Chapter Text
The plush carpet made it difficult to hold a steady footing. Sevika followed behind you as you led her through the clients home. It was customary to give her a tour and give her a rundown of the scope of work you’d expect, and answer any questions that might arise.
“This wall and this wall,” you gestured. “They’re gonna be gone. Open concept feels throughout this living room.”
“Which will make the space feel bigger.” Sevika finished. She knocked the wall in different areas, verifying and inspecting its integrity.
“Exactly, we’re trying to avoid making any new rooms, the square footage is adequate if we use it wisely.”
Sevika scanned the wall with her hands on her hips.
“Okay, that can work.”
You turn around, leaving the room, Sevika follows suit until you both face the kitchen.
“They want an update, new appliances, new cabinets, the works.”
Pushing her back with your manicured hand on her chest, you led her to the end of the hall. Her chest felt warm underneath your hand. A grin teased her lips as her gaze rose from your hand to your eyes then to the tight hallway.
“Remove this hallway, and think of a pantry,” you gesture with your free hand.
Sevika walked over to the space. “Are we cutting into the stairs?”
You shook your head and motioned with both hands to your left.
“I have other plans for the staircase. Focus on this corner of the hallway.”
“We can’t touch the stairs, am I just taking space from the kitchen?” she asks.
“No, the kitchen is too small, we don’t have that many inches,”
She snorts.
“Sevika, really?” you scold.
She walks over to the powder room. “Do you need this bathroom?”
A frustrated sound escaped your lips. “We need a powder room, they only have one bathroom upstairs.”
“Where is the space coming from?” she asked annoyance, lacing her tone. She stood before you, hands on her hips, a cig hanging on her ear. You loved the way her cargos embraced her curves. The navy blue polo didn’t help your staring problem.
“Give me a second.” you pleaded.
A palm covered the bottom half of your face as you thought over solutions. “Let me think, let me think.”
It annoyed you to another degree when Sevika was right, her big head getting fatter. It was like a game with her, she tap dances on your last nerve and you tease her until she...
“What if we take one of the lower cabinets and give them a bigger island to make up for the loss in storage.”
“That might actually work,” she replies.
Shooting mental daggers her way. She ignored your glare. Her stance is wide, with her arms by her side. She poked your side. Instinctively you swat her hand away.
Leading Sevika up the stairs, you make your way to the main bedroom upstairs.
“We’re updating these obvi and like a landing?” uncertainty in your tone.
“Maybe, no promises.” Sevika stated.
Presenting the bedroom. “Small and ugly bedroom, and no en-suite,” you mimic gagging noises.
Dragging her to the bedroom next door, currently resembling a shoddy home gym.
“We’ll use the space from the empty nest den,” you muse.
Sevika observed you with crossed arms. “How long were sitting on that?”
“Shut up. We can take at least half.” An arm looped through Sevika’s arm dragging her back to the first bedroom.
“Now we’ll be able to move this,” you stepped around her. “Over here, and we can put a mini en-suite here.”
Sevika was leaning near the windowsill as she listened. You snapped your fingers at her, “Hello? Anyone home?”
“No, I was just thinking of other wishes I have since you think I’m a miracle worker all of a sudden.”
A deep sigh came from your belly. “Okay okay okay, but you haven’t even heard of the budget I’m working with.” Giving her a sheepish smile.
She remains stoned faced with arms crossed.
“150k, you’re welcome.” You pivoted away from her, but tuned into her expression. Still neutral but positive neutral.
“That’s decent. Until we tear the walls down in the living room, and they’re filled with cement or some bullshit like that.” she grumbled.
“We will cross that bridge once we get there.” Turning away from her.
You clung to the bottom hem of her top, as you dragged her to the main bathroom on the second floor.
“Updated bathroom, cabinets, sink, and new shower and tub combo.”
“Easy, done.”
Stepping closer to her, you rested your chin on her shoulder.
“See? Isn’t life easier when we do things my way?”
As you strode to the final bedroom, you held on to Sevika’s thick tricep.
You resisted squeezing, it always led to her flexing under you.
“Last bedroom, I wanna add some built-ins for the last kid, this sliding closet is awful.”
Sevika attempts to open the closet but struggles, when she finally cranks the slider open, she peers into the space.
“More room than I expected.”
“My thoughts exactly, we can use the space better.”
“Easy enough. Any other demands?” she interrogates.
“Remove all the carpet and replace it with wood.”
“The wood downstairs looked weird, but we can buff it out.”
“No, get this. vinyl wood, there is real wood underneath, and I wanna use that and copy something similar upstairs.”
Sevika grimaced. “What kind of moron puts fake wood over real wood?”
You shrugged. “I don’t know,” You murmured fiddling with the tape measure on Sevika’s waistband.
“Okay, seems doable.”
You pull the measuring tape out from her right hip a few inches and let go so it snaps, hitting Sev’s waist.
“My team will get the mock up ready, and we can get a quote then.” you state.
Sevika nods, and grabs the measuring tape off her hip. No longer trusting you not to fuck with it.
You turn away from her, checking your messages.
She moves closer to you, until her front brushes up against your backside. Gentle hands met your waist, the cold metal of her hand as she moved your hair to the other side bit deliciously into your sides.
“I have an hour before I need to call the demo team.” she placed a soft peck on the crook of your neck.
Goosebumps spread all over your arms.
“Umm..Maddie and I got back together,” you stammered.
Sevika scoffed. “So?”
Her scent poured over you, tobacco leaves and neroli. She must’ve smoked before this appointment.
You force yourself to step out of her grasp. “We’re trying okay, like actually trying. I don’t wanna jeopardize it this time.”
Sevika follows you, closing in. “Didn’t she cheat first?” she says flatly.
“Semantics, Vika, semantics!”
Sevika puts both her hands up in a show of surrender.
“I wouldn’t wanna mess up a happy home.” she walks past you. “I’ll text you with updates post demo.”
She takes her scent with her.
The room feels larger without her. You turn around in the ugly bedroom, hanging over the window watching Sevika’s truck pull out of the driveway.
Thoughts raced to your girlfriend. Your thoughts shouldn’t be focused on the hot contractor you’ve been working with for years. Good contractors were hard to find. The renovations you worked on needed her skills more than you needed a fuck.
…
A week into the demolition, Sevika asked you to swing by the lot. Your schedule only permitted you to swing by after a spin class, with traffic you decided to opt out of changing.
The gravel crunched beneath your sneakers while you avoided a call from your supposed ‘girlfriend’.
Maybe Sevika had good news and that's why you needed to swing by.
As you entered the house, your surroundings were different from the last time you were here. The walls were skeletons of their former selves. You tiptoed around the tools scattered on the floor. The ground in the kitchen looked terrible. Searching from the living room to each of the bedroom’s, no sign of Sev. In the bathroom you spotted Ran, they told you she might be outside. As you make your way outside, you find Sevika.
She uses the hatch of her truck as a makeshift desk. Blueprints were scattered around. She had on a black polo today and boot cut jeans.
“Yo!” you called out.
Sevika looked up, a pencil tucked behind her ear today. She nodded up acknowledging your presence.
You leaned against her truck, putting your keys away in your tote bag.
“Please tell me you found gold in the walls, and we have more money to work with?”
Sevika remained stone faced. “C’mere,”
You followed her inside the house to the kitchen.
She pointed with her index and middle finger to the floor where the oven resided.
“Everywhere you see brown is termite damage, all that needs to be ripped out and replaced.”
Hand covered your mouth. “No…” A rough sigh verberated from your throat.
“How much will replacing everything cost?”
“Like 5k, give or take.”
You followed her back outside.
“Okay, that’s not bad, I have enough in the budget stashed away for contingencies like this,”
Sevika nodded and marked her blueprints.
“That's the only fault of the house so far, we haven’t touched upstairs yet.”
You bumped your hip with hers. “Be positive. It’s a newer build, we should be good.”
“That’s all I needed you for.” She voiced flatly.
Noticing Sevika’s stale mood you pump a fist in the air, which gets you a soft chuckle from Sevika. You lean into it and begin dancing while you talk.
“How’s everything else going?” You probe.
“Besides the termites, everything is on track.”
Getting winded you stop dancing and lean against Sevika. She stiffened and walked away.
“I forgot Ran needed something, I’ll keep you posted.”
She walked away from you, you stepped in her way. Looking up at her with crossed arms.
“What’s wrong?”
Sevika gave an uncommitted shrug.
“Nothings wrong,”
Stepping a foot closer she flinches. “Liar.”
A frustrated foot stomped on the soil.
“Foolish of me to assume, you’d be the one person who wouldn’t lie to me. I guess that's asking for too much.” you said.
Turning away with reluctance, foot steps neared. Sevika grabbed your wrist. She led you to a clearing behind the house, tree’s hid you from visibility of prying eyes.
Sevika kept her back to you. Furrowed brows lost in thought. Shaking out her metal hand, her phantom arm acting up.
“[name], I can’t keep doing this shit,”
Playing dumb, you stayed silent.
She releases a humorless chuckle. “You don’t have anything to say for yourself? Huh? Maddie take your tongue too?”
“Fuck you,”
“I know, but at least I can admit it,”
You marched up to her. Chest to chest.
“Sev-”
“Don’t 'Sev' me, I want an answer. I’m done being a side piece to that beat cop, that don’t give a damn about you.”
“Don’t say–”
A shuffling drew y’alls attention toward the house. Loud crunching of the leaves shuffled closer, Ran made their way over to the both of you slowly, taking theatrical steps in your direction.
“Sevika, the engineer is here for the re-wiring,”
Sevika nods. “I’ll be there in a sec,”
They left the two of you back to arguing.
“This is our last project, after this I think it’d be best to find a different contractor. We’re done here.” Sevika states with finality and exits.
She made her way out of the woods, and turned back to look at you once, then went on her way into the house without another word.
The birds around you are loud and relaxed compared to the storm in your chest. Deep down, you knew there wouldn’t be coming back from this. You’d made your choice, why were you already regretting it?