5. Chloe
Chapter five
Chloe
I t’s been three days. Three excruciating days since I made my proposition to him. Three days of waiting and wondering. I’ve done my best to resume my normal routine and tried hard—really hard—to push thoughts of him out of my mind, but it seems like the universe is against me. At every corner, I bump into something that reminds me of him.
The whiskey in the grocery store aisle, the scent of his cologne in a passing crowd, even the faint sound of a song playing somewhere in the distance that he once hummed along to. It’s all him. Always him.
I can’t face him right now. I can’t bear to see the confusion, the wariness, or worse, the rejection in his eyes. So, I’ve been avoiding him.
The afternoon sun shines bright as usual as I help Lauren set up her art supplies in the backyard. The weather has been so good, and she’s been inspired to paint in the sunshine. We’re midway through setting up her easel when the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it,” she says as she walks into the house.
Something inside me tightens. Could it be Parker? It wouldn’t be strange for him to come see his sister. I’m sure he visited the house all the time before I moved in. My hands shake slightly, and I start chewing on my lower lip as I fight an internal battle whether to peek through the kitchen window or not.
Just when I’ve decided against it, a familiar laugh echoes through the house, and my heart squeezes.
It’s him.
I should’ve known it would happen. I should’ve seen it coming. I couldn’t have avoided him forever.
Knowing that it would be weird for me to hide from him, I decide it’s time to face the music. Maybe he’ll just pretend nothing ever happened, and then, I can pretend I never made that stupid proposal. I’ll have to be around him eventually, whether it be at Lauren’s house or at work. Better to rip that Band-Aid off now.
Gathering my courage, I make my way through the house to the front door, where Lauren is teasing him about his sudden visit.
“You don’t stop over for weeks, and all of the sudden, you show up now?” She chuckles. “What do you want? My special chocolate sundae brownies?”
Parker grins and smiles. “I mean, if you’ve got some, I won’t turn them down.”
Suddenly, his gaze catches mine over Lauren’s head, and his eyes go wide.
Lauren turns and beckons me over with an enthusiastic wave.
“Chloe! Look who’s here!” she exclaims happily, unaware of the tension brewing between her brother and me.
My eyes meet his as I step up next to Lauren. The same pair of hazel eyes that looked at me curiously three nights ago at the bar when I made my proposition meets mine now.
“Hey, Parker,” I say, forcing my voice to stay steady and calm. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” he replies as his gaze bores into me. “Really good.”
“So, what did you need, Parker?” Lauren asks. I actually feel thankful for her interruption. If we had stared at each other any longer, she definitely would have picked up on the awkwardness.
He blinks, as if snapping out of a daze, and clears his throat before answering, “Actually, I came by to talk to Chloe. It’s about, um, Holt’s strategy for selling the Victorian.”
I furrow my brow in confusion. Holt hasn’t given me the Victorian. He hasn’t even mentioned it to me.
“Oh,” Lauren says. “Gotcha. I’ll let you two talk, then.”
She turns and pats my shoulder as she heads to the backyard again. Once she’s out of earshot, I turn back to Parker and frown up at him.
“You’re not really here to talk about the house, are you?”
He shakes his head and gives me a bashful grin. “No, no, I’m not. Could we, uh, go somewhere more private? Where Lauren won’t stumble upon us while we talk?”
I swallow. “Yeah. Let’s go to my room.”
We walk through the house in silence, the tension thick between us. His presence is both thrilling and terrifying. I can feel him watching me as I move ahead, every step making my stomach churn with dread and anticipation.
My room is as I left it, a comforting mess of clothes, books, and writing supplies. It feels strange to have him here amongst this intimate chaos, as if it’s an invasion of my sanctuary, but at least it’s familiar ground.
He shuts the door behind us, the soft click making my heart skip a beat. We are alone now. I turn to face him.
He leans against the door, with his arms folded across his chest, looking at me with an inscrutable expression. The afternoon sunlight filters through the window and dapples his face in soft hues, lending a depth to his features that makes my breath hitch.
“So,” I start, twisting a loose strand of hair around my finger, trying to dispel the silence that has cocooned us. “You wanted to talk?”
“Yes.” He steps forward and closes the distance between us. He’s so close now; I can see the tiny flecks of green in his hazel eyes that dance with indecision and something else, something warm and tender.
“I’ve been thinking…” he trails off, running a hand through his hair in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness.
Panic flutters within me. Is this where he tells me we can’t be together? That my offer was too outrageous?
“About?” I prompt him softly.
“About your proposition.” He meets my gaze steadily now, all traces of uncertainty gone.
I swallow hard, bracing myself for rejection.
“And?”
“And…” he continues, a slight smile playing on his lips now, “I think it’s a crazy idea.”
My heart sinks. I should’ve known better than to think he’d consider it. I turn away from him, not wanting him to see the disappointment creeping onto my face.
“But,” he starts, and I whip around, my eyes wide with shock. “But I think I’m in.”
Relief floods me, leaving me speechless. He’s willing to go along with me. He’s in. I bite my lip to keep from smiling too widely, my fingers still tangled in the ends of my hair.
Parker reaches out, his hand tilting my chin upwards so that our eyes meet.
“Let’s do this, Chloe,” he says. His voice is barely a whisper, but there’s a resounding conviction in his words that makes my heart race.
We stand there, motionless for a beat before I find my voice again. “Okay, Parker.”
His fingers linger on my chin for a moment longer, and then, he drops his hand. Our eyes remain locked together, the silence humming between us, stretching out the seconds into minutes. His gaze is steady before dropping down to focus on my lips.
“So, what next?” he finally asks, breaking our long silence.
I watch him for a moment before shrugging.
“We need to plan,” I say after a moment of thought. “We need to figure out how to keep Lauren from finding out…and everyone else, really.” We can’t chance anyone seeing us and then running off to tell Lauren directly or gossiping to someone who knows her. News spreads fast in Newport.
He nods, stepping away and moving to lean against my desk. The afternoon sunlight streams in through the window and hits him just right, making his hazel eyes seem almost golden. He’s so handsome, it’s distracting.
I clear my throat and look away to try to focus.
“We might need code names,” I suggest. “So, when we text or call, it’s not our names that pop up. And we should lay out some ground rules. Since it’s only a friends-with-benefits thing, we want to keep it fun and not let it get messy.”
He chuckles, then, a low sound that makes me glance up at him again.
“What? You think I’m joking?” I ask defensively. Does he think I’m being silly?
“No,” he assures me once he manages to stop laughing, shaking his head. “It’s just…I didn’t expect you to take this so seriously.”
“I am serious,” I reiterate. “This isn’t some game, Parker.”
He holds up his hands in surrender with a grin on his face. “Okay, okay.”
I roll my eyes at him, but the corners of my mouth twitch upwards, betraying my amusement. “Listen, I will personally strangle you if Lauren finds out about us.” Sure, she’ll be mad at both of us at first, but she’ll eventually have to forgive Parker. He’s her brother, after all. Me? I’m just the best friend.
“Don’t worry,” he assures me. “I have no intention of letting my baby sister find out that I’m nailing her best friend.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Nail?”
He shrugs and winks. “What’s a good nailing between friends?”
Friends. Yes, we’re friends. As insistent as I’ve been that we set up boundaries first, I need to remember to keep my own feelings and expectations in check. Just because a part of me wants to have more than just a fling with him doesn’t mean that he has to feel the same way.
“But remember,” I say, wagging a finger at him in mock sternness, “this may be for fun, but we need to be careful not to hurt each other.”
Parker gives me a measured look and then nods. “I agree. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Chloe.”
He stands up from the desk and walks over to me. The room becomes very quiet, save for our breathing. There’s something in his gaze that makes my pulse quicken.
“I’m glad I said yes,” he murmurs as he rests his hands on my waist.
I take a deep breath and look up at him. He’s so close that I can see the fine lines around his eyes when he smiles. The heat from his body wraps around me and seems to pull me even closer to him.
“I’m glad, too,” I respond, unable to hide the smile tugging at my own lips.
He squeezes my hips lightly, then leans down to whisper into my ear, “So, should we get started?”
I pull back a little to meet his gaze again, my eyes wide at the idea. “Right…right now?”
His eyes light up as he breaks into a full grin. “Why not? We need to see just how compatible we are.”
“I-I…” My words get stuck in my throat, and I struggle to come up with a comprehensive response. “I don’t think we should do anything here.”
He takes hold of my chin and rubs his thumb along my bottom lip, making me shiver.
“No, I suppose we shouldn’t,” he agrees. “Especially if we don’t want Lauren to find out. So, let’s go to my place.” He suggests it casually, as if proposing that we go out for lunch, but I know he’s serious by the determined glint in his eye.
“Your place?” I gasp.
“Yeah. What do you say?”
I stare up at him for several moments before I manage to murmur, “Okay. Let’s go.”