Flipping the Switch by Brigham Vaughn

FIVE

Logan wrenched downward with the pry bar, the nail pulling free with a metallic squeal.

“Geeze, when you said you were planning to get hands-on for this project, I had no idea you were going to take it quite so literally,” Jude drawled behind him.

Logan turned to look at him, wiping the sweat from his brow. Despite the cool air inside the storefront, he was drenched. He’d been thinking he’d need to find a gym in town to supplement his morning runs but maybe not. He was getting plenty of hard physical work in gutting the place. “I’m enjoying it actually. It feels good to get my hands dirty.”

“And they are dirty.”

Logan glanced down to see them covered in grime. “Yeah, well, hazard of the job.” He shrugged.

“Need some help?”

“Do you know how to handle a pry bar?” Logan eyed Jude skeptically.

Jude sputtered, as Logan had known he would. “Give me that. I’ll show you what I can do. Besides, I’m very good with my hands.” He shot Logan a sidelong glance and wink as he took the pry bar.

“Yeah, so when am I going to start tasting your food again?” Logan teased.

“When I have a kitchen to cook in?” Jude gestured around the space. “Which, as you might have noticed, does not exist yet.”

Logan frowned at him. “You aren’t living here, are you?”

Jude burst out laughing. “God no. Do you know me? I don’t rough it, Logan.”

“I do know that about you,” he admitted. “I just wasn’t sure how in debt you were going to get this place up and running.”

“Not that in debt,” he said. “It may come to living out of my car someday, but we’re not there yet.”

“We won’t get there,” Logan said firmly. “We’ll have your restaurant up and running as fast as we can and then you’ll knock everyone’s socks off.”

“God, I hope so.” Jude’s sigh was heartfelt.

“If it gets too bad, you can bunk with me,” Logan teased. “I’m staying in a one-bedroom place at the moment, but there should be room on the floor or something.”

“Cold, man. Cold.” Jude’s smile was sunny though, warming Logan. “No, I’m doing okay. I got a nice place in town at a pretty good rate. It’s one of the properties Dad owns. I may or may not have name dropped to get them to shave some money off the top of my lease.”

Logan chuckled. “You probably just flirted your way into that deal.”

“Maybe that too.” Jude batted his lashes, then sobered. “No, seriously though, I have a kitchen at the condo where I can easily whip up dinner for us sometime if you’d like.”

“I wasn’t actually angling to get you to cook for me.”

“I know that. I owe you big-time though.”

“No, you don’t,” Logan said firmly. “But even if you did, I was only joking.”

“Well, I honestly would like to cook for you sometime,” Jude said. “I miss it.” There was genuine longing on his face. “This stalled project put me in a funk, and I have been half-assing it at home. Throwing together salads or a quick stir-fry but nothing like what I do at the restaurant. I cooked for a—a friend recently but I miss cooking for lots of people on a regular basis, you know?”

“I understand that.” Logan truly had missed getting grubby while he worked on a job site. Being the guy in a white hard hat was better pay and easier on his body, but he sometimes longed for the old days of being on a crew. He enjoyed seeing his effort take concrete form in front of him instead of sitting at a desk and pushing paper. He’d made plenty of money behind that desk so he could hardly complain about the way his life had turned out, but doing this for Jude had been much more rewarding than he’d anticipated.

So was working with Jude. He was easy to get along with. They’d spent quite a bit of time together in the past few days and Logan was enjoying the hell out of it. Jude was funny and charming, easy to be around. He made Logan laugh and feel younger than he had in years.

It was one of the reasons he’d come in on the weekend, though the crew wouldn’t officially start until tomorrow. Jude had offered to join him and help, and Logan hadn’t protested. He enjoyed the company and how appreciative Jude was about everything he was doing.

The look in his eyes sparked something in Logan, igniting the dominant part of himself that ached to be let loose. Jude’s gratitude, his desire to please Logan—they were powerful. Logan’s brain understood they weren’t the same thing, but his body didn’t. That long-buried desire to order a man to kneel woke up and roared.

But he should be focusing his attention on YourSwitchyDream and not on Jude. YourSwitchyDream—Logan really needed to ask the guy if he was comfortable sharing his real name—was hot, available, and interested. They’d talked a lot in the past few days.

Logan had been too busy during the day to chat with him, but they’d exchanged some messages in the evenings, talking about kink and what they were both looking for.

YourSwitchyDream had asked what toys he owned. Logan admitted he had quite a few at home but didn’t have them with him at the moment. He’d have to take a trip into Fort Benton to pick up some of his belongings in the next few days anyway, so he promised he’d have them soon.

YourSwitchyDream—or Switchy, as Logan kept calling him in his head—had promised he had plenty of toys of his own that they could use in the meantime. The benefits of being dominant as well as submissive! he’d joked.

Logan could see that and he was thankful Switchy was so prepared because he was getting impatient to play in person. He’d appreciated the time to connect, to get a feel for who the guy behind the screenname was, but Logan felt comfortable with him now, and he was eager to move things forward.

“Logan?”

He turned to face Jude, who waved the pry bar. “You gonna show me what to do with your rod?”

Logan choked. “Jesus, Jude, you have no sense of propriety, do you?”

“None whatsoever.” Jude grinned. “Seriously though, I have no idea what I’m doing. Show me before I do some serious damage.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Logan agreed. He turned to the adjacent wall he hadn’t already worked on.

“Okay, to remove wainscot like this, we’re going to need to break the seal first. Whoever remodeled this space last did it properly so it was sealed with caulk to prevent moisture from getting between the paneling and the walls, which can lead to mold.” He reached for his knife and held it up. “Earlier, I used this utility knife to cut gently across the top of the wainscoting. In a residential place, you’d probably do each step around the whole room, but I just did this one wall since it’s so large.” He gestured to his right. “Let me show you how to do it on one I haven’t already done.”

Yesterday he’d gone to the nearest big box store and picked up the basic tools he’d need to get started. His crew would have their own, but he’d been too eager to wait. He used the brand-new utility knife, gently inserting the tip into the caulk and dragging along the edge.

“Easy enough,” Jude said.

Logan nodded and set down the knife. “Next, locate the studs.”

“Done.” Jude pointed to himself, then to Logan. “There are two.”

Logan snorted. “You’re relentless.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jude teased. “Sure am. I can go from dusk until dawn …”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Not what I meant, but thank you for oversharing.”

Jude’s grin widened. “Anytime.”

“The wall studs. Part of the main structural framing of a building. You do know what those are, right?”

“Yeah. I used to watch that home improvement show with the hot twins sometimes when I couldn’t sleep. Trust me, I know a stud when I see one.”

Logan shook his head and didn’t dignify that with a response. “Anyway … that’s where the paneling is nailed to the walls. Some people use a stud finder—”

“You know, stud finder sounds like an excellent name for a male escort service,” Jude said. “And I might have to consider that for a username.”

“Focus, Jude.” Logan let out a long-suffering sigh though he found Jude’s interruptions more amusing than aggravating. “If you were on my crew, I’d boot you out on your ass for this kind of talk.”

“Good thing I’m not on your crew then,” Jude said with a grin. “In fact, I’m kind of the boss around here.”

“You’re the client,” Logan corrected, crossing his arms over his chest and fighting a smile to attempt to look stern. “Which means I make sure you get what you need, but my expertise and safety knowledge have to be respected. I’ll do what you want within the parameters you give me, but when it comes to safety, make no mistake, I am very much in charge, Jude.”

His eyes widened. “Yes, sir.”

A little pulse of heat went through Logan’s body at that. God was that nice to hear. Even though it had only been a playful thing and it didn’t mean anything to Jude, it meant something to Logan. Or he wanted it to, anyway. He’d wanted to hear those words fall from a man’s mouth for years, but he never had. Not in any real way. He hadn’t wanted anyone to call him that in a scene unless they meant it. This playful, meaningless use of it made that ache deepen.

Jude would be beautiful on his knees, all sass and teasing, pushing Logan to make him behave. Christ, Logan would give anything to feel Jude surrender to him. Logan’s cock thickened behind his jeans as he stared at Jude, who stood in front of him, wide-eyed and silent. His shirt was damp from the sweat he’d worked up earlier when he’d helped Logan haul trash out.

The fabric was green-blue, the color of Lake Michigan in the shallows, and it clung to every inch of Jude’s toned torso. He wore the shirt with a pair of jeans that were faded and ripped across the thighs, showing little glimpses of the soft golden skin and sparse hair below.

A powerful need swept over Logan as he imagined backing Jude up against the wall and kissing the hell out of him. Running his hands over Jude’s firm pecs and pushing his hands up and pinning his wrists to the wall as he ground against him.

“Logan?” Jude rasped.

Logan shook himself from his fantasy and cleared his throat, returning to business. “I don’t use a stud finder. The row of nail heads is clearly visible.” He pointed, then reached for the pry bar. “Slide the head of the pry bar under the nail and pop it loose from the wainscoting and out of the walls.” He demonstrated.

“Once you do that, the whole way around, you’ll remove the horizontal railing at the top of the panels. Use the pry bar to remove the railing. If you were planning to reuse the drywall, you’d need to do this carefully to avoid damage to it, but in our case, we’ll be taking the walls down to the studs, so it doesn’t matter.”

“So why aren’t we just ripping the whole thing down?” Jude asked. “Wainscot and all.”

Logan chanced a look at him. He looked calm and completely unflustered by the earlier moment. Well, of course he would be. He wasn’t a submissive. The word sir was nothing to him but a vague gesture of respect—or in this case—a playful jab.

“Because the panels and trim are in great shape. We’ll reuse some things but the rest we’ll take to the architectural salvage place across town. It’s good on several levels. One, it means that great old pieces don’t end up junked. Two, it means less goes to landfills. Three, they essentially pay us for our trash rather than us having to pay to dispose of it. So it saves money on the project.”

“You are clever,” Jude said admiringly.

“Nice of you to notice.” He grinned at Jude. “Next, put the rails in a neat pile out of the way so they aren’t a tripping hazard, then do the same thing with the baseboards. In this area, we’ll need to remove the baseboard carefully to avoid damage to the floor since we’ll be keeping it. A good sand and finish will make it gorgeous, and the patina will be perfect for the look you’re going for. In the back, where the kitchen is, we won’t have to be careful since we plan to lay new flooring.”

Logan demonstrated how to pop the baseboard loose using a shim, and Jude nodded. “Finally, we’ll take the panels off the wall.” He demonstrated that too and Jude nodded again, listening intently.

“That’s it,” Logan said. A good crew could probably knock it all out in under an hour, but it would take him quite a bit longer to do on his own.

“You really know your stuff,” Logan said admiringly.

“I was working on my father’s projects as soon as I was old enough to hold a hammer.”

“That’s gotta violate a bunch of OSHA codes.”

“Oh, it did,” Logan said with a laugh. “But I learned the trade from the ground up, so I was ready to work on my own crew as soon as I was legally old enough.”

“Got it. Shame it won’t go through another generation. I can’t imagine Archie holding a hammer or pry bar,” Jude said.

“Ahh, no, he didn’t last long when I tried to teach him the business,” Logan agreed with a chuckle.

“But you let him go his own way.”

Logan shrugged. “I wanted him to be happy.”

“I find it unfathomable that anyone would enjoy cutting someone open for a living.” Jude shuddered lightly. “But he seems to enjoy being a surgeon.”

“He does,” Logan agreed. “I don’t get it either. But it isn’t my call.”

“He’s lucky to have you.”

Logan didn’t know how to respond, knowing the relationship between Jude and Jackson was a sore subject. Logan cleared his throat instead. “Ready to work now?”

“I am. Just tell me what to do.”

God, I wish,Logan thought with another stab of longing. “Well, why don’t you work ahead of me. Start on that wall and finish breaking the seal, then go around the space until you get to the section I already started. I’ll come behind you and pull the nails.”

“Sounds good,” Jude said. “Smart move, giving me a knife. At least I know my way around those.”

Logan chuckled and reached for the pry bar again. “I think you can do whatever you put your mind to, Jude.”

The soft, appreciative look Jude shot Logan made his whole body warm. Jude desperately needed someone in his life to believe in him.

He might not be a submissive, but he responded to Logan’s desire to guide and nurture someone, and Logan would happily do that as much as Jude allowed.

* * *

Later that night, Logan settled on the sofa in his rental apartment with a groan. He and Jude had finished the work by late afternoon and the materials were neatly lined up and ready to be taken to the salvage yard. After a shower, Logan had made the trip to Fort Benton to retrieve his belongings. Once they were packed, he’d turned right back around and returned to Pendleton. He’d picked up Mexican takeout on the way back and now he cracked open the carton, the delicious scents rising around him and making his stomach rumble appreciatively.

He forked up some of the chicken fajita mixture, wrapped it in a soft flour tortilla, then topped it with salsa and sour cream. Normally Logan was pretty calorie conscious, but he’d burned an excess of them today and he was looking forward to this treat.

He ate hungrily while he watched the news and, after he was done, tossed the trash and grabbed his phone. He’d gotten a few notifications from the kink app but hadn’t had time to check and see if they were from his switchy friend.

He was too bushed tonight to do anything but maybe tomorrow …

A smile crossed Logan’s face as he spotted a message from the man he was hoping for. He read it with interest.

YourSwitchyDream: Would you consider watching me top someone else? I was thinking it might be helpful for you to see a demonstration. No problem if that’s not your thing but the idea occurred to me earlier today and I wanted to get your thoughts on a threesome.

Logan considered the idea. He’d never had a threesome before, but he was definitely okay with that idea.

NewBieDom: Absolutely. Sounds hot. You have someone in mind?

YourSwitchyDream: Yes. I’ve played with him a few times. No idea if he’d be into an ongoing thing with two people but even if it only happened once, I could do a demo on him, then have you top me while he watched. And by top I mean *dominate* not just fuck. Terminology gets a little confusing where the kink and gay communities overlap but I usually use top and dominate interchangeable. Though, FYI, I am as vers as I am switchy. Gimme all the options please and thank you.

NewBieDom: Lol. Noted. I knew what you meant though. Getting back to your threesome idea …

YourSwitchyDream: Yes, so I was thinking we could try that and see if there’s good chemistry. If so, maybe we could play regularly.

NewBieDom: Sounds perfect to me. Tonight won’t work but any other day this week should be okay.

YourSwitchyDream: Let me message him and I’ll get back to you once I have an answer.

NewBieDom: Sounds great.

Logan skimmed through the remaining messages from other people, quickly deleting or politely turning down the offers. Nope, there was no comparison. Switchy was exactly the kind of guy Logan was looking for and the rest didn’t hold a candle to him.

When Logan was done, he set his phone down on the couch beside him. No reason to keep trolling for other options when he had something to look forward to with Switchy and maybe this other mystery guy.

Logan had been looking forward to his time in Pendleton already, but this cemented the fact that he’d made the right decision to stay here for the next few months.