บท 6: Chapter 6 : Meeting Marcus
*Juliet*
“Why are you on my roof?” I call out again when the man doesn’t answer me.
“I’m Marcus,” he shouts down at me.
“Okay? Is that supposed to mean anything?” I shout back at him. I hear him laugh and I like it. It’s much more normal than Eric’s, more melodious.
“I work for Logan! He sent me out to get started on the roof,” Marcus explains and I nod, believing him.
“Is Logan still here?” I cough a little, my voice starting to strain a bit from shouting so much.
Marcus smirks again and doesn’t move from his position on the roof. He isn’t going to make this easy for me.
“No, he had to run back to his office. It’s fine though, I’m not a threat,” Marcus winks at me and I make a face of disgust but then immediately bite my lip to clear my facial reaction because I don’t want to be rude.
“You know,” I shout back up to him and he looks down at me, “most people who say they aren’t a threat, turn out to be a threat.”
Marcus laughs again.
“That’s a good point,” Marcus agrees and I smile a little. “But I swear I’m not. Logan wouldn’t have hired me in the first place, let alone leave me here on your roof for you to return to alone if I was a threat.”
“See the Logan part helped but then it just got worse.” I chuckle a little and roll my eyes. “Well, I need to put my groceries away…” I trail off, hoping he will get the hint.
He either doesn’t get it or he chooses to ignore it because he keeps talking.
“So, are you new in town?” Marcus asks, making a move toward the edge of the roof and climbing down the ladder to come over to see me. He stops too close to me so I back up a little. Marcus smirks at my reaction.
“Ah, no. I am not new.” I don’t expand further. “Are you?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Marcus shrugs but he doesn’t expand either.
Marcus looks me up and down and his mouth turns up again. I can tell he likes what he sees. I take a second to look him over too. Marcus has broad shoulders and an athletic build. His skin is dark from the sun and I can tell he has a farmer’s tan because of it. My eyes linger on his muscular arms. Hm, are they bigger than Logan’s?
What am I doing? I’ve only been here for a day and I’ve already unsuccessfully hit on my contractor, made out with and tried to hook up with my childhood best friend, and now I’m enjoying this stranger flirting with me. I shake my head, trying to clear my mind and distract myself by picking up the groceries I had dropped when he scared me earlier. Marcus bends over to help grab the items that fell out of the bag.
“I can help carry those,” Marcus offers.
I hand him the bags and then go back to my trunk to get the rest of them. Marcus follows me onto the porch and I quickly unlock the door with Marcus standing too close to me.
“Thanks for your help,” I say as we walk toward the kitchen.
“Eh, no worries. Nice to get the lay of the land. I have a feeling I’ll be over here a lot.” Marcus chuckles and I turn to give him a look as I drop the bags onto the kitchen counter. Marcus is now the third man to have been in my house in the last few hours, and I have hit on all of them, wow.
“That’s very confident,” I admit. The implication is a little too forward but I don’t hate it.
“Well, what can I say? I am very confident in my skills, I am great with my hands.” Marcus smirks at me and wiggles his fingers. I take a step back from him which only seems to amuse him.
“Wow,” I am honestly too stunned to speak. “That’s…hm.”
“Everyone raves about my skills,” Marcus continues with a gleam in his eyes and I narrow mine at him. He grins at me and I realize he is just messing with me. Marcus steps closer to me and his scent envelopes me. He smells great; like sweat and cologne, a woody scent.
“Oh yeah?” I decide that today isn’t the day to mess with me and I put on what I think is a sexy face.
“Yes, great reviews,” Marcus continues the charade.
“So, what skills would that be? And are you offering?” I raise my eyebrows and step closer to him, lowering my voice a little to sound more seductive.
I place my hand on his chest and slowly curl my fingers so my nails lightly scratch his chest. Marcus’ smile grows and I realize I may have made a mistake. I’m sure he knows I’m just messing with him but I think he likes it.
“Oh, I am offering whatever you want, baby,” Marcus leans in, hovering over me. “Anything you want,” Marcus says the three words slowly, and something turns in my stomach.
After the earlier rejections from Eric and Logan, I very much appreciate that Marcus is interested. Part of me feels guilty though. Eric and I have to figure out what’s going on between us before I can make any moves on someone else, right?
“Mm.” I reach up, standing up on my toes to reach his lips and I moan slightly. A trick I learned from Jennifer Aniston’s character, Rachel, in “Friends”. “Tempting,” I say before he can kiss me. I pull back, sitting back on my heels and smiling up at him.
“Wow, that was pretty good,” Marcus admits, nodding with his respect. He takes a step back and blows out a breath. “Yeah, that was very good. I was ready to bend you over the table and let your groceries melt.” Marcus chuckles and it makes me blush a little.
“Damn.” I blink and then laugh as well. “Well, thank you.” I smile at him then turn to put my groceries away. Marcus takes a seat at the kitchen table, making himself at home while I put everything away.
“So, this was your grandparents' house?” Marcus asks for confirmation. I look back at him while putting things in the fridge.
“I thought you didn’t know my situation?” I raise my eyebrow, looking at him with interest.
“Well, I’ve never seen you before. Logan did tell me the basic information about the house, but you know him, he doesn’t tend to share more than necessary.” Marcus shrugs and I agree. I turn back to my groceries.
“Ah, okay. So, are you done with the roof today?” I ask to get back to why he is here in the first place.
“Yeah, for today. I just had to make sure I have everything I need, which I do,” Marcus lets me know. “You have a great view from the roof. You ever thought about putting a balcony or little rooftop terrace?”
“Actually, I had never thought about that, but it would have a great view of the lake.” I think about the idea and I love it but I also have to think about the financial aspect, especially with a sloped roof, plus adding access from inside. It would just be way over budget. I sigh. “It’s a great idea, really. If I had more time and money then it is something I would consider.”
“Well, let me know. I can help out with that.” Marcus stands and comes closer to me, trapping me against the counter. I look up at him and raise my eyebrows. “For a price,” he adds with a smirk.
I roll my eyes and put my hand on his chest to push him back. He doesn’t move for a second, he just looks down at me. His eyes flick to my lips before he looks back up into my eyes. He smiles and backs up from me.
“Okay, you’ve got to go. I have things I need to get done so I can actually get this house renovated,” I tell him then start to shoo him away with my hands. “So, out please.”
“You sure you don’t want me to stick around? Having a big strong man around the house might be very helpful, in more ways than one.” Marcus grins at me but lets me shoo him toward the door.
“If you see a big strong man, let me know,” I tease him and his jaw drops a little at the insult.
“Wow, I am shocked and offended.” Marcus acts offended, putting his hand over his heart as if I wounded him. It makes me laugh more.
“Goodbye, Marcus,” I laugh as I push him out the door and quickly shut it behind him. I peek out the window to make sure he’s leaving and I watch as he gets his ladder packed up and tucked away in his truck and then peels out of the driveway.
I want to go sit down and take a break but I know I have a lot to do. I go down the hall and continue packing each closet in all the bedrooms and also the closets. There are lots of bedding items and towel sets that I can throw away and put the rest of the items in bags to donate.
I keep a few of my favorite towels since I will be needing them, and I throw them in the laundry to freshen up. I work diligently for a few hours and am able to get everything out of the Jack and Jill bathroom and most of the master bathroom.
I leave the door open to haul out a lot of trash bags and put them by the curb. I might have to get a dumpster, or I could take Logan up on his offer to borrow his truck. Going back inside, I grab another few bags and drag them out to my car. I load them into my vehicle and groan because I forgot about the bags I had already put in the car the previous day.
I should have dropped them off when I went into town today, but I completely forgot after my time at the bank and the unpleasant interaction with Maggie. Shutting the trunk of the car, I put the bags out of my mind and go back inside to do more work.
The mess I make expands into the living room and I find myself sitting on the floor sorting through everything. I look around and lay back on a pile of books. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed the ‘big, strong man’ out the door. These books are going to be too heavy to load into my car all by myself.
I groan and sit back up, the pile uncomfortable under me. Getting on my knees, I shove the books in good condition toward the door and then return to the middle of the room to put the other books in the trash. It hurts me to throw them away but they are no longer in good condition so I have to toss them.
“Whew,” I sigh and wipe my brow, looking around the room. I made a mess. “It’ll get worse before it gets better,” I say to myself and get annoyed at the saying. It’s often true but the mess bothers me.
“Okay, maybe I’ll just clean up after dinner,” I keep talking to myself and groan. I stare at the mess and immediately turn on my heel to go to the kitchen for some food before I have to return to dealing with the mess.
When I finish dinner, I take a glass of wine outside to sit by the pool. I curl up in the chair next to the one where I practically tried to force myself on Eric. I look over at the chair and feel embarrassed. Taking a sip of my wine, I check my phone. Eric has not texted me yet but I can’t blame him.
I sit out by the pool until I finish my glass of wine. When I’m done, I go over to the pool and dip my foot in. Even though it was so warm today, the water is not as warm as I was expecting it to be. The cool night air must have made the temperature of the pool drop a bit.
I debate going in for a swim but decide that I have too much work to do inside and that I need to get back to work so Logan and his crew can properly get started. I head back inside, refill my glass, and sit back down in the living room to get back to work.
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