“I’m so glad I bought this tile cutter,” I said, cutting the ceramic square in my new machine and handing it back to Rhett. “I hate renting tools.”

“Right? Plus — buying tools means, new tools!” Rhett said, taking it back, placing it in the spot where it would go and handing me the next marked tile. The muscles in his back rippled under his shirt.

The bathroom remodel doubled in estimated speed once Rhett joined the project. Not only was he a quick study and good with his hands, he was a hard worker. The guy had more stamina than me. I always wanted to kick off early, especially with him around, but he was like a machine.

We worked in silence for a while, our system honed to an art at this point. It took us a while to figure out exactly what we were doing, and how we were supposed to do it, but now our teamwork was automatic.

It felt good, being proficient in something new. Rhett and I had that in common. We both liked learning how to do new things and doing new projects. Plus this bathroom was going to be epic.

“I think I want to videotape some of the bathroom remodel,” I said. “It might be a good first step, like here is what I’m doing. No big deal. Then it would give me a topic to update.”

Rhett finished placing and measuring, and then handed me the next tile. He stopped and rubbed his hands on his jeans, and wiped the dust off his face with his arm. “I think it’s a great idea. Do you want me to hold the camera?”

I considered. Maybe. I knew I needed to get back on camera, and Rhett’s presence might create more questions than I wanted to answer. “I think so — as charismatic as you are, I don’t want to create a million new question about you. I can barely deal with the concept of a regular update. We can just start with me making an appearance.”

“What about Tiger? Do you want to use him too?” He looked over my head at Tiger, who was happily chewing on a toy inside his doggy play area we fenced off inside Oscar’s house.

Tiger stopped and looked up at me, tipped his head so his ears flopped, and then resumed his chew attack. His growling ’narf’ sounds were punctuated by the gnawing of his teeth against the plastic toy. Every time his teeth scraped against the toy, his ears vibrated.

Tiger liked to chew things. Rhett learned the importance of the fenced area in his house, and the necessity of putting his shoes away. I smiled, remembering Rhett’s incoherence at why a dog would chew one of every pair of shoes, and not pick both of the same pair. Puppy logic dictated that every pair be ruined!

“Viewers will love Tiger. I just have to be careful not to make everyone think they should go get a dalmatian. Maybe I can alternate videos with other dogs at the shelter, and then get them adopted.” As I spoke, a light bulb popped on in my head.

It must have been obvious because Rhett grinned at me, his eyes shining. “Hey! I think you just found yourself a winner!”

I sat back, surprised at the idea. Why didn’t I think of this before? “I could work with the shelter animals, and broadcast their training. This would help them find homes and generate interest and revenue for the shelter. And I could teach about training and rehabilitating dogs.”  I couldn’t wait to tell David.

“You’re a genius,” Rhett said. “Should we finish this and then make some videos? I have a shift at the station tomorrow, but I can help you today.”

“Good idea!” I said. I looked down and brushed tile dust off my turquoise t-shirt. “Do I change my shirt for the camera or stay dusty?”

“I like you a little dirty, but you should probably change for the camera,” Rhett winked at me.

I pushed my glasses up on my nose and regarded him through my dusty lenses. “A little dirty, huh?”

“Probably wash your glasses too,” he said. “Actually, you should shower. Do you need any help?”

I looked down at my dusty clothes and felt my pants tighten as I imagined showering with Rhett.

“A nice warm shower might be just the thing we both need,” I said. Our eyes locked together, and we both put down our tools. Rhett took my hand in his and led me to the master bathroom.

This had turned into one of our favorite things. Why waste the water on two showers when you could take one together? Never mind we probably used more water this way.

We undressed each other, one article of clothing at a time, never breaking eye contact. Our dusty clothes dropped into a mixed pile on the floor. Rhett held his hand out again, and led me into the bathroom. I followed his tall muscular form and round perfect ass into the warm slippery water, and we washed our cares away.

* * *

Later, I showed Rhett how to hold the camera, and we made several videos of the bathroom remodel. I talked about all of the mishaps and the things I’d learned. I even showed how we figured out how to cut and measure the tile to exactly fit — after talking about all the mistakes we made.

My mistakes dropped dramatically after Rhett joined my project, but I didn’t name him specifically. I did say, I have a friend helping me and the work is easier now that I’m not doing it alone.

I wanted to talk about the town — about the small town sensibility and how everyone here took care of everyone else. But I didn’t want the internet to know where I lived. Not yet.

While we were at it, I wanted to get video of Tiger’s training. We got a lot of footage, more than I needed, but the next day was editing day.

Tiger’s training had progressed quickly. He was a smart dog, and Rhett a committed owner. He worked with him all the time, not just while I was there doing a training session. Most people are excited about a puppy at first but then real life takes over and all of their plans get pushed aside. The problem is, a dog like a dalmatian required being the dog owner to be almost your first and full time job.

Rhett held the camera and we did some footage introducing Tiger, and I showed some of his first tricks. I also talked about the breed, and why they were not a beginner dog, no matter how cute they were. In this case, Tiger’s owner hadn’t sought him out, but rather ended up with him, and decided to do right by him.

I decided these could be two separate videos, and I could upload them at staggered times to create more finished content. Between the remodel and the dog, I could keep my channel busy for a while.

If the internet wanted me to play Sims and record it, I guess I could do that too. I just didn’t want to do dumb pranks that were mean or shocking, or have misleading click bait. Maybe that was okay with other people, but they just weren’t me.