Something New

Chapter 7

That weekend, Forth brought four of his guys to start working on the yard. The first thing to do was to just clean up all the weeds and dead bushes and also to get rid of all the unwanted pavers and the big hot tub. Forth was not just overseeing his men, he was actually doing the work too. Beam saw this and made two glasses of iced tea and brought one to give Forth. He slid open the glass door and right as he was about to call out to Forth, Racer bounded over at full speed towards Beam and he got startled and spilt some iced tea on his white rug.

He yelled and Forth, "You have got to keep him out Forth!". Forth then got Racer to go back to the truck and came up to Beam to apologize. Beam just handed him the drink and immediately grabbed some paper towels and got on his knees to scrub the rug so that it wouldn't stain. Forth looked at him scrubbing frantically, and said, "Thanks for the tea, that was really nice of you to make one for me." Beam just said, "Well, I was making one for myself anyway." dismissively and didn't even look up at Forth. Forth just let out a sigh.

Then Beam asked him, "So, when do you think you'll be done?" Forth laughed, "We just started today, are you already sick of me?" that got Beam to look up and he said, "No. I want to have a housewarming party when it's all done." Forth perked up at that and said, "Oh wow! Yeah, that's a great idea." He looked at him intently and said, "you need to relax." Beam just smiled at him, "it's that obvious huh?" Forth couldn't help but think that he was adorable, "No, it's your day off and you're wearing a crisp white button up and trousers."

That made Beam's face turn red and he abruptly got off his knees and said, "Oh this" he pointed at his outfit, "Well, I have to go to the hospital later to get some work done because I just found out that I might have the opportunity to work with a leading cardiothoracic surgeon that I admire." And he couldn't help but grin widely. Forth was very impressed and exclaimed, "Wow! That's amazing! Congrats!" As soon as he said that though, Beam's face fell and he nervously said, "Well, it hasn't happened yet." Forth was kicking himself for somehow saying the wrong thing again and said, "it will." With a reassuring smile. That put a small smile back on Beam's face and he nodded.

Forth wanted to end this conversation on a high note, so he said, "Alright then, I got a job to do" and started to head back when Beam asked him with a confused tilt of his head, "why are you even here? Isn't it just going to be clean up for the first few days?" Forth grinned at him and said, "I need to deliver a great patio for a hardworking and talented doctor for him to hold a party in." and walked away. Beam smiled, shook his head, and went back in and closed the door.

He just stood there sipping his tea and watched the men work. One of the guys had some trouble with pulling out some tough roots and Forth walked over to lend him a hand. He then examined the root and stood up and took off his sweaty tee-shirt. Beam almost dropped his glass and his mouth went dry because that man was ripped and Beam could not take his eyes off all that sweaty muscle, straining and flexing when he was trying to dislodge the root. Beam's head was flooded with all the things those strong arms could do and all of them were dirty. 

While Beam was lost in a sexual daze, he didn't notice Kit standing there till he knocked on the glass right in front of Beam's face. Beam jerked and snapped out of it and noticed an annoyed Kit standing there with a smiling Ming.

He opened the door and ushered them in. Kit started ranting, "What is wrong with you? We rang the doorbell so many times. I even called you." Beam just shrugged sheepishly and said, "Sorry Kitty!" he looked at Ming and said, "Hi Ming! You want some iced tea?" Ming waved and said, "No P, I'll go say hi to P'Forth" and ran out leaving Beam alone with Kit. As soon as Ming said that it all clicked into place in Kit's mind and he said, "Oh, Forth's here?" and Beam just nodded acting like he was not imagining some very X-rated scenarios featuring that man in his head just a few minutes ago. Kit didn't buy that act because he knew his friend inside out and said, "Now I know why you didn't hear us; you were too busy drooling at Forth." He almost yelled that last part. Beam grabbed Kit and dragged him away from the door shushing him, "Jeez Kit calm the fuck down!"

Kit just glared at Beam and said, "If you like him then why did you act like a freak that day and screw up your chance of dating him?" he snapped. Beam sighed and said, "You asked me to try it, I did, and it didn't work out." Kit got so mad at that and started going off at Beam, "Baramee, you need to be more open and take chances. You have to let your guard down and give people a chance to get to know you." Just then Ming walked in and sensed the tense situation and walked up to his feisty boyfriend and gave him a kiss on the top of his head to get him to calm down. Beam thanked Ming in head and looked at him pleadingly, trying to convey that he needed an out. Ming smiled gently at him and was about to say something, but Kit turned to him, "Ming, tell Beam how stupid he is because he didn't give Forth a chance." Ming looked at him and Beam already knew that he was screwed because Ming could never deny Kit anything.

Beam just sighed and said, "He is my architect now, so can we please not talk about that anymore?" and got up to get them something to drink. Kit just grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the couch saying, "Nope. You're not going to get off that easily." He then just looked at Ming, who jumped up and volunteered to bring the drinks. Beam just thought 'Man, that guy is whipped.' And shook his head. Kit then turned back to him and said, "So, about what I was saying," Beam just whined, "Please stop Kiiiiiit!"

A few days later, Forth asked Beam if he wanted to look at some materials like tiles and stone for the fountain as well as greenery for the garden and Beam agreed. So, they were now at Forth's friend's workshop checking out materials. Beam was enjoying hearing Forth talk so passionately about everything with a twinkle in his eye and he couldn't help getting caught up in all the excitement.

Beam looked at Forth and asked, "So, how to you get into architecture and building things?" Forth smiled and said, "Oh, my dad had a construction company, so I grew up in the trade. I spent all my summers ever since I was twelve in different construction sites working with the crew. I hated it at first, I was there getting my hands dirty, when all my friends had summer jobs at the mall. But I slowly but surely got into it and started enjoying the work. When it was time to pick a major, architecture felt like the right fit." He finished, smiling.

Beam nodded and said, "Wow, it's great that you knew exactly what you wanted to do, very early on." Forth chuckled and said, "Not quite. Right after college, I got a job at a giant architecture firm, very corporate, suit, tie, office cubicle, the works." Beam laughed when he tried to picture this rough and tumble guy in that environment, and it just didn't fit. Forth continued, "I hated every second of it. I ended up designing the same cookie cutter crap over and over without any understanding of the whole picture. Never saw the site in person, never got to see the finished project. It was all very soulless." He looked sad.

He continued, "And then one day, after two years in that hell, I couldn't take it anymore and I quit. Luckily, my dad's friend who was an architect with more than 30 years in the field had just started his own design-build firm and was looking for a young architect to join the team. I jumped head-first into it and worked with the team for 4 years. I did everything from conceptual planning to construction and operations. I loved it there and knew exactly what I wanted my career to be. Here I am 5 years later with my own design-build practice with a trusty team." He finished smiling proudly. Beam just felt truly happy for him and flashed him a big smile. He kicked himself for judging the book by its cover during their first meeting.

A/N - Votes and comments fuel my soul because I'm a Validation Whore!  No, on a more serious note, I'd appreciate the feedback. Please and thank you!