Page 70 of Sparks
“It smells like women,” Willa said.
“Exactly.” He grinned and we all laughed.
“Come see the kitchen.” I took his hand and led him past the nasty bathroom to the oversized kitchen with its two huge windows.
“Oh, man.” He peered around and nodded. “I can see you sitting there in that window with your coffee.”
“Yep. I’ll make us some drinks.”
“Awesome. Do you mind if I use the bathroom?”
“Sure.” I showed him where it was and then asked the girls if they wanted a drink. Everyone declined. They all had to work in the morning, but I was off. Yay!
I did a heavy pour for Shawn since I knew that’s how he liked it. Then I splashed his with soda water, and mine with generic brand cranberry juice. I noticed Shawn wasn’t back from the bathroom yet and I heard some strange sounds. I went closer to listen and recognized the clank of tools being set down and the faucet going on, off, on, off.
“You okay in there?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah. Almost done fixing the sink.”
“What?” I shouted in horror. “Shawn, you don’t have to do that!”
All four of the girls jumped up and ran to the door.
“You’re really fixing it?” Syd asked.
The door opened and Shawn was kneeling over the pink tool kit my dad had given me. It’d been sitting under the sink for two months after I’d tried to tighten the bolt around a pipe, but it hadn’t helped. In the little bit of time Shawn had been in the bathroom he’d pulled off the handles, scraped some nasty black stuff off them, and stood to tighten them back on.
“Sorry,” he said to me as he worked, almost bashfully. “I got distracted. I can’t help myself when I see something that needs tinkering.”
“It’s okay, but you really don’t have to.” I felt awful having him work.
“Girl, don’t stop the man if he’s gonna fix that damn sink,” Willa said to me, then beamed a smile at him. “We appreciate it.”
The other girls agreed, cheering him on, and I had to laugh. “Okay, fine.”
“I won’t be long,” he promised.
I leaned down and gave him a long kiss, not letting go until he made a soft moan. When our eyes opened, he wore a goofy smile. After one more peck I took my drink and hung out with the girls in the living room. We were all too giddy and silly to watch whatever was on the television.
“Y’all, oh my gawd,” Syd said. “I forgot to tell you! I heard Silas on the phone tonight right before I left. He was in the hall talking quietly, but I heard him say, clear as day, ‘Whatever is going on with you, I’m done being your whipping boy.’ And then he saw me, and he turned away and talked quieter, but I think him and his girl are having major trouble.”
My abdomen contracted. “Poor Silas. They’re definitely going through a rough patch. I’m glad he stuck up for himself, though.”
Holly shook her head. “Can you imagine having a man like Silas and treating him bad?”
“Mm-mm,” Willa said. “That boy’s thewhoooolepackage.”
“I wonder if his dick is as perfect as the rest of him,” Rhea mused.
“Seriously?” Shawn called from the bathroom.
We all got big eyes and I covered my mouth as a series of snorting hilarity rang out and we fell over each other.
“Sorry!” Rhea said through laughter.
Shawn came in, wiping his hands on some paper towels he must’ve gotten from the kitchen.
“The sink should be okay for a while. The light shouldn’t flicker anymore. I could come back and fix the floor tiles one day, but I need to get a few materials for that.”
