“Well, looks like we do have two distinct problems,” I note out loud, pointing to the small amount of water pooling around the bottom of the toilet where the water damage is with my foot so Pan and Trixie can see. “Something’s wrong with the seal down here. Looks like P—Abel here may need to make a trip to the store, depending on what you all have on hand.”
Pan looks at me like I just shot his mama. He clearly wants to stay and flirt with Trix, but I don’t have the time or patience for that. The job isn’t too complicated, but it will eventually take both of us.
“What do you need?” Trix asks, “Connor, right?”
I nod and smile politely. “Yes. So, we’re going to need a putty knife, a toilet repair kit which will have the nuts and bolts needed to fix the seal issue, the wax sealant, some rags, and some cleaning supplies for after.” I look at Pan. “Did you at least bring some gloves?” He pulls them from his bag and practically throws them at me.
He’s asking for it later, that’s for damn sure.
“I don’t know what most of that is,” Trix admits, “but we for sure have rags and cleaning supplies. Let me get those for you. Good luck at the store. Hope you find what you need. We really appreciate this.” She speaks directly to Pan with that one, her eyes raking him up and down like she’s a lioness looking at a piece of meat. At least the feeling’s mutual.
When she leaves the room to go get the shit, Pan readjusts himself and grumbles, “Fuck. I’d send Gemma, but no way in hell would she know what she was looking for. Can you at least handle the clog while I’m out?”
I roll my eyes and nod, only because I want to get back to the club and the party rather than sit around fixing a fucking toilet all night.
Trix comes back with some Scrubbing Bubbles, bleach, a scrub brush, and old rags. We thank her, and I try to push Pan out the door as he continues to try and get Trix into bed with him. I hear Gemma catch up with the both in the hallway and embarrass the fuck out of them both, though.
“What the hell, Abel.” Fast footwork tells me at least one of them ran off—probably Trix. “You can’t just be flirting with one of my roommates. If you started sleeping with her, it’d be awkward,” Gemma grits out.
I snort as I pull on the gloves and get down on my hands and knees. I reach behind the toilet to find the water line to shut it off and disconnect it. The whole toilet’s going to have to come up before we’re through anyway, might as well save some time.
I hear the door open and shut, glad Pan got out of the door. I pull out the snake and get on my knees in front of the damn porcelain throne, looking like I’m about to partake in worshiping it, before I start to feed the thing down into the U-bend. I don’t know how far back this clog will be, but at least Pan has the smarts to have brought a 50-foot snake rather than a shitty short one that the landlord probably had—thus, all the excuses not to come work on the shit himself.
All those assholes were always scamming. Mostly, they are just idiots when it comes to any repair.
I started to feed the snake down the drain for the toilet, already breaking out in a sweat as I try to force the wiggly contraption through all of the bends in the toilet. The obstruction takes a while to find, and when I do, I know I will need more than just the snake.
Whatever it is, it’s something hard. The snake, with the little control I have over it because of its consistency and how far down the toilet it is, is not going to be able to push the clog entirely out. I’ll either need something with more control or something that can grab onto whatever’s causing the clog and yank it out.
I pull off my gloves for a moment, wiping my hands on one of the rags before pulling out my phone. I dial Pan’s number, hoping he’ll pick up while still at the store. “About to get in line with all the stuff. What’s up?” Pan asks.
“I need you to go back into the aisles and find a toilet auger. I found the clog, but it’s too hard for just a snake to move it. I think we’ll be able to grab whatever the object is with the auger, but just in case, I’ll go see if your sister has some baking soda and vinegar. That’s supposed to help break up clogs.”
I can hear Pan groan on the other side of the line. “All right, I didn’t expect it to be this involved. How long do you think it’s gonna take?”
“Well, if you don’t spend the entire time flirting with Gemma’s roommate, then an hour, maybe two. If the clog cooperates, it’ll be done shortly after you get here with the stuff. But then we have to take the toilet off and redo the seal. Think you can handle that, stud?”
He hangs up on me, and I chuckle to myself.
I hate trekking into the rest of the house when I don’t know anyone here, and I’ve just been dealing with a toilet, but I don’t have much choice. I actually find Gemma in the kitchen making some tea. “Would you like some?” she asks, trying to offer hospitality, though I can tell by the look on her face that she’s not exactly thrilled about it.
“No thanks. I was actually wondering if you had some baking soda and vinegar. I think it might help break up the clog.”
Gemma’s face softens at that, and she reaches up then on her tiptoes into one of the cabinets above her, pulling out what I’ve asked for. “I know I’ve been stubborn when it comes to my brother helping me with this stuff. I really should learn for myself, but I’m just too busy a lot of the time.”
I know that that’s as close to a thank you as I’m going to get for doing this job. Pan certainly isn’t gonna fucking give it to me. “I get it, and you’re welcome.”
I start to walk away, but Gemma calls me back. “Hey, at least take this.” She reaches in the fridge before throwing me a cold bottle of water. I catch it and take it back with me to the bathroom, sitting against the door and opening it up. Not much else I can do until Pan gets back here with the auger.
Luckily, he’s back in only a few moments, and after I handle the clog myself, pulling out some sort of kid’s toy from the toilet, I finally pull Pan away from his secret flirting with Trixie to help with the seal. We make quick work of that only for Gemma to catch us on the way out and ask if we’ve looked at the sink.
“Oh, shit, forgot about that.”
I glare daggers at Pan. Was he shitting me here? There’s more? “Are we ever getting back to the party?” I grit out at him, and he just grins at me like a fucking baby who has bad gas. Gemma leads us into the kitchen, where the sink there supposedly also has a leak. As she does, I show her the toy.
“Belong to you?”
“Ugh,” she says with annoyance. “I think a big family rented the place before me. Must’ve had some mischievous kids. Thanks.” She takes the toy from my grasp and chucks it in the trash. “So, we’ve been doing dishes in the bathtub in that bathroom.” She points to the one we just came from with the leak. “I managed to get the water turned off by myself for this sink when it started a week ago, but it would be nice to have it working. I hate that my new roommate, in particular, moved here only to put up with this,” Gemma complains to her brother.
Pan gets down this time after taking his shirt off. I’m sure it’s for show if the other women come into the kitchen, but I ignore it. I’m so over all of it at this point, and he so owes me.