Serendipity (9 page)

I wake to a knock at the door. “Come in,” I call, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Dean pushes the door open with his worn, brown boots, carrying a tray. I sit up when he sets the tray down on my lap and sits on the edge of the bed.

“I’m really sorry about earlier. It was a total accident.” He puts his arms behind him on the bed and leans back onto them.

“An accident just like yesterday?” I ask sarcastically.

“That was not my fault and you and I both know it. My light was green which meant that yours had to be red,” he says defensively, sitting up straight.

He turns to face me, folding a leg underneath him. “Listen, I’m really sorry about yesterday and today. Okay?”

“Okay,” I nod. “So, why are you bringing me food?” I scrunch my nose when I get a whiff of him. He smells like a zoo. The food on my tray is looking less appetizing, even though my stomach is growling.

“My mom is busy so she asked me to bring you lunch. Plus, I need to grab some clothes and take them downstairs into the den.” He shrugs and walks to the dresser. I stare at him and take a sip of the juice. I’m not sure what kind it is but it’s delicious. She’s also made some kind of sandwich and a bowl of chopped fruit.

“Please tell your mom thank you for me. If you don’t mind, I’d like to eat and then go back to sleep.” I say, popping a blueberry into my mouth.

“But you just woke up,” he glances at me over his shoulder.

He’s in the same clothes as yesterday which is probably what the stench is. I watch him as he gathers clothes and piles them in his arms. He’s very handsome, dark, olive skin—which I’m sure is from hours spent working outside—and dark eyes that look like pools of melted chocolate.

I shrug my shoulders and chew. “I may be tired again after I eat. I’m starting to get another headache.”

He looks at me with concern. “Are you in any pain?”

“Yeah, a little I guess. Whatever they gave me really helps. I just want to rest so I can go back home, or wherever it is I’m going.” I dig through the bowl of fruit, searching for more blueberries.

“You know you can stay here for as long as you need to, right? Mom would love for you to stay.” He places his clothes on top of the dresser and walks over to the closet in search of something.

I sigh and place the tray on the bed next to me. “Listen, your parents seem really nice but I need to get out on my own. I want my own bed and my own clothes, in my own place.”

He holds a hand up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. Enjoy your lunch.” He says with a smile and grabs his clothes as he turns to leave without another word.

What was that? Did we just have an actual conversation?

After he leaves, I eat in peace. I pop the last bite of watermelon into my mouth as Emily walks in. Drying her hands on her apron, she pulls my phone out of the pocket and hands it to me.

“I talked with your mother and she is so glad you’re okay. I mentioned that we brought you home to stay until your appointment, she assured us that that would be okay?”

Gee, they need my mom’s approval?

“Thank you, Emily. If you don’t mind, I’m going to try and get some rest. I feel a migraine coming on.” I bring my hand to my forehead and rub it for effect.

“Let me get the medicine the doctor prescribed and then I’ll get out of your hair.” She gets up and walks downstairs. I lie down on the pillows and glance at the clock and see it’s only one in the afternoon. If today is any indication of how my week is going to go, I will be liable for killing someone.

Emily brings me a few pills and some water, and tells me to swallow. She has a smile of satisfaction on her face when I look over the brim of the glass.

“Thank you.” I hand the glass to her and lay down, pulling the covers up to my chin. I rest my injured hand on my stomach above the covers. I don’t think I’ve ever had to spend one whole day in bed before, let alone a few.

Dean has a small TV hanging on the wall above his dresser. I don’t have the slightest clue what would be on at this time a day, but it’s got to be better than just sitting here doing nothing. I grab the remote from the nightstand by the bed and flip through the channels. I stop when I pass by one of my guilty pleasures—a show dedicated to teen moms and the problems they face. These girls crack me up because they think they have it all figured out, when in reality they don’t have the slightest clue.

I start to laugh at a funny part but wince when the movement proves to be too much for my sore body. Before long I fall asleep and I do something that I haven’t done in a very long time. I dream about a guy–but not just any guy.

I dream about Dean.

I wake up to my alarm. I can’t wait to get up and get back into my normal routine. I’ve been thrown off the past two days but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. I shift under the blanket and I notice I’m as rock-hard as ever. I try to recall my dream and the only thing I remember seeing are eyes—there’s no mistaking those ocean blue eyes. I’ve only known her a day, but the image of her eyes is singed into my brain.

I scrub my hands over my face, letting out a frustrated groan. I toss the blanket, jump off the couch and search through the pile of clothes that I brought down from my room for something to wear. Once dressed, I head outside. The morning dew rests on the tips of the lawn and light fog lifts in the distance.

Stepping inside the house, I expected to see my parent’s awake—my dad sitting at the table reading the paper, and my mom making breakfast. What I didn’t expect to see was Barbie, lifting a cup of coffee to her luscious lips with her good hand. She eyes me as soon as the door slams behind me.

“Uh, are my parent’s awake?”

She sets the mug down and nods. “Yeah, they went into town. They were talking about getting some kind of omelet that I had to try,” she shrugs.

My parents rarely go out to eat. There’s really no need to when we have just about everything they need on the farm. Why they are going out of their way to accommodate Barbie is beyond me.

I shake my head and move past her to pour myself a cup of coffee. Without another word I walk back outside and head towards the stable. When I see my dad’s truck pull in, I change directions to meet them.

Opening the door for my mom, I take the bags of food from her, set them on the ground, and offer my hand to help her out. “Why did you go get food?” I ask. “You never eat out.”

“Dean, we have a guest now and we need to make sure she has everything she needs.” My mom steps down from the truck, reaches down for the bags and walks into the house.

My stomach growls when I smell the contents and I groan. “Did you get anything for me?” I ask, following closely behind her.

“Well of course we did. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t feed my son?” I smile at her response, and run up in front to hold open the screen door for them. My mom smiles as she walks past me, my dad arches a brow as if I’m up to something.

I walk in after my dad, shutting the door behind me and my jaw drops when I see the table set and a cup of coffee and orange juice is laid out in front of each plate.

“Oh Phoebe, did you do all of this?” my mom asks, a mixture of curiosity and adoration in her voice. Her eyes light up as she sets the bags down on the counter and looks to Phoebe.

Barbie flashes her bright white smile. This girl is perfection from head to toe. Her long blonde hair that looks so silky smooth, it makes me want to run my fingers through it. I could get lost in her eyes—the color of the bluest ocean—for days and not have a single worry. Her soft, tan skin looks so delicious, and I can only imagine how she might taste on my lips.

Holy Hell! What is happening to me?!

I quickly turn around to adjust myself, cursing my decision to wear such tight jeans. I need to get laid, maybe that will take my mind off of Phoebe.

“Sit down and eat Dean, before your food gets cold,” my mom says, pulling out a chair for me.

The omelet is as big as the plate and I swear I could eat the whole thing in less than five bites. This isn’t much variation from our usual breakfast but it’s different and different is good. I grab my plate and a fork and turn to leave the room so I don’t have to sit next to Barbie.

“Where do you think you’re going, Dean?” Mom asks, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m just going to take my food outside with me. I’m still catching up from the other day and I have a lot of work to do.”

She raises her eyebrows. “I don’t care what you have to do, we eat as a family.” She points down to the chair and gives me a stern look.

Family? Now my mom is calling Barbie
family
? I roll my eyes and pull out the chair. I set the plate down, avoid eye contact with everyone at the table, and dig into my food,

“I’d really like to get out of the house today. Do you think it would be okay if I walk the grounds, Emily?” Barbie asks in an innocent tone.

“Oh sure, I think that would be fine,” my mom replies.

I clean my plate and lean back into the chair, resting my hands behind my head. As I stretch my legs out, I accidently tap Barbie’s thigh. She glares at me as if I did it on purpose.

“Um, sorry,” I push the chair out and take my plate to the sink. The sooner I get out of this house and away from Phoebe, the better. As I turn on the tap and rinse the plate off under the running water, I feel eyes burning into my back. I look over my shoulder to see my mom and dad watching me.

I set the plate down and turn around, leaning against the counter. “What?” I shrug my shoulders.

“Dean, take Phoebe out on the grounds. She won’t be able to walk very far so take the truck,” my mom smiles and turns to Barbie to make sure it’s okay.

How in the hell did I get volunteered for this shit?

“But I have a ton of work to do. The past two days barely anything has gotten done. Maybe tomorrow?” I ask.

“Dean,” my dad barks. “Your mother wasn’t asking you, son.”

I hold up my hands to surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it.” I turn and walk outside, grabbing the truck keys from the hook and letting the screen door slam shut behind me.

I jump in the truck and pull off my shirt, blasting the AC and pointing all of the vents in my direction. I close my eyes and rest my head as the cool air blasts from the vents and cooling my overheated body.

Barbie has only just arrived and already I’m counting the days until she leaves. Two down, seven to go.

While waiting for Barbie, I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Devon. God, I hope she’s single because I need to get laid as soon as possible.

Me: Hey, Dev, are you busy tonight?

I get straight to the point, because she’ll know what I want. I heard from Austin that she’s not seeing that ass anymore that she stopped seeing me for. We’ve always had an understanding that with us, it would only be sex and that’s it. I’m not blind, I know she wants more, but I’ve made it clear on more than one account that she won’t be getting it from me.

Devon: Meet me at my place @8 ;)

Hell-fucking-yeah! I feel myself get hard just thinking about it. Shit, I should have called her yesterday instead of taking matters into my own hands—literally.

I hear the slam of the screen door and I look up to see Barbie walking out of the house. She’s in a pair of tight, cut-off jean shorts, an even tighter white tank top–leaving little to the imagination—and a pair of flip-flops. Definitely not something she should be wearing in fields where the grass is nearly as tall as she is.

I set my phone down and jump out of the truck, I hurry around to open the door for her and lift her in. At this point, I couldn’t care less if she bitches about me helping her or not, I’m getting laid tonight and that’s all that matters.

“Thank you,” she smiles sweetly. I nod and close the door.

I hurry back into the truck. The cool air hits me right away and my nipples harden. I almost forgot I didn’t have a shirt on. I glance out the corner of my eye and I see Barbie eyeing me.

“See something you like?” I tease, not expecting an answer.

“Actually…” she says seductively, “no.” She smiles before turning to look out the window.

I chuckle to myself. She can say no all she wants but there’s no hiding the look in her eyes screaming ‘yes’ and that look alone gives me such satisfaction that I affect her, maybe almost as much as she affects me. It’s all just sexual tension and I’m sure it’s natural but after tonight, I won’t have to worry about that for a while.