The Pool Boy(14)

James is staring at me now, mouth open in shock. “Wow,” he says.

“Yeah.”

He reaches out like he’s going to touch me, then thinks better of it. “That was a terrible thing for me to say.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I don’t,” he says quickly.

“There must be a reason why that’s the first thing that came to your mind.”

James shakes his head. “I’ve never slept with anyone on a job before, but—”

“Someone tried?”

He nods. “And she made it clear why.”

I don’t know what to say to that. It’s terrible that that happened, but what he said was terrible too.

“I apologize, Vera. It wasn’t fair for me to assume that. And you obviously don’t owe me anything.” He slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t expect you to excuse that I said it, but I am sorry.”

“We don’t know each other that well yet,” I say, “so we’ll make an agreement here. No assumptions. Nothing good comes from them.”

“You’re right, and I can agree to that.”

“Then I accept your apology,” I say.

“That was a lot of information you just gave me,” James says. “And I get it. I do.”

“Thanks.”

“And I can wait.”

Did I hear that right? “What?”

“You said you have everything to lose in the next week. I can wait that long.”

“But—”

He keeps going, “There’s something here. There’s something between us. I want to figure out what it is, and I think you do, too.”

I can’t answer.

I have no answer, because he’s not wrong.

“So I’ll wait for you while you handle your business, but this isn’t over.”

I think my heart stops beating, because he’s still not wrong. Just the fact that my body warms up at those words proves that it’s not over. Hell, it hasn’t even started.

“Unless…” He takes a step toward me. “Is waiting really what you want?”

“No,” I breathe. “But I don’t know another way.”

“I’m sure we can find one.” He kisses me. It’s a gentle kiss, but it is unyielding. I swear I can feel that kiss in every pore, and god I want more. He wraps an arm around me, pressing me into him. My hips are pressed against his, my breasts pressed against his naked skin and I still want to be closer. But instead he’s pulling away, smiling softly. It’s maddening.

“Fine, you’re right, it’s not over,” I say, and he laughs.

“Can I ask you something?” He looks back toward the house.

“Sure.”

“You said you like to design low-income housing?”

I nod. “Yeah. It’s what I want to do.”

There’s a light in his eyes and he seems excited. “Do you have designs here?”

I smile. “As a matter of fact, I do.”





8





Vera





Having James in my room is…weird. It’s oddly intimate. I’ve only ever had boyfriends while I was away at school, so none of them ever saw this room. And James isn’t even my boyfriend, is he? I don’t know what we are at the moment. We’re nebulous.

Sneaking him up here wasn’t easy either. I took the long way around through the garage and up the back stairs, making sure to stay as far away from my father’s office as possible. I’m sure on the surface my parents wouldn’t object to James looking at my architectural designs, but ‘better safe than sorry’ seems like a motto I should live by in this situation. Thankfully he has his shirt on. He’s less distracting that way.

“Here,” I say, leading him over to the drafting table. But he’s not looking at the designs. Instead, he’s looking around my room. I blush, wondering what he’s thinking of the things I keep here. What does it say about me? What do the colors and books reveal about my personality that he might not have known? Finally he comes to where I’m standing, and I show him the different version of my ELIH house and the breakdown of affordable and eco-friendly materials I hope will be used.

I didn’t expect for him to contribute. But instead of just looking at my designs, he points out places where they can be better. Places where I can add more functionality. As I nod along with him, I suddenly realize he may not be the only one who made assumptions about the other.

“Thank you,” I say. “This will help. Now if someone would only be interested in the designs.”

James flips back through the different versions one more time. “I have no doubt that they will,” he says. “They’re really good.”