It was almost midnight, and I was exhausted. Brody had to be, too. I put the roller down and stretched my back. “I think we’ve done enough work for tonight.”

“You go ahead and head home. I’ve got a little bit more in me to keep going.”

I’d thought all day how to bring up his sleeping situation, but I couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound judgmental. I didn’t have an option to avoid it anymore. “Yeah, but the thing is, I’m not going to get any sleep if I think about you still working.”

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to think about me?” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Get real!” I shoved him. “I’ll feel guilty if you are still down here working when I go to bed.”

He looked above him. “Down here?” He pointed up. “You sleep upstairs?”

“There’s a small apartment up there that needs renovated, too, but yes. I do sleep up there. I save money that way.”

“Do the other stores have rooms above them?” He dropped his brush onto the paint tray.

“No, only the large store has an apartment. The original owner lived up there, had his restaurant down here, and rented out the rest of the strip to small boutiques and a vacuum place, I think.”

“Oh.” He nodded his head. “That makes sense. If you’re not comfortable with me being down here—”

I put my hand on his arm. “It isn’t that, Brody.”

He looked at my hand and then back to me. “Do you want me to introduce you to—”

“No!” I took my hand back. “God, you make nothing easy.” I let out an exasperated sigh and slouched a little. “You have no place to stay.”

He stood up straight and puffed out his chest. “Sure, I do.”

“Your truck doesn’t count. It isn’t safe no matter how big you are. I have a second bed upstairs. You’re welcome to it as long as you’re doing work here.”

“That’s really generous of you, but you don’t know me. That isn’t safe for you.”

“You’ve stood up for me twice. Are you saying that was just an act to get me alone? Well, you’ve been alone with me all day. You haven’t tried anything yet.”

He looked all over the room before settling his gaze on me. I could see he was struggling with his pride, but he wanted to accept the help.

“Come on. You slept on a cold, hard floor last night. I can’t have you do that again or all scrunched up in your truck. I need you to be at your maximum to get as much work done as we can before you take off. Please?”

He looked away before nodding. “Okay, but only because you need me upstairs to protect you from the monsters.” He smiled as he looked back to me.

I rolled my eyes and turned before he saw the smile. I wanted to know his story. He seemed to be a decent guy, even though he went over the top occasionally. It might have been dumb to give him the spare room next to mine, but I felt comfortable with him. I hadn’t felt as if I could be myself in front of anyone for so long, and I needed it.

“Whoa, aren’t you forgetting something?”

I turned and looked at him. “What?”

“We need to clean up. The brushes are not going to wash themselves out.”

I groaned and tilted my head back. “I don’t like how disciplined you are.” He was right, though. I bent down and picked up my tray and brush. “Come on. I’ll give you the tour on the way to take care of this.”

“I’m pretty sure I know my way around.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t lived here yet.” I walked out with him a few steps behind. There really wasn’t anything new for him to see, but I didn’t want him to assume anything was upstairs. All we had upstairs were the beds. Everything else had to be done downstairs.

I walked through the front room where all the equipment was and headed down the back hall to the women’s restroom. It took him a second to realize where he was following me into and he took a couple of steps back.

“I guess I’ll wash these off out there.”

“No one else is in here.” I motioned with my head for him to follow. “Unless you’re chicken.”

“You don’t know me very well to start that game.” He stepped in line behind me.

“Sure, I do. You’re like every other man who wants to show his pecker off and claim it’s the biggest of the land. Isn’t that what you were doing with Jack?”

“Oh, so that’s his name. Jack Off sounds about right.” He stepped up to the sink next to me and turned the faucet on. “What’s the deal with you two, anyway?”

“There is no deal. I dated him exactly one time.” I shrugged a shoulder. “I guess he thought it was a good date.”

“You didn’t?”

“He’s boring as hell, but . . .” I closed my mouth and shook my head.

“But what?”

“He just isn’t a nice guy.”

Brody put his brush in the sink and looked at me in the reflection of the mirror. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, he’s just an asshole.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I’d never told anyone what I was about to tell Brody, but I kind of needed it off my chest. I opened my eyes, and he was looking at me with a scowl. He wasn’t going to let me not tell him anyway. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”

“If he hurt you, he deserves to be taken care of.”

“Taken care of?” I shook my head and went back to washing the roller in the sink. “Jack said he was interested in another date. I was trying to figure out how to tell him no in a way he’d get it the first time. The only reason I agreed to the date at all was because I’d been telling him no for weeks and he wasn’t getting the hint.”

“I’ll give him a hint.”

“If you keep threatening him, I won’t tell you what happened.”

“Fine.” He said it as if he were a little child waiting impatiently for a big secret or a cookie coming out of the oven and it caused me to smile. “So, this is a good memory?”

“What? Oh, no.” I cleared my throat. “Well, it isn’t terrible or traumatic. Although, now that I think about it, it could be traumatic for some. I wonder how many others were bothered by it?”

“Would you just spit it out already?”

“Sorry.” I cleared my throat and blew out a breath. “Well, he had taken me back home and escorted me inside.” I pointed to the back. “We parked in the alley, and he brought me in through the kitchen. He told me that he had enjoyed himself on our date. I didn’t doubt that at all because he talked about himself the entire time.”

Brody motioned with his hand to get the story moving. “Today would be nice.”

“Shut up! Do you want to know or not, because I’ve never told anyone any of this before?”

“Yes, but it’s going to be time for breakfast by the time you’re finished with it.”

“He whipped his dick out. The end.” I turned to leave, but Brody grabbed my arm and turned me around. “What are you doing?”

He let go of me when I faced him. “You can’t just make a comment like that and then walk away. What happened?”

“Oh, did you want the whole story? The start to finish story?”

He crossed his arms. “Not if it’s that kind of finish.”

“Get real. He said he wanted another date and I had great possibilities, as he looked at my chest.” I crossed my arms when Brody glanced down. “Anyway, the only way I’d get another date was if I gave good head.”

“Are you serious? He expected you to blow him on the first date?”

I nodded. “If I wanted a second date with him.”

Brody bent over, laughing. “He just whipped it out and said suck it.”

“Not in those words, no. I mean, essentially, yes. I suppose, but he was classier about it.”

“Classy? I promise you no one is classy with their dick flapping in the wind.” He turned back to the sink to finish washing his brush. “So, tell me about this tour.”

“We don’t have a bathroom upstairs. So, you’ll have to come down to the men’s restroom to shower, brush your teeth, or anything else you’d normally do in a bathroom.

“I have towels already stocked in both of them, and the washer and dryer in the kitchen can be used for our clothes, too. Just don’t wash them with the towels, and clean them when you’re finished.”

“You don’t have a bathroom upstairs?”

“Not yet. It’s been gutted, as well, and I’ve been putting my time and money into the part of the place people will be using.”

“I see.”

“All that’s really up there is a small refrigerator and a couple of beds.”

“You don’t even have a kitchen?”

I stood a little taller after his seemingly disapproval of what I called my home. “No, I don’t. I don’t need one with Bev’s diner across the street. It’s the best.”

“That isn’t healthy.”

“I don’t eat burgers and fries all the time, but she’s one of the best places around even if I did. It isn’t something from a box or a can. Everything is made fresh. Why do you think she’s packed all the time?”

“I’m just surprised you have the body you have if you eat there for every meal.” He flicked the water off the brush and put it in the tray he just cleaned.

“You don’t listen well, do you? I just said it isn’t burger and fries all the time. She has amazing salads you don’t even need dressings with.” I dropped my shoulders. “Fuck. Now I’m hungry. Thanks for that.” I turned and walked out of the women’s restroom.

“Yeah, I kind of am, too.”

“Well, I know where you can get some free apples.”

“Oh, so we’re cracking jokes now? If that’s the case, I’ve got something you can suck on. I won’t even make you go on a date.”

I turned quick and punched him in the chest. “That isn’t funny. I’m about to lead you upstairs, and I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

He rubbed his chest and narrowed his eyes. “I’ll sleep in the fucking truck, but let’s be clear about one thing.” He pressed me up against the wall and slipped his leg between my thighs. “I have never forced a woman into bed, and I never will. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself underneath me, it will be because you begged to be there.”

I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get warm from the cold he left behind when he walked away, but I did know I couldn’t feel that warmth again. Getting warm with him would’ve complicated things. My life was complicated enough. I tilted my head back and wished I’d picked up batteries when we were at the store earlier. There was no way I’d be able to sleep since he mentioned food and sex. I was fucked, and not the way I wanted to be.