Chapter 19 Rae
RAE
Iopened the empty cupboard and scrunched my nose at the stale scent.
“Not a fan of these,” I mused while Nora tried the kitchen faucet.
She made a sound of frustration. “Not a fan of pretty much anything in here.”
We moved onto the garage. We could hear Vanessa Hammond talking loudly on her cell from the front yard, where we had left her.
Nora didn’t want the realtor to walk through any of the houses with us because she knew she’d succumb to feeling pressured into buying.
It was my job to jot down any questions she had, like whether the owner would be willing to fix the roof or upgrade the cupboards.
“Are you sure you’re ready to move out on your own? You’re only twenty-two, that’s still really young. A ton of people still live with their parents.”
I ran my finger along the odd storage cabinet in the garage while Nora moved to the access door that would take us around back.
“I need it, Rae. I have to move out. If I hear my parents going at it one more time, I will stick something sharp inside my ears.”
I turned her way, just short of the hot tub that was in grievous disrepair. “Are they fighting?”
Her parents had never really fought before, so if they’d started it was news to me. They always acted so in love.
Nora snorted. “The opposite. They act like they’re in heat twenty-four seven.”
“Oh God, eww—gross.”
“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes.
“Well, I say we go to the next listing. I don’t see you living here.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, me either.”
Once we loaded back into the car, with Vanessa behind us, my phone pinged. Digging through my purse, I tugged my cell free and saw that I had a new text from an unknown number.
Hey, it’s Davis…your mom gave me your number. She said I could put my delivery requests in directly through you. She’s delegating you to be my personal delivery girl. (winky face)
My face heated as I stared at the screen, completely in shock that I had Davis Brenton’s phone number. I had his number and he texted me.
Sixteen-year-old me was freaking out right now.
“What is that look? What’s going on?” Nora peeked over at me while glancing back at the road.
Tossing the phone back in my purse and purposefully not texting him back—I leaned against the window.
“Boo Radley kissed me again, three days ago, and then he slammed me down on his kitchen counter and tore my leggings open.”
“Motherfucking—shit!” The car swerved wildly as Nora’s face swung to stare at me. Her hands corrected on the steering wheel, getting us back on course. “Warn a girl before you drop that shit.”
Biting my lip to hold in my laughter, I muttered an apology. She was gone for the weekend with her parents and had just gotten back, so this was the first chance we’d had to talk.
“So, did he—?” Nora’s eyebrows were jumping up and down as we came to a four-way stop.
“No…I mean, sort of, he kind of…um…” Heat infused my face again as I remembered his tongue on me, swirling over my clit in an expert fashion. “He went down on me.”
My best friend stared at me with a jaw that had dropped while a car honked at us from behind. “He went”—her eyes dipped to my lap—“just like that, huh?”
“Yeah…it was a little crazy.”
“But no sex? What the heck?” We veered into a nice-looking neighborhood with beautiful aspen trees lining the street.
“He offered, but no, I turned him down.”
We slowed to a stop in front of a cute one-story craftsman house, painted an awful brown color. “You turned him down?” Her eyebrows dipped into the center of her face. “Why?”
I thought it would be obvious to her, but maybe not. “Because of the purge, and because I’m not that girl. I have to prove that I’m not. You know how that goes.”
“So, was he sexting you just now then?”
We both peered behind us to see if Vanessa had pulled up yet, but she hadn’t.
“No. My mother gave him my number and now I’m his own personal delivery girl.”
“Omigod.” Nora burst out laughing, spitting out some of her iced tea that she’d sipped right after asking.
“Stop.”
Her laughing continued, her face reddening. “Yep, that purge week did jack shit for you. I already know you’re totally obsessing that he texted your phone. That he actually has your number and used it.”
“Stop it, you’re such an asshole.” I pushed her arm, then went for my door. I hated how well she knew me.
Vanessa finally pulled up, got out, and went to unlock the house for us. “This was built about fifteen years ago, so it’s not that old at all, and the backyard is to die for.”
Nora rolled her eyes behind Vanessa’s back, and I hid a smirk.
We knew it was her job, but Nora was the type of person that had to go into a house and get it based on feeling, not any actual information or data, and she always felt like the realtor talked up the house in a way that hid problems. I told her that wasn’t necessarily true, but there was no way to convince my best friend otherwise.
She was the same way with buying cars, cell phones…even a big purchase at Costco. She just didn’t like talking to people whose job depended on her saying yes. It was too much pressure for her.
“So, I’ll stay out here again, or did you want me in th—”
“Stay out here please,” Nora quickly said, pushing past her realtor.
I mumbled an apology and followed after my friend.
Right away it was easy to notice how different this house was. Light fell across the wood floors from the windows, creating a cozy vibe. The living room was spacious, with a nicely sized fireplace and mantle.
“Wow,” Nora whispered as she tipped her head back, taking in the vaulted ceilings.
“This is really nice.” I walked along, bypassing the open dining space, and then ventured into the kitchen, where a modestly sized island sat, with two large skylights overhead.
“There’s so much light in here, I love it.” I said, tipping my head back.
“It would be good for my plants,” Nora mused, running her finger along the counter and the deep farmhouse sink.
Her lack of words spoke volumes. She liked this space.
We saw the three modest bedrooms, and the two-car garage. The backyard was beautiful, but the trees along the property looked old and in questionable health. Nora was in the process of kicking her foot against the base of one of the trees when my phone went off again.
Too curious for my own good, I pulled it free and checked my messages.
Davis: I get the feeling you might want to pretend I didn’t taste your cunt a few days ago. That’s fine. But I do need a few things delivered, so if you could get back to me somewhat soon, I’d appreciate it. I was hoping for these items by tonight.
He was right; I did want to pretend nothing happened between us, and I hated myself for giving him that power.
But, if I admitted that something had happened then that meant there was something between us, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that yet.
Still, it bothered me that my parents’ financial situation seemed to depend on these stupid deliveries.
With a sigh of irritation, I texted him back.
Sorry, just house hunting today with my friend. I will be free in about an hour, depending on the order, it might take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour to get it ready, then another forty-five to get up the mountain, you should have the order by six.
I reread the text. It seemed professional and non-flirtatious. I wanted to be sure he knew I wouldn’t be doing anything else with him, regardless of the deliveries. I wouldn’t be falling into any more of his random kissing schemes.
“This thing legit feels like it’s about to fall,” Nora yelled at me from her spot across the yard.
“Yeah, well, stop kicking it. If it does fall, I don’t want it to hit you.”
She waved me off, turned, and then froze in place, staring at something over the fence. I slowly moved my eyes to track where she was looking.
Next door was a man hammering away at something that looked like a greenhouse. I could only make out the back of him, so I had no idea who he was, but where Nora was standing, she could see his side profile.
Furrowing my brows as I tried to assess the threat, I was two seconds from yelling, asking who he was, when she suddenly bolted across the yard.
“Time to go!”
I turned with her, perplexed by her parting words, and then picked up the speed behind her.
“What’s going on?”
She didn’t answer me, just jogged back through the house, exited the front door like the house was on fire, and got into her car.
“Sorry, Vanessa, Nora isn’t feeling well. We’ll follow up!” I called while darting down the steps, more than a little concerned she might take off without me.
Once inside the car, Nora stared straight ahead, like nothing had happened.
“You ready to go?”
I stared at her, still heaving air. “Want to tell me what the hell just happened?”
She waited a few more seconds before starting the car and pulling away from the curb. “The next-door neighbor is Colson Hanes. He’s this guy that worked with my dad on a project two years ago.” She blushed a deep red before adding, “Pinterest guy.”
“Ohhhhh.” The lightbulb went off, and suddenly I was insanely invested. She’d created a fake wedding board for him; this must be a pretty serious crush.
“I met him by accident and thought he was kinda cute. He, however, wouldn’t give me the time of day…until I took a page out of your book.”
Oh no.
“What exactly does that mean?” I silently prayed that she hadn’t stalked him. There couldn’t be two of us; that would make us like a cult, right? How many people did it take to start one?
“I sort of started showing up on the work site just to see if he’d talk to me, see if I could get him to organically like me.”
She veered toward Main Street, her face reddening with every block.
“And?”
She swallowed. “Well, there was a situation with me spilling something on my sweatshirt and having to change in the bathroom…he sort of walked in.”
Confused, I shook my head. “I don’t get it.”