Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
THEO
“Mate, you’re sooooo winning her over,” Rupert says as we make our way through Cape Meril, bumping into the tourists on the crowded footpaths. This would get annoying if I permanently lived here. I wonder whether there are behind-the-scenes walkways that only the locals know about.
Something to ask Renley.
But back to Rupert’s comment…
“That’s what I thought—I’ve been making progress. The fact that I blatantly flirted with her and she didn’t point it out must mean I’m wearing her down.”
“I don’t think I could be prouder. You truly are running the marathon on this and you just had your first energy gel.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“You know, the energy gels runners use when they’re running.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Perhaps you should do something other than weightlift.”
“I do plyometrics.”
Rupert nods. “Burpees?”
“Clearly.”
We stop in front of Rudder’s and I turn toward Rupert and say, “Thank you for walking me to the shop.”
“It’s not like it was a date, man.”
“If it was, you could have at least put out.”
He scoffs. “You would have to at least buy me a drink for that.”
“You’re too easy.” I chuckle. “Make sure dinner is on the table by six, I’ll be famished.”
His brow creases. “Seriously, mate, not your butler.”
I tap his cheek. “I’m paying for the holiday house. The least you can do is have dinner ready when I get home.”
With that, I tug on the door handle, only for the door to stay closed.
Rupert snorts, so I offer him a look that says don’t fuck with me and I knock.
And knock.
And knock again.
“Are you sure she’s in there?”
“Yes, I’m sure, she told me she’d be here at this time.” I glance at the clock on my phone. “Yeah, she should be here.” I knock some more and start saying her name. “Renley. Renley, I’m here. Gossy, open up. Open…up!”
The door flings open and she’s standing on the other side, looking extremely angry.
“Uh, hey.” I twiddle my fingers at her.
“I told you to come around to the back.”
“When?”
“I texted you.”
My jaw falls from shock. “You actually texted me?”
“I did.”
“Then I send my apologies. Didn’t realize you would attempt to contact me after you went zero contact with me.”
“If you’re going to be dramatic, then you can go back to your house.” She starts to shut the door, but I stop her.
“No dramatics here. Just shocked is all.”
“Well, if you’re here to work, then please be shocked inside.”
“I can do that.” I take a step toward the door, but her hand meets my chest, stopping me. “Uh, are you trying to feel me up?”
“No, I told you to go in from the back.”
“Oh, right.” I scratch my head. “How do I get to the back again?”
“Read your text message,” she says right before she shuts and locks the door.
“She seems pleasant,” Rupert says as he passes me. “Have fun, mate.” Then he takes off, leaving me to the wolf.
“Wow,” I say, looking at the freshly sanded floors. She did two rounds, and she just finished up.
I’ll be honest, I thought she’d have to replace them, given how shabby they looked the other day, but it’s like she brought the floors back to life.
Shuffling my bootie-covered feet across the floor, I say, “I’m impressed. The floors look so good. I had no idea they could be transformed like this.”
“Since they’re real hardwood floors, that made the decision to keep them easy. I knew they needed some love and we’re halfway there. Once I clean up, then I can stain them.”
“Will they stay this color?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’d like them to match the dark shelves. That way, the color of the candy pops in the store.”
“That’s a really good idea.”
“Thank you.” She stares down at the floors, admiring her work. I don’t blame her; it’s quite the transformation.
“So, what can I help with?”
“Well, I need to clean every dust particle up so that when I go to stain, I don’t stain dust into the floorboards.”
“I can do that.”
“Really? Have you ever cleaned anything before?”
“That’s neither here nor there,” I say. “Just tell me what to do.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, brow raised.
“Positive.”
“Okay.” She leaves for a moment and then brings in two vacuum-like machines.
Ooh, those look like fun.
“Do I get to use one of those?”
“Yes, can you handle it?”
“Of course, but, uh…what is it exactly?”
“Shop-vacs. They can suck up pretty much anything and are quite powerful, so I think we should split the room in half. You take one side and I’ll take the other.”
“And we can meet in the middle, like Lady and the Tramp with their spaghetti.”
“It concerns me how ridiculous you are.”
“No need to be concerned. This is normal.”
“It’s really not,” she says as she drags the vacuum over and then turns it on, filling the space with the sound of a high-power machine.
Well, I guess we won’t be talking while we’re cleaning.
I turn mine on as well and hold the bendy arm up, bringing the end up to my face to see what kind of suc—
“Holy fuck!” I squeal, which of course grabs the attention of Renley.
The fucking end is stuck to my forehead.
She turns off her vacuum and then turns off mine as well.
“You’re supposed to suck the ground, not your face.”
“It was not my intention to give myself a monstrous hickey.”
“What did you think was going to happen when you put it up to your face?”
“Didn’t really think about it, because I just wanted to see what was in the tube.”
“Nothing is in the tube, you’re supposed to put things in the tube. Do I really need to explain vacuuming to you?”
“Nooo,” I say. Although, this might be my first time touching one. Note to self: things go in the tube. “But if you could show me exactly how to do it, I’d appreciate it.”
“Fine.” She takes the vacuum from me and then moves toward the corner of the room. “You put it flat on the floor like this, press the on button, and then slowly drag it across the floor, where the suction absorbs everything. Like this.” She demonstrates and then hands me the vacuum.
Playfully, I do it but put the suction part upside down. “Like this?” I drag it and she stops me.
“No, the head has to be flat.”
“What head?”
“The suction head.”
I pause and blink a few times. “Sorry, you’re saying ‘suction’ and ‘head’ together and it’s making my mind short-circuit.”
Her expression falls in annoyance. “Really? Are you seriously that immature?”
“Not immature, Gossy, just a man who likes to fuck.”
Her eyes widen slightly and I carefully watch as she swallows, her throat contracting, her chest lifting just a touch higher.
Hell…did I just turn her on?
Well, well, well, maybe that’s why she didn’t want me flirting. I’ve got the old charm to get her motor revving.
She clears her throat and turns back to the vacuum. “Just turn it on its head—uh, nozzle.”
“Like this?” I turn it on its side.
She glances down at it and then back up at me. “Does that look like what I did?”
“I don’t know, can you show me again? I’m really bad at this stuff. I’m sorry.”
That garners some sympathy as she moves toward me, takes my hands in hers, and then flips over the vacuum. I release one hand and smoothly move in behind her so her back is to my chest and then wrap my hand around the handle.
“Oh, like this?”
She’s stiff in front of me, clearly not amused, but hell, I am. Together, we suck up the dust from the floor, me leaning into her like I’m Patrick Fucking Swayze in Ghost, making pottery with Demi Moore. Cue the music!
“Theo?”
“Yes,” I say, snuggling in closer, trying not to sway to the soundtrack in my head.
“Do you know how to use a vacuum?”
“Technically, if you’re wondering if I lied to you, the answer is no, I’ve never used one before, but have I seen Mrs. Doubtfire use one like the sassy marm that she is? Yes.”
“So was this whole situation that we’re in right now a setup to be able to put your arms around me?”
“Hmm, that’s a great question,” I say as we remain where we are, touching as we both hold the vacuum.
“Do you care to answer it?”
“Not really,” I answer. “But thank you for asking.”
“Theo!” she yells, startling me off her.
“Jesus.” I clutch my chest. “That scared me.”
She turns toward me, arms crossed, vacuum hose now on the ground.
“What did we talk about?”
“I don’t know, there were so many things we discussed. Can’t keep track of it all. Perhaps you can offer a reminder?”
“I said there will be no flirting.”
Aww, she thought that was flirting. Cute.
“That technically wasn’t flirting, that was making a move. And according to the contract, making a move and touching were not on the list of rules. But because I’m an upstanding man, and you tell me you didn’t enjoy it—”
“I didn’t enjoy it.”
“Now, you see, I feel like that’s not entirely true.” I hold up my hands. “Not that I’m trying to tell you how you feel, because you are your own person, but since I had my arms around you, I felt how your skin heated, became a touch moist.”
Her eyes widen again and her hands fall to the side. “I was not moist. You can’t even tell if…if I was moist.”
Oh…shit, she thinks I mean moist down there.
Well, I mean, if she was, that would be a plus for me. I wouldn’t mind knowing that I could get her—winces—moist.
“Not that kind of moist,” I say. “Like, upper-lip moist.” I pause for a second and say, “And when I say upper lip, I mean—”
“I know what you mean.”
“Are you sure? Because I just want to clarify. I’m not talking about your down below, which is a weird term to use. I wouldn’t normally say ‘down below.’ I’d actually say ‘pussy,’ but I feel like you’re not into the word ‘pussy.’ Unless you are…are you?”
“Jesus…Christ,” she says, walking away and going back to her vacuum before turning it on.
“So, I’m going to take that as a no on the pussy talk?” When she doesn’t answer, I give her a thumbs-up. “Great. Good to know.”
“Fuck…me,” I groan as I let out a deep breath, all my muscles relaxing at the same time. “Oh, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me.”
“Are you trying to get me to do just that?” Renley asks as she lies down next to me on the freshly vacuumed floors.