As the days went by, you settled into a routine with Joel. He would go to work during the day, and you would stay at home searching for a job. You spent your afternoons cleaning and organizing the house, trying to make it feel more like a home.
You wake up early and decide to surprise Joel with a nice breakfast before he heads to work. You walk into the kitchen, still rubbing the sleep from your eyes, and begin to pull out ingredients from the fridge. As you start to prepare the meal, you hear Joel stirring in his room. You quickly finish up and place the food on the table.
Joel walks into the kitchen, looking worse for wear. His hair is dishevelled, and his eyes are bloodshot. You can tell he didn't sleep well.
"Good morning," you say, trying to sound cheery.
Joel grunts in response and pours himself a cup of coffee.
"Did you sleep okay?" you ask, already knowing the answer.
"Not really," Joel says, taking a sip of his coffee. "I had a lot on my mind."
You nod in understanding and sit down at the table. The silence between you is awkward, and you decide to break it.
"Hey, Joel, your hair is getting a little long. Do you want me to trim it for you?" you offer.
Joel looks at you, surprised by the offer. "Uh, sure. That'd be great. Thanks."
You grab a pair of scissors and begin to carefully cut his hair. As you work, Joel starts to relax and even cracks a smile or two. You were enjoying the closeness between the two of you. You couldn't help but notice how handsome he was, despite his dishevelled appearance.
You tried to push any attraction you felt towards him to the back of your mind, knowing it was inappropriate given the circumstances.
"You know, you're pretty good at this," Joel comments. His raspy voice sends you shivers.
"Thanks. I used to cut my mom's hair all the time," you reply.
Joel nods, "I can tell. It looks great."
After that, Joel heads off to work. You decide to spend the day job hunting. You send out your resume to various places and even drop by a few businesses in person to inquire about job openings.
The following day, while out running errands, you bumped into an old friend from high school, Anita. She was surprised to see you back in town and decided to catch up over coffee. You talked about how you were settling in. You explained that you were living with Joel and helping him out. She suggested you download a dating app.
"You never know who you might meet," she says, grinning.
You roll your eyes but secretly consider her suggestion. After all, you're new in town and don't know many people. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try.
Later that night, you returned home to find Joel asleep on the couch, a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the coffee table. You shook your head and grabbed a blanket from the closet, draping it over him. You also set a glass of water and an Advil on the table for him to find when he woke up.
The next morning, you woke up early and decided to make breakfast for Joel before he left for work. You made pancakes and bacon, and the smell of the food wafted through the house, waking him up.
Joel stumbled into the kitchen, looking a little disoriented. "What's that smell?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Breakfast," you said, smiling. "I figured you could use a good meal before work."
Joel sat down at the table and dug into the food, devouring it in record time. "Wow, this is amazing. You're quite the cook, kid" he said, looking at you with a newfound appreciation.
You blushed, feeling a little embarrassed by the attention. "Thanks, Joel. I'm glad you like it."
As he ate, you asked him about his job and he opened up about his struggles. You listened intently, feeling grateful for the opportunity to get to know him better.
"So, Joel, what do you do for a living?" you asked, curious to learn more about his life.
Joel paused for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. "I work in construction with my brother Tommy and your dad, actually. We specialize in remodelling old homes and buildings," he replied, taking another bite of his bacon.
"That sounds interesting. Do you enjoy it?" you asked, taking a sip of your coffee.
Joel shrugged. "It's a job. Pays the bills, I guess. But lately, it's been tough. We haven't had a lot of projects, and money's been tight."
You frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be stressful."
Joel nodded. "Yeah, it is. But we'll make it through somehow. We always do." He looked up at you, his eyes softening. "You know, you're a real bright spot in my life right now, Muffin. It's nice to have someone around who's not always complaining or making things harder than they need to be."
You felt a warmth spread through you at the affectionate nickname he'd given you. "I'm glad I can be here for you, Joel. And who knows, maybe something good will come up job-wise soon. You never know."
Joel smiled wryly. "Yeah, I hope so. Anyway, thanks for the breakfast. I should get going. Tommy and I have a job to start on today."
As he left for work, you found yourself staring at his broad back, wondering what it would be like to be with him. Pushing those thoughts aside, you decided to take Anita's advice and downloaded a dating app, setting up a profile in hopes of finding a distraction from your growing attraction to Joel.
A/N:
I've got a few more chapters written, so don't worry, I'll update soon :)