Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Housekeeping
    Housekeeping
    Housekeeping
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Housekeeping

    By Kim Fielding

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    When Nicky Hauser walks in on his restaurant-owner boyfriend having sex with a waiter, Nicky loses his lover, his job, and his home all in one night. Although he’s nearly thirty, he’s never settled on a true career, and he has nothing to show for his years with Tom. Depressed and unable to find work, Nicky ends up couch-surfing with friends until he lands a house-sitting gig for a wealthy family.

    When Nicky’s clients discover that he loves to clean, demand for his services skyrockets. Word of mouth leads him to Spencer Cartwright, a busy computer consultant and a slob. Spencer and his wife divorced when he came out, but he’s never found the time or courage to settle down with a man. As Nicky sets Spencer’s house to rights, the two men find friendship. But Nicky’s past experiences make him wary of risking everything on love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateNov 13, 2013
    ISBN9781627982184
    Housekeeping
    Author

    Kim Fielding

    Kim Fielding is pleased every time someone calls her eclectic. Her books span a variety of genres, but all include authentic voices and unconventional heroes. She’s a Rainbow Award and SARA Emma Merritt winner, a LAMBDA finalist, and a two-time Foreword INDIE finalist. She has migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States and currently lives in California, where she long ago ran out of bookshelf space. A university professor who dreams of being able to travel and write full-time, she also dreams of having two daughters who occasionally get off their phones, a husband who isn’t obsessed with football, and a cat who doesn’t wake her up at 4:00 a.m. Some dreams are more easily obtained than others. Blogs: kfieldingwrites.com and www.goodreads.com/author/show/4105707.Kim_Fielding/blog Facebook: www.facebook.com/KFieldingWrites Email: kim@kfieldingwrites.com Twitter: @KFieldingWrites

    Read more from Kim Fielding

    Related to Housekeeping

    Related ebooks

    LGBTQIA+ Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Bearded Charmer

      Oct 26, 2021

      Even by today’s standards Tony would be seen as severely overweight. In the pre-junk food era of the early 1980s, he was positively huge. Add a rather casual approach to personal hygiene and there was every reason for Tony to have been something of a

      3 min read

    • Article

      TONIA TODMAN Starting over

      Sep 8, 2021

      TONIA TODMAN Starting over
      7 min read

    • Article

      TONIA TODMAN Starting over

      Sep 8, 2021

      TONIA TODMAN Starting over
      7 min read

    • Article

      Pattern Recognition

      Mar 4, 2024

      Five hours’ New York jet lag and Cayce Pollard wakes in Camden Town to the dire and ever-circling wolves of disrupted circadian rhythm. It is that flat and spectral nonhour, awash in limbic tides, brainstem stirring fitfully, flashing inappropriate r

      3 min read

    • Article

      Cheers, Grandad!

      Oct 29, 2020

      Cheers, Grandad!
      4 min read

    • Article

      La Dolce Vita

      Oct 18, 2020

      La Dolce Vita
      7 min read

    • Article

      All on BOARD

      Aug 26, 2020

      All on BOARD
      6 min read

    • Article

      Odd Jobs

      Jul 19, 2017

      Odd Jobs
      3 min read

    • Article

      Hank

      Jan 24, 2019

      Hank
      3 min read

    • Article

      Rocky and My Other Pals

      Nov 20, 2019

      Rocky and My Other Pals
      3 min read

    • Article

      Country-house Clawdo

      Jan 24, 2024

      Country-house Clawdo
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Way Things TURN OUT

      Jun 3, 2020

      The Way Things TURN OUT
      7 min read

    • Article

      Toolbox TALES

      Dec 29, 2022

      Toolbox TALES
      2 min read

    • Article

      AUNT MAUD’S SECRET Part 1

      Sep 1, 2021

      “WHAT! SERIOUSLY?” “Settle down, Martin,” said Ms. Phelps as she poured herself a second mug of coffee that morning. She sat down at the kitchen table, gently blowing on the steam. “Aunt Maud is so excited about her visit and really looking forward

      6 min read

    • Article

      MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY

      Nov 22, 2020

      MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY
      2 min read

    • Article

      Answering Machine

      Oct 1, 2018

      “Bat in the cottage!” Are there any words more alarming? We were at our cottage rental on Lake Huron, settling in to our week-long summer vacation. The kids were in bed. I was at the dining room table, deep into a 2,000-piece puzzle with only a glass

      2 min read

    • Article

      Kellogg’s: The last wholesome fantasy of the middle-school boy.

      Nov 28, 2013

      It wasn’t like this boy to throw a tantrum in the cereal aisle of the supermarket, and it wasn’t like his mother to give in to one, but here they were, for some reason, both making an exception. “Okay,” she said, and threw the box deep into the far c

      1 min read

    • Article

      Studio Jiggly

      Dec 17, 2021

      I’M hanging out in the kitchen, as one does, just minding my own business and doing my own thing. I am entirely alone in the house. For once. And it is bliss. This is one of the many things about Covid-19… It used to be that going away for the weeken

      3 min read

    • Article

      Mates AT HEART

      Apr 12, 2023

      Mates AT HEART
      2 min read

    • Article

      Violets

      Jun 9, 2020

      A day after we made our suicide pact, the bank sent a yellow letter saying we’d lose our house. That night, instead of just killing ourselves, Monique and I set the place on fire. It was easy to start. A mountain of rags soaked in turpentine. Up it w

      18 min read

    • Article

      The Locksmith

      Jun 1, 2022

      THE LOCKSMITH cannot speak well. He never liked school. When he was a child, the others called him Tombstone. They threw things at him. Bottles and food waste and dirt clumps studded with gravel. Though he was much larger than they were, he remained

      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Housekeeping

    3.5/5

    30 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Sweet romance with a fresh, quirky storyline. I really enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      short story about finding your worth in friendship, relationships and life in general
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars

      Short, cute, angst-free. Just what I needed :)

    Book preview

    Housekeeping - Kim Fielding

    Chapter One

    NICKY HAUSER’S life fell apart on a Tuesday.

    Monday had been a good day. The restaurant was closed, so he and Tom took BART into San Francisco to celebrate Nicky’s twenty-ninth birthday, which had occurred a few days earlier. They visited the modern art museum to see the Paul Klee exhibit, had dinner at a really nice place—a dinner Tom didn’t have to cook and Nicky didn’t have to serve—and then went dancing until they were both sweaty and exhausted. By the time they returned home to Livermore, it was very late. But they’d been making out at the club and in the empty train car on the way home, and they were barely inside the house before they were ripping their clothes off. Tom bent Nicky over the back of the couch and fucked him hard enough to send the heavy piece of furniture scooting several feet across the carpet. Then they collapsed into bed with Nicky spooning Tom’s smaller frame. It was a wonderful day. It was like old times, when they’d first started seeing each other, before Tom had opened Phoenix Grille.

    But the next day was Tuesday. Tom woke up first, as always. He swatted Nicky on the rump. Gotta get ready for work.

    Nicky replied with a wordless grumble. He wasn’t a morning person, and he refused to open his eyes.

    Tom bopped him again. You look like a trauma victim.

    Thanks. Nicky felt like one too. His ass was sore from the previous night and someone was throwing boulders inside his skull.

    Tell you what. I’ll call Simon and see if he’ll work your lunch shift. You can get your beauty sleep and come in for dinner.

    Nicky looked blearily up at him. Really?

    Sure. Consider it an extra birthday gift, babe. Tom patted him again—more gently this time—and headed for the bathroom.

    There were benefits to sleeping with your boss, Nicky thought. Later in the day he’d understand there were downsides as well. But for now he lolled in contented obliviousness, listening to the patter of the shower. He stroked his cock lazily as he imagined the water rolling down Tom’s lean frame. He considered getting up and joining him, maybe licking some of that water off his skin, but the mattress was so comfy and the blankets and pillows were arranged just right, and he ended up staying where he was.

    When Tom reentered the bedroom, his short hair still damp, Nicky leered at him. You sure you don’t want to join me? He patted the vacant space on the bed.

    Tom didn’t turn around from the dresser, where he was rummaging for underwear. Can’t. Gotta make sure the deliveries went well this morning and then get things set up for lunch. Last week that asshole delivered some real crap instead of decent salmon, and Polly signed for it anyway.

    Nicky remembered that incident very well. Tom had thrown a tantrum, Polly screamed and threatened to quit, and the rest of the staff watched as if the whole event were being staged for their entertainment. As was often the case, Nicky had stepped in to soothe tempers. Polly and Tom had apologized to each other, and everyone went back to work. Later, during the lull between lunch and dinner, Nicky had dragged Tom into the office and given him a blowjob to reward him for calming down.

    Now, Nicky yawned. ’Kay. He watched as Tom dressed, and he was only a little disappointed when there was no good-bye kiss. Tom’s mind was probably already at the restaurant, as usual.

    Not too long after the front door clicked shut, Nicky fell back asleep. He dreamed of fish that had gotten lost in the waterways and ended up in his shower cubicle, where they attempted to spawn.

    Ew, he said out loud when he woke up. Slimy salmon spawn in his shower. So after he stretched, pissed, and threw on a pair of old shorts, he took a sponge and bottle of his homemade scrubbing solution and wiped all the imaginary fish goo away. Then he squeegeed the glass door and nodded in satisfaction. Much better.

    He still had a couple of hours before Tom would be expecting him at the Phoenix. Nicky passed the time as he often did: cleaning. He pushed the couch back into place with a grin and gathered the remnants of the clothing he and Tom had worn the night before. He decided Tom’s shirt could be salvaged if he could find replacement buttons, but his own was ripped beyond his repair skills and ended up in the trash. He stuffed the rest of the clothes into the hamper. He dusted the living room, careful not to knock over any of the glass knickknacks Tom had collected—even though breaking them was a little tempting because they were all pretty cheap and ugly.

    Next he vacuumed. He’d been trying for almost two years to persuade Tom to rip up the carpet and install wood instead. Carpeting was a trap for dust and dirt, and bamboo flooring in a dark stain would look so much more interesting and elegant. But the house belonged to Tom, the home reno decisions were all his, and he’d vetoed Nicky’s suggestion.

    Finally, Nicky made himself a sandwich, washed the dishes he’d dirtied, and wiped down the granite counters. Tom wouldn’t care if he left the house a mess—probably would barely even notice. When Nicky had moved in, the place had resembled a toxic waste dump. Tom was always fastidious about his workspaces but didn’t have an interest in keeping the home front spick-and-span. Which was fine with Nicky, who enjoyed cleaning. It relaxed him, made him feel as if he’d accomplished something.

    Nicky hung the dish towel neatly on its hook and glanced at the clock. Lunch rush was well over. The restaurant staff would be straightening up and clocking out while Tom retreated to his office to pore over bills and other paperwork. He wouldn’t be expecting Nicky or the rest of the dinner crew for another two hours.

    With a wicked little smile, Nicky decided Tom needed a surprise. He took a quick shower—again squeegeeing the glass afterward, because water stains were a bitch to deal with. He pulled on his second-sexiest pair of underwear, the sexiest pair having seen action the day before. He slithered into a pair of black trousers. Black pants and white shirt were Tom’s rules for the waitstaff, but Nicky always managed to find tight trousers that showed off his strong legs and muscular ass, and Tom hadn’t once complained. The crisp white button-down set off Nicky’s golden tan nicely. He carefully gelled his hair. Yes, he was a little vain, but he liked looking good for

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1