Page 68 of Wandering Closer

“I’ve just never seen a pierced dick. It’s intriguing.”

Jake slips his phone from his pocket and types something before turning it toward Lily and I. “This is what the piercing looks like,” he says, showing a rubber dick with the Jacobs ladder piercing. His eyes meet mine. “Not a real dick, so you can’t get mad at me.”

Lily turns in my arms whisper-yelling, “Don’t ever do that. It looks so painful.”

“Worth it,” Jake smirks.

“Don’t flirt with my girl, dickhead. What are you guys working on?” I ask, finally taking in the bathroom we are all squished in. Jake’s sitting on the edge of the tub we installed last week, and Lily is on the floor with tiles and a baggy by her feet.

“Jake said he had some free time, so we started on the tiles. Or, he started on the tiles. I’m very good at handing over new tiles and spacers when he needs them. Not so great at laying the tiles without spending twenty minutes over-analyzing if they are perfectly in place or not. Now that you’re here, I can make you guys dinner if you want?”

“I can whip something up.” I know she wanted to be as hands on as possible with this reno, and don’t want to take away from that.

“You’ve hardly seen each other since you don’t work together anymore. Have bro time or whatever it is men do. Can I bring you guys beers, too?” she asks, separating herself from me, but not before planting her soft lips on mine.

“Please, if I have to watch that,” Jake grumbles playfully. Lily reaches into the bag on the floor and flicks a spacer at his head. We both watch her retreat, and when the front door closes, Jake shakes his head, looking down. “You better marry that girl.”

“One day. She’s nowhere near ready, and I won’t rush her. I have to bite my tongue every day to not tell her how madly in love with her I am.” I take over applying putty to the tiles for Jake, handing him one ready to go. “I’ve been so consumed by her I haven’t checked in. How are you?”

“I’m good, overwhelmingly busy, but I needed a break from sanding today. I think I might hire an apprentice. The orders are coming in too fast to keep up with alone.”

“That’s great, man. I knew you would have a thriving business in no time. How’s life, not just work?”

He chuckles, “Oh, you get a girlfriend and suddenly you think I need a life outside of work. You lived to work just a few months ago.” I shove his shoulder, knocking him off balance. “I’m kidding, fuck, don’t ruin my work. I’m beyond happy for you, it just made me realize I might also be a little jealous. I spend my days alone in the shop and I’m over the bar scene. I want someone to come home to.”

I sit stunned at the vulnerability of his confession. Jake never talks about his conquests, but every time I joined him at the bars in town, he had girls flocking to him. Honestly, I thought he would live that playboy lifestyle forever. He was outgoing with a bad boy edge in high school and college. When we moved back, he lost a bit of his outgoing side, but that never kept the women away. I just assumed he liked being alone.

“Finally ready to hang up the one-night stands and settle down?”

He gives me a long stare, an unknown look flickering over his face. “When was the last time you saw me take a woman home? Not just talk to them, but actually take them home with me?”

That gives me pause as I think about the few times he dragged me out with him. I can’t remember him ever leaving with a woman, but he often stayed later than me. “I don’t know,” I admit.

“I go out because I’m lonely, and for a few hours I don’t have to feel alone anymore. I’m not out fucking everything with legs. I mean, I get laid, but not as often as everyone seems to believe. Can we change the subject? This is fucking humiliating to talk about,” he says, taking the next tile without making eye contact.

I want to tell him I’m sorry that I never considered that. That I played into the narrative that everyone placed on him. Instead, I give his shoulder a squeeze and drop the subject so we canmove on. We talk about the new hire that replaced him and who he is considering hiring as an apprentice. By the time Lily shows up with her homemade pizzas and a case of cold beer, the shower tiles are complete, so we all move to the deck to eat and enjoy the summer night.

I offer to let Jake stay the night, but he politely declines and heads home. He lives in an apartment in town that he hates, but it is right next to the shop space he rents out, so he tolerates it. I’ll need to make more of an effort to spend time with him and have him over. He has always been there for me, and I hate knowing I have been letting him down.

Back at home, Lily and I crawl into bed with Shadow, sinking into each other’s arms. “I missed you today,” she whispers, pressing a kiss to my bare chest.

“I missed you too, baby. I uh, I did something big today after work.”

“What’s that?”

“I should start by saying I have been investing in properties since college. In and around Cedar Ridge, I have five empty plots of land and six homes in town. I rent them out as income properties. River signed on the first few with me, but the rest I own. Today I sold one of the plots of land.” I let my fingers glide through her hair.

“Wow, that’s incredible. Are you happy about the sale?” her lips tickle as she speaks against my skin.

Her words bring a smile to my face. I know Lily, and yet a small part of me thought she might react in a similar fashion to Sherry, seeing dollar signs. “I think so. It’s a large chunk of money and I think the condos the developer wants will be good for the town. It’s just not the reason I bought the land, which bothers me a little. I also should tell you, I sold it to Sherry’s dad.”

She stiffens slightly in my arms. “I really dislike her.”

I chuckle lightly, “Yeah baby, me too.”

The silence washes over us as we lie together in bed. I want to give this woman the world, and yet she asks nothing of me. I was honest when I told Jake that I am ready for my future with Lily to start now. I know that she is the woman that I want to marry and have a family with. When I saw the amount of money I would have left over from the sale after paying the lawyer and mortgage, all I could think about was the rock I wanted to buy to put on her finger.

Jen wanted to take fancy trips and travel the world, and while I like to travel, I never had the desire to with her. Lily though, never asking me for anything, makes me want to give it all to her. I want to take her to places she has always dreamed of, put my ring on her hand, and give her the wedding of her dreams.

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