Laying Pipe - Kiki Clark Page 0,4
it’ll dry the rest of the way out.”
He’d fixed the pipe and cleaned up the water? God, the man was too freaking sweet. “You’re awesome. Thank you so much for coming so quickly.” He turned toward the stairs. “Shit, my wallet is up in my room. You got a card swipe thing on your phone, right? I don’t have any checks.”
John was already shaking his head. “Not happening. You’re family, ki—Lukas. I don’t charge family.”
He crossed his arms. “That’s ridiculous. I called you over, late in the evening, and you stayed for two hours! I should at least compensate you for—”
“Nope.” John’s eyes fucking twinkled as he popped his p at him.
At Lukas’s frown, John’s grin only widened. Gorgeous, smug bastard. “Fine, but I’ll pay you back somehow.”
Realizing he’d won, John started backing away toward his truck and shrugged. “I would accept nonmonetary payment.”
Why the fuck did his dick twitch? Jesus, “nonmonetary payment” was not a sexy phrase, and a straight guy like John hadn’t meant it that way either.
Choking on spit and face flaming, he finally managed to croak out, “Okay. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
John winked and turned away.
God, why did the man have to be so damn hot?
Chapter Two
Friday after work, Lukas found himself sitting in his car just outside John’s house, a dozen homemade cupcakes on the seat next to him and a kaleidoscope of butterflies in his stomach.
“Stop it. He just sees you as his friend’s kid. Don’t make it into more than it is, and do not make him uncomfortable.” He nodded to himself, grabbing the container as he exited his car. Without stopping to triple-guess himself, he marched up to the door and knocked.
John’s house was a beautiful two-story house that he’d bought not long before his divorce and had slowly renovated, pretty much on his own. Lukas’s dad had helped some—he was a licensed contractor after all—but only when John couldn’t manage by himself. It had been a few years since Lukas had been inside, but the outside looked amazing. The wide porch had large pots with different kinds of flowers and an enormous swing that looked perfect for relaxing on after a long day. Even the grass was cut short, without a weed in sight.
It made Lukas uncomfortably aware of how unkept his own house looked on the outside. Inside, he’d worked hard to make the space comfortable and homey, but the last thing he wanted to do after getting home from work was mow his yard or weed the flower beds his mom insisted on planting every spring. The front wasn’t so bad because his parents hassled him if it got too out of control. But the back?
“Hey, Lukas.” John swung the door open and smiled, though he looked more than a little surprised. His eyes zeroed in on the container quickly, and his mouth stretched into an eager grin. “Are those red velvet cupcakes?”
Chuckling, Lukas held them out. “They are. I know they’re your favorite, and it’s literally the least I can do after you saved my ass the other night.”
John took the container and stepped back so Lukas could come in, waving his hand at him. “Stop. It’s fine. I didn’t mind.”
Surprised at the invitation into John’s inner sanctum, he carefully stepped over the threshold, gaze bouncing all over to try and take everything in at once. Absently, he said, “You forget, I’ve been hanging around you and my dad for years. I’ve heard you complain about late-night phone calls from friends having plumbing emergencies and then not wanting to pay you.”
He peeked his head into the room just off the entryway on the right and admired the large, comfortably decorated living room. The sectional looked wide enough for two grown men to— Stop that. When he realized John hadn’t responded to his comment, he twisted back around, hoping John hadn’t somehow learned to read minds.
There was a crease between John’s dark eyebrows as he eyed Lukas like he was an idiot. “You aren’t just some guy I know from the bar, or someone I went to school with but haven’t spoken to in ten years.”
The intense look in John’s dark brown eyes seared Lukas’s insides, heating his blood and raising goose bumps all over his body. Licking his lips, he nodded. “Right. I know. I just… I still kind of feel like I took advantage of you. Of our… friendship.”
He watched as John’s eyebrows did this weird thing, like he wasn’t quite sure how