Jayson: A New Adult / Coming of Age Romance (9 page)

J
ayson warned
me I’d have to live with construction noise, but by the fourth morning of waking up early to a knock at the door from his crew, I have to fight my crankiness. I jerk awake from the most lascivious dream about the irresistible contractor, startled by the pounding downstairs. “Morning, Kit,” says Castiel brightly. I smile at Jayson’s younger brother and let him inside. The several other workers file inside with an equal cheerfulness that I desperately try to match. “You know the routine. We’ll set up down here and do what we can until you’re out for the day.”

“Thanks, Cast.” I run back upstairs to my bedroom, which I’ve started sleeping in over the past few days, and get ready for school. Downstairs, the men make an effort to keep the noise down, but it’s impossible. With six men clomping around in boots, tools being dragged around, there’s no way to be quiet about it. I instantly feel sorry for my poor neighbors. I stand in the bathroom mirror and pull my white blond hair up in a ponytail, studying my reflection. “That’ll do.”

My heels clicking down the stairs adds to the soft rumble of men talking over coffee, and I pass through the living room to see Devon and another guy bringing in dark brown paneling. Cast leans against the kitchen counter studying the schematics and murmuring orders. When he sees me, his serious face gets playful. “See you guys later,” I say with a smile.

“Hey, Jayson will be here later today,” he replies.

“That’s fine.” I don’t know what he expects me to do about it. Castiel has been making a point of informing me of Jayson’s whereabouts every day like his brother and I actually have something going on. I hadn’t expected Jayson to leap into a ready-made relationship with me after seducing me on the dance floor with that (unforgettable) stupid kiss, but I hadn’t expected him to ignore me completely either. It’s been days since we accidentally hung out together, and he hasn’t called or dropped by. Castiel can keep his updates. “I have to work today, so I’ll be in late. If you can secure the property before you all leave, that would be great, Cast. If Jayson needs me, he knows how to reach me.” There. Keeps the ball in Jayson’s court where it belongs.

“I’ll be sure to remind him of that, ma’am,” Castiel replies, still grinning. He’s a handsome guy. His mouth is wider than Jayson’s, making his smiles infectious, and his eyes are very different—dark, sparkly and narrow, as if he’s always laughing. His hair is longer too, and a curl in the flops over his forehead boyishly. No wonder Gracie’s taken with him. At least he calls her. I sigh as I walk out the door with a jangle of car keys.

“Good morning,” I reply to two women passing by on the street in front of my house, and they give me a blank stare, walking off speaking softly in a language I don’t recognize. I shrug. So far, I’ve been here for a week and haven’t met anyone welcoming. I hop into my car and maneuver through dense traffic to campus, glad to be leaving the early morning racket of power tools behind me for now.

After finishing my classes, I head straight to work. Grace meets me in the back employee lounge as usual. We sit at the rickety wooden table, chatting before our shifts start. “I saw your boyfriend again this morning,” I tease her.

“Castiel isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends. But did you see yours?” she teases me right back. I giggle, swatting at her with my store vest.

“Jayson’s probably over at the house as we speak, but I have to work. I don’t think he wants to see me anyway. I’m so over him, Grace. I think I was just the flavor of the night that time at the club.”

“You are so hard to please. The guy’s busy!” Grace protests, shaking her head.

“Well, I’m busy, too. I have a test this week. Think Hank will mind if I take study breaks when things slow down?”

“Mmm, I dunno. Maybe you better save that for your regular fifteen-minute breaks.”

“You’re probably right. There’s a block party or something this weekend that I got a flyer in my doorjamb for, but I picked up more hours here. I’m kind of scared of my neighbors anyway. No sense in getting close to them if I’ll only be there temporarily. They’re all so insular and unfriendly.”

“You’ve only been there a week. You just don’t know anybody there yet. Give them a chance. Give Jayson a chance.”

“Ooh, look at the time,” I say overdramatically. “Gotta get on the job.”

I smile as I exit the lounge, Grace on my heels. She heads to the register, and I head to the showroom floor. A few customers mosey around the store. I jauntily offer my help to the nearest one. “If you need any assistance making choices, I’m available.”

“Ah, yes,” says the gentleman. I size him up. He’s holding a throw pillow and eyeing a settee with clashing colors, and I realize he has no idea what he’s doing. “I’m redecorating my wife’s walk-in closet for our anniversary. This thing here—“

“It’s a settee, sir,” I reply, trying not to sound condescending.

“Right. I think it needs some pillows, and I really like this one.”

“No, no, you don’t want to do that. How about we find a nice throw to drape across the armrest. It will add a pop of color, which I think is what you’re going for, but it won’t throw off these great lines. This functional piece is beautiful enough on its own. Anything else would make it too fussy.”

“Well, I like…”

“Take my advice on this,” I say assuredly, removing the pillow from his hand. “Your wife will love it. Trust me.”

“If you say so,” he replies uncertainly.

I walk away feeling like I just saved his wife’s walk-in closet. “Mission accomplished,”’ I murmur to myself, clapping my hands together. With four hours ahead of me, I make the best use of my time, remaining highly visible so Hank sees how much hard work I’m putting in. I flit from customer to customer, complimenting the chic and denouncing the style mistakes. Although a few people look offended by my advice, they’ll thank me later.

I use my breaks to study for the upcoming exam, and by the end of my shift I feel like I spent the evening juggling knives while jumping through hoops. Grace gets off work at the same time as me, and we meet up at the clock to punch out.

“You just might make it home in time to see Jayson.”

I glance at my smartphone. “Not likely. It’s pushing seven-thirty. They should be long gone by now.”

“Too bad because I know you really wanted to see him, regardless of what you say. You’re a terrible liar and, you forget, I’m psychic. Drive safely, madwoman. You were racing around the store this evening like you had the devil himself on your heels.”

“They don’t call it Devil in the Details for nothing,” I joke. “I just love doing this, Grace. You’d be amazed at the terrible things people almost buy that I save them from. I mean, with all this to choose from, how could they go wrong?”

“Be careful not to be too pushy,” she replies. We head out the door together.

“I consider it a favor. Very few get the luxury of shopping with an interior designer. I’m offering my services for free. See you later. Are we still on to go shopping Friday after class?”

“Yes! I can’t wait.”

I skip to my Fiat and climb behind the wheel, trying not to rush, although I secretly hope I do make it home in time to catch Jayson before he leaves. I can’t help myself. No matter how I try to resist him, he crops back up in my thoughts, and there’s no escaping how he makes me feel…hopeful.

“Time is it?” I ask.

Castiel smirks at his phone. “Overtime.”

“Alright, tell the guys to wrap up. We’ve been here long enough. I wanted to get a head start on tomorrow’s work while Kit wasn’t here so maybe we can finish this project early ‘cause the orders are starting to pile up. Hey, Dev, tomorrow I need to put you on another job. Can you handle this without him, Cast?”

“Tell the truth, dude. You were lingering around, hoping we’d still be here when she got off work.”

“Can you handle this site without Devon?” I ignore him. Cast nods and starts pulling together his tool kit, speeding along the rest of the crew.

“Let’s do cleanup, fellas. Client will be home soon. We gotta close shop.”

I monitor the men as they load up and head to the company truck to leave. Cast and I talk business for a minute, and I get an appraisal of what’s left to be done. “So, if you’re trying to finish this job early, we’re likely to do it. I can spare Dev, but as much as you can keep him here, that’d be good. He’s more experienced.”

“Gotcha. Alright, where are the keys?”

“Did you call Kit?”

“Why would I call Kit?”

“She said if you need her, you know how to reach her.”

“Yeah, I don’t need her for anything. She’s already made all the necessary decisions. The downstairs paneling is in, and the first floor is finished. We can move to the second.”

“Why are you avoiding her, man?” Castiel pries.

“Cast, I’m not avoiding her. I’m just trying to do my job. She’s a client, and that’s unprofessional. I know what I told Momma, but that’s not feasible as long as we’re working for her. The company reputation is more important.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Castiel steps out of the house, tossing me the keys. I take them to the lock to close up. Castiel calls out to me, “If you’re trying to beat a retreat, better make it hasty. Her car is coming up the street.”

“Shit,” I murmur. Sighing, I pocket the keys and tramp down to my personal truck. I wait by the door, knowing it would be too rude to hop in without at least saying hello. I see Castiel pull off with the rest of the crew, leaving me to fend for myself as Kitrina coasts to a halt in her customary parking spot. She climbs out of her Fiat, long legs first, followed by that slim, toned body and her pale, shining hair.. Her lush breasts hugged by a pale blue thermal shirt invite my gaze. I lick my lips, trying not to stare, and she saunters over to me as if she expected me to be here. I smile involuntarily. “Good evening, Ms. Schneider.”

“Mr. Zephyr,” she murmurs. Her grey eyes are flinty, the dark blue ring surrounding the iris looking larger than ever, almost touching her dilated pupils. She’s angry with me. I can tell. She puts her hands on her curvy hips and stares at me face to face, reminding me she’s no petite miss. I look her up and down appreciatively, unable to deny she’s a sexy woman.

“I was on my way out,” I reply lamely.

“Good. You can leave.”

My eyebrows quirk at her tone. “Okay, I will….What, we’re in our proper places now? You were a lot nicer the other night. I guess somebody might see you consorting with the help here, though.” I bite back the retort, but it’s too late. I’ve said it.

She scowls and crosses her arms, and I brace myself for a verbal beat down. “What, you’re ready to talk to me now? You haven’t made any attempt to do that all week. I guess I’m a lot less your type when I’m not in a club in a miniskirt,” she fires back.

I open my mouth to respond, but then I see it from her perspective. The last time we saw each other, I was kissing her. She hasn’t heard from me since. “Wow,” I murmur. I run my hands down my face and inhale deeply. “Um, I could’ve called. I’m sorry I didn’t. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure you’d want my advances. You were pretty blunt about me not being your type…and I never said girls in clubs in miniskirts were my type. I like you the way you are now. You make tights and a long-sleeved t-shirt look stunning.”

She blushes and looks down, and she can’t hide her smile. She tucks a flyaway strand of hair behind the shell of her ear and looks back up at me. “Well, thank you. For the record, you were right to wonder. I wouldn’t have encouraged your advances. My life is maxed out at the moment between work and school.”

“Understandable,” I allow, pushing down the disappointment that rises unexpectedly with her comment. She doesn’t have time for me. That’s perfect because I really don’t have time for her either.

“See, my mom thinks I’m going to fall flat on my face with this.” She gestures to her house and gives me another reason to question her mother’s parenting methods. Surely the best way to ensure a kid rebels is to tell them what they can’t do. “I have to prove to her that I can make it, and to do that, I have to play by the book, follow the rules. So, as pleasant of a distraction as you are, I can’t be distracted by you, Jayson.”

“I definitely do not want to get in the way of your success,” I reply sincerely. I touch her cheek and tap the tip of her nose with my forefinger. “Don’t worry about the naysayers. Most mothers don’t want their kids to get in over their heads, but life isn’t really sink or swim. You can do anything in this ocean.” I step back and open the door to my truck. “Jet ski, fish, snorkel…float.”

“I hope I still have your friendship,” she says before I climb into the cab.

“Always.”

I drive away with my eyes on the rearview mirror so I can watch her walk inside. I think about those life experiences my mom mentioned, things everyone has to go through in order to be well-rounded. I have to respect Kit’s wishes, and she’s not asking too much of me, because she needs to keep her priorities in order. I can imagine what it would be like to juggle work, school and a romance. I went to City College of San Fran. It was the toughest four years of my life, but I threw my all into it to get my degree in construction management. Thanks to that sacrifice, I’m a business owner.

“Yeah,” I answer my buzzing phone.

“Did you talk to her?” It’s Castiel.

I nod and murmur, “Uh huh.”

“Did you make things right with her?”

“When did you get to be such a hopeless romantic, bro?” I chuckle. “There wasn’t much to make right. I told her I was sorry for not calling, if that’s what you’re talking about. It was cool. She’s got a lot on her plate right now, which pretty much nixes making room for me. So, as far as you and Momma wishing for me to cozy up to Kit Schneider, looks like that’s a no go.”

“Dang it. She has that whole damsel in distress thing going on. It so matches your hero complex.”

“I don’t have a hero complex, Castiel.”

“You do. But, alright, that’s all I wanted. I’m about to catch a movie with her friend, Grace. If things had gone better, I was gonna ask you to bring Kit out and join us. Let me get off this phone.”