"Well that was harder than I thought it would be." Nick commented wryly as he stepped off of the ladder underneath where the lighting fixture had been attached to his bedroom ceiling. The battery powered work lights cast an eerie glow as he dusted his hands off onto his jeans and glanced over at Sara.
Sara stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and a thoughtful expression on her face. "What did they do, attach it with super glue?"
Nick let out a half laugh and smiled. "Sure seemed like it. It's a good thing that I've got some spackle leftover from when I repainted last year."
Sara furrowed her brow as she studied the crack in the sheetrock above their heads. "Do you have leftover paint too?"
Nick rested his hands on his hips and chuckled. "I bet you didn't realize what you were getting yourself into."
She smirked at him. "Well at least we're not sticking feathers on your walls." She had wondered what it would be like to get on 'Trading Spaces' and after the amount of time it had taken to remove one light fixture, she was certain that she wouldn't have the patience to do an entire room in two days, especially with a camera crew following her around.
Nick gestured towards the pieces of the ceiling fan that he had laid out in order of assembly on the bed. "You want to hand me the base of that?" He reached for the drill as he climbed back up onto the ladder.
Sara grabbed the base of the fan and walked over to the ladder. "Do you have another ladder?" From the looks of things, Nick was going to need a third hand near the ceiling and unless she suddenly grew an extra three feet, Sara was going to need something to stand on besides the floor.
Nick glanced at the ladder and then glanced at Sara, his brow furrowed. "Uh, no." He glanced at the ladder again. There was no way they could both stand on it safely since it had steps only on one side.
Sara quirked an eyebrow. "How about a chair?" She tilted her head slightly as she looked at him expectantly. She knew that sharing a ladder with him would be dangerous on several levels.
"Uh, yeah." He set the drill down on top of the ladder and climbed down. "I'll get a chair from the dining room."
Before Sara could say anything in response, Nick had headed out of the door of the bedroom to retrieve a chair. In the few moments he was gone, she glanced around his room, noting the decidedly masculine décor as well as the photos of what she assumed were his family on the walls. She was studying one photo in particular as Nick walked back into the room carrying a chair.
"That was from my niece Kelly's high school graduation a few years back." He pointed to the dark haired young woman at the center of the photo wearing a cap and gown surrounded by a large group of people. "She's my sister Lauren's oldest daughter." He pointed to a woman wearing a proud smile and who bore a striking resemblance to Nick.
Sara glanced over at him and smiled. "I knew you had a big family, I just didn't realize it was that big."
Nick chuckled at her. "Well, when you've got six siblings and they're all married and all have kids, it tends to add up." He pointed to another photo on the wall which looked a little more dated. "This one is just of my sisters and brother and I."
Sara smirked at the attire they were all wearing in the photo. "I'm going to assume from the hair that this was when you were in high school."
Nick feigned a hurt expression. "That hair was cool when I was in high school."
"You just keep telling yourself that." Sara quipped back with a chuckle. "Your current look is a vast improvement."
He placed the chair next to the ladder and glanced over at her. "So you think I'm good looking then." He phrased it more as a smug statement than as a question.
Sara wasn't sure what to say for a moment as she felt her cheeks warming again. She put on her best amused expression and ignored his comment as she climbed up on the chair. "Ok, let's do this."
Nick just shook his head at her reluctance to respond to his comment and swallowed a smile as he climbed back up on the ladder. "If you could just hold that up there while I connect the wiring real quick I can get it secured to the ceiling."
Real quick wasn't exactly how it happened. Sara had been holding the base up near the ceiling for what her arms felt was an eternity and they were beginning to fall asleep. She glanced at Nick who was deep in concentration. "Nick?"
He glanced up. "Yeah?"
"I'm losing the feeling in my arms." She had the most un-Sara-like expression on her face as her lower lip seemed to stick out slightly in a pout.
It was all Nick could do to not laugh. He pursed his lips together and then smiled. "Almost done." He was not about to tell her that he'd discovered a hook about midway through the installation that would have held the fixture up while he was attaching the wiring. He kind of liked having her standing so close while she was helping him out.
"Ok, hurry." Her brows furrowed together.
Nick quickly screwed the fixture to the ceiling and then set the drill down on top of the ladder. Sara still had her arms up in the air. He let out a chuckle. "You can put them down now."
Sara looked over at him and let out a soft laugh and then a wince as she let her arms down and the circulation began to return. "I hate this part."
"Prickly sensation?" Nick looked at her in understanding as he stepped off the ladder.
She nodded, contemplating getting down off of the chair without the use of her arms or just waiting a few moments until the feeling returned.
Nick didn't really give her a chance to decide, he stepped over to her and wrapped an arm around her legs, pulling her over his shoulder for a moment as he lifted her off the chair and deposited her on the floor, his hand resting on her butt momentarily until he was sure she was on her feet.
The sensation of Nick's hand on her butt and the feel of his strong body against hers for that brief moment caused color to flush Sara's cheeks as she tried to keep from smiling. "I could have gotten down you know."
He winked at her and then smirked. "I know. I just thought I'd help."