Chapter 7
Bennett
I shouldn’t have let her leave, I should have stopped her so we could talk.
But, what was I going to say?
I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was a mistake, because it wasn't. I meant that kiss with every atom of my being, and I fucking enjoyed it.
I would never call her a mistake in any way, shape, sense, or form.
But, what else was I going to say to her?
“Fuck!”
I spent most of the time she was gone doing some of the smaller jobs inside the house to keep myself busy, and ready for when she got home. Now, I need to get out of the house and do something else.
I know that there's a pile of wood that needs to be chopped, and I could do with the harsh, methodical physical work.
As I get into the rhythm of splitting the rounds of tree trunks into smaller chunks that will fit into the fire, I start to calm down.
There's something about the noise, and the accomplishment piling up beside me that makes me relax.
I pick up another round, and start all over again.
Crack. Thunk. Whoosh.
I work up a sweat, so I drape my jacket over a stump, and have a drink of water, grateful that I remember to at least bring that out with me.
I haven’t been out here for too long, but the cold is really starting to set in. The sun is setting, and taking any of the warmth it was giving, and that’s not much, with it.
I finish chopping up the small pile of wood I have next to me, I toss as much as I can into the wheelbarrow so that I can take the load up to the house where Max’s parents stack wood for easy access, then I stack the rest that I chopped up into the storage shed.
Stacking the wood from the wheelbarrow against the house where I know the Timms keep it for easier access, I tell myself that I need to talk this thing out with Kassie. I don’t know what's going on inside her head, but I know what I want.
I catch movement inside, and leave the empty wheelbarrow where it is.
I open the sliding door, ready to ask her where the hell she’s been, but her voice calls out before I can speak.
“No dirty shoes inside, please, I just finished cleaning!” Kassie’s voice calls out from the kitchen, I think.
“And Mr McGuire, if your clothes are dirty as well, I'd rather you didn't bring them inside. You can come in via the laundry, there are spare clothes in there, or at the least a robe or something for you to cover yourself with before you have a shower. Plus, you can wash your clothes straight away.”
“OK.” I call back, not sure I spoke loud enough for her to hear me over the noise she's making in there.
“I’ve cooked dinner too, so you might want to hurry up. It will be ready in twenty minutes.”
I close the sliding door, and walk around the side of the house to the laundry as requested, and start to undress.
I put my boots beside the door, and place all of my sweaty dirty clothes in the washing machine.
I left my boxer briefs on, and now that I'm looking at the door into the house, I'm not sure I made the right choice. My clothes weren’t that dirty, honestly, I should have kept them on and hightailed it to my room instead.
I crack the door open just enough to see where Kassie is. She’s still in the kitchen, her back to the laundry. I have no doubt that’s on purpose.
So, I decide to streak across the living room in my underwear, and if she manages to catch me doing it, then we can call it even for me seeing her in her underwear earlier.
Not that I'm complaining about that momentary lack of judgement about walking into her room, because look how well that turned out!
We kissed.
Then she ran out of the house, and now she's not talking to me unless she's issuing orders. They're not the fun kind of orders that come after a kiss, but I can live with that.
For now.
So, I slow my pace. I'm pretty sure a toddler could move faster than I am, but that’s the point, I’m not trying to catch Kassie’s attention.
Just when I think I've failed my mission, and I reach the hallway to the bedrooms, I hear her muttered curse.
“For fucks sake, put some clothes on! No one needs to see the defined muscles in your back, and legs. Not to mention that tight ass. Stop it Kass, just stop. He’s not interested!”
That’s where she’s wrong. I am interested, more than I should be. More than what Max is going to like. So much that I don’t know what to do next.
Obviously, I have to put some clothes on, but first I'm going to have that shower Kassie suggested, because I smell like sweat, and wood chips.
I toss my boxers near my open duffle bag on my way to the bathroom attached to my room.
As far as I know, every bedroom has its own bathroom.
Something that Max’s parents wanted when they did the renovations in recent years, because, and I quote, ‘the kids are getting older now, and don’t want to share’.
Out of habit I dip my head under the water, and squeeze shampoo into my hand. It’s not until I'm rinsing the suds out of my hair that I realise what I've done. Quickly, I grab my bodywash and rub some all over my body, making sure I get all the important parts. You know, pits, crack and sack.
I scrub the towel over my body, and my hair, then wrap it around my waist to walk into my bedroom.
I'm not sure why I do it, at home I would have walked naked from one room to the other, but being here alone with Kassie, and what happened just after we arrived, I'm walking on the side of caution.
I pull on clean underwear, clean jeans, and grab a clean t-shirt. Just as I'm about to drop it on over my head there's a light knock on the door.
“Just wanted to let you know that dinners ready.” Kassie’s voice is muffled behind the heavy door.
I pull the door open to find her standing there, startled at the sudden movement, and stumbles.
Then, I watch as her eyes travel over my shoulders, pecs, and abs, following the trail of hair down into the still unbuttoned jeans.
I don’t say a word, I simply drop my t-shirt over my head, covering up my body, and bringing her eyes back to mine.
She coughs, then stomps back towards the kitchen.