Chapter One
“It’s all ours,” Colin said, admiring the intricate handwork framing the eaves of the house that now belonged to him and his partner.
“All 3200 square feet of dilapidation,” Riley said with a gleam in his eye. “This house is going to be a monster to fix up.”
“But it’s our monster, and fixing up is what we do best.”
“Right, only we aren’t getting paid for this one.”
“Yes, we are,” Colin countered. “It’s an investment in our home. Every drop of sweat, every nail we drive, every spot of spackle we put on the walls will be payment to ourselves.”
“I love your enthusiasm,” Riley said with a lopsided grin.
“It’s not a lost cause, babe. It isn’t condemned or anything.”
“No,” Riley said wearily. Not condemned, but still a lot to do.
The front porch of the Victorian Gothic home, was slanted slightly from time and gravity, both weighing heavily against the wooden slats that couldn't bear the pull from both any longer. The center of the house jutted out in classic late 1800’s architectural design, double elongated windows centered on either of the recessed sides. Columns, reminiscent of earlier times, lined the front porch in Victorian elegance. The paint from the porch railing had cracked and peeled, choosing to let go in lieu of being ignored and forgotten over time.
Bushes and shrubs overgrew their intended size, looking more like brush than yard ornaments. The sidewalk was cracked in places it shouldn't be, unable to move with the shifting earth beneath it. Riley couldn't see the shed in the backyard, but he remembered it needed as much work as anything else he had seen, including siding - or at the very least, a fresh coat of paint. The work that lay ahead of them would keep them occupied for a very long time.
And that was just the outside.
“Let’s go in,” Colin suggested.
“Are you going to carry me over the threshold?” Riley joked.
Colin looked at his partner with a raised brow. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Colin. Toss me over your shoulder and show me what a man you are.”
“I’ll show you, but not by throwing my back out,” he said with a grin.
The original doorknob had been replaced at some point in time with a newer lock that didn’t require a skeleton key. The tumblers hesitated then fell into place with Colin’s insistence.
The entryway was huge, offering a pleasant welcome to residents and visitors in days gone by. Riley imagined the place in full décor, brightly colored wallpaper lining the walls that were now dank and in dire need of a coat of pant, some patching and perhaps more wallpaper like what might have hung there at one time.
Dark-colored carpet covered the entryway floor, but the hallway was lit plenty from the windows lining the front of the house as well as light pouring from the half bath at the end of the hall. A grand staircase snaked down the front hallway’s left wall, bordered by heavy wooden banisters. The tread on the stair runners was worn bare in some spots but was still hanging on if only by sheer threads.
Colin looked up at the plaster ceilings and sighed. “It will take some work, but can you imagine it finished?”
“I hate to admit it, but I can.”
“We should start with a good cleaning. The plumbing and electric are in order, at least. Most of the work is going to be cosmetic.”
“Thank God for small favors,” Riley said. “There’s enough of that that needs doing.”
“Still, for the price, we could hardly pass it up.”
Colin was right. The city was trying to restore some of its older homes that led into the historic district, and as a result, they got the house for a steal. They would exhaust their savings on renovation materials, but even at that, when it was all said and done, they’d have a nice home. Besides, the savings was meant for a down payment on a new home, assuming they would have paid a lot more for one.
“When do you think we’ll be able to move in?” Riley asked, pulling his work gloves from his hip pocket.
“I think we can have it livable in about two weeks. A lot of the stuff that we need to do can be done while we’re living here.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Ready to start cleaning?”
Riley took a deep breath and shook his head no. “But I’ll go get the stuff out of the van anyway.”
They worked all day, stopping only for food and bathroom breaks. It took them all day just to get the downstairs done, moving out assorted belongings discarded and rejected by prior owners. Most of it was junk and it was easy to see why it had been left.
“We should pull up this carpet,” Riley said, turning his nose up at the floor-covering in the living room. “It stinks.”
“Yeah, it does. We need to see what’s underneath anyway. If there are hardwoods hiding under there, we could refinish them. Or put more carpet down. What do you think?”
Riley thought for a moment and said, “I’m really thinking we should stick to the plan to make it look like the original as much as possible. Keep the decorating and stuff as much a reflection of the past as we can.”
“Right. Hardwoods it is.”
“Now for the million dollar question,” Riley said with a smile. “What if they look like shit? Too much to refinish? Are we tearing them up and putting down new?”
Colin wiped sweat from his brow and said while opening a living room window, “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we won’t have to worry about that.”
“You know my favorite room is the upstairs bathroom, I think,” Riley said. He loosened the edge of the aged carpet and it came up easily when he began to tug it.
“I love that room,” Colin agreed. “I like the old fixtures in there. Especially the clawfoot tub.”
“Me, too.”
They worked together to roll the old carpet up and moved it out of the way. Surprisingly, the wood underneath looked pretty good.
“These floors are going to be beautiful when we’re done with them,” Colin said. "It's in pretty good shape."
"I only saw one spot and that was at the bottom of the stairs. Someone must have spilled something on the carpet at one time," Riley noted.
"I saw that," Colin said. "I think we can sand it out, don't you?"
“I hope so. We have to do something with the kitchen floor, too,” Riley said. “We may as well do the bathrooms while we’re at it.”
Colin followed him through the dining room into the kitchen and they looked at the floor. It was a flat green tile with some flecks of gold thrown in for style, Riley supposed, but it left much to be desired. Like the carpet, the tile was worn, scuffed beyond repair through the main walkway. Judging from the path worn in the tile, Riley supposed a table had sat in the middle of the room.
“You know what we should do in here? It won’t be ‘period’ but it would be nice,” he said.
“What?”
“It looks like people who’ve lived here before have used a kitchen table right there. There’s plenty of room for a butcherblock island instead. What do you think?”
Colin nodded slowly as he thought about the suggestion. “I think it would be fine. Just because we want it to be period, doesn’t me we should give up functionality. We aren’t using all those fireplaces for heat, after all.”
Riley laughed and said, “Thank God! There’s one in almost every room. I’d hate to think we had to keep all those home fires burning.”
“They’ll look nice when we refinish them. Have you ever seen such fancy moldings?”
“They really are nice,” Riley agreed. “I’m glad we got the old appliances out of here so we can finish the floor without working around them.”
“Yeah. We need to clean the upstairs tomorrow then move on to the painting.”
“Paint first then the floors,” Riley said, long-used to dealing with home improvements.
He and Colin had a decent business in general contracting and it was enough to keep them busy and fed and clothed. It was tough sometimes working and living with a partner, especially if they were fighting about something, but otherwise, it was nice. More often nice than unpleasant. Five years in the business and six as partners had brought them closer rather than pushing them apart.
Suddenly taken with desire while reminiscing briefly, Riley closed the gap between him and Colin and slipped his arms around him, kissing him hard.
Colin smiled as they parted and slid his hands down the expanse of Riley’s back, settling a hand on each denim-covered butt cheek and giving him a squeeze.
”What was that for?” Colin asked.
“I love you, Col. That’s what it was for.”
Colin kissed Riley back, fumbling for the zipper on Riley’s jeans. “Hold on,” Colin said, stopping suddenly. “We don’t want to make a spectacle of ourselves for the neighbors.”
Riley glanced at the bare windows, naked without the covering of custom drapes that would hang there later.
“What about the bathroom? It only has that small window and the glass is frosted.”
Colin gave his lover a crooked grin and said, “Creative. That’s one of the things I love most about you. How about channeling some of that creativity?”
“You think I’m creative? You should see what I can do with my hands,” Riley said.
They moved to the upstairs bathroom and Colin picked up where he had left off with Riley’s fly. In moments, he had Riley’s jeans in a puddle around his feet followed by his briefs. Colin went down on his knees and took Riley’s cock in his mouth sucking it to firmness while his hands cupped Riley’s ass, squeezing.
“Colin, my God,” Riley said, bringing his hips in synchronized motion, rocking in rhythm with Colin’s ministrations.
He came quickly, pulsing into the warm wetness of Colin’s mouth, and Colin expertly milked the fluid before releasing Riley’s cock.
When Colin stood from his knees, Riley noticed that he had already pushed his pants and underwear out of the way, giving his cock room to grow. Riley moved Colin to the toilet, sitting his bare butt on the lid, then knelt before him. He looked longingly at his lover from the floor, never losing eye contact as he pushed Colin’s pants all the way down, and opened his legs by putting pressure on the inside of Colin’s thighs.
Colin needed little urging, and he splayed his legs, giving Riley ample room and open access. Riley went down on Colin, flicking his tongue over the head of his dick, teasing, toying, before slowly sliding down the length of his member. Riley gently cupped Colin’s balls in his hand, and fondled them while moving up and down his dick.
Riley felt Colin’s balls tighten, then Colin came, releasing into Riley’s mouth. As Riley pulled away, Colin collapsed against the back of the toilet, sated and worn out. Riley, still bound by his jeans and underwear at his feet, kicked his shoes off and pulled the binding clothes free so he could straddle his lover.
“I love you so much,” Riley whispered into Colin’s ear as he rested his head on Colin’s shoulder.
“I love you, too,” Colin said.
After several moments of sitting entwined together, Riley said, “I wish we had some towels. We could try out the shower.”
“I wish we had a bed.”
“Since we don’t have either…” Riley started.
“I know. We should go home and clean up. We’ve had a long day.”
Reluctantly, Riley moved off Colin’s lap and quickly redressed. As he turned to leave he said, “Did you close the door?”
“I don’t remember,” Colin said, nipping at Riley’s neck. “I had other things on my mind when we came in here.”
“Hmm. I don’t remember closing it.”
“It might have swung shut. It’s an old house.”
Riley reached for the doorknob and tried turning it. “It’s stuck.”
Colin frowned and gripped the handle, twisting it this way and that. “How could it be locked?”
“Here’s a better question. How do we get out? I don’t have my phone up here, do you?”
“No,” Colin said, his brow furrowed in thought. He reached for the handle again and twisted it hard. "It isn't giving an inch."
"What will we do?" Riley asked.
"We'll figure something out. The window—"
"--is too small and we're on the second floor anyway."
"But there might be a way down without breaking a leg," Colin finished.
He went over to the small window over the bathtub and struggled to open it.
"Don't tell me," Riley said as he watched his partner.
Colin traced a finger around the edges of the window frame, examining closely it to see what the problem was. "Painted shut," he surmised.
Panic began to overtake Riley as he paced the bathroom. "What are we going to do, Colin?"
Colin pulled out his pocket knife and wedged it between the window and facing, slicing through the paint stubbornly holding the window closed.
"I swear there must be four coats of paint on this window," Colin complained. "At least."
"Even if you get it open, what are we going to do?"
"What we're going to do," Colin said, turning from his work to face Riley, "is stay calm until there's a reason to panic."
"I think being trapped in your own home is a reason to panic," Riley said. His pacing stopped in front of the bathroom door and he studied it for an answer.
"Calm down, Riley," Colin said while he chipped away years-old paint.
Riley shook the door again, grasping the doorknob in both hands and putting all his body weight into it but with no more success than he had before.
Colin said, "When we get out of here, we need to add trimming the door down to the list. It probably just needs shaving a bit on one of the corners so this doesn't happen again."
"IF we get out of here." Riley let go of the door and glared at it accusingly yet it held tight.
"Riley," Colin warned.
"Damn it!" Riley struck the door with his open palm to punctuate the curse.
"Riley!" Colin said angrily, his own patience beginning to slip.
As he looked toward his partner, the bathroom door gave way, its worn hinges creaking in protest as it swung open slowly to allow them out.
Riley uttered a relieved, “Thank God. I was really starting to worry.”
“Me, too,” Colin said. He closed his knife and dropped it back in his pocket.
"If I had known all it took was smacking the door, I would have done that before."
"You must have hit it hard it enough to jar it open," Colin observed. He climbed out of the bathtub, forgetting the window to join his partner. "Until we can fix it, no more closing the bathroom door without a cell phone to call for help or toilet paper.”
Riley ran his fingers over the upper edge of the door. “Maybe we should run a line in here,” Riley suggested. "I don't see where it got stuck. It felt pretty tight to me."
“Maybe we should just replace the door,” Colin said. "Is it warped?" He eyed the door from the sided, looking for the problem.
“Not that I can tell. Maybe it was something with the knob.”
“Could be,” Colin said. "Why don't we go home and figure it out later? I've had enough for one day, especially after starring in The Great Escape."
Riley stared at the door, finding no answers on the surface. He shook his head in confusion and said, "Yeah, let's go home. Our other home."
"Our temporary home," Colin added. He took Riley's hand and they left the house on its own for the night.
