Or not.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you are a pain in the ass?” I slide into the passenger seat and slam my door shut.
“All the time,” he says, looking quite pleased with himself as he gets in beside me. He starts the truck and carefully negotiates the long driveway. I cast him a glance as he drives me back to his buddy’s place. “What?” he asks, his peripheral vision far too good.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“You gave me a break, and maybe I wanted to give you one too.”
“I still don’t get it. You accidently hit my trailer, then spend the day helping me. I don’t know any guy who would do that.”
“Then maybe you haven’t been hanging around with the right guys.”
4
Alek
Alyssa’s eyes go wide, scanning my buddy Tyler’s yard when I pull into the winding driveway, and park her truck outside the three-car garage. I can just imagine she’s redesigning the yard in her mind’s eye. Honestly, what she does is hard work, and I admire that about her. Still though, I am a little worried about the bump on her head, and if I’m being completely truthful with myself, it’s not the only reason I wanted to bring her back here.
I like spending time with her. She’s open and honest and while I should probably tell her who I am and what I do—and I will—right now I’m just enjoying the ease between us.
Her smile is bright when she aims it my way. “This place is gorgeous.” She unbuckles. “I’d love to get my hands on it.”
There’s a lot of things I’d like to get my hands on, too, but I’m not about to try anything with her. I so rarely spend time with a woman outside of bed. We usually hook up, and I offer her up a serving or two of the Puck Charmer special and disappear before sunrise. I don’t want to do that with Alyssa and jeopardize our budding friendship. Outside of my buddies’ wives, and Tyler’s annoying sisters, I’ve never been friends with a woman. It’s kind of…nice.
“Want to see the inside?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah.” She slides from her truck and frowns. “Wait, what about your car? We can’t just leave it in town.”
“Why you think someone might steal it?”
She laughs. “You’re right. I think it’s safe.”
I gesture with a nod and fish the key from my pocket. “Come on.”
She follows me up the walkway, her gaze still scanning the yard, and I open the front door and stand back for her to enter. Captain Jack comes barreling down the hall, barking and excited.
“Oh my God, he’s adorable.”
“He knows it, too. He’s a real player, Alyssa.” I take my ballcap off and set it on the hallway table. “Has his way with the ladies, and if you’re not careful, he’ll have you rubbing his belly for hours.”
“Do you like belly rubs, boy?”
He drops to his back, and spreads his legs.
“Captain Jack,” I scold, and hold my hand up to block the view. “Cut it out, she’s a lady.” I wink at her. “At least he has good taste in women.” She chuckles and stands back up. Captain Jack rolls over and whines. “You hungry, buddy?” I ask.
He barks and runs to the kitchen, coming back with his bowl in his mouth.
“He’s so smart,” Alyssa says.
“Actually, I think he’s a bit of a smart ass.”
“No, he’s smart. You’re the smart ass,” she jokes and pokes me in the chest.
The gesture is innocent, but goddammit, I really like when she touches me.
I take her hand in mine. “Hey, I resemble that comment.”