Chapter 17
It’s a date.
The words ring in my head over and over all day. While I’m driving to the grocery store for ingredients and the hardware store for painting supplies.
While I paint the living and dining room, I keep hearing the words. It’s a date.
While I shower and scrub the paint from my hair and skin. It’s a date.
All day, I have felt anxious, yet excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this. Elliott and I were together for three years, which means it’s been at least that long since I went on a first date, let alone kissed another man, or even wanted to. But with Andrew, I definitely want to do that again.
I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, of course. He and I are from different places and have different lives. He’s leaving soon, and who knows if I’ll ever see him again? The last thing I need to do is get involved with him, or anyone. But what’s wrong with two adults enjoying each other’s company while we are both here?
By 6:00, I’ve changed my clothes four times and done my hair twice. I settle on a pair of jeans and a flowy tank top, with soft curls in my hair. Then, I awkwardly move around the house fluffing pillows and cleaning the dining room table for the fourth time.
At 6:27, a knock at the door startles me, and I jump off the couch. I had been rereading the same page in my book for the last ten minutes, and I don’t remember any of the words I read. I sling the door and there stands Andrew. He definitely put some extra effort into tonight, just like I did, and that’s a relief. He’s wearing dark wash jeans with a pearl snap button down flannel. (Not the one I dumped coffee on.) Instead of his usual baseball cap, his jet black hair is combed and slicked back. He smells woodsy and squeaky clean and I just want to breathe him in.
“You look beautiful,” He says softly.
“Thanks. I hope you’re hungry.” Looking back towards the kitchen.
He smirks. “Starving.”
For some reason, I’m not entirely sure he’s talking food.
After we finish eating, I refill our margarita glasses and then get to work on cleaning up the kitchen. As I fill the sink, Andrew immediately jumps up to rinse plates and loads them in the dishwasher alongside me. “You don’t have to do that.” I say.
“You did all the cooking. I can at least rinse a few dishes.” He says with a smile. “That was fantastic. I haven’t had a home cooked meal in a long time.”
“Thanks, it’s one of my favorites.” I say, taking another drink of my margarita.
“These are good too.” He laughs, picking up his own glass. “Maybe too good.” He says with a pause.
The way he’s looking at me sends a shiver down my spine.
“You got a lot of painting done today.” He observes, as he takes his glass and moves back towards the dining room. He pauses in front of the wall of shelves next to the dining table. “You like to read?”
“Like is a bit of an understatement.” I laugh. “If reading were a sport, I’d be an Olympic athlete.” I run my finger across several of the book spines on the shelf.
“Quite a collection you have here.” He says, admiring the wall full of books. “Almost enough for a library or a bookstore.”
I smirk. “Most of these actually belonged to Hazel. I didn’t have a lot of space to collect many books at my last house.” I pause. “It’s funny you say that though. When I was a kid, I used to dream about owning my own bookstore.”
He raises a brow. “Is that still your dream?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I shrug. “In a perfect world, I think it would be fun to own a cute little bookstore downtown, but I’m afraid bookstores are a dying breed. It could never be profitable and surely not enough to support me.”
He smiles softly. “I bet you could do anything you put your mind to. You’re a determined woman, and I think you could make it work.” With that, he reaches out and squeezes my hand. I melt immediately.
How can he have so much faith in someone he doesn’t really know?
“Hey,” Andrew interrupts my train of thought. “What do you think about going over to my place and lighting up the fire pit? It’s full of branches I picked up all over the yard and I need to get them burned up before I leave.”
The mention of him leaving sends a wave of sadness over me, but I try to quickly bury it. This is not the time to get emotional. We’re just having a good time. I remind myself. “Sure. That sounds fun.” I agree, relieved that he isn’t ready for this night to end either.
We step through the privacy fence into his backyard and he uses his phone as a flashlight to lead the way. I take a seat on the patio sofa and he quickly gets to work on starting the fire. Once the flames are going, he steps through the backdoor of the house and comes back with a woven blanket. I look up at him just as he lays it across my lap and I feel my stomach flutter.
“Just in case you get chilly.” He whispers, his words cause goosebumps to rise on my arms. He settles in close to me and puts his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close.
I share the blanket with him, extending it over his lap, and we sit in a comfortable silence for a long time, sipping the rest of our drinks and watching the orange and yellow flames. I finish my drink and place the glass on the ground and he follows suit. His hand slides across my thigh and squeezes my hand gently. I must admit that I like all of this, especially the simplicity and the calm. I love that he and I just sit here without phones and books and televisions. Just as I look up to him to offer him a gentle smile, he moves in for another kiss.
What starts as slow, light kisses quickly builds into a faster rhythm. Once our mouths meet, it’s like we can’t get enough of each other. And like last night, it’s like we’ve been doing this for years. I don’t want him to quit and from what I can tell, neither does he.
When we finally come up for air, he leans his forehead against mine and whispers, “Hold on for one second, okay?” He picks up the blanket that has since fallen onto the ground and lays it in the grass near the now roaring fire.
Gently, he tugs my hand and pulls me towards him. Suddenly, I find myself straddling his waist as we go back to fueling the hunger that is burning inside of us. Just as he slides his calloused hands under the hem of my tank top, my phone rings.
I let out an exasperated sigh and throw my head back. “Dammit.” I mutter softly.
I stand from my position on the ground and grab my phone from the arm of the patio couch. The display tells me it’s Avery.
“Hey. What’s up?” I ask into the receiver.
Andrew sits up behind me and gently brushes my hair out of the way while he kisses my shoulder. Electricity runs down my spine.
“Tyler?” Avery says with ragged breath. She sounds like she’s crying. “Can I come over?”
“Of course.” I say, straightening up my body. I turn towards Andrew with a frown. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just can’t be alone right now.”
“See you in a few.”
I wake up Monday morning with a dull headache pounding behind my eyes. Undoubtedly it’s from the half pitcher of margaritas Andrew and I shared last night before our make-out session in his backyard. The second half of the pitcher that Avery and I downed after she got here didn’t help matters, either.
I climb out of my bed and pad to the kitchen to start the coffeepot and down a couple of aspirin. While I wait for the magic bean juice to be ready, I reminisce about last night before we were interrupted. A shiver runs down my spine when I think of what might have happened had Avery not called.
Honestly, it’s probably a good thing. The last thing I need to do is have drunk sex with my neighbor in his yard and then not be able to look into his eyes again until he leaves. But boy, did I want to.
Regardless, I’m glad I could be available to Avery when she needed me. Single mom life is wearing on her and the constant fighting with Cory isn’t helping either. I hate this for her and wish I knew how to make it any better. Hell, I wish I could relate at all. I don’t even have a houseplant relying on me right now since I haven’t yet replaced the dead cactus. The idea of supporting a baby feels like something from another planet, yet something I’m yearning for so much.
Juliet was with her dad last night. Well, her dad and grandma. Dad lives with his mom right now, and that means Juliet basically stays with Grandma while Cory visits. He’s only involved with her when he feels like it, and that’s not very often. This is the only way Avery feels even a little safe about Juliet seeing her dad, not that she has much of an option.
When she dropped Juliet off last night, Cory started yelling at her about the concert again. His mom broke up the argument before the police had to be called, but Avery’s feelings were already hurt. He left pissed off, and she was afraid he would show up at her house for round two. I’m just thankful that she was calling to tell me she needed to come over and talk, instead of calling me to visit her in the ER again. We’ve been there before, so when Avery calls me crying, I assume the worst. I don’t know if that feeling is ever going to go away.
I take a seat in the recliner and slowly sip my coffee, willing my body to wake up, just a few moments before shuffling into the room from the guest bedroom.
“Good morning, princess.” I say with a yawn.
“What was in that pitcher of margaritas?” She asks, covering her eyes with her hand, trying to shield them from the light.
“A lot of tequila.” I moan, taking another sip of my coffee.
“I can still taste it.” She says, making a show of smacking her lips with a disgusted look on her face before disappearing to get a cup of coffee.
The sound of metal hitting metal outside rings through the living room, and I move the curtain to look outside. Andrew is throwing things into the bed of this truck, onto the pile of carpet and padding we already filled it up. Suddenly, he looks up and once again catches me watching him. I wave at him sleepily before I let the curtain fall closed.
“Sorry I ruined your date last night.” Avery says, reappearing into the room, catching me in the act.
“It wasn’t a date.” I tell her with an eye roll, moving my way back to the spot on my couch. Although, it definitely was. I’m just not quite ready to talk about it yet.
“Yeah, the dead grass in your hair looked like your ‘not a date’ was going rather well.” She says, making her way down the hall, coffee cup in her hand. I hear the bathroom door click shut.
I open my mouth to shout an argument, but I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. I open the door to find Andrew standing on my porch. He’s wearing faded jeans, a black t-shirt and a blue unbuttoned flannel shirt. “Hey.” He smiles at me.
“Hi.” Suddenly aware of my messy hair, morning breath and lack of pants while I stand there in my oversized sleep shirt. “I bet I’m a sight to see.” I say, embarrassed. Truthfully, I don’t like anyone to see me without makeup on, especially the hot guy next door. It was years before Elliott saw me not completely put together and that would have never happened if it were up to me.
“You’re beautiful.” He smiles and reaches out to squeeze my hand, and I blush in response. He pulls me in for a kiss when we’re interrupted.
As if on cue, Avery walks out of the bathroom and sees that I have company. “Oh, hello everyone. Don’t mind me.” She’s dressed and looks like she didn’t wake up five minutes ago with a hangover. “I have to go to work.” She looks at us. “And you two can get back to whatever I ruined last night.”
I roll my eyes at my friend as she steps past us and onto the porch.
Andrew turns to me. “Do you have some free time this morning?”
I glance at the clock on the wall. “I have a couple of hours. I just need to get clocked in by nine.”
“Want to go for a ride?” He asks with a grin.
“Um… sure.” I look down at my naked legs again. “Just let me get dressed real quick?”
“Or don’t.” He says with a wink. “What you’re wearing is great, too.”
I roll my eyes and turn towards my bedroom. “I’ll meet you in five minutes.”
Five minutes later, I emerge from the house wearing leggings and a t-shirt, a messy bun and a quick layer of makeup. I’m carrying two travel cups of coffee when I meet Andrew at his truck bed.
“Is that for me?” He asks, motioning towards the cup.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, but I had a feeling you were a black coffee kind of guy.” I say, handing the cup over.
“You would be right.” He grins and motions towards the truck. “Let’s go.”
“So?” I ask as we pull out of our neighborhood. “Are we going to the dump?”
He laughs. “You can’t take a girl to the dump on your second date. Who do you think I am?”
I scoff. “Sorry, I didn’t realize this was a date.” I take a sip of my coffee. “So, where are we headed then?”
“You’ll see.” He says with a soft grin.
Ten minutes later, we turn onto a dirt road outside of town. A few minutes after that, we enter a driveway with a large iron gate and a for sale sign next to it. I look at Andrew as if to silently ask what we are doing, but he ignores me and just keeps driving.
He goes through the gate and follows a long gravel drive, stopping at a sad little house hidden among a patch of overgrown grass. The house is white, with an old wooden porch that is on the verge of collapsing. One wooden pillar appears to be supporting the entire roof, and the stairs leading to the porch are broken. The shutters are falling off; the paint is peeling and the windows are boarded closed with KEEP OUT spray painted across them. I feel uneasy, to say the least. What have I gotten myself into?
Andrew notices my distress and reaches over to squeeze my knee. “You okay over there?”
“Yeah.” I answer, slowly nodding my head. “Just thinking that every movie I watched growing up told me not to go to the middle of nowhere with men that you hardly know, especially when no one else knows where you are.”
“Did they also teach you not to get tequila drunk and make out on a blanket in your neighbors’ backyard next to an open fire?” He teases.
I blush. “You got me there.”
“Well, I promise not to murder you here. People may not know where you are, but they know where I am.” He puts the truck in drive again and drives past the house.
“Whew, that’s good, I guess.” I say, looking out the passenger side window as we drive along a path through the pasture. “So, where are we exactly?”
He rolls down both windows as he creeps along. “My brother is trying to convince me to buy this place with him.”
Crap. So much for us both leaving Fawn Creek.
I bite the inside of my lip gently. “So, are you going to?” I turn my body to look at the surrounding land.
“I’m undecided.” He says, talking to the windshield. “I keep coming out here, driving around, trying to feel inspired and so far I just keep coming up empty.”
“So, you were hoping I’d inspire you?” I tease him and gently elbow his side.
He gives me a half smirk. “Something like that. I just thought maybe I could get your opinion on it. You know, fresh eyes and all.”
“Well.” I say, repositioning myself in the seat to turn towards him, folding a leg under my body. “What would owning this look like? Would you guys redo that little house that we passed and live in there?”
He shakes his head and laughs. “No, I don’t think I want to share a house with my brother and his new wife. We would both build our own houses, just far enough from each other so that we can each have some personal space. That house would probably get torn down.”
“Well, that’s sad. I bet it has a lot of potential.”
He snickers. “Give a girl one house to repaint and strip carpet from and suddenly she is a professional. Maybe you could get a show on HGTV.”
I smack his arm playfully. “Maybe I will. I mean, as long as all I have to do is clean, paint and change a doorknob, I’m practically a house flipper already.”
“Sounds to me like you could land a ten-year contract, at least.” He laughs.
I shrug. “I’ll contact the network as soon as I get back to the house.”
We ride in a comfortable silence for a few more moments. “So, how many acres is this? Will you split it in half?” I ask, gazing out the window.
“It’s 80 acres. From what we’ve discussed, we will use ten acres to build our houses and then use the rest for cattle. That will give us another source of income.”
He parks next to a pond and motions for me to get out with him. I follow suit and we climb onto his tailgate with our drinks in hand.
“So, what’s keeping you from pulling the trigger?” I ask, sipping from my cup while I enjoy the stillness of the pond.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I guess the thought of moving back home and building my business all over again scares me a little. To be honest, I never thought I’d come back to this place until he did, and now I feel like I need to. Grandpa left us some money, and I think this is probably the best thing we could use it for.”
“Do you and your brother get along?”
“Yeah, we do. He’s quite a bit younger than me, but we’ve been through a lot together.” He pauses as his face turns soft, as if the pain is still fresh. “When he was a baby, and I was eleven years old, my mom dropped us off with my grandparents for an afternoon. She told them she had a doctor’s appointment in the next town and she would be right back.” He pauses and looks out over the water. “She never came back. I still don’t know where she went. My grandparents ended up raising us and we never heard from her again. It made Cody and I pretty close.”
I reach over and touch his leg, rubbing at his knee with my thumb. “I’m sorry, Andrew. That’s awful.”
He continues. “My dad was in jail for most of my life. We’ve never had a relationship. My brother doesn’t know who his dad is. Our grandparents are both gone now.” He lets out a breath. “He’s all I’ve got and aside from his fiance, I’m all he’s got. I’d love to be close by, so when he has kids of his own, they will know what it’s like to have an actual family. Hell, I’d like to know what it’s like to have an actual family myself.”
“It sounds to me like you know exactly what you want to do.” I say and nudge him with my shoulder.
If only it were that easy for me.