Men of Halfway House 01 - A Better Man (DA) (MM)

by Jaime Reese

  Matt yawned and walked to the house. Had Julian waited up for him? Why had he been watching him?

  He thought of Alex and how happy he had been with Lindy over dinner. He looked up again to the second floor and saw the light switch off. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the thought that maybe Julian had waited up for him to get back home.

  * * * *

  "Dammit," Julian mumbled as a lump of plaster fell on him. He wiped off his forehead and continued to apply the plaster to the seam of the new ceiling drywall.

  "Morning," Matt said with a yawn as he entered the room.

  "Long night," he said, scooping more plaster as he continued his work, trying to ignore the new desire to rip apart this Sam guy.

  "Can I help?"

  "No," he said, slapping the spatula against the drywall a little harder than needed.

  "Why are you mad?"

  "I'm not mad."

  "You sound mad."

  "I know mad. This is not it," he said, slapping the spatula against the seam while he fought off the images of Sam putting his hands on Matt.

  "Just let me help," Matt said, picking up the other spatula.

  "I've got this," Julian said, spreading more plaster, trying to catch the clump that was about to fall. He watched Matt grab the second ladder and set up his spot to start working. Matt climbed the steps and a rush of panic slapped Julian when he saw Matt wobble slightly. "Get down."

  "I'm helping you," Matt said, applying plaster to another section of drywall.

  Julian quickly climbed down and grabbed the base of Matt's ladder. "Get down, you're not stable."

  Matt looked over his shoulder and grabbed the top rung when it shifted again.

  "Get down," Julian said, trying to maintain a level tone while his heartbeat pounded in his ears. "Please."

  Matt looked at him steady, then finally gave in and stepped down. "Why won't you let me help you?"

  Julian wasn't sure what the hell was going on with himself. He wanted Matt close, always did, but he couldn't stop the visuals of Matt with Sam that continued to taunt him.

  "Julian?" Matt said after a few moments of silence.

  Julian shrugged as a clump of plaster fell on his head, down his face then hit the floor with a thump.

  Matt tightened his lips, trying to hold in the laughter but couldn't hide the glint of humor in his eyes.

  "Shit," Julian said, wiping away the plaster that had fallen on him.

  Matt walked over to the corner of the room, grabbed a towel and bottled water. He sprinkled some water on the towel and walked back over to Julian.

  "You missed a spot," he said, grabbing Julian's face and turning it to wipe his cheek.

  Julian remained quiet while Matt wiped his head and face, enjoying the feel of Matt's hands on him.

  "There, all done."

  "How was your date last night?"

  Matt cocked his head, questioning. "I wouldn't call it a date. I had dinner with my brother and his new fiancée."

  Julian nodded and pursed his lips. He had no right to ask and doing so clearly crossed the line of keeping things business. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

  "I noticed you waited up," Matt said, observing him.

  Julian looked away. He wasn't sure what had driven him to wait up last night. He had just needed to make sure Matt came home and was fine.

  "Julian?"

  His vision snapped back to Matt. "Yeah, I…uh…wanted to make sure you got back fine. I noticed you were tense when you left."

  Matt silently observed him for a few moments. "Okay."

  Julian nodded and looked away again.

  "Can I help you here or would you prefer I work in the other room today?" Matt asked in a low, careful tone.

  Julian wanted Matt near, but the visions of him with Sam were overwhelming. He was mixing the plaster wrong and would probably open a hole in the drywall if he continued slapping it so hard with the spatula.

  Julian rubbed his shaved head. "Can you paint the primer in the other room?" he said then lowered his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to look at Matt with all these indecipherable emotions brewing within. He didn't want Matt to see him as anything other than solid, stable, and reliable.

  "Okay. Those are the white buckets in the corner, right?"

  Julian nodded.

  "Okay, I'll get that done," he said, walking away.

  "Make sure the ladder is stable before you climb on it," Julian said, stopping Matt before he walked out.

  Matt smiled. "Okay."

  Julian nodded and lowered his brows, hating that he was pushing away Matt right now and didn't even know why. He turned and snatched one of the bags of plaster to mix the compound again.

  "Hey, Julian?"

  Julian looked up, midway through pouring the contents into the bucket, and saw Matt standing in the doorway.

  "My brother was the guy texting me yesterday while we were working," he said, shuffling his feet. "I hadn't seen him in years, so I was a little nervous about seeing him after so long. I asked Sam to come with me for support. It's complicated but it wasn't a date."

  He finished with a pointed look at Julian before walking out.

  Julian exhaled heavily. Somehow, Matt's words seemed to calm him.

  He finished the new mix of plaster, grabbed his spatula again, and resumed his work.

  It wasn't a date.

  He half smiled as he smoothed the plaster on the drywall easily without a spill.

  Chapter 10

  September

  "I need to use your computer," Julian said.

  Matt hesitated. Julian wasn't normally this commanding with him. "What's wrong?" he asked as he saved the spreadsheets he was editing.

  "I just heard there was a storm coming so I need to see a radar."

  Matt didn't hesitate further; he handed Julian the laptop and cleared a portion of his desk. "What did they say? Is it serious?"

  "Doesn't sound like it. It's a tropical storm but I need to see how much time I have to secure the place just in case it's a wet one," he explained as he opened the browser to the weather site. "She's not as strong as I'd like her to be yet so even a tropical storm can cause some problems."

  Matt loved that Julian called the house 'she'.

  After a few clicks and keystrokes, Julian rested his chin in his hand as he viewed the screen. Matt came around to look over his shoulder. The animated radar indicated the yellow and orange coloring approaching their area.

  "Shit," Julian barked as he switched to zoom in closer and load details.

  "What is it?"

  "There isn't much time to prep. We've got too many windows and I don't have time to board them all up. It's coming in from the east so we'll secure that side first starting with the second floor before the winds kick in. If we've got time we'll do the other side," he said hurriedly before standing and heading for the main living area.

  "What do I need to do?" Matt asked anxiously.

  "Get your ass over here and help me. We don't have shutters yet so we've got to go with wood. I don't have the time to size, cut, and board everything up by myself," he said as he strapped on his tool belt and grabbed a box of screws and the drill from the corner of the room. "Fuck. We're getting a fucking TV in here first thing tomorrow so we can watch the damn weather at least once a day," he grunted as he tossed Matt his work gloves.

  Matt grabbed the gloves in midair and headed out back to follow Julian, who was already measuring panels of uncut wood in the yard.

  Matt sat in one of the folding chairs and stretched his arms upward. Julian was right. They pushed as much as they could, but three hours didn't grant them enough time to cover all the windows. They managed to size, cut, and board enough plywood for the east side of the house and the other rooms where the interior construction had progressed. At least this way, any damage would be minimal. Hopefully.

  "So now what?" Matt felt the strain of his muscles from carrying so much woo
d. Muscles he didn't realize he had, screamed for relief. He thought a hot shower would help, but he still wasn't used to this level of manual labor, especially not so much in such a short time. He grabbed some aspirin from his desk and took a couple with some water.

  "We chill out until the storm passes. Good thing you ordered the pizza a while ago," Julian said as he put two place settings on the small table.

  "You said the winds were going to pick up so I figured cold pizza would be better than no pizza."

  Julian brought out a few candles from one of the boxes in the corner.

  Matt smiled inwardly. "What are the candles for?" he tried in his best come-hither teasing tone. The delivery of the flirty line was completely ruined by the explosive sound coming from a distance, followed by total darkness. "What the fuck was that?" Matt yelled, trying to feel for a familiar wall, chair, or anything around him.

  "Don't move," Julian calmly said as he opened his cell phone to cast a light on the table to find the lighter. He lit the candle and the slow building of illumination in the room gave Matt a feeling of déjà vu of their first few nights in the house. "Sounds like a transformer blew somewhere close by. It'll be a while until we get power." Julian placed the candle between their place settings and lit another and put it on the floor to light the rest of the open area and hallway. Julian left the room and returned with a battery lantern and flashlight.

  Matt watched as Julian calmly maneuvered his way around the semidarkness completely unfazed by the sounds of the wind picking up outside. "You've been through something like this before," he said, more as a statement than a question.

  Julian looked up at him. "Yeah, I was here when Andrew hit years ago. After that, you learn to be a bit more prepared for these things," he said, settling down in the chair and grabbing a slice of pizza.

  "Is that why you got pissed off?" Matt asked, biting into his slice.

  Julian nodded, unable to answer with his mouth full. "I should have made sure the house was prepared," he finally answered.

  "Was it bad where you were?" Matt asked softly. Even though he was a Florida native, he had been living up in West Palm Beach with his parents and knew more damage had plagued the southern areas.

  "I was in Homestead at the time."

  Matt knew what that meant. Julian had been in the heart of the storm when it passed. "Wow," he said quietly.

  "Yeah, it was bad," Julian mumbled while he finished chewing. "Lost most of the house and…" He trailed off. "It was bad," he finished on a whisper.

  Matt sensed there was more to Julian's mood. It was obvious Julian's mind had wandered to some other place in time by his faraway stare. Surely no pizza box could garner that much attention. But Matt didn't dare push. "Well, it looks to me like you made it out fine," he said to Julian with a smile.

  Julian looked up, a startled return from wherever his mind had gone, and half smiled. "You think so?" He shifted in the chair, facing Matt.

  "I do," Matt answered softly. He looked at Julian as the candlelight flickered over familiar features, the soft yellow tones of the flame reflecting in his green eyes. Matt caught himself staring and quickly looked down.

  He began to pick at his napkin and tear away at its edges. He wanted to say or do something, but didn't have a clue if he should and how to go about it. He had been the one to request a 'strictly business' policy and Julian was really good about sticking to it except for that kiss a few months ago. Matt had worked so hard to clearly define a business relationship, but it had blurred with that kiss, and he found he preferred it that way.

  He sighed. Sometimes he wished he really was that character he'd played for so many years, a take-charge guy from some time ago. But something about Julian made him fearful of messing up, wanting to think things through, hesitate.

  Being with Julian just felt right and he didn't want to risk screwing it up.

  * * * *

  Julian could see, just by the expression on Matt's face, that something was racing through his mind as he absently ripped the napkin to shreds.

  "You know, when we first met," Julian began, breaking the awkward silence.

  Matt looked up.

  "I thought you were an asshole," he finished with a smile, waiting for Matt's reaction.

  Matt's jaw dropped in dramatic surprise. He then smiled and playfully punched Julian's arm as he laughed. "No, you didn't."

  "Oh yes, I did," Julian responded with a laugh as he rubbed his arm and acted hurt.

  His tactic worked. Matt laughed and that was all that mattered. Then suddenly, Matt's mood sobered and he looked at Julian with a serious expression.

  "Did you really think I was an asshole?" he asked softly.

  Julian didn't want Matt to get upset. He simply wanted to lighten the mood and get Matt's mind off whatever it was that was weighing him down. "Actually, no, I didn't think you were an asshole."

  Matt sighed and a hint of a smile appeared.

  "I thought you were a boner."

  Before he knew it, Matt was up from his chair, chasing him around the room, occasionally hitting his arm when he caught up to him.

  "That's B-O-N-E-R, Boner," Julian barked in between laughter as Matt continued to follow him around the room in horseplay. "A boner looking for a handyman."

  Matt was laughing so hard he had to stop chasing Julian.

  "Was I really that bad?" Matt finally asked, bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

  Julian looked at Matt and shook his head. "Nah, you weren't that bad," he said and walked over to Matt. "I remember you looked really tired. I just couldn't resist messing with you."

  Matt straightened. "You never did tell me your middle name."

  Julian smiled. He stepped closer to Matt. "Can I ask you a question?"

  Matt seemed to have been caught off guard and stepped back, the wall stopping him from going any farther. He stared at Julian as he inched forward. The sound of the wind outside momentarily distracted him but he quickly looked back up to Julian.

  "Sure," Matt cautiously answered.

  "It's about Sam."

  "What about Sam?"

  "Is he your boyfriend?" Julian stepped forward a little more. The question didn't fit into the employer-employee dynamic but he didn't give a rat's ass right now. He just needed to know.

  Matt gulped and shook his head in response. "We're friends," he mumbled. Matt was either not telling the entire truth or nervous as hell because he was getting closer.

  "Just friends friends, or friends with benefits friends?" Julian asked as he inched forward again. He blocked most of the candlelight from the edge of the room, putting Matt almost in complete darkness in front of him.

  Matt swallowed heavily. "Huh?"

  "You and Sam."

  Matt closed his eyes. "Sam and I are friends. Just friends."

  "No benefits?" Julian asked to clarify.

  Between the wind noise outside and Julian crowding him, it seemed as if Matt was going to panic. When he opened his eyes, he kept looking from side to side wildly but didn't move. He finally looked at Julian and held his gaze.

  "No, no benefits, no perks, no rewards, no bonus points, no nothing, now or ever. Just a good friend who was there when I needed one," he responded, abruptly flattening his hands against the wall behind him.

  Relief poured through Julian. There was something more between Matt and Sam than just a friendship, but at least he now knew it wasn't sexual. He couldn't fault Matt for having a close friend; he obviously kept things to himself, probably as some form of self-preservation. Julian could definitely relate to that. He was grateful Matt had at least had someone he could rely on when needed.

  He just wished it was him and not someone else.

  The bare hint of light lit Matt's face, but it was enough to highlight the bewildered look in his eyes. He was breathing heavier. Julian loved knowing he could unhinge Matt like this. He reached up to cradle Matt's face with both hands. He noticed Matt's breathing changed, almost se
ttled a little. The bewildered expression in his eyes was replaced with something else he couldn't quite pinpoint. Matt's gaze flickered to Julian's lips for a split second then back up to Julian's eyes. If Julian had blinked, he would have missed it. Ah, the anticipation in their depths. Julian could totally understand that. He smiled.

  "Good." He slowly stroked Matt's cheek with his thumb. "Then Sam won't mind me kissing you," he said, a breath away from Matt.

  Matt shook he head slowly, never breaking eye contact with him.

  "Matt?"

  "Yeah?" he said on a whisper.

  "This is me giving you a heads up that I'm about to kiss you," he said before placing his lips on Matt's in a gentle kiss.

  Julian moaned when their lips touched. Matt immediately responded by wrapping both of his hands around Julian's forearms, anchoring himself. He tilted his head a little, giving Julian a better angle to deepen the kiss—which he did enthusiastically. Julian shifted one of his hands from Matt's cheek to around his neck.

  The wind outside howled louder, and the rain began to fall harder.

  Matt gasped when he heard the sounds outside and Julian took advantage and let his tongue outline Matt's lips softly, tenderly. Julian let out a slow growl when Matt tentatively touched his tongue with his own. Slowly their tongues danced together until the sound of pounding rain hit against one of the windows on the opposite side of the house, forcing Matt to break the kiss.

  "What the hell is that?" Matt asked breathlessly. "It sounds like someone's shooting a garden hose at the window or something."

  "Fucking rain," Julian snarled. He listened carefully and realized what was happening. "The fucking storm changed direction. Shit!"

  Reluctantly, he released Matt, grabbed the lantern, and made his way upstairs to minimize any water damage from the storm.