Out Bad

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  The farmhouse had been poorly remodeled many times over its hundred-plus years and the upstairs bathroom was no exception. Improper sealing and bad patch jobs allowed water to just soak into the standard drywall somebody with less than no clue had hung around the shower. He’d had to gut the whole room, sub floor included.

  Ripping it down to the studs made it easier to re-plumb, plus it gave him the chance to re-work the floor plan a little. He decided on a more modern concept with the shower and toilet at the back and a double sink at the front, a door separating the two areas. It would be nice down the road when the kids he hoped to fill the house with could brush their teeth and pee separately.

  Those hypothetical kids were the same reason Gabbi talked him out of the sleek, glass-door, walk-in shower he wanted. Apparently kids, unlike him, enjoyed taking baths.

  He was just getting ready to scoop a pile of mud out of the five-gallon bucket in the middle of the room when the faint smell of coffee drifted in. He stomped back down the stairs and returned a few minutes later with a travel mug full. It only takes one time of getting a mouthful of coffee’d down drywall compound before you figure out a way to keep the two separate.

  He began skimming a thin coat down each seam, before gently laying on a section of dampened tape and another thin coat of compound. It was a quiet, repetitive job and someone one with more practice could probably bang it out no problem. He wasn’t fast, but he was meticulous, carefully covering each seam and nailhead with the first of the three coats it would probably take. If he hit it each night this week, he might be able to get going on the tile this weekend.

  Almost each night at least. He would be happily skipping Wednesday, even if it put him behind where he wanted to be. That night he was going to leave work early to celebrate and relax while he stuffed himself silly with ribs and whatever else Gabbi made for Heath’s party.

  He was mid-way down a seam on the wall when something occurred to him, throwing his rhythm off and making a little gouge in the mud.

  “Damn.” He reloaded his taping knife and tried one more swipe managing to feather out the line.

  Maybe Gwen would be there.

  He’d never seen her at anything before, so there was no reason to think she would be there this time, but he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if Gabbi’s golden-haired sister would make an appearance.

  Now that he'd officially met the mysterious sister he'd heard very little about over the past three years he'd known Gabbi and Heath, he had a hard time thinking of his friends without the thoughts and questions he had about her hijacking his mind. How soon he would see her again, was at the top of that list.

  Joe finished skimming over the last screwhead and plopped the unused mud out of his tray before laying the lid on the bucket and stomping it in place with his boot. He collected his tools and his empty coffee cup before heading downstairs where he rinsed the cup in the kitchen sink along with the tools, setting everything in the dish rack to dry.

  His yawn echoed through the silent house as he went to the still intact downstairs bathroom and started filling the tub for his unappealing evening bath. He planned on starting early tomorrow to get the brunt of his work done before the heat of the day made working in the unfinished house too unbearable. Plus, then he would have plenty of time to get back here and get another coat on the bathroom. This taking a bath thing was awful.

  He turned off the faucets and stripped off his work clothes, separating the items into a divided hamper before easing down into the hot water. It was probably a little too hot, especially considering the temperature outside was still close to ninety even at nearly midnight, but as much as he hated a bath, he hated a lukewarm bath even more.

  He quickly scrubbed his hair and body and climbed out of the tub, opening the drain as he went. He caught his reflection in the mirror as he toweled off. He'd need to shave tomorrow so he was cleaned up for the party.

  It shouldn’t matter. Before Saturday night he would never have given a second thought to the way he looked when he went to Heath and Gabbi’s, but now was a different story. Now he knew his favorite woman in the world had a beautiful and intriguing sister who, if what Heath said was correct, was single and just as feisty as her sister.

  He’d been ready to find a partner for what felt like a very long time, but until Saturday night he hadn’t met a woman he would think twice about. Now, suddenly he was struggling to keep his mind on anything besides a woman he’d just met. One he knew very little about, but that would have to change.

  The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get to know Gwen. See if she was all he hoped she would be. Find out if maybe she was his chance to have what his friends had. Add in the potential for Heath and Gabbi to end up as not just his friends, but maybe even his family, and it was more than worth exploring.

  He finished drying off and wrapped the towel around his waist before walking through the house checking the locks on the doors and resetting his coffee maker to brew a pot before he got up in the morning. When everything was in order, he went back upstairs turning off lights as he went.

  Joe took one last peek in the bathroom to check his work. Not too bad for a guy who learned how to finish drywall last week during a ten-minute tutorial with one of his contractor buddies.

  He shut that light off too and crossed the hall to his room, cringing at the feel of the sub-floor under his bare feet. No matter how much he shop vac’d it still felt gritty.

  After fishing a pair of boxer briefs out of his dresser and flipping off the light, he used the area rug he spread on the floor of his room to dust the debris off his feet before climbing onto the king size bed covered with only a fitted sheet. The upstairs tended to feel stuffy, even at night with the central air running.

  He sprawled across the bed, watching the ceiling fan in the dim light of the moon coming through the undressed window. Normally he would use the time before falling asleep to mentally plan his work day tomorrow. Or maybe run down the list of things he wanted to accomplish on this place and reorder them by importance. With as hot as his room was tonight, new windows and insulation would be at the top.

  Instead, he thought of her and all she could mean for his life.

  Four

  “Damn it.”

  Gwen slowed down as she neared Heath and Gabbi’s house. The driveway and curb frontage around the house were all occupied by various vehicles. This party must be a bigger deal than she realized.

  She passed the house and turned around in a neighbor’s driveway, praying her bumper wouldn't scrape on the pitched driveway as she backed out slowly and headed back past the house to the closest spot she’d seen just in front of a white commercial van. She parked well in front of it, giving them ample space. She had no clue how much room they needed to get that thing out and she didn’t want to find out she underestimated the hard way.

  Quickly grabbing her weekender size bag with a change of clothes in it out of her backseat she headed to the house, wondering as she passed each car if it belonged to one of the reasons she wasn’t still at work. Her hopes began to fade as each car had some sort of child seat strapped into the back.

  If she wasn’t trying to hurry she would have kicked herself for being so ridiculous. Discovering he was happily married with children would be a good thing. For him.

  Gwen slowed her pace as she shimmied between the cars in the driveway to avoid walking through the yard and subsequently sinking four-inch heel deep into the dirt. Reaching the door, she quietly let herself in. She was late and didn’t want to point it out if she could help it.

  She was met by the sound of voices laughing and chatting at the back of the house. She turned and quickly headed down the hall to the bedrooms, hoping to change and sneak into the crowd before anyone noticed.

  A loud voice from the group made her turn to be sure no one was heading her way and she ran smack into something… someone.

  The scent of sandalwood mixed with the clean freshness of the ocean surro
unded her. She froze as each and every hair on her body stood at attention.

  She didn’t have to look to know who the body she was currently pressed tightly against belonged to. Every cell in her body already knew.

  Gwen took a step back, not daring to look at him until the intimacy of his eyes and mouth being mere inches from hers was gone.

  She stood nearly as tall as Joe was in her heels, but his body was so much larger than she remembered. His hair was pulled back today, and he wore a long-sleeved black shirt, stretched tight across his shoulders and chest. Dark wash blue jeans hung from his hips and rested heavily on his black boots. Barely peeking out from the skin covering his face and angular jaw was stubble so dark it was almost black. The urge to reach up and touch it had her gripping the strap of her bag so tightly her fingers began to go numb.

  He stood unmoving, his dark eyes never leaving her face. She guessed many people would be intimidated by his gaze and imposing presence, men and women alike. She was not. Quite the opposite unfortunately.

  Instead, every part of her wanted only to be pressed back against the weight, the heat, the strength, of his body. Closing her eyes as the scent of him surrounded her, Gwen tried desperately to regain control over her body and mind. Being intimidated would have been better. That she could have handled. This, whatever this was, was outside her area of expertise. Far, far outside.

  It'd been so long since she had been affected by a man at all, let alone like this. She’d always believed attraction and desire were a conscious choice, but now, standing here alone in the hallway with a man she’d only met once, she was not so sure.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you.” His voice was just as deep and smooth as she remembered. She could imagine the way it would sound as it rumbled through his chest. If he’d spoken two seconds ago, she wouldn’t have to imagine.

  “I was headed back to change.” She forced her mouth shut, stopping the never ending line of things she wanted to say before they had a chance to come flying out.

  His dark eyes gave her a quick once over, not even hesitating on any of her finer attributes. “You are a little overdressed.”

  “I came from work.” Good. Keep the answers short.

  She needed to move past him, but her feet stubbornly stayed planted right where they were, as if he had a gravitational pull keeping her close, trying to pull her closer.

  “Gwen! You made it.” She turned at Gabbi’s voice behind her.

  Her sister stopped dead in her tracks when she caught site of Joe. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them nervously.

  “Um.” She looked Gwen up and down. Her eyes landed on the giant bag she had slung over her shoulder. “Did you need to change?”

  “Yes. I was on my way when I ran into Joe.” The front of her body tingled at the memory of being pressed against him.

  Her sister was beside her almost immediately with a firm grip on her arm, leading her back to the girls’ room. “You need to change. We are getting ready to eat.” She turned back to Joe.

  “Heath needs help laying all the food out.”

  Joe nodded before giving Gwen one last look, but turned away before she could read the change that had suddenly come across his face. Disappointment? She couldn’t tell, or maybe it was just wishful thinking, but something about her sister showing up seemed to take his mood in a very different direction.

  Gabbi was stronger than Gwen remembered, her fingers biting into the inside of Gwen's elbow as she all but shoved her down the hall and into the girls’ bedroom, quickly closing the door behind them.

  Gwen tossed her bag on the pink fluff covered bed and unzipped it, digging out her change of clothes. “What in the heck was that about?”

  Gabbi stood like a deer in the headlights, her back pressed against the closed door. “What?”

  “You just drug me down a hall and locked me in a room.” She reached behind her, unzipping her skirt as she kicked off her shoes. “Then you basically yelled at that poor man.” She stepped out of her skirt and pulled on her jean shorts then skimmed her silky work shirt over her head and tugged on a soft grey t-shirt in its place. “Why are you being weird?”

  “I was just surprised to see you.”

  Gwen slid one foot into her braided sandal, hooking the back over her heel with the flip of a finger. “You invited me. I told you I would come.”

  “I know. I was just surprised to see you right then.” Gabbi was still plastered to the door, but seemed to be relaxing just a bit. Maybe the stress of getting everything together had her on edge.

  “I know. I’m sorry was a little late. Work was crazy and traffic was worse.” Gwen folded her clothes and packed them in her bag, but left her shoes on the floor. The girls loved trying to teeter around in her high-heels and they’d be thrilled if they found them.

  She zipped the bag and turned to Gabbi. “I’m ready.”

  Her sister stayed put, the odd look from earlier creeping back onto her face. “Could you just…”

  Gwen waited for her to finish her sentence. After a few seconds of silence, she raised her eyebrows. “Could I what?”

  Gabbi blew out a breath she must have been holding. “Never mind. I forgot what I was going to say.”

  “Okay then. Let’s go.” Gwen didn’t feel like arguing with her. She had skipped lunch to be sure she would get here tonight and she was beyond starving.

  “All right.” Gabbi slowly turned and opened the door.

  The smell of barbeque hit Gwen the minute the door opened. Somehow she’d missed it before. Probably because all her senses were focused in one very specific place.

  Gwen’s stomach growled and she hurried down the hall, this time she was the one dragging her sister. She wanted a big plate of food. More than that, she wanted to see if this crazy fascination she had with Joe would be coming to an abrupt and disappointing end. Part of her kind of hoped it would.

  ****

  Joe helped Heath lay the food across the island in the center of the kitchen while friends and family of the birthday boy milled around them and spilled into the family room. It was a packed house and Gabbi had prepared enough food to feed an army.

  He tried to focus on what he was doing, peeking inside each covered dish looking for something more interesting than the woman undressing on the other side of the house, trying to think about anything but the woman who just a few minutes ago, inadvertently pressed herself against him. He struggled to keep his eyes off the doorway that led to the front of the house, but every time he moved, the scent of her perfume wafted around him, rising up from the center of his shirt were her chest rubbed against his, reminding him she would appear in that doorway any second.

  “You expecting somebody?” Heath must have caught one of his many glances and was now staring at him expectantly.

  Just then, Gabbi came walking through the door, shooting Heath an apologetic look. Right behind her, looking very different than she did ten minutes ago was Gwen.

  She’d changed out of the tight black skirt that fell just below her knees and the silky top she wore with it, into a pair of tiny jean shorts and a grey t-shirt. The heels that could easily serve as a weapon had been switched out for a pair of flat sandals. Her eyes scanned the crowd, probably searching for familiar faces.

  “Shit.” Heath cursed under his breath just as Gwen’s eyes landed on Joe. He thought she almost smiled, her lips twitching at the corners, before she quickly turned away and stepped into the crowded room.

  He could hear Gabbi whispering to Heath behind him, her words louder than she realized as she tried to be heard over the noise of the group. “I didn’t think she would come, and I certainly didn't think they would be like this.”

  Heath whispered something back Joe couldn’t make out. He was much better at not being heard than his wife. It was probably a job requirement.

  The low whispering ended and his friend stepped forward, raising his voice so he could be heard above the chatting. “Foods up for whoever w
ants to stuff themselves with some of my wife’s good cooking.”

  Joe stepped back, clearing the way for people to start filing around the kitchen island and pile their plates high with ribs, beans, macaroni and cheese and corn pudding. As the kitchen became crowded, he stepped back even further into the front room both to avoid being in the way and to secure a little personal space.

  A few seconds later he was joined by Gabbi. She pointed to the couch. “I need to talk to you.”

  She sat down, positioning herself so she could keep an eye on the door to the kitchen, and waited for him to join her before she started.

  “You need to stay away from my sister.” Her bluntness surprised him. Apparently she didn’t feel like easing into this conversation.

  “I’m starting to get a complex. I thought you guys liked me.”

  Gabbi and Heath had been so good to him over the years, but the cold hard truth was that maybe they were okay being friends with a convicted felon, but welcoming him into the family was a different story.

  Gabbi sighed. “We do. We love you. That’s why we want you to forget she exists. Just for a while.”

  Joe stared at her. She wasn’t making any sense. Wouldn’t you want someone you love to be with your sister? Someone you knew was a good man?

  “Why?”

  Gabbi sighed as she rubbed her temples, eyes closed. She finally opened her eyes and checked to be sure the door was clear. “Gwen isn't really in a place to be with someone the way you want to be with someone right now. Even if she was, I don't think she could ever date a biker.”

  So there it was. Everything always went back to the same place. “So it’s because of my past?”

  Heath and Gabbi were the two people in his life he thought never judged him for things that he did. Of all the people in the world, they had supported him, encouraged him, but when it came down to it, he might never be able to convince anyone he’d changed. Even his friends.