Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,58

can come out,” I explain.

“I got turned around looking for the bathroom and have been standing in the broom closet for ten minutes?” he hisses. “Am I supposed to pretend I took a piss in the mop bucket too?”

“Do you have a better idea?” I challenge.

He clenches his jaw and is quiet for several seconds before pressing his ear to the door to listen and cursing again.

“All right, fine. It’s going to be a miracle if Val buys this.”

“You’ve got this, just commit to the story,” I encourage.

“Okay.” He nods resolutely. “Wish me luck.” Everett presses one more quick kiss to my lips and then squares his shoulders and slips out.

“Ev?” Val sounds surprised.

“I got turned around looking for the bathroom.” There’s a long silence. I wish I could see her expression. I’m sure he’s right, she has to be suspicious unless she thinks he’s an absolute idiot. The question is whether she’ll call him on it.

“Ooookay,” she says after a few seconds.

“Ready to get back to the games, Livi?” Good job deflecting, I cheer mentally.

“Yes!”

Their footsteps echo as they start to walk down the hallway, and I let out a relieved breath. I wait until I can’t hear them at all anymore before slowly opening the door. Of course, it’s just my luck that the hallway isn’t empty after all. Allison, Livi’s primary teacher, is still standing right outside the closet, silently scrolling through her phone.

At the sound of the door opening, she looks up, her eyes going wide with surprise. She darts her gaze in the direction that Ev, Val, and Livi disappeared and then back to me as she puts the pieces together.

“Please don’t rat me out to the principal,” I plead.

“What is even happening?” she asks, barely containing the humor in her voice.

“Nothing. I mean, nothing wrong, just complicated,” I assure her.

“My life suddenly feels extremely boring,” she says, shaking her head.

“Honey, I would kill for boring.”

Chapter 17

Everett

I glance at the clock and groan. I swear, time has actually gone backward since I checked five minutes ago. Normally, when I’m on a job site, the day flies right by, but with my date with Watson only a few hours away, every minute has felt like an eternity.

I could tell Val didn’t buy the bathroom story, but luckily, she didn’t say anything about it. But I’d rather she think I’m an idiot than to come out to her that way. But coming out to Val is tomorrow’s problem, today is all about Wats.

Ollie and I have been working on an addition to a house for the past few days, and I’ve spent countless hours trying to work out how to ask him some of the awkward questions that have been on my mind with this date approaching.

The guys talk about sex all the time, but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable for me to bring it up to him. I’m sure I could get a lot of information online, and I have, but most of what I need to know at this point is easier to ask than to Google.

We break for lunch around noon, heading outside to eat in my truck so we can get back at it as soon as possible.

“Watson and I have our second date tonight,” I say as Ollie unwraps the sandwich he packed.

“That’s great,” he says.

“Yeah. The thing is, last time our alone time was sort of cut short by Val dropping Livi off, and I’m thinking things might end up going a bit further this time.”

“Ah, and you’ve never…” he trails off as I shake my head. “Gotcha. Do you need advice or…”

“I’ve got the basics,” I assure him. “But I was wondering if maybe I should…um…” I clear my throat, trying to figure out the least embarrassing way to ask this question. Fuck it, after all the things I’ve heard them discuss over the years, this isn’t remotely over the line. “Do most guys get their ass cracks waxed? Or do you shave? Should I not worry about it at all?”

“Oh.” He seems relieved by my question. That makes one of us, since all I can think about now is that he’s probably wondering exactly how hairy my ass is if I’m worrying about this. “It’s a personal preference thing. Some guys worry about it, others don’t. It’s really only an issue when it comes to rimming, which is pretty intimate for most people. Sorry, that’s not much of a straight answer.”

“That’s okay. I guess it couldn’t hurt