Chapter 16
Auggie
For some reason, my purple boots feel ridiculous today. I stand on the front porch, waiting for Leon to let me inside, trying to forget the image of his thick, hairy body towering over me while I swallowed his dick.
For one, it’s completely inappropriate to be thinking about while we work. For two, a hard-on and construction is basically an occupational hazard. And for three, propositioning him less than twenty-four hours later is not what you’d call playing it cool.
Even if I am dying to experience hooking up with him again.
Leon is so incredibly, mouthwateringly my type … And he’s also taking a long damn time to open this door.
I frown and wonder whether I should knock again. He can’t still be sleeping, so … oh no. He wouldn’t be avoiding me, right? He can’t. He’s my boss.
My very sexy boss.
Dear God, Auggie, give it a rest.
The door finally opens, and Leon is standing there like a wet dream. Tight shirt, shorts that hug his thighs, and tool belt thrown over his shoulder.
“We’re going to head out to the school this morning and help the guys on-site.”
I salute him, then mentally kick myself. Way to be cool, dick for brains. “You sure you trust me there?” I’m joking—kind of. Not really.
“It was an accident, Auggie. Let it go.”
An epic accident witnessed by his team, and now I get to go and face them again. So excited.
Leon locks up and leads me to his work truck.
This is far from the first time I’ve been in his car, but it feels like the same awkwardness that crept in on our first day working together.
Only this time, the need to fill the silence isn’t as strong as the need to stop Leon from saying anything, because if he opens his mouth, I have a feeling he’s going to bring up what happened yesterday.
And if he does that, he might say it can’t happen again.
It has to happen again.
He can’t tease me with all that and then take it away.
Logically, I know he can, but that was single-handedly the hottest experience of my life.
“I can hear you freaking out from here,” Leon says as he backs the truck out of the driveway and onto the wide road.
“Not freaking out.”
“I could be reading it wrong, but your thoughts are pretty loud.”
“No thoughts. Nope. My mind is a blank slate. Toootally blank. Just looking forward to another day at work.”
His lips twitch behind his beard. “Good to know. Because if you were thinking about something that may or may not have happened yesterday, it’s not something we can discuss during work hours anyway. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” I hurry to add, “Not that I’m thinking about it.”
“Good. Because we definitely wouldn’t be letting anyone else know about that hypothetical thing either, would we?”
“Work talk only. We are both very busy and important professional people.”
His laugh is short but warm. “I’m glad we agree.”
When he doesn’t say any more, I can finally take a deep breath. Leon doesn’t seem like the type to worry over something and not bring it up, so if he hasn’t immediately said that hooking up is off the table … that gives me hope.
So much that by the time we get to the school, I forget to worry about the mess I caused the other day.
It’s not until I see it again that the grin slides from my face. It looks even worse today than I remembered.
I’m unsure if they cleared the mess that afternoon or today, but the side I took out is gone, and there’s brace work holding up the roof.
Rory chuckles as I approach. “Shit, do we need to tape off the forklift?”
“Enough, Rory,” Leon says. He leaves no room to argue, and the authoritative tone is doing nothing to stop the images from yesterday from bobbing to the surface again. “We have too much to catch up on to deal with smack talk.”
And while I love that he’s standing up for me, and I don’t have to deal with being teased all morning, I can’t help wonder if he would have done the same for anyone else.
Us hooking up can’t get me special treatment. At all. Even for something like this.
Especially since I did an epic job of this screw up. I can barely look the other guys in the eye as I help them set up new framework. Leon helps us for the first half of the morning, before he makes some calls about supplies for another job he was supposed to be starting this week.
The thought that I should walk away before I cause more problems for Leon crosses my mind, but I can’t do it. I need this job too.
He’s giving me a second chance, so I have to make the most of it. To make him proud and to show him that he made the right choice.
I can’t go my whole life being a failure.
So even though every cell in my body wants to focus on where Leon is and what he’s doing, I turn instead to concentrating on my work.
I don’t know if it’s having Leon here, or just that his guys are efficient, but we don’t talk much. It’s like we can all feel the time crunch and his stress, so we work together to get the framing for the wall up as quickly as possible before getting the panels up on the outside.
I’ve fucked the electrical too—because of course—so once we’re done, the others head off for some lunch while they wait for the electrician to come.
Leon takes a minute between calls to inspect the morning’s work. I’m sweating and gross, but it actually feels amazing to have that sweet ache in my muscles.
“Did we do you proud?” I ask, smiling as innocently as I can manage.
“It looks good.” He turns away to send a text, and my good mood takes a dive as he walks off.
I’ve done so well to keep from obsessing over him all day. Is it really too much to ask that I get a little attention? Not even of the sexual, flirty kind. Give me eye contact, banter, something.
I’m needy, dammit.
We pack up once Leon is confident the electrician has things organized, then head to the house he’s putting a bathroom in to make sure supplies have been delivered. From there, we go back to his place.
He still hasn’t looked at me or joked around, and considering how chill Leon usually is, I’ve worked out that silences mean thinking.
“Now whose thoughts are loud,” I say, trying to break the silence.
He chuckles. “The difference is my head is full of work stuff.”
“Who says mine isn’t?”
“The way you keep looking at me.” Leon chances a quick look from the road to me, eyebrows lifted in my direction.
My cheeks heat, but I force a smile. “All completely innocent, of course.”
“Of course.”
“I am sorry though. That you’re behind, and yes I know it was an accident, but it’s still on me, and the last thing I want is to be stressing you out more.”
“It’s fine, Auggie.”
“You’re allowed to be annoyed.”
“I know I am. I don’t need your permission. The thing is though, I’m not.”
I nod, feeling relief and still a little guilt because I can tell he’s serious. I don’t feel like I deserve to get off with zero repercussions.
“What are you doing now?” I ask as we pull up out the front of Leon’s house.
“Gonna do some stuff around here.”
I was going to suggest we get some food, but if he’s working late, then so am I. “Okay, I’ll help.”
He laughs. “Nope. You’re almost off the clock.”
“Exactly. So I can do whatever I like with my afternoon.”
“I’m not taking advantage.”
I scoff. “I literally screwed one of your jobs. Take this as time made up.”
“I just—”
“I need this. I’m guilty as hell. Let me make it up to you.”
He fixes me with a look, but I stare right back. I’m sure he wants nothing more than to tell me to go home, but he can try. I’m as bullheaded as my dad when I want to be.
“I know where you live,” I taunt.
“You’re a pain in the ass.”
I smile innocently.
He shifts and quickly looks away.
“And I’ll take that as a yes.” I bound out of the truck, and Leon follows slowly behind me. I was being serious in that helping him while I’m technically not working will make me feel better about the headache I’ve caused him. If we can catch up on the house, it’ll be one less thing off his mind.
I want that for him.
Stressing all day, every day isn’t healthy for anyone.
And then once we’re done … I lick my lips as Leon passes me to unlock his front door, and my stare immediately drops to the muscles flexing under his shirt.
Maybe once we’re done, I can offer a different type of stress relief.