mind.
Chuck hesitated before reaching out and taking the phone, bringing it a little closer to his face. Robinson couldn’t help but focus on his fingers, gently resting against his own. They were soft, but his grip was strong and unmoving. Steady.
He nodded, then let go of Robinson’s phone. “I…don’t hate that. I just don’t know that I’m going to get a lot of use out of it.”
“I know most bottoms prep at home, but it can still be good to have it on hand.”
The flush in Chuck’s face redoubled. “It’s not…I…”
Robinson cringed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed…it’s about Andrew, not bottoming or whatever.”
Chuck laughed slightly, reaching up to scrub a hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep bringing up my dead husband.”
“Oh God, don’t apologize. I should put my foot in my mouth a little bit less.”
Chuck shook his head with a sigh. “I just haven’t exactly been changing my bed sheets very often lately, so I’m not sure this kind of thing would be useful. I mean, I like the shower head, and the douching could help at some point. Maybe.” He blew out a harsh breath, cheeks puffing. “Jesus, this is an awkward conversation, huh?”
Not the least reason being you’re a fucking hunk of man I wouldn’t mind climbing . “We can absolutely forgo this if you want.”
“No. Um…” Chuck shrugged, then nodded. “It’s probably a good idea. I guess I didn’t take a vow of celibacy or anything. And it’s not like this shower is top notch anyway.”
Robinson nodded and latched onto the change of subject. Even though I brought this all up in the first place. “Right. I can take care of that. Going to have to open up the wall here, but honestly, that won’t be that bad. I’m pretty sure Ev wants this whole room redesigned anyway.”
Chuck nodded. “Sorry for getting weird.”
“No. Not like I got a ton of action after getting out of jail. I mean, that’s not the same thing, but I’m familiar with a dry spell. This is just going to be…here if you need it.” Robinson cleared his throat and took a step back, gesturing to the toilet. “And I wanted to run a bidet past you, too. If we’re going to all this work to keep the inside vacuumed and tidy, be a shame to leave the back door a mess.”
Chuck snorted. “I always wanted to get one, but they freaked Andrew out.” He smiled sadly and, although Robinson quickly averted his gaze, there was definitely a bit of a mist forming under his eyes.
“I can take care of that. You want to kit them out in all the bathrooms?”
“Oh god. Probably not.” Chuck laughed a little more heartily, so Robinson looked, and he was shaking his head at the floor…but smiling. Smiling wide enough it was obvious even with his face pointing down. “Can you imagine a bunch of teenage boys with something that shoots water at their butts? I already hear enough toilet humor.”
Robinson chuckled. “Noted. I’ll keep it to just this one.” Robinson knew there was really nothing else he needed to talk about—the design elements were down to Ev, not him—but he also didn’t quite want to move. “You had a good day at work?”
“Um, it was all right. Boring.”
“You work as a registrar, right?”
“I work in the registrar’s office. Not even glamorous enough to be the full-fledged registrar. Although I’m hoping when Deena finally takes her well-deserved retirement, I’ll be on the short list. But yeah. Boring. Checking and double checking paperwork to make sure everything’s where it’s supposed to be.” He popped his neck to one side with a satisfying crack. “Were the boys okay or do they need an etiquette lesson?”
“Perfect gentlemen.” Maybe not exactly true. Nick and Colby were a little too interested in all the work going on, but not enough to make anyone snap at them or to get in the way of finishing things up. “You did a good job with them.”
“I take minimal credit. Andrew should get that.” He bit down on his lower lip. “Yeah. Guess that’s not true anymore.”
Robinson grabbed his hand before even thinking about it, then bit back the embarrassment. Chuck didn’t pull back, even though his eyes widened, fixing straight on Robinson. “Just because Andrew’s gone doesn’t mean he didn’t have an impact on the boys. And just because you think he was a bigger part of their lives doesn’t mean you didn’t have an impact too.” Robinson felt the heat raising up the back of his neck, crawling and tingling over his scalp and skull. So he released Chuck’s hand and shuffled around him to the bathroom door. “Anyway. Sorry to keep you. Got my answers, and I’ll let you change out of those clothes and get on with your day. No one likes wearing work clothes after work, right?”
Robinson made a quick exit after that. Shouldn’t have butted in so hard .