Brett felt awful. Things were going so nicely, it's been so sensual and exhilarating interacting with Eddy across the window.. and then he had to do something stupid at the worst timing and place, narrowly causing a disastrous accident.
Brett's heart was still beating with stronger pulses than usual. For a while he thought it was going to beat out of his chest... and that moment when he saw Eddy's feet elevate as he toppled over the edge... Brett could have sworn his heart had stopped.
OMG was he actually even really okay? What if he gets scared while he's trying to complete his job...!?
Brett couldn't contain himself. He grabbed his phone, wallet and keys and ran out of his penthouse.
Brett stepped out of his building and turned the corner towards the east side of his building where Eddy would be working. He looked up. Stories and stories, metres and metres above, was the scaffold suspended in the sky. Eddy should be inside, working. Seeing the vertical height from ground level made Brett's head spin. From the angle Brett looked up, he could not tell if there was a person inside the scaffold.
Brett crossed the street and entered the café. He sat near the window so that he could keep looking at the scaffold where Eddy was supposed to be in. He was staring at the scaffold while he sipped his coffee when he noticed the scaffold had started to move. It was moving downwards and stopped at the level below. Brett was relieved to see this as it meant Eddy was still working and hopefully not having a breakdown in the scaffold.
Brett ordered another cup of coffee.
Then another one.
It was when he was almost through his 3rd cup of coffee when he noticed the scaffold was coming all the way down. Brett stood up and quickly paid his bill and left the café. He crossed the street and stood by waiting where he expected the scaffold would land on the ground.
Eddy looked preoccupied with controlling the scaffold. When he finally made it land on the ground, Eddy remained busy sorting and collecting his equipment, then opening the little doorway to get out of the scaffold. It wasn't until he stepped onto the ground when he looked up and noticed a familiar face. He initially looked puzzled.
"....Brett?"
"Yeah..."
Brett's voice was hitched and squeaky from the anxiety and nerves.
Eddy's face broke out into a smile.
"Hi Brett.. nice to finally meet you in person and not through a panel of glass...."
"OMG... Eddy.. I'm so sorry...what I did was so stupid..."
"Hey, it's okay.. no harm done. That's what the harness is for."
"I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when... OMG Eddy..."
"Yes?"
"I... I really want to talk to you.. but I had 3 coffees while I was waiting for you and I really need to go to the bathroom....!!"
Eddy let a little chuckle escape his lips. He then smiled.
"I gotta go return my equipment and sign off. I'll come back in 5 minutes. Meet you at the entrance of your building ?"
"Okay... thanks..!!"
Brett squeaked and rushed off. He knew his building had a bathroom on the ground floor behind the concierge desk, thank goodness there was, as otherwise, he would not have made it.
Eddy in the meantime walked to the tiny demountable behind the building where his equipment was stored. He bit his lip and grimaced for the mistake he'd made. He wasn't mad at Brett, but mad at himself and very embarrassed about his blunder.
Rule number 1: Don't ever laugh whilst on the scaffold as it is extremely dangerous!!
Eddy thought he might have to report himself to his boss Keith the next time he talked to him. He knew Keith would worry but Eddy was almost certain he was fine. He was able to complete his shift without any issues. Eddy went abseiling when he was younger and still goes indoor rock climbing occasionally so having a bit of a tumble wasn't a big deal for him so long as he had a harness on, which he had.
He decided to shift his thoughts towards Brett and his mood instantly improved and he grinned. Brett's voice was mousy, high-pitch, soft and raspy. Eddy thought it was cute. He walked back to where he agreed to meet Brett, in front of the building. Eddy was surprised to see Brett back already. Then it dawned on him that he must have used a bathroom on a lower level.
"Brett."
Brett looked up and smiled.
"Hi, Eddy. Look, I'm really sorry about what happened...."
OMG
Eddy stood mouth agape.
"Eddy?"
"...What happened to your voice..??"
"What voice?"
"Yours...!!"
The soft, high-pitch and raspy mouse had left and Brett's voice was replaced with a velvety baritone that sent shivers down Eddy's spine.
"Eddy? I don't understand... I suppose my voice was a bit squeaky before because I was nervous and busting to go to the bathroom...??"
It was the most unromantic thing to hear from the most romantic voice Eddy had ever heard.
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This concludes the short story "Twoset Window Cleaner", I hope you enjoyed it <3