#Chapter6
Are you some kind of special?
Matt
/"You did what? Please tell me you didn’t do that,/" Markus said.
Mason had a puzzled expression on his face.
I stood in the kitchen, regretting calling my idiot cousins.
/"Are you some kind of special, Matt? Who the hell kisses someone and leaves?/" Markus asked.
/"I was at a loss for words,/" I said.
Markus and Mason turned their heads and looked at me sideways.
/"What?/" I asked.
Markus rolled his eyes. /"You don’t kiss someone, then leave. What the hell is wrong with you?/"
/"Okay, smartass, what do you suggest?/" I asked.
/"I suggest you get your shit together and don’t act like a tool. Grandpa Nash would pull that shit. Oh, wait, he did,/" Markus said.
/"You know way too much about Grandpa Nash,/" I said.
/"It helps when your ma drags you to visit family,/" Markus said.
/"My ma dragged me out to the boonies,/" Mason said.
/"Did Aunt Luna try to recreate Children of the Corn starring one kid? Oh, she re-titled it Child of the Corn,/" Markus said.
/"No, dumbass. Ma thought it would benefit me,/" Mason said.
/"Can we discuss Mason’s lack of social skills later?/" I asked.
Markus and Mason stared at me.
/"Matthew, you screwed up. Let me ask you a question. Do you like Nora?/" Markus asked me.
/"Yeah, Nora has all these incredible qualities. Not even Sadie had Nora’s qualities,/" I said.
/"Did you enjoy the kiss?/" Markus asked.
/"I’ve kissed no one that way. The kiss was amazing,/" I said.
/"Then go back and tell Nora. Don’t play with her head,/" Markus told me.
/"I wouldn’t do that. However, I don’t want to sabotage something. I haven’t had this kind of feeling for anyone in forever. Nora isn’t like most women. She has a personality where you can spend hours talking to her. Nora’s friendly, funny, and cares about people. Even with the home life she endured, she never lost her kindness,/" I said.
Markus and Mason furrowed their brows.
/"How does someone deal with issues and still care about others?/" I asked.
/"Because Nora has always been that way. Her dad is an asshole and treated Nora terribly,/" Mason told me.
/"What do you mean?/" I asked.
/"When we dated, Nora’s dad would treat her like she was useless. He would tell her she wouldn’t amount to anything. That no one would love someone like her,/" Mason said.
/"He’s an asshole,/" Markus said.
/"Imagine hearing that repeatedly, then guys reinforcing it. Even I made Nora choose and treated her like shit because she didn’t pick me,/" Mason said.
/"Yeah, you deserve your ass beat for that,/" I said.
/"There’s no need since Payton already did,/" Mason said.
/"Okay, you don’t want to screw this chance up, which we have established. Then take it slow with Nora. Give her a reason she deserves love,/" Markus said.
I nodded. I wanted a chance with Nora. I had one and didn’t want to blow it. Hopefully, she feels the same way.
*****
Nora
I spent most of the day and evening working on the house. I watched the videos and followed the steps. It wasn’t difficult once I understood what to do. I could do this. I was proud of myself. My dad didn’t know what he was saying. I could do things.
I went upstairs, showered, then changed into my pajamas. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up plumbing items. I noticed the bath sink faucet leaking and needed to replace it. Plus, I didn’t want a high water bill.
The following day, I woke up and dressed. Since I didn’t have a coffee maker, I stopped for a coffee before work. I stood in line, waiting. I looked at the sign, figuring out what I wanted.
/"I suggest a coffee with French Vanilla creamer,/" someone said in my ear.
I cocked my head slightly as Matthew gazed at me.
/"Why French Vanilla?/"
/"Because it’s sweet but not overpowering./" Matthew gave me a slight smile.
/"I see. So, it takes the bitterness away but still leaves the coffee taste./"
/"I think so./"
I faced Matthew. I put my hands together and interlocked my fingers. /"Does it confuse the taste buds? Because my taste buds have a distinct taste and hate when I mess with them./" I gave Matthew a look.
/"Not if the creamer improves the taste./"
/"Is that so?/"
/"Yeah./"
/"I wouldn’t want the creamer to evaporate, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth. It would disappoint me./"
/"If you give the creamer a chance, you’ll find out it won’t evaporate. You’ll enjoy it./"
A smile curled upon Matthew’s lips.
/"I’ll try it./" I sighed.
/"It won’t disappoint you./"
I shook my head, knowing Matthew wasn’t talking about coffee. I ordered a coffee with French vanilla creamer. The barista made it, handing it to me. I sipped it, surprised by the taste. You remove the bitterness, keeping the coffee taste. Matthew ordered a coffee with the same creamer.
/"How is it?/" Matthew sipped his coffee.
/"It’s not bad. You can taste the slight sweetness, but it doesn’t overpower the coffee./" I sipped my coffee.
/"See, I told you./"
We left the coffee shop and walked out to the parking lot.
/"Thanks for the suggestion. I have to get to work./"
/"No problem. What are you doing after work?/"
/"I have a date with YouTube to replace a bath faucet./"
/"Did you need help?/"
/"I wouldn’t mind. I don’t need to break a pipe./"
Matthew chuckled. /"I’ll stop by after work and help you./"
/"Okay./" I walked away as a smile curled upon my lips.
*****
Matt
I worked on a car, fixing the issue with the belts. I didn’t understand why people didn’t maintain their vehicles better than they do. Afterward, I replaced the brakes and calipers.
I finished up and let Beau know.
/"I finished the last car./"
/"Good, because there’s a transmission job tomorrow./"
/"Let me guess. The trans needs an overhaul./"
/"And belts./"
It’s a minimum four-hour job unless it takes longer. I didn’t mind since the jobs paid well, and Beau had reasonable pricing. He didn’t gouge like most auto repair shops.
I left after finishing my work. I went home and took a shower. When I saw Nora, I didn’t want to appear as a grease monkey. After washing up, I dressed and left, grabbing my toolbox on my way out.
I knocked on the side door to Nora’s house. She opened it, and I entered. We went upstairs to the bathroom. I set the toolbox down, crawling into the cabinet. I turned off the shut-offs to the supply lines, then grabbed a pair of channel locks and unhooked the lines. I unscrewed and removed the old faucet.
I installed the new faucet on the sink, connecting new supply lines. I wrapped Teflon tape around the ends before reconnecting the lines. As I tightened the lines, the pipes rumbled. I craned my head, seeing a drip from the shut-off.
Then the pipes rattled. My eyes widened as I hurried out of the cabinet. The shut-off handles shot out as a pipe sprayed water, soaking me.
/"Matthew!/" Nora was getting soaked.
/"Hang on!/" I ran downstairs to the basement. I shut off the main.
I ran back to the bathroom and entered as Nora stood there, soaking wet. She gave me a look, and we started laughing.
/"You look like a drowned rat./"
/"So do you./" Nora laughed.
We laughed as Nora left the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later with towels. I dried off my face and hair as Nora looked at the bathroom.
/"So much for changing a faucet./"
/"Let me go home and change. I’ll check to see if I have any shut-off handles to replace the broken ones./"
/"Okay./"
I went home, changed into dry clothes, and searched for shut-off handles. I found them and returned to fix the bath sink. I repaired the handles, hooked up the faucet, then went downstairs to turn on the main. I returned and turned on the faucet while Nora mopped up the water.
/"Now I have water./"
/"It takes time, but repairs will get done./"
Nora stopped mopping. /"Thank you for helping me. It’s nice to have someone help you./"
I walked over to Nora. /"You deserve help./"
Nora smiled, making me smile. /"Did you eat dinner?/"
/"No, I came home and showered. I didn’t want to look like a grease monkey./"
Nora giggled. /"There’s nothing wrong with a grease monkey. Britt called me Betty Crocker because I like to bake./"
/"Betty Crocker isn’t bad. Maybe you can be my Betty Crocker and bake me a cake./"
Nora’s cheeks turned a faint pink.
/"Only if I get to call you Grease Monkey./"
/"Deal./" I held out my hand, and Nora shook it. Our hands lingered. /"I want to kiss you again./" I gazed at Nora.
/"I think I want you to kiss me./"
I pulled Nora to me, licked my lips, then leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. I deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her closer to me, closing any gaps between us. This kiss felt right.
We broke from our kiss. I placed my forehead against hers. /"I wanted to kiss you again./"
/"You did?/"
/"Yeah, but I didn’t want to scare you./"
/"I thought you regretted the first kiss./"
I chuckled as Nora laughed.
/"How about we see what happens? Let’s start with a date./"
/"A date sounds good./"
/"Okay./"
/"How about I order pizza as a thank you for helping me?/"
/"A pizza sounds good./"
Nora pulled away and left to order a pizza. I finished cleaning up the bathroom. I had a good feeling about things.