The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (16 page)

Evidently
over her shock, she finally smiled up at me and ran her fingers down my jaw.
“By the way, if I have any say in it, I prefer the scruff.” Then she reached up
to me for a kiss. We wrapped ourselves around each other for several moments
before cooler heads prevailed and we remembered the five-year-old down the hall,
not to mention the open door behind me.

“Oh,
I almost forgot.” I turned around and retrieved my bag from the front porch
where I’d left it. “Call Rocco out here. I’ve got some treehouse plans to go
over with him.”

Go About Your Business

Laney

I
was feeling like I’d just won a free lifetime supply of doughnuts, along with a
magical guarantee that they’d never go to my ass, as I watched Nate and Rocco
at my kitchen table going over treehouse plans. I was also feeling a bit
foolish for spending the last two days wallowing in misery when I could have
just opened my mouth and asked Nate outright about his plans. Damn that Fiona
for always being right. I resolved from here on out to voice my doubts and be
clear about any reservations I had.

I
also owed Fiona a phone call to tell her to call off the cookie dough, wine,
and ice cream brigade she was currently preparing. She was having her weekend
with Terrence but since she’s the best friend a girl could have, she had been
checking in with me and was planning to stop by tonight before Terrence
arrived.

“We’re
going to head out back and take some measurements if that’s okay,” Nate said,
stacking the papers and rising from his chair.

“Of
course. But, Rocco, you’re getting ready for bed in half an hour.”

“Aw,
man, can’t I stay up later since Nate’s here?” my kid asked, just like any
other five-year-old would when presented with the opportunity to do something
fun with a friend. No nose twitching, no shyness, no worried look in his big
brown eyes. It appeared that Nate was
in
and at that moment I didn’t care
one bit that he was thirty-one instead of five.

***

“Just
because we’re building this treehouse doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore your
house. I think tomorrow I’m going up on your roof to check things out. I’m also
going to have to take a look in your attic,” Nate said as we were saying our
goodbyes later in the evening.

“Are
those euphemisms? I love it when you talk dirty,” I said, trying to keep a
straight face.

“They
can be,” he replied with a grin. “But actually I’m just giving you advance
warning. I believe your attic access is in your bedroom closet and I wouldn’t
want to have to turn you over to one of those cable TV shows, if you know what
I mean.”

Shitballs!
My secret wasn’t so secret anymore. “Please don’t tell me you’ve seen my
closet.”

“Okay,
I won’t tell you.”

Double
shitballs!
My hands started itching to do a little cheek
rubbing. Nate grabbed both my hands before they could reach my face.

“I’ve
decided to find your ‘storage system’ cute instead of scary.”

“Oh
God, you’re probably one of those people who doesn’t even have a junk drawer,
aren’t you?”

That
was met with silence. Who was this guy? Oh, that’s right, I forgot – he’s
Superman’s brother. Of course superheroes didn’t have junk drawers.

“I
have four junk drawers” I confessed.

“And,
like I said, it’s cute. I think. But I had to give you fair warning about the
closet since I will actually have to fit a ladder in there tomorrow.”

He
finally released my hands and I used one to smack him on the arm. “Ha ha. It’s
not that bad, you big jerk”

Rocco
was safely tucked into bed, for the moment at least, but after the near miss
with the little night stalker last time, neither Nate nor I were willing to
enter the bedroom tonight. At this rate, we’d never get to do the dirty. We
were leaning against opposite walls in the front hall saying a rather extended
goodnight.

He
came in for an embrace. “I’m picking up lumber on the way over tomorrow so I’ll
be here about 10:00. And, Laney, we’ve got to figure out how to have a real
date night one of these days.” He smiled at me and gave me a sweet kiss. I
wanted to drag him back in and have my naughty way with him, so I was already
flipping through my mental contact list to figure out how to organize some extended
alone time for us.

“Definitely.
I’ll get to work on it.” I smiled and kissed him back. My kiss may have been a
little less sweet than his.

***

Well,
it looked like I owed my vagina an apology. Before I could even ask Gavin to babysit
I’d gone and pissed him right the hell off, removing any possibility that he’d grant
me a favor anytime soon. And the worst part was I’d thought I was doing
something nice.

“Not
interested” Gavin had said over his shoulder as he tried to walk away.

“What
do you mean? You’re the perfect person for this and it’s just one night a week
and one game on the weekends.”

“I
don’t care, I’m not doing it! And stay the fuck out of my business, Laney!” He’d
hitched his workout bag onto his shoulder and stormed out the door before I
could stop him.
That went well.

It
was Saturday mid-morning and Charlotte had dropped by earlier to give me a
plant she foolishly assumed I wouldn’t kill.
Yeah
…anyway, during the
course of our conversation she’d mentioned that Aiden was signed up for rec
league baseball and the coach had just dropped out. She asked if I knew of
anyone who could fill in – her husband not being available since he travelled a
lot for work. And, in her words, “He’s about as athletic as a Basset Hound in a
patch of sunshine.” Sometimes I just loved the crap out of her Texas. So,
naturally, I told her about Gavin. It was like kismet, or so I’d thought.
Apparently it was more like the worst misfortune to hit Greensboro, so fierce
was Gavin’s dismissal of the idea. Now he was pissed and I was evidently never
having sex for the rest of my life.

Nate
had shown up at 10:00 as promised and he and Rocco were out back doing lord
knows what but it seemed like each time I peeked out the window they both had
their hands on their hips and they were gazing up at the tree in deep thought. This
project might take a while.

I
still couldn’t quite believe that this guy was so interested in me –
truthfully, I didn’t really feel like I had that much to offer. I know if Fiona
had been here she would have smacked me upside the head for talking trash about
myself, but it was hard sometimes to keep a super confident attitude. I was
just going to have to go with it, though, because I wasn’t about to give up a
chance to be with somebody who made me feel the way Nate did.

I
couldn’t help but peek out the window again and this time I was treated to the
view of his cargo pants stretched tightly over his backside as he leaned down
to lift a stack of wood. Damn that man could make me swoon.

Back
to closet cleaning, Laney! Focus!

A
few hours later Nate and Rocco had retreated inside to escape the hot afternoon
sun and I was fixing us some cool drinks. Rocco was washing up in the bathroom
when my front door slammed so hard the windows rattled. I thought maybe it was
Gavin and he hadn’t gotten over his hissy fit, but it was Fiona’s petite form that
came storming into the kitchen, stopping a few feet from me.

Her
purse whacked the counter when she threw it down and I was pretty sure whatever
was in there was now in pieces. “I’m staying over tonight and I won’t take no
for an answer. I’m going to eat all of your ice cream and watch tragically
stupid teenagers on reality TV while you, my friend, are going over to your hot
man’s apartment and getting your muffin buttered. I do not want to see your
face until at least noon tomorrow and it had better look well-fucked. At least
one of us should have an orgasm tonight and it sure as hell won’t be me! Now
tell Rocco his Aunt Fiona is inviting him to an ice cream party tonight and he
can stay up as late as he wants.”

When
I didn’t move she threw her hands out toward me. “Shoo!” I still didn’t move.
This was “scary” Fiona – she didn’t come out to play very often.

“Uh,
Fiona, you remember Nate, don’t you?” I motioned hesitantly to the pantry door
where he had been spraying WD-40 on the hinges but now stood stock still, the
can suspended in air.

Fiona
didn’t even flinch. “Hey there, hot stuff. You get all that?”

Nate
just nodded his head while the rest of him remained still.

“Can
you please excuse us for a moment, Nate?” I asked as I dragged Fiona down the
hall to my bedroom and closed the door.

“First
of all, you can’t come in here throwing out f-bombs while Rocco’s at home and
you know it. Second, I can’t even believe you just said all of that in front of
Nate. Just…oh God.” I covered my eyes with my hand.

She
huffed in dismissal.

I
took a deep breath and shook it off. “And third, what happened? I thought you
were doing sexy time with Terrence.”

She
scoffed. “Don’t even talk to me about Terrence.” And then she proceeded to talk
about him anyway, as pretty much any girl would do. “What about ‘friends with
benefits’ does he not understand? That man wants to, and I quote, ‘take things
to the next level’. What next level?! There is no next level! So I sent him to
his hotel and told him that until he gets his head screwed on straight he needs
to lose my number. I can’t go back to my place in case he decides to show up to
plead his case again.” She did a full body shiver.
Dramatic much?

“Wow,”
was really all I could say, though. Treading carefully here was essential.
Fiona did not do commitment. She didn’t do the girlfriend thing. She was kind
of like a guy that way, but every other aspect of her was all girly-girl. I
knew she had her reasons so I’d given up trying to convince her to give a guy a
chance. But this was
Terrence
. They would be so good together
.
Ugh. I’d have to let it go for now but hopefully she’d open the door a crack
for him if he just gave her a little time. So it looked like I’d have to give
her a little time too. “I’m sorry, Fee.” I gave her a hug and she finally let
go of her mad a bit and sagged into my arms with a sigh.

“I
know. Me too. Can I still eat your ice cream?”

“Every
bit,” I said, still holding her tight, my chin resting on the top of her head.

“You
know, you really do have a great rack. It’s like the best goose-down pillows in
here.” She tried to snuggle in.

I
shoved her away. “You perv.”

***

So
it looked like the sex fates did like me a little bit after all. I’d gotten my
sitter, although I would have preferred not to have involved Fiona’s heart in
the process. Nate, I could safely say, was even more thrilled than I was when I
told him the news. And it seemed Fiona couldn’t get us out the door fast
enough. I barely had time to say goodbye to Rocco and elicit a promise from
Fiona that more than just ice cream would be served for dinner.

“I
need to stop by my place and take a shower, but then do you want to go out to
dinner?” We were in Nate’s truck and my nerves were jumping already.

“Sure,
sounds good, but I’m not dressed for anything fancy.” I motioned down to my casual
black shorts and blue t-shirt.

“You
look perfect to me.”

“Aww.”
I couldn’t help the smile I gave him.

The
apartment building was just as neglected as I remembered and I didn’t blame
Nate for wanting to move somewhere nicer. Although maybe he should keep the
couch after all and just re-cover it.

He
took my hand once again and led me to the door, not even letting me go to
unlock it. Once the door closed behind us I suddenly found myself pinned to the
wall beside it and Nate’s mouth was on mine. He tasted like the lemonade I’d
fixed him earlier, but his mouth was warm and his tongue hot as it pushed past
my lips to explore mine. My hands immediately found his hair and gripped the
back of his neck. I melted into the kiss. Then my hands decided to do a little
wandering as his lips left mine and traced a path down my jaw to my neck. On
their journey, my hands found their way underneath his t-shirt and began
exploring the planes of his abs and back. He smelled faintly of sweat and some
kind of spicy shampoo or aftershave and I was turned the hell on.

“Sorry,”
he said into my neck as his hands rounded my ass. “I’d really intended to take
you out and make this romantic but that’s gonna have to wait ‘til next time. I
need you to get naked right now.” Well okay, I guess this was really happening.
Holy crap!

Patience
was obviously not one of his virtues because he had my shirt pulled over my
head in a heartbeat and his hands moved quickly to the button on my shorts. I
was feeling both overheated and a bit self-conscious at the same time. Why was
it so bright in here? Would he like what he saw once I’d lost all of my clothes?
Wait, why was I the only one getting naked?
Again!

“Quid
pro quo,” I said breathily as I stilled his hands and motioned for him to lose
his shirt. I also may have helped a little, letting my hands take their time on
the upward journey over his stomach and chest. Lord was he built. “How do you
look like this?” I blurted out.

He
laughed. “Look like what?”

“All
muscle-ey and bumpy and stuff.”
Brilliant, Laney. You should write a book.