“Actually, you’re not,” I say, and his brow furrows. I poke him in the chest. “I’m going to strip you naked and have my way with you.”
“Fuck,” he murmurs.
“Yeah, exactly.”
10
Alek
Alyssa and I have been hanging out for three days now. Three fun days working together, and three fun nights falling into bed together. Come Friday, her time is up with me. Only problem is, the more time I spend around her, the more I want to extend the five-day limit. Maybe I should rear-end her again. Jesus, what am I saying and for fuck’s sake I need to stop thinking about her perfect, heart-shaped ass.
As I drive us home from work—she’s given up fighting me on the matter, and yes, I like taking care of her—I take in the streaks of mud on her face. It’s been drizzling for the last three days, making work difficult, but we were able to finish off Mrs. Henderson’s backyard. Alyssa was a little quiet as we completed the job today, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that she doesn’t have any more big jobs lined up.
“I was talking to Tyler today,” I say. “He called while you were talking with Mrs. Henderson.”
She casts me a sideways glance. “How’s his vacation going?”
“Good.” I chuckle. “But he did complain about his nagging sisters, and how they’re trying to set him up with every single girl in their contact list. I’m glad it’s him and not me,” I say, and she smiles at me but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“How long is he gone again?” she asks.
“Three weeks.”
She turns and stares out the front window. “So you’re leaving then, after three weeks,” she says, and that’s when I realize it’s not something we ever talked about.
“I might stay longer. I’m not sure. I do have to go back to Boston for Kaylee’s party. Which reminds me of a couple things. One, I’d like to go to the city this weekend to get her a present, and two, my buddy Jonah texted and he and his family have decided to come up next weekend.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” she says and looks at her hands.
“Any chance you can come to the city with me this weekend and help?” I do have to get Kaylee a present, but I have ulterior motives that I’m not about to divulge. No, she doesn’t need to know what I have planned and I seriously can’t wait to see her face when she finds out. “I know nothing about girls.”
She grins. “I wouldn’t say that.”
I reach across the seat and capture her hand. “Will you come?”
“With the landscaping job complete, and just a few other contracts that aren’t too big, I have some free time. We can take my truck if you want.”
“I have something else in mind,” I say. “Do you think your grandmother would miss you if we didn’t get back in time for visiting hours?”
The freckles on her nose pinch together as she makes a face. “I think she’d be okay with that. I’ll have one of her friends check in and read to her. I’ll let her know tonight. She’s really enjoying your visits too, you know. It’s funny how she thinks she knows you.”
Nope, not funny at all.
“I like visiting her too,” I say, although the more time I spend with her, the more I think she does know who I am.
“What about Captain Jack, though?”
“Covered. Tyler told me to check in with his neighbor. They have kids and they love the dog, so they won’t mind taking care of him for the night.”
“For the night?”
“Yeah, I mean, they’ll feed him and walk him.” Way to almost let the cat out of the bag, dude. I never was very good at keeping secrets, yet here I am keeping a whopper of a one from her, and I fucking hate everything about that. If I tell her now will it ruin this between us? Will she end up hating me? I’m not sure that’s a risk I want to take. My buddy Jamie is the risk taker, not me. As I think about him it brings a smile to my face. I’m so happy he finally found love and a home with Fallon. “I still want you to t
ake me fishing,” I say, wanting to change the subject.
“You really want to learn?” she asks, like she can’t wrap her mind around that.
“Well yeah. I mean I’ve been spin fishing before, just never fly fishing. I’m not afraid of worms if that’s what you’re thinking.”