Page 46 of Neighbors With Benefits

“Yes, yes, and also a third yes,” he replied with a grin.

I chuckled. “The city is good. The neighborhood is great—I’m close to work, and can walk to get groceries if the weather is nice. And I’m really happy with this house. It’s the right size for me, and I live next to a bunch of really great guys.”

“You’ll have to introduce us to these so-called great guys,” Bash teased.

I made a face at him. “The only negative is that I have a lot of projects I want to do to this house.”

“Like what?”

I pointed at the wall. “Painting is my first priority. I hate the color in this room, the kitchen, and the guest bedroom. It won’t take long, but Iloathepainting. I would hire someone to do it for me, but I’m not exactly flush with cash after the down payment on this place.”

“I hear that. After buying our house, Aiden and I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every meal for two months. It’s all we could afford.”

“It’s all right, though,” I added. “I’m going to put on a podcast and start working on it this Saturday. If I can knock out two rooms by the end of the weekend, I’ll call that a win.”

“Hit me up if you need help,” Bash said while moving his game piece along the board. “I’m the least artistic person you’ll ever find, but I can paint straight lines with the best of them.”

It was nice of him to offer, but I certainly wasn’t going to burden him. That was a big ask. If the roles were reversed and a friend asked me to help paint their house, I’d block their number and find a new friend.

“What other projects are on your list?” Bash asked.

“Umm. I hate the tile in the bathroom. That needs to be replaced.”

“Really? What’s it look like?”

I got up and led him into the bedroom. It was all so innocent until we were inside, and then I wasextremelyaware that I had a boy in my bedroom. My dirty bedroom, with an unmade bed and two hampers full of clothes that needed to be washed. I hurried over to the pile and moved a T-shirt to cover up the panties that were on top, and hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“Here,” I said, pointing into the bathroom. Thankfully the sink area was clean; I had put away all my makeup and lotion this morning.

Bash shouldered next to me and peeked inside. “Ohh. Ohno. That tile is truly unfortunate.”

“Right?”

He crossed his arms while considering the tile. There were those biceps again, pressing tightly against the cotton of his shirt. If the teenage version of me had a guy as handsome as Bash in her bedroom, she would have lost her mind.

Stop it,I told myself.Don’t let Cat influence the way you think about Bash. He’s just a friend. And I’m sleeping with his roommate.

“Those tiles are too small for a bathroom,” Bash said. “It’s impossible to keep all that grout clean.”

“Yes! It always looks dirty, even right after I’ve scrubbed it!”

Our personal space remained intertwined, our arms so close they were almost touching. He smelled clean, like he’d taken a shower before coming over. I tried not to seem obvious while I inhaled his scent.

“What do you want to replace it with?” he asked.

“No idea,” I replied, walking out of my room. “I need to get some ideas off Instagram or something.”

“Run it by me first,” he said. “I’ve got a good eye for that kind of thing.”

“I thought you said you weren’t artistic?”

“Knowing what looks good? I’m amazing at that. Trying to reproduce it onto a canvas? All I can draw are stick figures.”

“The other big project is fixing up the greenhouse out back,” I said while we returned to the board game. “There are a few broken windows, and those that are intact need to be cleaned. Not to mention clearing out all the growth inside and hauling a few thousand pounds of fertilizer.”

“They’re going to think you’re the Unibomber,” Bash said, flashing a smile.

I frowned at him. “Huh?”

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