Leaky Pipes

“What do you need me to do?”

Ms. Brookings gave a curt nod, and her clear expectation of compliance to what might seem like a shocking request oddly relaxed the young man. ‘She sees young guys in their apartments all the time, it’s practically like a doctor seeing a boy in those thin paper gowns they make you wear for a checkup!’

“Just step back into the tub, yes just like that.” Aiden had his left hand tightly gripping the top of his slightly too small towel, keeping it locked around his flat chest. He was already exposing what he felt to be a truly shocking amount of upper body skin; standards of male modesty were less strict in the big city but having his arms and shoulders totally bare in front of a woman who wasn’t his mother was still a lot, right?! As he lifted his left leg to gingerly step back into the bathtub he used his right hand to hold the bottom of the towel. He couldn’t help but notice the material came down only an inch or so below the bottom curve of his bum. Oh fudge, if Ms. Brookings looked down would she see his boyhood too?

With a trembling awkwardness Aiden repeated the move, shooting the older woman a suspicious glance as he brought his right leg over the edge of the tub. She was still staring calmly at him, not looking down to take in the scandalous image of his nearly naked leg showing through the slit in the towel as he moved.

A long second passed as Ms. Brookings simply looked at him, almost blandly, as if she was walking past him in the hallway and nodding hello. “Uhm, so what now?” With a final self-conscious tug of the bottom of the towel he cleared his throat, ignoring the deep flush he felt spread across his cheeks.

Finally, she looked away from the blushing boy and tilted her head to the spot on the ceiling above the shower head. “You see that, right there? That slight discoloration? The paint on the ceiling is starting to bubble, a very bad sign.”

Looking up where she pointed, Aiden nodded, “Uh, I guess? But it’s not much?”

“True, it seems to be a small bit of water leaking. If only we had noticed this a few weeks ago, before you rented the apartment! But no matter, the upstairs suite is under renovations as the old tenant moved out, and that might be why it happened now.”

Aiden opened his mouth to speak but the caretaker gestured to the tap, “Young man can you be a dear and turn the tap on? Just the water from the faucet, not the shower for now, no need to get you all soaked! Although you are all nice and clean and wrapped in a towel…” Aiden hustled to turn the water back on, causing it to splash around his feet. Leaning over so quickly almost had his towel betray him and fall off, but at the last moment he grabbed it tightly again where it was tucked away around his chest.

Speaking more loudly over the noise, Ms. Brookings took a step closer to the tub, continuing her speech, “Ceiling leaks in bathrooms like this are most often due to failure of the waterproofing membrane. You see, over time even a well installed waterproofing membrane can become damaged or worn out, and it will quickly lead to dampness and seepage inside the building.”

The woman was clearly an authority on the subject, as you’d expect from a woman in her position. Aiden had no idea about building maintenance or repairs, that was certain!

With the water running, Aiden wondered if he could step out of the bathroom for a moment to give Ms. Brookings a chance to inspect the pipes or whatever a handywoman did in this situation. Also, it would give him a chance to put some clothes on!

But before he could do more than look toward the doorway and start to formulate his desire to get out of the tub, the woman quickly continued her impromptu plumbing lesson. “You see young man, the dampness patches will appear on the ceiling on the lower floor and unless quick and efficient measures are taken, the dripping water will result in mold and structural damage. Repairing that sort of damage takes plenty of time and effort and the cost would be high.”

“Oh dear!” Aiden said, somehow feeling responsible, “But you said I might have to move? I simply can’t!” His near panic had him forgetting all about his shameful exposure, and the older woman seemed to thaw slightly, her own expression softening.

“Now, don’t you worry honey, I think we caught his in time. I’ll do whatever I need to do to fix this without having to cancel your lease, I promise!”

With a sigh of relief, he felt the panic subside. Thank goddess Ms. Brookings found the problem in time! She took another step closer to the tub, her arm started to reach out as if to place her hand on the boy’s bare shoulder but she stopped herself. “T-t-thank you so much Ms. Brookings! Uhm, can you give me a second and I’ll go and get-”

“Like I said, call me Kelly, I insist!” She interrupted with a loud, jovial laugh. Her eyes drifted downward, taking in the soft, smooth skin of his shoulders and arms, then lingering over his slender frame, with the wet towel pulled so tightly around it. Her lips parted as she looked further down, to where his skinny legs stuck out, his girlish limbs not so androgynous that there wasn’t a bit of body hair visible on his calves, such a tantalizing view for many women.

Aiden, up to this point almost forgetting that this powerful woman, not a stranger but someone he barely knew, had him cornered in his bathroom and he was all but naked. Her own dirty undershirt clearly showing her engorged nipples. Was she… was she aroused by him? No, he was a silly boy, plain at best, and while she was an unmarried older woman - and a bit gruff and familiar to his small town sensibilities - she had always been honest and helpful to him. Granted, most any woman would appreciate a look at a naked boy, even an ugly one, but women were just ruled by their sexual urges sometimes. It was up to men to not be slutty and loose and tempt them unnecessarily.

With an almost audible gulp, Ms. Brookings (Kelly!) pulled her head back upright and locked her eyes onto the young mans. “Listen, uh, Mister Hughson. Aiden. I’m pretty slammed with work so I don’t have time to work on the leaky pipe just now.”

Seeing Aiden start to frown in confusion, she smiled, “But I’m willing to do some after hours work on it. I meant what I said, I’d hate for you to lose this apartment! But I might only be available to work on it during the evenings. Would that be a problem? Me having to come into your suite in the evenings, even late, whenever I have to time to work on it?”

“Oh not at all Ms- I mean, Kelly. I will be home evenings for sure, just let yourself in…” Her polite smile broadened at his offer, and he briefly regretted the slip of the tongue. Surely, she’d still knock, like she did tonight.

“I will do that Aiden. We’ll get it all sorted out, I promise, Heck, maybe you can help me out a bit too? I’m very busy like I said, but if you’re extra accommodating I can even knock, say, $100 off your next months rent? I have some wiggle room to cut you a deal. Young man like you, on your own, every little bit of money helps, right?”

One hundred dollars! That was almost a quarter of the rent on his bachelorette apartment! An extra chunk of money like that would be an incredible help to him as he tried to make his tiny savings last long enough to get settled!

Nodding firmly, he held out his hand, “It’s a deal… Kelly.”

She shook his hand confidently. “Excellent! You can turn the water back off, I’ve seen what I needed to see. Now, come lock the door behind me, can’t have a sweet boy like you taking any unnecessary chances.”