On his way home from school, Alex noticed the family across the street was having some construction done on their house. He stopped for a few minutes to watch. It looked like they were building an addition, and he wondered how hard it was to draw plans for something like that. The construction in the library and meeting Jared had aroused Alex’s curiosity. He’d never been interested in building, that was Clark’s thing. Alex’s best friend dragged him all over town to watch construction projects, the bigger the better.
Alex’s passion was math and he had an uncanny knack for spatial relations. Architect was a possible career path he hadn’t considered, but hadn’t been able to get out of his mind. As curious as he’d become about the construction industry as a whole, it was the magnetic sign on the tailgate of the pickup sitting at the curb that currently held his interest.
JD Construction. Alex had seen the same truck in the parking lot the day he’d talked to Jared. Alex thought about Jared even more than he did about drawing buildings, and wanted to talk to him again. Alex considered crossing the street to look for him, but lacked the nerve without Clark there to egg him on. Instead, he ducked inside his house. He took the stairs two at a time, oblivious to his mother's shout for him to slow down. Alex dropped his book bag on his bed and went to look out his window. It faced the street, giving him a clear view of the work going on across the road.
Alex recognized a couple of the guys digging out part of the yard. He thought maybe Mr Neely had decided to add a room but couldn’t be sure. His insatiable curiosity fully engaged, Alex retrieved his laptop from the nightstand and returned to the window. He balanced it precariously on the windowsill so he could manipulate the keyboard and touch pad. Alex put his somewhat inexpert Google-foo to work, and typed how to build a house into the search bar. He wanted to know what they were doing. The next time he talked to Jared, and there would be a next time, Alex had no desire to sound like a complete idiot.
Alex scrolled through the results of his search and randomly picked a few to open in different tabs. He skimmed the pages before closing the laptop in disgust. He set it on the desk. There was too much information, he could barely make heads or tails out of any of it. From the little he’d gleaned, Alex thought the guys were digging the footing, not that he had the first clue what that meant. Alex frowned, he wasn’t used to things being hard for him. He’d do more research when he had the time to pursue it.
At the moment he had something a lot more interesting on his mind. He could see four guys working outside. Two from the ones he recognized from the library. Two others were measuring and cutting boards. There was no sign of Jared. Alex watched hopefully for a while but the sun shining in the window made it hard to see, the glare threatened to give him a headache. Ready to give up, Alex noticed the front door of the house open. Mr Neely walked onto the front porch, followed closely by Jared. Alex's breath caught and he thought his heart would stop at the sight of the young man.
Alex spied on Jared while he talked to Mr Neely, nodding at whatever the older man said. After what seemed like forever Mr. Neely disappeared inside, and Jared headed down the porch steps. He took them two at a time, clearly headed for his truck. He paused to call one of his men over to him. Alex studied Jared, watching him in a way he’d never allowed himself to look at another man. Jared's shoulders challenged the containment of the white t-shirt he wore tucked into a pair of loose-fit Levi's, his slim waist and hips emphasized by his loaded tool belt. To Alex's young eyes, he seemed perfect. Jared's lean jaw, strong hands, and the quiet confidence in his movements awed the fifteen year old. Alex couldn't imagine ever being that sure of himself.
Finished giving instructions, Jared headed for his truck. He fished a two-way radio off the seat and stuck it in his back pocket. He tucked his hard hat under one arm, and wiped the sweat off his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt, seemingly oblivious to the hair falling in his face. It made him look years younger and the color, caught in the light of the setting sun, blazed like an autumn maple. The sight stole Alex's breath and his fingers itched to touch it.
Unable to believe what he was seeing, he closed his eyes, but when he opened them Jared was still there. He was real and not the figment of an overactive, hormone driven imagination. Jared ran a hand through his gorgeous hair, brushing it away from his face, and tied a bandana around his forehead. He replaced his hard hat and the approachable boy was gone, transformed back into the man. Alex couldn't tear himself away. The revelation that Jared might not be as unattainable as Alex first believed transfixed him.