48 - Inspection

*What the hell you going to do with a house? – Zydeco*
Monday morning, while he was watching Camille during practice, he received an email from Jenna. He skimmed through the contract and replied that he was going to have his lawyer look it over. His lawyer.
Smirking, he forwarded it to Celt who had assured Darkness that that he could reach out for anything. Within a few minutes, he received an email back from the Massachusetts lawyer.
*Darkness,*
*This looks like a bunch of legal crap.*
There was a clip from *Legally Blonde* where the main character looked terrified. He only knew the name of the movie because he hovered over it. Chuckling at the man’s sense of humor, he scrolled to read the rest of the email.
*Sending this to my sister-in-law since she likes real estate and property law. <Shudders> Then again, she also likes my brother. <Double shudders.> She’s good at it and should have it back soon.*
*Let me know if you need anything else.*
*Sean/Celt*
Beneath his name was the official company signature with the BACA logo underneath with his local charter information.
Twenty minutes later, the coach called for everyone to get out of the pool. As always, he met her at the railing and gave her a quick kiss before she went to take her shower.
Camille pulled her swim cap off and wrapped her large towel around her as she slipped her flip flops. Leaning over the railing, Darkness gave her a light kiss.
“Banana nut bread and a decaf caramel macchiato?” He asked with a grin.
“Yes, please,” Andi, Camille’s dive partner, said as she passed by. “Full caffeine please.”
“Got it,” Darkness smiled at the other woman as she headed towards the locker room. “Go, get your shower, Belle.”
“Okay.”
She followed her dive partner, and the rest of the team while he headed towards the nearby little coffee shop. The barista smiled at him as he entered.
“Do you want your regular? Decaf caramel macchiato with a slice of banana bread, right?”
“Two slices, one decaf and one regular.” Darkness told her as he pulled out his wallet.
She started the coffees and then slid two slices of banana bread into the slim paper bags. Finishing the coffees, she placed a black lid on the regular coffee and white on the decaf. Once the coffees were ready and the slices of bread in a brown bag with the store logo, she rang him up.
He ran his card and approved the standard tip. The girl with bright purple hair always made sure that the macchiato was decaf and the banana bread fresh. The least he could do was give her a tip for taking care of his light.
Walking away from the little shop, he saw Andi as she exited the natatorium. “Andi!”
The girl stopped and turned smiled at Darkness. “Hey, babe. Camille just calls you Darkness.”
He nodded and handed her the cup with the black lid. “It’s my road name.”
“That’s cool.” She smiled as he held the opened bag out for her to get one of the slices of banana bread. “She’s right, you really are a sweet guy. Don’t worry about me hitting on you. Your girl is more my type.” She gave him a wink and then a quick salute before walking away.
Darkness turned back towards the natatorium as Camille walked over and hugged him. “You know, I’m going to be hearing about that for a long time, possibly until graduation.”
He chuckled as he hugged her. “Take your breakfast and get to class, *ma Belle lumiere*.”
With a quick kiss Camille left for class, and Darkness went to that day’s job site at a nearby bed and breakfast. Zydeco let him come in a little later than the rest of the crew. Mainly because if there was an emergency, it would be Darkness that would go.
And as a plumber journeyman, he went on plenty of middle of the night, after hours and weekend calls.
He parked his work van in front of the Queen Anne bed and breakfast, leaving his club cut in the passenger seat. None of the Cajuns wore their club cuts while working. Not just because they were hot and restrictive, but also because some clients did not know the businesses were affiliated with the Cajuns.
They were currently working long shifts to get the three rooms repaired between the holidays. An electrical fire over the holiday weekend temporarily put the small business out of business. Three of the trade’s companies were currently working diligently to get them back up and running.
Darkness waved at a couple of the guys as he walked through the reception area. Without having to ask, Santa jerked his thumb over his shoulder telling the younger man where the foreman was. Heading towards the back of the house, he heard Zydeco arguing with someone. There was silence and no response before he started again.
Walking into the kitchen, his suspicion was confirmed when he saw the man on the phone. Zydeco gave a deadline for delivery and then ended the call.
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“I found a house. It’s a rental. I’ll be doing repairs instead of paying rent.”
“What the hell for?”
Feeling like a nervous teenager, he rubbed his neck as he gave a little grin. “I want to move in with Camille.”
“More than at the clubhouse?”
“It’s like everyone is watching us. Waiting for me to go fuck her. She’s more than that.” He shoved his hands in his back pockets to keep from fidgeting.
Grinning, Zydeco gave a little shake of his head. “You’re really serious about her.”
Darkness pulled out his phone and opened up the email from the jewelry store. Clicking on the attachment, he enlarged the picture of the silver and black diamond engagement ring. It had a simple band and a square cut diamond.
Zydeco looked at the picture his friend and adopted son was showing him. Finding himself at a loss of words, he simply pointed at the screen for a moment. “That’s… ummm, that’s pretty serious.”
He looked at the younger man, concern written on his face. “Are you… asking at Christmas?”
“No.” he turned the phone back to himself and then scrolled to another picture. It was a silver necklace with the Virgo constellation in black diamonds. “I pick this up tomorrow and the rings in January.”
“Why not buy the house?”
“When she finishes school, I think she’ll want to go home.” Darkness said closing out the app and putting his phone away.
“I think her home will be wherever you are.”
“I know mine is with her.” Darkness admitted. “Before I sign the agreement, I want you to look at it. See if there’s anything I missed.”
“I’ll go inspect it this afternoon. Text me the address.” Zydeco slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, son.”
“Thanks, Zy,” he smiled at the shorter man.
“You talk to Gator about all this?”
“No… it’s complicated.”
Zydeco motioned for the other man to follow, and he walked out the back door to the picturesque backyard. Grabbing a couple of sports drinks from the cooler, he sat down at the round picnic table, placing Darkness’s preferred color in front of the opposite bench.
“Talk to me, *pistache*,” Zydeco said as he opened the bottle.
Darkness chuckled at the nickname from when he was a little boy. *Pistache* was pronounced pee-stash and was slang nickname for little children. Even as a child, he was not very small.
Letting out a breath, he played with the bottle. “I told Jasper that I didn’t want to talk to him again until he apologized to Camille.”
“That’s fair. He called me after you left.”
“What did he say?”
“He’ll tell you when he’s ready. But I sent him several videos that we had of your little Cam diving. I really like that double shit.”
“The synchronized diving with Andi is really cool.” Darkness smiled.
“He feels bad for the way that things ended between you two.”
“What are you saying?” Darkness asked as his phone chimed with an incoming email.
“If he calls, answer.”
“Thanks, Nonc Zy,” Darkness replied as he pulled his phone out.
Chuckling at his own old nickname, Zydeco finished off his drink before heading back into the house. Darkness pulled out his phone and read the email from who he assumed was Celt’s sister-in-law, Amelia. She had made a few suggestions, and he forwarded them to David and Jenna.
With that taken care of, he emptied his own bottle before heading inside and upstairs. He had a full bathroom to replumb today so the new fixtures could be installed tonight. If they stayed on schedule, the four suites would be done, and the small bed and breakfast would be reopen by the end of the week.