Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“The bike!” Zeus throws an arm toward it, looking it over appreciatively. “Got a hot date after work or something?”
“Let me answer your question with a question,” I reply as I do a triple-check.
Yes, I’m fully on Kathy’s side of the property line.
Yes, Dani has two full parking spots in front of her house.
Yes, I’m fully aware of my client giving me the stink-eye through her front window despite her hiding behind the curtains.
Perfect. And exactly why I rode my motorcycle today.
“What sort of woman is gonna climb on my bike eight hours from now, after I’ve been working like a mule all day? And smell like one too.”
“A total keeper, of course!” Zeus grins, nodding like the twenty-one-year-old wise sage he wishes he were. “A girl who wants me when I come home smelling like sweat, burned metal, dirt, and diesel fumes? I’mma marry that chick quick, fast, and in a hurry.”
“That all it takes to get you to the altar?” I pose the question seriously. Zeus is more than one of my crew. He’s a good friend, and I worry about him. He’s naïve in a lot of ways, and the last thing he needs is a woman who sees an opportunity at a golden ticket in his kindness.
He stops, considering the question more deeply. “Well, I might not go that far… yet, but… one day, maybe.” Then, with an even bigger grin, he adds, “Of course, it’d help if she’s smoking hot, can cook more than Hot Pockets because that’s the extent of my culinary skills, and I’d totally award bonus points if she reads those smutty books from TikTok. Those girls are fah-reak-eey.” He mimes smacking ass, though there’s no one in front of him, thankfully. “That sort of girl’s worth an extra bar of Irish Spring after work, know what I mean?”
“Maybe expand your wish list a little,” I suggest. “Keep your head down and your standards high, and you’ll find the one when the time’s right.”
“Like you?” He raises a brow and cuts dancing eyes toward Dani’s house.
I grit my teeth, then force out, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” I stride past him, done with this conversation now that it’s about me.
“Oh, I thought you and her were…” He trails off before switching gears. “Hey, if you’re not into her, you think she’d give me a chance? I like older women. How old ya think she is?”
Look at her the wrong way just once, and I’ll drag you behind my bike. Touch her, and I’ll bury you beneath Kathy Wilson’s pool face-up so your ghost has to see her ass floating above you.
Whoa.
I’m not usually a Neanderthal type. But the idea of Zeus getting remotely close to Dani sends unexpected fire scorching through my veins.
Taking a deep breath, I force a chuckle. “Too old for you,” I declare firmly. I glance back over my shoulder to make sure he hears me loud and clear. I bet Dani’s only a handful of years older than Zeus, but their ages have nothing to do with why she’s completely off-limits to him.
He laughs good-naturedly, and I belatedly realize he played me like a fucking fiddle.
“Get to work, Preston,” I deadpan, heading toward the back yard.
Behind me, I hear him whine, “Aw man, you don’t have to go that far with it. I was just fucking around with ya.”
The day goes as well as it can, given we’re laying the last of the grid for the concrete before our morning break and moving on to installing filtration plumbing by lunch.
While Zeus and I work in the shallow end, laying wire grid before using a spot welder to tack the pieces together, Wayne and Frogger are down in the deep end, carefully carving out the space for the plumbing.
Or at least, they should be careful about it.
“Oh, yeah, my favorite part of the job,” Frogger declares as he positions a two-inch-wide length of PVC pipe in the trench they’ve dug. “Laying long, thick pipe.”
“This pipe takes it in, not blows it out,” Wayne reminds him. “You saying you like taking big, wet loads?”
All of us stop and look at Frogger with matching grins as we wait for his response.
He rolls his eyes, huffing out a laugh as he smack talks Wayne right back. “Don’t get too excited, old man. We know you haven’t had a big, wet load in ages. It’s more like… pffft.” Frogger sticks his tongue out, blowing a half-assed raspberry, while flicking his fingers like he’s got a few, teeny-tiny water droplets on them. It’s definitely not complimentary to Wayne’s supposed ejaculation power or volume.
Wayne grumbles, “At least I know where to put it, unlike you young ‘uns, making a mess every damn where.” He weakly smacks at his face, his chest, and then his saggy jeans-covered, flat butt.