Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Everyone shook their heads.
I picked up a clipboard from the table. “Alright. Great. When you filled out the volunteer application, we asked if you had any construction experience. A few of you do, so we’re going to split you guys up so both groups have a mix of experienced and inexperienced workers. Everyone else we assigned randomly to one group or another.”
I looked down at the list of teams I’d put together last night and made a last-minute swap. Dave and Holden were the two with the most construction experience, so I’d assigned Holden to Jason’s group and Dave to Alex’s. Subconsciously, I’d probably separated my buddy, whom the ladies always loved, from the woman I had an interest in. But Holden was happily married, and Dave looked a little too excited to spend time with Alex for my liking. So I was definitely swapping the teams those two were on.
I was just about to read the list of team members when Kyra raised her hand. “I have a question.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
She grinned and swayed back and forth. “Can I be assigned to your team?”
From the corner of my eye, I caught Alex frowning. Maybe there’s hope after all. “Sorry. I’m not on any team. I float. But if you need anything, I’ll always be around.”
I read the list of names for each team, silently smirking at the disappointment on Dave’s face when I put him with Jason. After, I gave instructions on where each group would start and sent everyone on their merry way.
To keep the teams from bumping into each other, one group started on the first floor while the other would work on the second. Alex started up the stairs with her folks, but I grabbed Holden’s elbow before he could follow.
“Got a second?”
“For you, I have a lifetime, my friend.”
“Just to let you know, I made a connection with Alex.”
Holden grinned. “Oh yeah?”
“I’m not telling you to ward you off. I know you only have eyes for Lala. But maybe you can talk me up, if the opportunity arises.”
“If talk you up means tell her about the time you pissed your pants in first grade and tried to say one of the fish in Mrs. Reardon’s fish tank jumped out and splashed you, absolutely. I’ll fill her in.”
I shut my eyes. “Why the fuck did I even tell you I was into her?”
Holden chuckled. “Hell if I know. It was pretty dumb.” He lifted his hand. “Yo, Owen. Come here for a second.”
Owen walked over. “What’s up?”
“Our buddy here has the hots for Alex, the design-team leader.”
“Oh yeah? Does she know about when he was four and got angry at me because I accidentally hit him with the ball when we were practicing pitching in the yard, so he held his breath until he passed out and landed in a pile of dog shit?”
I groaned. “I hate you guys.”
Owen cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, Colby! Come here for a minute.”
The last member of our squad joined us. “What’s going on?”
Holden lifted his chin to me. “Brayden here has the hots for one of the ladies.”
“I’m guessing Kyra?”
“Nope. Alex.”
Colby looked surprised. “Really?”
“Yep.” Holden grinned. “So if you happen to spend time with her, make sure you put in a good word for our buddy.”
“Of course. I’ll tell her all about your volunteering.”
“Finally,” I said. “One friend who’s not a total douchebag.”
Colby smirked. “Like that time you volunteered at church when we were in eighth grade and snuck into the confessional to jerk off.”
My eyes widened. “I did not jerk off in a confessional. I went in there to wipe off the freaking Bengay on my dick because stupid-ass Owen told me it was hand cream, and then I went to take a piss and touched my dick. The minute I came out of the church bathroom, he jumped right in so I couldn’t get in there when it started burning. What the hell was I supposed to do? Whip my pants down on the altar?”
Owen patted my shoulder. “Still sticking with that Bengay story, huh?”
I dropped my head, shaking it. “You guys suck.”
The electrical contractor I’d hired arrived a minute later, so everyone went to work. One thing after another seemed to pop up, and before I knew it, it was mid-afternoon and I hadn’t even gone upstairs to check on Alex yet. I’d been looking forward to giving her the nail-gun lesson we’d talked about last night. So I grabbed the carrying case and headed to the second floor.
Alex, Holden, and a volunteer I thought might be named Joe were in the room at the top of the stairs. I heard them laughing as I approached. When I walked in, they looked at me and laughed harder.
“Crap,” I murmured. “This isn’t good.”
Alex tried to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she fell into a fit of hysterics. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke. “Did you really stand up on your first day of preschool and announce, ‘I’m not allowed to play with myself in the tub anymore while my mom washes my hair. I have to wait until we’re done and I’m in my room all alone.’”