Chapter 5 Nora #2
Looking over the solid lines that framed the space, I pictured where I would put things. Already, an itch under my skin enticed me to sit down at my desk and begin sketching.
“Okay, I’ll get started.”
Rae made an excited squealing sound before jumping up and hugging me over the table.
“You are the best! I’m allowed to offer you an advance by the way, and it’s generous because the timeline is so tight.”
That would help with paying for repairs for the house, and the new paint job I wanted to do once it was warm enough.
“You’re lucky I love you so much.” I hugged her back and then grabbed my things. “I have to get going.”
“Okay, love you. Reach out if you need a rescue.”
We each left a few dollars for our barista and then headed out into the cold. The sky had turned to an ugly gray, dulling the sun and serving as a reminder that I needed to get home and make sure the power was on and things were squared away.
By the time I had returned home, the power company had come and turned everything back on. I blasted my heater until it felt comfortable to walk on my wood floors without socks, which took a while. Then I tried to shower.
Muttering a few curse words, I tested every faucet in the house, getting the same freezing cold temperatures in each one after several minutes of letting them run.
“Son of a bitch.” I put my hands on my hips and looked around, unsure of what to do.
I didn’t want to have to call anyone, and it was nearly dusk, so I wasn’t even sure anyone would be able to come and look at things until morning. I considered that maybe it wasn’t just me, perhaps it was a neighborhood thing.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I decided to ask Colson if his water was also freezing cold, and while I was there, maybe I could casually bring up the tree and see if he admitted to chopping it.
Passing one of the mirrors in my hall, I tossed my hair up in a bun. Only that ended up looking horrible, so I braided it. But the layers made it all messy and annoying. Huffing a frustrated breath, I left it down as I grabbed my snow boots and coat, then headed out my front door.
The sky was streaked with purple, darkening as the last few minutes of the day slipped by.
Colson’s truck was in his driveway, and I could only hope that I wasn’t about to embarrass myself again by interrupting his dinner, or date night.
The knowledge, or rather assumptions, about his dating life, ate me alive on a regular basis.
Curling my fingers into a fist, I pushed aside my nerves and knocked.
The brisk winter air stung my face as I stared at the basic green wreath that I knew he’d bought from the cub scouts during their Christmas fundraiser.
He was a good guy in that way, always helping businesses if he could, tipping, buying local, sponsoring sports teams, so they had jerseys and gear.
Right after I moved in, I saw that he bought at least ten boxes of chocolate from the kids who hit up our neighborhood for one of their fundraisers.
Where he tucked it all away, I had no clue.
Maybe he had a basement full of chocolate, thin mints, and wrapping paper.
There were definitely stranger things to have hidden beneath your house.
Lost in my own thoughts, I wasn’t fully prepared for the door to swing open or the gust of warm air that hit my face. Or for Colson to be standing in front of me with wet hair, and in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants hanging indecently low on his narrow hips.
Jesus.
He had so many muscles, and veins…he definitely belonged in one of those contractor porn calendars, or magazines. Did they have those? They needed to have those.
“Nora.” He said my name like he’d been expecting me, not like he was confused about why I was suddenly on his stoop.
My tongue felt thick. “Uh…yes. Hello.”
Dammit.
Blinking, I tried again. “You showered?”
This was not going as planned. At all.
His face didn’t move, not a single muscle along his jaw…he just stared.
“I mean, I know you showered…I saw your bathroom. I was in your bathroom…although, I don’t know why I’m bringing that up right now.”
Shoot me.
“Was there a reason you came over?” His eyebrow lifted and all it did was remind me that I was the one always tripping over myself for scraps of his attention, or for him to be nice to me for once.
I was so sick of this “fuck off” attitude he perpetually had with me and, after how he’d cared for me last night, it infuriated me to no end.
Sobering, I squared my shoulders and narrowed my eyes.
“Yes. I have two questions for you. The first, do you have hot water? I’m trying to figure out if I’m the only one without it.”
I couldn’t decipher the varying emotions his eyes suddenly held, almost like his mask lifted for two seconds, or there was a glitch in the Matrix as he shifted where he wasn’t supposed to, but something flickered. Something that resembled concern, but he shut it down nearly as fast as he showed it.
“And the second thing?” He bypassed my question completely.
Biting my tongue, I quietly considered him and how I wanted to form my next question.
Instead of asking the burning one in the back of my mind regarding the tree, my brain went haywire and asked something else.
“Why did you really come and find me last night?”
A cold gust of air rushed into the space between us, making him shudder the slightest bit and then search the space behind me.
I wouldn’t be going into his house, so I hoped he wasn’t about to ask me to.
With a heavy sigh, he finally relented.
“First, I do have hot water.”
Okay, well shit. Then that meant something was wrong with my house, again.
“And the second?” I’d figure the rest out, but before I completely froze my ass off, I wanted to hear him explain himself.
His eyes narrowed somewhere above my head while a tick feathered his jaw. “I already explained this last night.”
“But how did you know to find me there…were you looking for me? I mean, how did you know I wasn’t at my boyfriend’s house? Rae said you texted Davis, why didn’t you just text me?”
He scoffed, shaking his head. I caught how the top layer of his hair fell a millimeter and now kissed his forehead. It was adorably hot.
“I don’t have your number. And you don’t have a boyfriend.”
Right.
“Okay, well, thanks for the info…” I moved to leave, but his fingers wrapped around my wrist, halting me.
Half on the first step, I looked back at him, seeing his eyes narrow on the contact, as if it surprised him that he’d touched me.
Letting me go, he ran his hand through his hair and swallowed, making his Adam’s apple bob.
“Let me get dressed and I’ll fix your water heater. It’s probably just the pilot light.”
I glared at the delicious asshole in front of me, annoyed by the whiplash of him acting like he didn’t want to touch me one second and the next, like it was his job to care for me.
I was confused, and cold and with that fogging up my brain, I blinked and slowly shook my head.
“No.”
His mouth fell flat, his head lifted the smallest bit, almost like he was remembering something.
“So we’re back to this whole thing?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling defensive.
He rubbed a hand through his wet hair, seemingly ignoring the cold air even with the way it had colored his cheeks red.
“It means you’re young, stubborn, and suffer for no goddamn reason and end up causing more work for those who do end up wanting to help you.”
“I never asked you to chop up my tree.” I breathed out heavily, feeling my nostrils flare.
Colson smirked, leaning into his door frame. “Pride is an unflattering color on you, Nora.”
I gave him a sugary sweet smile. “Who says it’s not confidence?”
His scoff wasn’t encouraging, and neither was the way he scratched along his abdomen.
“Confidence in what? You have no idea what you’re doing. You just turned twenty-three and have no life experience at all…so, stop wasting time and let me come over and fix it for you.”
His words might as well have been shards of glass for how hard they cut me.
My eyes watered as I worked around the lump building in my throat.
It was exactly what Jason had told me and the reason he found me so unworthy of staying with.
On shaky legs, I gripped the railing to his porch and descended the rest of the steps.
Tears burned my eyes as the wind hit my face and I pulled my arms in close.
“Nora! Come on…don’t be like that, let me help you.”
Not only would I not let him help me, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever even speak to him again.
Like hell would I be made into some pathetic charity case for the asshole next door. I’d never be that again…not to anyone.