Room For Rent [Dylmas]

Chapter 8

I had never felt this giddy for a long time. I glanced to my side and saw Dylan fumbling about things he can find in the shop, grabbing them if it seemed safe, examining it, putting it back, then moving to the next one he laid eyes on.

"Really, though. What made you come here?"

Dylan glanced at me, then at the framed certificate for the shop. "Hm, why not?"

I was polishing some of my tools and was finally at the point of finishing when the bell chimed, indicating someone came in. I looked up and saw a gruff old man who looked about in his 40s or so. He glanced around a bit just to make sure he came into the right shop.

"All right there, sir?" I greeted. "How can I help you?"

"You do repair?" he asked politely, eyeing Dylan for a second, then turning back to me.

I told him yes while setting my tools aside.

"Oh, great. My daughter's car broke down and she wouldn't stop fussing over it."

I glanced outside and—

"Do you do home service or something?"

Ah.

"Well..."

"I'm willing to pay extra!" he immediately said. "The car wouldn't even turn on, so I had no idea what to do with it. I am not that much of a mechanic myself. Really, that girl can be careless sometimes," he said sheepishly, quite embarrassed for how mindless her daughter seemed to be.

I thought about it and shrugged my shoulders a bit. "Why not?" I answered.

He beamed at me and shook my hands. He gave me his address and contact number. "See you then, lad!"

He ran off immediately, as if he had just gone here as a quest and had other more important things to do.

I was still staring at the piece of paper when I heard Dylan near my ears. "I didn't know you do home service."

I glanced to my side and saw Dylan straining to peek at the paper. "Rarely."

I slid the paper inside my wallet and put it back on my back pocket. "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on the mood, I guess?"

I thought about it again and shrugged. "Besides, I haven't got much customers these days, so a home service ain't bad."

He hummed in response. "That's on Saturday, right?" I nodded. "Are you going to close the shop, then?"

"I could open it in the morning, then close it come afternoon."

Dylan dropped to the chair next to me, staring blankly off to space.

"Why don't I close the shop now, so we could grab a bite or something?" I nudged his side.

"Are you sure? There might be some customers who'll come."

"I doubt that. Let's go."

Dylan struggled to follow my pace, but once he did catch up, we ended up in front of a sandwich store. I faced him and he gave me a questioning look. "Here?"

"Eh, I don't really know," I answered honestly. "Do you have anywhere you suggest?"

"Aside from our ice cream parlour, I have no idea either."

"Well, why don't we try here? I heard this shop is new, so I kind of just ended up here."

Dylan nodded in agreement and we came inside. Looking at the interior, it does not really feel like a sandwich shop. It seemed almost like a cafe with its homey and welcoming feeling. The staff greeted us and we greeted back, finding ourselves seats near the window at the back part.

"It looks fancy," Dylan chimed once we're sat. I hummed in agreement and looked around again. "But I saw the menu and it seemed cheap enough," he added.

"Let's see, then. You ready to order?"

"I'll just have what you have," he replied and I just agreed. I went to the front of the shop and a very perky cashier greeted me.

"Good day! May I have your order, please?"

I just told her to give me their best recommendation and I waited as she prepared it. I suddenly whipped my head to the side, feeling like someone was looking. I made eye contact with a girl sitting with her group of friends. She looked shocked for a split second when she realised but composed herself, going back to talking with her mates as if I didn't catch her looking. I looked away and told myself mentally not to mind to it. I do that, too; Staring at other people sometimes without even knowing it since I'd been busy daydreaming and all that. I'll just snap out of it when I realise I'm getting weird looks from the chaps I had unknowingly stared at like a maniac.

After Dylan and I got and ate our orders, we decided to head home. In a while, I decided to tell him what's been on my mind for quite some time. "Hey, Dyl?"

He let out a small yeah, urging me to go on. I coughed a bit and asked him finally. "Would you like to come with me on Saturday? On the home service crap? I mean, if you don't have any plans or anything," I fumbled a bit and I swear to god I don't know why.

I looked away as I asked that, taking in the sky that's turning mildly dark as the hours past and the night falls. Was it always this chilly? I know I'm supposed to be used to a typical London weather, right? I hugged myself slightly, thanking my comfy and thick jacket that's keeping me warm.

"I don't know," Dylan said, breaking my chain of thoughts. I glanced at him and he was looking into the distance. "I mean, I might not be of any help, you get me?" he continued.

I shrugged and copied his words mindlessly. "I don't know," he chortled and I continued. "I mean, having company doesn't seem so bad, you see?"

"I'll think about it. I might have plans then, but I'm not so sure. I'll tell you on Friday night if I'm available, will that be okay?"

"Lovely," I smiled and he mirrored that as a response.

As we reached the house, we didn't hold back in making obvious how thankful we were for the warmth that the indoors heartily provided.

"I cannot get used to the cold no matter how hard I try," Dylan commented with a slight quiver in his voice, lightly rubbing his hands together and cupping his reddish cheeks.

I locked the door behind me and laughed a little. "Try letting it sink in that it's not even winter yet, mate. Though, I think the temperature is normal."

He grumbled, saying it's warmer at night where he used to be from and made his way upstairs to change and settle for the night. I had decided to make myself a cuppa and go over my shop's daily sales tracker in the kitchen. One perk of being the owner of your shop, there's no rules in how you manage things.

After a few minutes of lazily scribbling what people might consider important numbers, I stared at my worn-out sales tracker and got lost in thought.

With Dylan renting my spare room, it's kind of safe to say that I had managed to get additional savings from his payment. In all honesty, however, I am quite unsure of myself where I'll be needing the money. I just didn't feel secured with what I was earning in my repair shop even though I don't have that much of an expense living alone. I even planned on getting a job if someone did not rent out the room for a limited time I put the sign up.

I started clearing my stuff from the table as my thoughts continue to drift. Sometimes I wake up, still not used to the feeling of having someone other than me in the house. Oftentimes I flinch when I hear another man's voice aside from mine. Although I realised that they're not really giving me negative thoughts or emotions. In fact, I get a fuzzy feeling of delight when I know Dylan's just near me and that I'm not that alone anymore.

I just hope that he's as comfortable with me as I am with him, because if not, well, that'll really suck.