4. Jordan #3
His gaze lingered on me a moment longer than was strictly necessary.
It told me nothing — in fact, it was all just a product of my imagination — but I wondered if his plan for being alone in the house included anything he wouldn’t want someone to overhear.
The trouble with team houses and shared accommodation was that the walls could be thin.
Sometimes, a guy just wanted to let his voice go where it wanted, and an empty house in the mountains was the ideal place to do that.
I wondered what his mouth looked like when he moaned.
Stop this, I snapped at myself. Heat crawled up my neck.
You will never find out. And it’s for your own good.
So, don’t even think about it. I considered myself a reasonably smart guy.
I didn’t make mistakes. My grades were pretty damn good and I knew how to communicate with most people.
The exception was Asher. I never knew what he thought and what his words meant.
I never knew why he took my meaning wrong.
And I was sorely tempted to make the worst mistake of all whenever I was near him for too long.
Maybe this whole thing wasn’t a good idea after all. Maybe I was better off going to the city instead.
“Have you heard from Beckett?” Asher asked.
I stepped into the living room and tossed my backpack into the armchair. It wasn’t plugged in, but it was one of those massaging armchairs with a million settings. I made a mental note to come down later and get a good, long backrub. “I don’t think I’ll hear anything before tonight.”
Asher was silent for a short time. Then, he inhaled sharply and spoke matter-of-factly. “When you do, could you tell me how Nate’s doing?”
“You can ask Beckett yourself,” I suggested. “It would mean a lot to Beckett to hear the support.”
Asher scoffed like I’d just insulted him. “Fine.”
I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh, but my phone rang at that moment. I swallowed my reply and picked up. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”
“Did you boys get there alright?” Dad asked. I told him about my change of plans last night. He was glad to be able to see me sooner and for a while longer.
“We just got here. Everything went fine,” I said.
“When are you joining us?” It wasn’t like I looked forward to the nights of Risk and the Great British Bakeoff that Dad and Eileen loved, but anything was better than the awkwardness I felt around Asher.
That awkwardness often simmered for a long time and came to a boil when one said something wrong.
“Ah, that’s just it,” Dad said. “We have a leaking pipe in your and Asher’s bathroom. It’s lucky Eileen caught it. Nobody goes in there anymore. I’m trying to fix it ASAP, but parts of the wall are damp. You know you can’t let your wall get moldy, right?”
I frowned. “Wh-what does that mean?”
“It’s just a delay,” Dad said. “It shouldn’t take us too long to see how far the damage has gone.
My team’s coming first thing tomorrow, but we’re stretched thin with Mrs. Woods’ expansion.
Don’t let me bore you with the details, Jordan.
Just let me know if you boys need anything.
Chuck’s driving back and forth twice a week and he can drop off whatever you need. ”
I had a car for those things. I didn’t need Dad’s workers to cater to me. “Well, should I just come there, then?”
“I thought about it,” Dad said. “But if the damage has spread through the wall, you might not have a room to sleep in.”
Fuck. “Oh. Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”
“Tell Asher that Eileen sends her love,” Dad said. “And we’ll join you as soon as this is over.”
“Right. Okay. Bye, Dad,” I said and hung up.
When I turned back to Asher, his face was struck with horror. “What happened?”
“Your mom sends her love,” I said with a shrug. “In other news, we’re going to stay here on our own for a while longer.”
His nose wrinkled as he sneered. The fucker.
I told him about the pipe and the wall. Then I had to repeat that I didn’t know a million times because he showered me with stupid questions like, “How did nobody see it sooner?” or “How bad is the damage?”
And when he finally ran out of the bathroom-related questions, he looked at me like this was the biggest defeat of his life. “What are we gonna do now?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “We’re not lost in a jungle, Asher. Sleep in. Have cake for breakfast. Watch TV. I dunno.”
But I knew that he wasn’t asking me how to spend his time while we were here. The real question was, how were we going to survive each other for who knows how long? How would we keep from driving each other to the brink of madness?
And how would I keep my walls up and strong against his bare chest and round butt?
He had no idea, but he was the greatest weapon against my defenses.
He pushed all of my buttons with little more than breathing.
And he did that without ever realizing that my pulse never failed to increase when he entered the room.
Maybe that was what I was into. Maybe I was just destined to pine from a distance, never to come nearer.