Page 12 of Unsteady: How to Fail at Flirting
I listen as Skylar leads me around the space, pointing out where she would like the shelves and how they need to be laidout. Where she would like her cash register, by the front door. The section where she wants to house records and comic books. A spot for gifts in the central kiosk. Some of the fixtures already exist, but many need work or updates.
She doesn’t have a blueprint, per se. More like a sketch on a legal pad.
It’s not the most half-ass plan I’ve ever seen, if you can believe it.
“So, what do you think?”
I look at the legal pad, and it’s an absolute mess. Nothing is to scale. I can tell she hasn’t actually taken a tape measure to figure out how many square feet she needs for all the inventory, storage, and displays. But I’m in. She needs me, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“Perfect. Easy. None of this should be a problem. I can start on it tomorrow.”
She gapes at me. “Whoa. I never said I was hiring you as a contractor. Remember the part about me not being able to get a bank loan? Clearly, as you can see, I can’t even afford to hire a real architect.”
None of that surprises me. As I said, I’ve worked with people with far less vision than her. And somehow I can see exactly what she needs, and I know I can do it.
“Easy peasy lemon squeezy,” I say. “I love building shelves.”
“But how will you pay people to do work? How…”
I don’t answer questions like this. No point.
“It’s handled already,” I say.
Her eyes widen, deep brown and inviting. I could lose myself in those eyes. “I have to open this store in less than a month if I want to make rent the following month.”
The way she has no idea that none of that matters. All that matters is that I’m going to help her with her vision.
“It’s a little tight, but I’ve had tighter,” I say.
A sly grin pulls at her lips. “Have you now? We’ll see about that.”
Oh shit.
I need to adjust myself, but not here, right in front of her. It’s all I can do not to back her against the dusty, dirty brick wall and take her. Just grab under her thigh and hook one knee on my hip. Let her feel my hard cock in her soft places, letting her know what she does to me when she curls that lip.
“I have some wood to cut, and I have some errands to run. How about I meet you back here, bright and early tomorrow morning?” I say.
“I have to warn you, Sailor, I’m not much use with a drill.”
“I can teach you things. But really, I just need someone to look cute in a hard hat.”
Seven
Skylar
This man might be better at flirting than I am.
We’ll just see about that.
The next morning, I run into Riley Hutchinson while picking up a tray of coffee drinks from Cardinal Coffee.
“When do you open? I’m so excited for a new bookstore!” she says brightly.
In about a month, I tell her.
“Thank god you got a new owner. The Bradbury family has had their death grip on my building for decades and would never come down in rent. Believe me, I tried setting up my studio there, and they would never work with me.”
I blink at her. “New owner?”
