Page 19 of What I've Tasted of Desire

I pulled into Westing House’s circular driveway. The gate was always left open during the day while the crew and Alex were coming in and out, so that was a non issue. I backed the SUV up and parked next to one of the work trucks.

The front door was standing open as two guys carried out an old roll of carpeting on their shoulders. I popped the back hatch and got out of the car. I took an extinguisher in each hand and walked them up the steps, nodding a friendly “how ya doing” to one of the workers as I passed him. I set them down inside the entryway, but off to the side so no one would trip, before doubling back and grabbing the last two extinguishers.

As I walked back through the door, Robert, the foreman, came around the corner, seeing me for the first time. Robert was on the shorter side, and had a massive beard. He was comfortably plump as well. All those things combined to make him look somewhat like one of Snow White’s dwarfs. He was a jolly fellow, and always treated Alex kindly.

“Mornin’,” Robert said, a friendly smile spreading across his face.

“Good morning,” I replied in kind. I set one of the extinguishers down and took the clipboard from underneath my arm. “I’m looking for…” I hesitated, pretending to scan the document. “...Someone named Alex? I’m here to install the extinguishers.” Once I was finished speaking, I lowered the clipboard and met his eye.

“Oh, I didn’t think you guys were gonna be here until next week, but even better! I’ll go get Alex.”

My heart was beating in my throat. I felt like I was going to vomit all over the entryway. My future. Robert was about to deliver me my future.

Relax, relax, relax. Passing out is the opposite of sexy.

Any second now, Alex was going to come around that corner, and we were going to stare each other in the face for the first time in three-and-a-half years. The second time ever.

Despite the chill in the open foyer, my hands were starting to sweat inside my gloves. I worried dimly about the extinguishers slipping out of my hands.Maybe I should just set them down…fuck.

I moved to set the extinguishers next to the others when I heard a soft “hello,” spoken from the lips of an angel.

I filled my lungs with air and turned around to face him. As my eyes met his, a shiver ran down my back and I could feel the hair on my arms standing up inside my shirt as goosebumps erupted over my entire body.

Everything seemed to stop. The shrieking of the whirling saws behind me, the labored sound of the overworked furnace, the cramping pain in my weary fingers from clinging to these goddamn fire extinguishers.

As if my soul had temporarily separated from my body, all at once it slammed back into me and I realized I was just standing there gawking at him. I cleared my throat, smiled, and said the only thing I could think of.

“Fire department,” I announced like a fucking dweeb. To add insult to injury, I held the fire extinguishers up in the air as if he might not know what the wordsfire departmentmeant.

Christ, get it together! You’re blowing it already!

“C-can I see some id-identification?”

I stood frozen at his question. I had a phony ID in my wallet, but it wasn’t great if he was already suspicious.

But my God, his voice… I’ve never heard it so clearly. And those eyes… the pictures don’t even come close. He’s looking at you. At you! Oh, my god. Oh, my actual god.

I sighed in relief as he simpered.

He’s playing with you… is he flirting?

I could feel myself blushing, and I chose that moment to set the extinguishers down, pull my gloves off, and extend my hand for a shake. I wanted to touch him; to know what his skin felt like against mine. “I’m Gabe. I have the pleasure of doing your installation today.”

Alex shifted the papers he was carrying into his other arm and shook my hand. His hand was so soft and fitperfectlyinto mine. I always knew it would. Sparks hot as fire seemed to radiate from his palm into mine, and I felt like my entire body was aflame. There it was again—Fate working its magic. The very air seemed to crackle with energy. Did he feel it as well? Hehadto, right?

“Alex,” he said as his cheeks started to turn pink, and he dropped my hand.

We stood there and stared at each other for a long moment before he smiled at me and nodded towards the extinguishers. “Um, d-do you have m-m-more of those?”

“Huh?” I asked, my brain not ready to be done just staring at him this closely. “Oh yeah, sorry. I’ve got all four that were delivered on your behalf.”

Alex shook his head, chestnut spiral curls tumbling across his forehead so perfectly I would swear God himself placed each and every single strand of hair on that boy's head. “There s-should be s-six.”

I frowned and glanced down at them like I didn’t knowexactlyhow many there were, and why. “Damn.”

I looked back at him and grinned, not because I wanted to, but because that’s all my face was capable of doing, being this close and actually talking to Alex.

Talking to Alex! ALL CAPS!

---