Chapter 3 - Asher
At the job site the next day, I caught myself thinking of Micah more than a few times.
He looked good, with his lean muscles and long lines, short dark hair and sparkling brown eyes.
I could hardly believe the scrawny kid and awkward teenager I’d spent so much time with had grown up to look, well, like that.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. It wasn’t that I was attracted to him, it was just that he was an objectively good-looking guy. Right?
I worked on setting up my tools and materials, taking measurements and giving instructions to my apprentice, Tyler.
He would be responsible for any work literally above our heads, anything that involved ladders or heights.
Tyler was a good guy, amiable, easy to work with, and I appreciated everything he did.
For a guy in his early twenties, he was driven and focused, and that was a refreshing change of pace from the last apprentice I’d taken on.
Filming was set to start in a couple of days so Tyler was helping me get everything ready.
Just as I was giving him instructions on how I wanted the saws set up, someone called my name.
“Asher!”
I glanced over to see Micah coming my way, a huge smile on his face. I turned back to Tyler. “We good?”
He nodded. “Good, boss.”
With that, I headed toward Micah. His short, dark hair was brushed to the side and his smile reached his warm, brown eyes.
His scent hit me, a whiff of cologne that reminded me of when we were teenagers, trying to find our way in the world.
Between that and the scent of sawdust in the air, I was transported back to when we were kids, building forts in the woods behind my house.
My stomach twisted a little and my chest heated, the warmth crawling up my neck.
It was good to see an old friend again, to know he was back in my life for a little while, that was all.
“Hey there. Imagine running into you here.”
He smirked. “Imagine.” His gaze held mine for a beat too long and the heat in my neck made its way to my ears, my cheeks growing warm. “Hey, so I’m here to start working. We need to get the sets up and ready before the camera crew comes in.”
“I’ve never thought of having a set designer on a construction site.”
With a shrug, Micah nodded. “Yeah, if it’s on TV, it usually has set design. Even reality shows that are more people-driven, like Destination Love.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Were you on that show, too?”
“I wasn’t the primary set designer, but I worked on some of the episodes, yeah.”
“That’s pretty cool. I bet you get all the inside info on these things.”
“Sometimes. I have to sign an NDA on most shows, though. Don’t want us leaking the winners before they’re revealed, that kind of thing.”
I nodded. “Makes sense.”
“So show me what we’ll be working on.”
I grabbed a hard hat for him from the office trailer that had been set up for the construction crew and we toured the building, inside and out. As we looked at the intricate woodwork, Micah let out a low whistle.
“This is incredible. You can repair all this? Or replace it?”
“I mean, not alone,” I said. “I’ve got an apprentice. His name is Tyler.”
“But you’re teaching him how to do these things.”
“I guess, yeah.” I didn’t like feeling like I was bragging about my work, so I changed the subject. “What about you? How does this look for filming?”
He walked around, quiet for a few moments while he took in the main lobby of the post office, where most of the work needed to be done.
“This is good. We’ll need more light in here.
And I’ll have you set up equipment a little more centrally on some days, so we can get good shots of you working with the saws or whatever without having to cram you into a corner and pray for good lighting. ”
He chuckled and my stomach did that weird swoopy thing again.
“Yeah, that would be terrible,” I agreed.
His laugh was warm and infectious and hearing it felt like coming home.
It was a sound I hadn’t forgotten. Memories of our time together as kids and tweens kept flooding my mind, adventures we went on and late-night conversations.
It all made my stomach hurt with nostalgia.
“Let’s check out the rest of the building, if you don’t mind.”
I led Micah through the site, pointing out the projects in each room—trim, counters, cabinets, a little of everything, it felt like. “They also want to partition this giant room back here into smaller spaces, so I’ll be working on the framing, that kind of thing.”
“Wow, you’re a Jack of all trades.”
“Not really. It’s just that carpentry covers a lot. Everything you’ve seen and more. Pretty much anything with wood, you can blame a carpenter.”
“Anything with wood, huh?” He chuckled.
Immediately my face heated. “Wood working, I mean. Shit, that doesn’t sound any better.”
Micah practically cackled as he shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m just giving you shit.”
“Jackson would be proud,” I muttered. “Let’s keep walking.”
As we walked and talked, Micah gestured to different areas, explaining how he envisioned the room as a set for filming while I talked him through the different projects that would take place.
Micah put his hand on my shoulder. “And here, we can—”
My brain short-circuited. His touch grounded me. His hand was warm and strong on my shoulder and that heat radiated through my body. My heart rate increased a little and my breathing tightened.
“What do you think?”
I blinked twice and turned to him, his hand falling away. “Think?”
“About the plans.”
“I, uh…”
“Earth to Asher. Were you even listening?”
I raised my eyebrows and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I must’ve zoned out for a second. Can you start again?”
Micah must have repeated himself, but my brain simply wouldn’t focus on his words. What had that touch done to me? Why was I so distracted by it? My head was swimming. I realized Micah had stopped talking again.
“It sounds great.” I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, trying to re-focus. “Honestly, whatever you tell me to do, I’ll make it happen. This is your domain.”
“Not only mine. You’ve got way more experience on a construction site than I do. I did some set design on the house we started with, but that’s the limit to my experience working around heavy machinery. Honest.”
I chuckled. “Noted. No heavy machinery around Micah.” His cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as I spoke and I wondered what he was thinking. We finished our tour of the job site and stepped out of the building into the bright light of day.
Micah cleared his throat, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets awkwardly. “Thanks for showing me around.”
“Yeah, of course. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to seeing what we do with the place. I think it’s going to be really special when we’re done with it.” I was happy to show him around, glad he’d be on site for a while, and excited that we had the chance to reconnect.
We held each other’s gazes for a moment, Micah with a smile on his face, only the sounds of traffic in the background.
It was just the two of us in front of a building that we were going to work on together to bring to life again.
That fluttering feeling in my stomach was back.
What the hell is wrong with me? I couldn’t help but wonder.
As we stood there, a gentle summer breeze ruffled Micah’s dark hair, causing a few strands to fall out of place.
I had the sudden urge to brush it aside, tuck it behind his ear, to touch him again.
I restrained myself, knowing the touch probably wouldn’t be welcome—to either of us.
No matter how loudly my brain and body were screaming the opposite, I had no need to go touching him casually, and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea…
whatever that was. I didn’t even know what I was thinking. All I knew was that I wanted more.