The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (9 page)

He
directed his thumb back toward the hall with an unreadable expression on his
face. “Did you know that your kid is in the bathroom singing about penises?”

Kill
me now.

“Ah,
‘The Wiener Song’. A perennial favorite.” Gavin unexpectedly appeared behind
Nate.

A
bit startled, Nate turned to face him and then stuck out a hand. “Hey Gavin.
Good to see you, man.” They exchanged macho pleasantries.

“Laney
said you’re gonna help her with a few things around the house. You don’t really
have to do that, man,” Gavin told his boss.

“Oh,
no, I’m happy to. I was telling your sister last night that I haven’t gotten my
hands dirty in weeks and I’ve got an itch for it.” That wasn’t precisely what
he’d said. It seemed Fiona wasn’t the only one dropping double entendre around
here.
Oh please, you know you were thinking it too
.

“Okay,
man, it’s your funeral. I would stay and help you guys out but I’m supposed to
meet my buddy at the gym.” He hiked up his backpack over one shoulder. “Later.”
He passed by Nate and before passing by me he discreetly pointed two fingers first
to his eyes and then to mine. I flipped him off.

***

“What’s
that one for?” Despite his earlier reservations, it turned out that Rocco could
not resist the lure of power tools. As soon as the electric drill had uttered
its first growl, Rocco was glued to Nate’s side. I, on the other hand, was
standing back but still enjoying the show and another Diet Coke.

“This
is a Phillips head screwdriver.” They were finishing installing the new knob
and dead bolt on the front door. “You use it to screw in this kind of screw.”
He showed him the small screw in his hand.

“Can
I hold it? What if you need to take a screw out? Do you use a different tool?
Are there other ones named after people? There’s a kid in my class named
Philip.”

Nate
seemed a bit frazzled, no doubt trying to figure out how to answer four
questions at once.

“I
forgot to tell you.” I approached. “Talking to Rocco is like attending a press
conference. There will always be one more question.”

He
laughed and looked up from his position on the floor. Damn, he was handsome. My
hand itched to reach out and touch his hair.

“Redirection
and distraction are your friends,” I said. “And if all else fails, pulling a
quarter out of his ear is a crowd-pleaser.”

“Noted,” he replied, still smiling,
and went back to work on the door. “So, Laney, you never said last night – what
is it you do for a living? I know you work in an office…”

“Oh, right.” I leaned against the
wall next to the front door. I suck at small talk. “You know those new chips on
credit cards that protect all of your information.”

“Sure. I heard everyone was
switching over to those. You program those?”

“No. But you know how some credit
card machines still make you swipe instead of using the chip? Well, there are
companies whose job it is to convert all of the machines so everyone has to use
the chip. That’s what my company does.

“And you somehow make that happen?”
He lowered the screwdriver again.

Rocco, clearly bored by the
interruption in the action, wandered down the hallway away from us, probably to
disrobe or make up a new song about vaginas.

“No. But I write technical
procedures for the people who devise the
actual
procedures to make that
happen.”
Oh God, could I possibly be any more boring?

“So you’re like the woman behind
the curtain?” It was sweet how he was trying to make me sound more interesting
than I was.

“More like I’m the woman who
transforms geek-speak into normal-person-speak.”

He finished with the screwing (
ha!
)
and stood to face me so I had to look up. His lips were curved upward and there
was that damn dimple. “Ah, so you’re a translator. That probably comes in handy
in many areas,” he mused. “Perhaps you could use your skills to help me
understand women.”

“No can do.” I shook my head,
feeling a little light headed at his closeness. “Our jobs as women are to exist
as enigmas whose sole purpose is to render men absolutely perplexed. Help me
understand men, though, and I may be able to crack a bit of the code for you.”
Oh
crap, was I flirting?

“That’s easy – give us food, sleep,
and sex and we’re good.” His lips quirked again.

“I’ll jot that down.” Mine returned
the favor.

“Just be sure you reference the
original source in the bibliography.”

“Rest assured, I wouldn’t dream of
attributing that little gem of wisdom to anyone else. You are a true savant,
Nate. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Definitely flirting.
This
conversation was too inane to be anything else than a prelude to sexy time.

“Has
anyone ever told you that you have a smart mouth?”

Before
I could respond he tugged me into his arms and kissed the hell out of said
mouth.

Bring
on the sexy time.

Fishing

Nate

Her
lips were velvety, and she tasted of mint and soda. One of my hands lifted to
her cheek and the smooth skin I found helped me understand why she seemed to
spend so much time stroking it herself. I could spend an entire day just
kissing and caressing her lips and face alone – okay, well I doubt I’d be able
to stop myself there. As my other hand reached to tangle in her hair, I tested
the seam of her lips with my tongue and she parted without further
encouragement, granting entrance to my tongue so it could taste hers.

I
could feel her body shaking a bit, out of nerves or excitement I didn’t know
and I couldn’t have cared less at that moment. But her tongue eagerly dueled
with mine as I turned her toward the wall and pinned her there. My thigh found
its way between hers and I pressed. My cock stood at attention as I ground into
her leg with the finesse of a fifteen-year-old.

This
girl was driving me crazy. I couldn’t stop myself from bringing a hand from her
cheek down her side and resting with my thumb just under her breast. She made a
little gasping sound as she pulled her mouth away slightly to draw in a breath before
moving back in for more. One of her hands drove into the back of my hair while
something cold pressed into the small of my back.

Huh?
Before I could comprehend what it could be it was gone and a loud clank came
from behind me. Laney came to attention abruptly as she pulled back from me, a
surprised look overtaking her eyes while the rest of her face remained flushed
and her lips swollen from our kisses. She couldn’t pull back far since I still
had her pinned to the wall and her breasts rose and fell as they remained
pressed into my chest. She tried to look around me but my height prevented it.

“What’s
wrong?” I ground out, focused on getting my mouth back on hers.

“Um.”
One hand came to her cheek and her eyes darted away from mine. “I think I spilled
my soda on you.”

I
stepped back from her and, sure enough, the can lay on the ground in a small
puddle and a hand to the ass of my jeans revealed a large wet spot.

“This
is so embarrassing,” Laney mumbled, still leaning against the wall, both hands
to her cheeks now.

I
couldn’t help but smile at her. “Totally worth it.”

She
returned my smile, hers a bit smaller, then disappearing completely. “Shit.
Rocco.” Her eyes darted to the hall entrance.

Mine
followed but no one was there. I admit I had completely forgotten about the
kid, my attention had been focused solely on her and getting my hands on her.
In retrospect I suppose my timing could have been better.

“I’m
so sorry,” she began again and darted around me toward the kitchen. “Let me get
some paper towels and try to clean you, I mean
this
, I mean
you know
–
up.” She came back with a roll and tore a few sheets off, thrusting the rest of
the roll at me. I wouldn’t have minded her trying to clean me up herself.

“If
you want, I can lend you some of Gavin’s jeans and run yours through the
washer,” she offered from the floor where she was bent wiping up the mess. I
had to force my gaze from her perfect backside.

“No
thanks. I’ll be fine.” No way was I borrowing her brother’s clothes. Just, no.
“I’ve got to get going in a little bit anyway. I’ll just swing by my place and
change there. It’s not far.”

“I
didn’t realize you lived close by.” She rose from the floor.

I
could see her hardened nipples through her shirt and I lost focus for a moment.

“Yeah,
I’ve got a little apartment between here and New Garden. It’s pretty crappy,
really, but it’s just temporary so I don’t mind.”

An
indecipherable look crossed her face. “Well, at least let me feed you or get
you something to drink before you go. I can’t let you work for free.” Her smile
was mostly back, some of her discomfort had dissipated.

“I
won’t say no to a soda, but this time you can just hand it to me.” I followed
her to the kitchen.

“Ha
ha.” Her cheeks began to pink again. Damn, that look was good on her.

I
wanted to see how else I could get her to turn pink.

“I’ve
got Diet Coke and Mountain Dew.” She reached into the refrigerator.

“Mountain
Dew. I’ve had enough Diet Coke already today,” I teased again.

“You
take classes on how to be a smartass?” The sass was back.

I
just took the soda and smiled at her. She seemed to like that because she just
stared back at me for a silent moment.

Rocco
skipped into the kitchen, ending our little moment, and a double take confirmed
that while he still had on the shirt from earlier his pants appeared to be
missing.

Laney’s
hand covered her eyes for a moment and then she shook it off and smiled at me.
“Did I neglect to tell you we have a pants optional policy in our house?” She
seemed to realize exactly what she’d said a moment too late and I couldn’t help
bursting out into laughter.

“Good
God.” She covered her eyes again but then smiled and threw a dish towel at me.
“Shut up.”

“You
shouldn’t say ‘shut up’, Mommy,” said Rocco, opening the pantry door.
Squeak.

“I
know, baby, I’m sorry. Nate was being very naughty and I forgot. I’m going to make
you some lunch so we can head over to that playdate soon, okay?”

The
kid didn’t respond. But I noticed his nose twitch again. Did he have a
troublesome booger or something?

“That
sounds like fun,” I offered, leaning against the counter and opening my soda.

Still
no response.

“I’ll
bet you’ve got lots of new friends in the neighborhood, huh?”

Just
a shoulder shrug and a nose twitch. Should I get him a tissue?

“I’m
gonna play Ninja Turtles.” And he was gone.

“Was
it something I said?” I asked Laney who had her head in the refrigerator
pulling out lunch fixings.

“No,
not at all. He’s just having a rough time making friends his own age and there
have been a lot of changes recently so he needs time to catch up.”

“Oh.”
I was a bit relieved to not be the cause of any upset. I was also curious about
these changes but didn’t want to pry too much. “So, I assume moving here was a
recent change,” I hedged.

“Very,”
she confirmed, now at the counter making a PB&J. “Until a few weeks ago we
actually lived with my parents, but they decided to move to Virginia and it was
time anyway, you know.” She rested the knife and looked up at me.

No,
I didn’t know, but it was sounding like the baby-daddy wasn’t in the picture. I
wanted to know more so I stayed silent hoping she’d elaborate on her own.

“It
was great having all the help with Rocco, especially when he was a baby, but
five years is a long time and it’s nice to be on our own now.” She looked
around the mismatched kitchen with a smile. “I love it here.” Her eyes landed
on mine and must have seen the skeptical look on my face. “Don’t start!” She
pointed the jelly knife at me. “It has its flaws but it’s just quirky.”

“Well,
I’m happy to help with those ‘quirks’ if you’ll let me come back next Saturday,”
I offered, hoping she’d accept. The memory of that scorching kiss was urging me
to push for sooner than next weekend but maybe I should tread lightly.

Fuck
it. “In the meantime, you could let me take you out to dinner.”

“Oh.”
she set the knife down and, yup, the hand went to her cheek. Why did I find
that so fucking appealing? “I don’t know, Nate. You’re Gavin’s boss and…”

“So,
we’ll leave him at home. He’s a big boy and can get his own dinner.” I tried to
win her over with the smartass thing. That got a smile.

“Can
I think about it?” she asked.

“I
guess that’s better than ‘no’. Let me give you my number so you can call me
when you decide to say ‘yes’.” Okay, a little cocky, but at least I’d get her
number.

We
exchanged numbers and she called Rocco in for lunch.

“You
know, if you’re so excited to hang out with me, you should come to this
playdate with us,” she said with a mischievous spark.

“Playdate?”
I’m sure my expression was equal parts confused and apprehensive.

“Yeah.”
Her smirk was in full force. “The – what did you call it? Oh, right, the
‘mommy-and-me troop’ is getting together to strategize how to terrorize the big
bad construction company.”

My
face completely fell.
Shit.

“Oh,
get that look off your face, Sparky. I’m just joking. You were getting too
cocky and I had to knock you down a peg. I’m just going to tell them what
you’ve told me so far, omitting the sarcasm of course, and explain that you’ll
do your best to keep us informed. And I’ll even try to convince them not to TP
your trailer or leave flaming bags of dog poop on your steps. Happy?” Her smile
was stunning. I had to get myself in check or I would haul her off to her
bedroom, kid or no kid.

Able
to breathe normally again, I approached her and tugged on a stray lock of hair.
“Not yet, but I’m getting there.” Her cheeks colored again.

“Heh,
dog poop!” Rocco chuckled from the table.

She
lowered her face. “Let me walk you to the door.”

I
followed her after waving goodbye to Rocco.

“Wow!
This works so well. I love it.” Laney turned the new knob and swung the door
open easily. “Thank you, Nate.” She tilted her head to smile at me. Hell, if
fixing her doorknob could inspire that look I could only imagine what other
things could do.

We
stood a bit awkwardly for a moment, looking at each other, both of us aware of
how close Rocco was and how close we both were to saying “screw it” and
proceeding to, well, screw it. So I chose to bend down and kiss her cheek.
“You’re welcome. And don’t forget to call me.” She smiled but didn’t respond so
I turned around and stepped off the porch.

Halfway to my car she called out
behind me, “Hey, Nate! Tell your dad to give fishing a try. It’s relaxing while
still being manly. And it involves both sharp things and motors – what’s not to
love?”

I did a half turn and pointed to
her. “You just may have something there.” I smiled. She certainly did have
something.