Bare Studs by Jess Roth

Author:Jess Roth [Press, Dreamspinner]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

I THOUGHT that had cured me of my fancy for the boy as the next few days passed, uneventful. I’d wake and drink a strong cup of coffee while listening to the silence that exists only in the early hours of morning. At work, I’d walk from group to group, checking in on their assignments as we ironed out the details and waited for the materials to arrive. Still, at the end of the week I found myself dressing with particular care, knowing I’d see his face that afternoon. I arrived at the shop just as the foreman was unlocking the front door.

“Big day, Oscar,” Ed said, clipping the key ring back to his belt loop. He was a thin, aging man with a bald head and a full mustache that flared upward now as he grinned. “Ready?”

I nodded. “Though perhaps you can look over my sketches before Charles arrives?”

“I’m afraid I’ve come a bit early, then.”

I spun at the sound of that raspy voice, knowing it in an instant, though I’d only heard it once before. He was there behind us, as clean and dapper as if he’d appeared there by magic, with only a spot of mud on one shoe to say otherwise. The memory of the night after our meeting came back fresh and new and I turned to hide the telltale blush, but caught sight of a knowing smile on Charles’s face. Mumbling a greeting, I pushed past Ed into the shop.

I’d taken the sketches home with me, and I had them tucked under my arm in a folder. I took a moment to collect myself under the guise of organizing the pile and then the three of us stepped inside the office. I spread the papers across Ed’s desk and shuffled them, focusing hard on the drawings covering the pages. A hint of leaves and mint and fresh-washed laundry. Charles. I swallowed when he moved closer, his hip brushing against mine as he leaned over the desk for a closer look at the drawings.

“What do you think?” I asked, my voice strained.

My heart gave a little flutter when he pulled his eyes from the sketches to meet mine. His pupils were crowned with golden flecks like the sun around an eclipse. I hadn’t been close enough to see that before. Freckles dotted his smooth cheeks, speckled across his nose, matching the curls of auburn that escaped the confines of his hat.

“I think,” he said, pink lips parting, “that they’re wonderful. You have a talent, Oscar.”

The office was warm. Too warm. I scrubbed my damp palms against my legs in a way I hoped was surreptitious.

“Well, I’ve never worked on anything quite like this before.” I focused on each word, determined not to stutter, not to look away from his gaze, half-challenging, half something I couldn’t identify but made my stomach drop out. “It’s an inspiring project.”

Charles reached a finger toward the sketch that detailed a cross section of the engine, his hand touching mine in passing.

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