Leandra straightens and she gifts me a soft smile. She seems completely at ease, like she’s really enjoying herself. “This is amazing. Thank you for letting me see it. I had no idea there were so many sizes and shapes and different kinds of cacti. I have to confess that I don’t even have a single one.”
“That’s something we need to rectify. Choose one. Any one you want. If it’s too big to fit in the car, I’ll have it delivered for you.”
Her red stained bow lips purse out thoughtfully, then part in surprise as her eyes get deliriously huge and sweep around the greenhouse like a kid finding a giant pile of presents under the tree on Christmas morning. “Oh my god! Seriously? Any of them?”
“Sure. If you feel insecure sometimes about owning a boutique or- or what you were talking about in the car, I feel insecure too because all the money in my family stems from my grandma. She’s an heiress. My mom ran off with some other rich dude who wasn’t my dad. She chose him instead of me and my brother and she never looked back. My dad chose his career instead of us and he never looked back. My grandma raised us. Gave us everything we could want. Spoiled us bloody rotten, but also made sure we knew how to be thankful, polite, nice people. Well, she might have failed with my brother there because he can be a bit of a giant arsehole quite often, but she did her best. I often feel like I’m not doing something meaningful enough. Like I’m not putting her money to good enough use. I could have become anything. A doctor or a lawyer, but instead I majored in Economics, mostly because it’s a good thing to have to fall back on- employable and what not- but it was also because I didn’t have the balls to take horticulture like I wanted to. Grandma wouldn’t have cared. She would have supported me in anything. No, I had to go and get something business related. Maybe it’s a good thing, since I started the company and I should understand all the ins and outs of how it runs.”
“You do all of that? The marketing, the accounting, the sales, the contacts, the deliveries, getting new clients, new stores, finding new suppliers?”
I shrug because suddenly I feel a little warm at the way Leandra is looking at me like I’ve done something monumental when I know in reality I’m not that impressive. “I do as much as I can. It’s good to know how to delegate too. I put good people into every one of those positions as we grew. I still do most of the sales and the suppliers and finding new stores and all of that. And I’m here as much as possible, since I love being with the plants. My brother thinks that’s weird.”
“Pah!” Leandra scoffs. “I think it’s wonderful.”
“Really? You don’t find plants to be- uh- slightly nerdy?”
“I do, but what’s not to like about that? What’s wrong with loving plants?”
“Oh. Nothing. I was just wondering.”
She turns, her golden hair fanning out around her shoulders, and points at a giant cacti. I come closer to inspect it, wondering if she’s pointing out the one she wants, or just pointing something out in general.
“That one!” She says and whirls as soon as I’m close.
She’s all blazing fire and excited energy and she’s so bloody gorgeous that she’s like a damn magnet, drawing me helplessly in because I’m the other magnet to her magnetized field. Her arms lock around my neck at the same time as my hands cup her waist. She angles herself and I angle back. She crashes against me, her lips about to lock with mine, when I over calculate and back up and inch too much, and…
“Ouch!”
I jump, startled at the sharp prick right to my left buttcheck. I drop my hands to rub the spot. At the same time, Leandra leaps back at my surprised cry. Her heel catches in the crushed rock and she teeters. I grab for her wrist, pulling her up to steady her, but I pull too hard as she rights herself all on her own. She goes flying forward, but sidesteps easily and catches herself in a move that is pure athletic wonder. I’m much less graceful. Pulled off balance, I go flying forward. Straight into one massive cactus. I put out my hands to catch myself, think better of it, and… Well… Somehow I land dick first on the thing.
I wish I was kidding, but I’m not.
Now it really does look like I’m a cactus humper.
Fuck. My. Life.
“Holy sharp prickly balls!” I scream in a voice that is too high pitched to be my own.
I’m not match for the massive spines and I go down hard. I hit the ground and roll, cupping my throbbing nuts and my aching dick.