Some Assembly Required Read Online Free Page B

do?”
    “Work.”
    “You’re helpful.”
    Patrick’s grin broadened. “Always.”
    “Patrick…,” Benji started, surprised when a young woman with a dour expression spoke. When had she walked up? Christ. He needed to sleep more.
    “Karin.” Patrick sat up straighter. “Meet my new charge. Derrick, this is Karin. Karin, Derrick.”
    “Benji,” Benji said again with a grunt.
    Patrick waved him off. “Derrick’s just a little confused right now. Bonked his head on the cart return, you know.”
    Karin clasped a hand onto Patrick’s broad shoulder and then dug in her nails. “May I have a word with you?”
    “Anthropomorphic,” Patrick said without a blink.
    Benji drew his brows together. “…what?”
    Patrick winked at him. “Jeopardy! Clue of the Day.”
    Karin gnashed her teeth. “We need help with assembly.”
    The way she enunciated every syllable told Benji that Patrick had shirked his duty to sit here in the café and harangue him. Not that he wasn’t interesting, if not exactly welcome, company. But he didn’t want Patrick to get in trouble on his account.
    “Ah.” Patrick sighed but didn’t seem the slightest bit exasperated. “The Divorce Maker sample again, huh?”
    “Divorce… maker?” Benji asked. What kind of CASA product is that? CASA was a place of happiness, Italian Muzak, and affordable, delightful furniture.
    Patrick popped up from his chair and then spun it back around, tucking it into its proper place under the table. He knocked the table with two knuckles and nodded to Benji. “Be careful what you touch here in CASA. Can’t have you getting sucked into the black hole of rabid consumerism.”
    “Do you ever stop?” Karin asked as she pulled on Patrick’s wrist.
    Patrick relented and followed Karin’s lead. He made a sloppy two-finger salute behind him. “Be cool, soda pop. Don’t wander too far, Benji.”
    Looking down at his meatballs, Benji flushed. Even his name sounded like a thick innuendo in Patrick’s mouth. Benji swallowed. He was going to be a flustered mess in class tomorrow. He could only hope for some classroom drama to take his mind off the way Patrick’s faded jeans hung low on his hips and molded to his ass like a dream. Perhaps Kevin would stick bubblegum in Brittany’s hair again. A screaming five-year-old would be the perfect distraction.
    The few sentences they’d exchanged had been the best conversation Benji had had in weeks. Despite it being incredibly odd, he’d been energized just by talking with him. And it had nothing to do with Patrick’s ass. Or mostly nothing. Okay, maybe a little. But it had been significantly longer than weeks since Benji had been in the presence of something that delectable, and no one could blame a man for noticing.
    Benji watched the family of six gather up their trays and leave before he turned his attention back to his own table. There was a mostly empty plate of meatballs and a coffee that had long gone cold sitting in front of him. He didn’t remember ordering either of them, let alone eating.
    Come to think of it, he didn’t remember coming to CASA this morning, either. His restless sleep had caused him no shortage of weekday morning pain getting up for school, but this was the first time he’d found himself somewhere he had no recollection of going.
    God, hopefully he had driven safely.
    He looked down and wrinkled his nose when he saw something staining his pants. Benji brushed at it, but it was stuck on pretty well. He could get a napkin and clean it up later. Clearly he’d had a busy morning. Stained clothes and a shopping outing he didn’t remember?
    It must be Sunday. He’d planned to spend it at home catching up on some very important teacher work, aka cutting shapes out of construction paper and tidying supplies. Kindergarten teachers might not have a lot of grading to bring home, but that didn’t mean they had tons of downtime, either. He’d spent an increasing amount of time in his classroom