Being at Paul and Adel's house is strange. I feel distinctively out of place. The feeling that I am an intruder is strong, but as is becoming customary, I am shit out of luck and have no options.

I am grateful, but I can't shake off the nervous energy that is still buzzing throughout my entire being. The anger I feel boiling inside me hasn't subsided. I am not used to this... quiet. Polite small talk with Aunt Adel. Watching quiz shows in the evenings. Commenting on the weather forecast on the news.

They take me to the town centre for a coffee and breakfast one day, and then the day after we go to the mall–well, a small two-story building with three shops and something that looks like a Chinese restaurant and a barber.

People are friendly enough. They wave on the streets and hold doors open for you, and all those things you heard about small towns but at twenty-two I was starting to believe I was the problem. That something inside me is broken and maybe it will never be fixed.

Like I do most things, I bury that inside me and hop into the shower to get ready for the day. After exactly one week in this place, my first workday starts at Avalanche Construction Inc. Paul's high school friend is an HR manager there and was nice enough to give me a job. It won't be anything glamorous, Uncle warned me, but beggars can't be choosers and I'm desperate to earn some money in order to pay back for everything Paul and Adel have done for me so far.

Even with the extra layers, by the time I enter the small office building of the construction company, my fingers are tingling from the cold, and my toes feel like blocks of ice inside my very thin Converse. And it isn't even winter yet.

I ask for Janet as instructed by my uncle who dropped me off, and after a few moments, a woman with a sweet smile and open arms welcomes me to the company. This is not the first time I had a job but definitely the first one that has an employer this friendly.

Janet sits me down at an empty desk in a large open-plan type of office that has dozens of other people quietly going about their day. She gives me a bunch of paperwork to fill out, takes my clothes size to order a uniform for me and tells me that in an hour I'll get picked up by Dylan, the construction site manager which all sounds good enough for me.

Until a man strolls in. Not just a man, he's walking in like he owns the place. And, oh god, what is that? I swallow almost audibly at the sight of this...person? Is he a real person or a creature from Norse mythology? This can't be Dylan.

"Morning," he tells Janet as he enters the room. He exudes confidence and carries himself with so much assurance. And he is strong and big and I realize that I am possibly not equipped enough for this job. Yeah I am tall, and some would say pretty big and manly but one week of Adel's home-cooked meals didn't help me much to put on enough weight and muscles on my body since my poor diet of drugs, alcohol and occasional junk food back in Cincinnati.

Another thing–he is just so fucking gorgeous. Am I supposed to work alongside this guy every day? I don't know if I wish that to be true or not. Surely it would be torture.

"Hey, Dylan. Just the man I wanted to see. I have someone new for your crew today." Janet points to me. And his pupils blow wide the second his gaze lands on me. His jaw tenses, and even from afar I see the change in him. I see his eyes falling immediately on my poor shoes before finding my eyes. I squirm in my plastic chair in the corner of the reception area and look down at my paperwork that was filled out a long time ago.

My feet itch to run for the door.

I hear him say something about the moose on the road, and a broken headlight, and not having a good day. Great. And now he is going to get me, the most pathetic excuse of a human being who doesn't know anything about construction.

I lift my head because I just have to get another look. I am noticing more things, like the blue of his eyes. How bright they are. How piercing. His beard, casually trimmed so it doesn't hide his full lips and the shape of his face but long enough to make me wonder how it would feel against... No, nope, I won't go there.

And now he is making Janet and a few other office girls giggle. Of course, he is. He looks as straight as an arrow. All of sudden he raises his narrowed stare to my face. Fuck, he's intense.

"Janet says you're coming with me today." He doesn't move from where he's standing. His voice is like gravel on a long, country road. It's rough and husky.

I don't know what to say. I was expecting at least a hello, a handshake or something similar to how Janet greeted me. A hug doesn't look so bad right now to me.

"My truck is outside," he nods in the direction of the front door, "I'll be there in five minutes."

"Sure." I finally manage a word. I get up, walk towards one of the secretary's desks and leave the paperwork, then walk out, feeling the eyes on me.

After less than five minutes, Dylan walks out of the building and approaches me where I'm standing next to a rough-looking pickup truck with the company's logo on the side.

"You could've waited inside the truck, you know." He gives my freezing form a once over and puts a bag he brought from the inside in the back of a truck.

"I'm Dylan. I'll be your supervisor. We are a small team but we work hard and fair." There are more bags on the ground next to the front door that he starts picking up and stacking up in the bed of the truck. "Janet is a very nice lady and couldn't say no to her long-time friend Paul, but hiring new people without experience at this time of year is not something we usually do. I hope you don't take that for granted."

He drops the last bag in the truck without breaking a sweat and walks back to where I'm still standing next to the passenger side. He is about two inches taller but with his brooding energy, he seems like a mountain hovering over me. I can't help but notice the longer dirty blond hair that is tied up in a small bun and how it fits his face so well.

He raises his eyebrow while staring at my face. "This is usually the part where you offer me your name," Dylan says and I'm surprised my balls hadn't shrivelled up under his scrutiny.

"Noah," I manage through my clattering teeth and my voice doesn't sound very convincing. I need to get a grip as soon as possible. "I'm Noah Summerville. Sorry, I'm grateful for the opportunity."

Dylan tips his chin towards the car door. "Get in before you freeze to death."

Once inside the vehicle, Dylan takes off his work jacket, puts it behind his seat and starts driving. He is wearing a black sweatshirt with a company logo on and it hugs his chest and biceps in all the right ways.

Silence descends upon us for long stretches of time, and I hate how awkward I feel around this man. I used to be the life of the party. But I feel tense and the air in the car is suddenly too warm, making me feel suffocated and trapped, like there is no escaping my destiny. Destiny where I am a construction worker in Alaska.

The situation is so random and unusual that I am struggling to find words to even engage in the conversation. I am incapable of finding a similar situation I've been in, I am not equipped for this new life. It is so far from any reality I'd seen for myself when I left the city. Thinking about it now, I would more likely adapt to the jail conditions than be in a car with the sexy Alaskan man as my new boss and driving to a job I've never done before where my inexperience is clearly not welcomed. I'm sure I will fail at this too. Again.

I decide to focus on watching out the window as conversation with my moody boss is not likely going to happen. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect a view like this where I live. Fading golden scrubby grass and bushes scattered among proud green fir trees. Jagged white peaks of the mountains in the distance. Will all these mountain ranges ever become a common sight for me?

Finally, Dylan turns into a gravel road and we have arrived at our destination.

________