Chapter 18
N ora
Cheryl’s sipping her hot cocoa in the kitchen, and by sipping, I mean slurping it with a loud oosh , making every single pull as loud as humanly possible. Knowing I hate that, she’s waiting for me to blow up. It’s been our game for as long as I can remember.
Another loud sip makes my eye twitch, and I almost forget about the scorchingly hot kiss I was indulging in ten minutes ago.
“How is Granny?” I ask, hoping talking will stop her from making this horrendous, soul-wrenching sound.
She finally places her mug on the table, giving me a moment of peace. “She’s fine. Terrorizing my neighbors.”
I let out a snort. “She’s probably been bored here with not many people around, so she went to you.”
“You see,” she pauses, smacking her lips, and I know the conversation will be going in a direction I won’t like, “I thought so too. Until I came here.”
“Why are you here by the way?” Anything to divert the coming questions. Even angering my most beloved sister and telling her what to do or not. “Isn’t it your shift?”
“It is,” she snickers. “And I was going to see if you needed saving. Considering it’s almost a full moon.”
Inwardly groaning and regretting my decision to ever explain to her what I was doing in Jericho’s backyard on the first night we met, I pour myself a glass of water just to keep busy.
“But,” she clicks her tongue, making both of my eyes twitch, “looks like you didn’t need any saving. It looked more like he needed the saving, ya know.”
“Cheryl,” I growl.
“What?” she chuckles. “I’m just happy for you, that’s all. Can’t I be happy and tease you a little? I’ve been waiting for this for like ten years.”
“Six.”
She waves me off like an annoying fly. “Details are not important.”
“Says the cop,” I note with a raised brow.
“Not in this case, no.” She shakes her head a few times. “But, Nora,” Cheryl’s voice turns gentle, “I am happy. Truly happy that you finally decided to put yourself out there.”
“I didn’t put myself anywhere.” Annoyance from being totally cockblocked rises in my chest and is strong enough to project onto her. “And I’ve never taken myself from anywhere. It just hasn’t been on the list of important things to do. I’ve got other shit to worry about.”
I’ve touched a sour subject for her. Something I usually avoid doing. I guess I’m aggravated enough to upset my best friend on purpose. The corners of her lips turn down, the sparkles in her eyes stop twinkling.
“I’m sorry, Cheryl. I didn’t mean that.” A heavy weight of disappointment with myself settles in the middle of my chest.
“It’s fine. You’re right.” She slowly pushes the mug away from her, lining it up with the grooves on the wooden table. This calculated movement says enough about how truly upset she is.
She was a bit older when our parents passed away and took it harder than I did.
Her rebellious stage started then and ended only when she was closing on twenty, meaning I had to be the one helping Grandma in the diner.
This is why I took over—Cheryl had zero interest in anything to do with the family business.
And she has never forgiven herself for that and for leaving our grandmother and me on our own.
I walk up to her and place my hand on her shoulder. “Cheryl, you were right,” I admit with a sigh. “I was just fresh out of the hottest kiss in my life and didn’t know how to process it, so I lashed out at you.”
Her face brightens, and a wide smile stretches her face. “To be fair, I did cockblock you.”
“It’s probably a good thing.” I take a seat across from her. “He just moved here, and I’m not in a position to start a relationship.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s my neighbor, for one. Imagine how awkward it would be if it doesn’t work out.”
“And how convenient if it does,” she adds, wiggling her brows.
I can’t help but laugh because she’s right. “I’ll see if it repeats itself and go from there.”
“Would you like it to be repeated?” she asks, looking at me from behind the brim of her mug.
The wide smile stretching across my face is answer enough.
“Atta girl!”
We chat for a few more minutes before she gets called on the radio back into the station. I walk her to the door before I remember to repeat my main question.
“For real though, why are you here today?”
Her face turns serious as the grove between her brows becomes visible.
“I have no idea. I just had this weird feeling in my chest.” Her fist lands on her heart and starts rubbing the spot as if it’s sore.
“Like I needed to check on you. I honestly don’t know where it came from, but you seemed fine when I came here. You are fine, right?”
Contemplating for exactly two seconds if I should tell her anything about Dick, I start nodding. “I’m good.”
Her eyes dart between mine for a long moment before she nods in response and pulls the door handle. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll keep my phone on at night this week.”
“I will.”
I’ll tell her about what happened today some other day. Tonight, I don’t want to ruin the memory of the kiss with the memory of my ex.
Tossing and turning all evening brings me to the conclusion that I just need to succumb to desire and let myself enjoy, well, myself, thinking of Jericho’s lips on me. It doesn’t take me long before I see stars, and only then can I fall asleep.
The early wakings have become sort of a routine at this point.
The subject of my midnight fantasies is already outside when I slip through the loose board in the fence, clutching my old gardening tool like it’s some kind of weapon. Which it might become if I’m faced with the neighborhood feathery terrorist.
Jericho’s wearing jeans and an open plaid shirt, covered by an unbuttoned jacket, revealing his chest and stomach.
Shivering slightly, I plaster a smile on my face, trying to appear unbothered.
He’s got a broom over his shoulder, looking like he’s auditioning for some sort of janitor action porn movie with a bad script, and I gladly admit that I’d like to be the partnering actress for the same movie, and the producer wouldn’t even have to pay me.
As I walk closer to him, the light from his back porch, which he’s already fixed after my request last night, illuminates him, and I’m rewarded with that view .
The dusting of hair across Jericho’s chest, all trickling down to a narrow line that trails from his navel down into his jeans—there’s that happy trail. Hiding there, enticing me.
When I come closer, he raises an eyebrow. “Nora,” he says with a twinkle of humor in his tone. His eyes dip to my bare legs and linger longer than it might seem appropriate for neighbors. “Trespassing again?”
I cross my arms, tapping the end of my tool against the ground. “Told ya I’d do that. Well, your rooster’s been trespassing in my dreams all morning. Pretty sure that makes us even.”
He lets out a short, annoyed laugh, and it’s almost—almost—satisfying to get that reaction out of him.
“My rooster?” His tongue peeks out to give his lower lip a lazy lick, and I feel it in the places he hasn’t touched me yet.
No one has touched me in ages actually, and yet, I feel it.
Which rooster are we talking about again?
His self-satisfied chuckle might be a good indication that he noticed my confusion, and I wonder how he can appear so cool and collected after the hottest kiss of my life.
“Where is he?” I ask, squinting toward the back of his yard where a few evergreen bushes grow wild along the fence. “I swear I heard him over here this time.”
He doesn’t seem to be listening to my hypothesis and is instead watching me.
“Cute outfit.” He licks his damn lip again while his eyes descend to my naked legs with—dare I say—a more appreciative look.
It’s a very cold morning, but I ran outside once again without thinking about proper clothing.
Cringing a little, I remember that this time at least I put tall boots on and one of Grandma’s long nightshirts which was sitting right on top of the pile of clean clothes, and I had to rush before the rooster evaporated again. So yeah, I bet I look like a wet dream.
“Yours too.” I nod at him, trying to appear nonchalant despite how hot his gaze on my bare legs makes me feel. It’s almost hungry, like maybe he didn’t get enough of a feel yesterday either.
He lets out a husky chuckle before turning toward the bushes. “What are we going to do?”
“Well.” I edge a little closer to him. “One of us needs to go and check if he’s there.”
He scratches his jaw, regarding me with a raised brow. “And if he is?”
“Grab the bastard and chop him up.” My eyes meet his with a playful challenge, and I can’t quite hide my grin.
I make a motion with my hand of a karate hit, making him laugh again.
That rich, husky morning laugh goes straight into my chest. Damn six-year dry spell—it makes me a horny baboon in the proximity of a strong jaw, facial hair, and still fresh memories.
“Vicious,” he says, and there’s an almost admiring tone in his voice.
Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I reply with a wink, “I’ve been forced into it.” I pause and tap the end of my tool against the ground. “So, are you going to do it or not?”
He looks me up and down like he’s assessing my loyalty to our mission and trying to decide whether I’m trustworthy enough to back him up if something goes south.
“Wish me luck.” He cracks his neck like he’s about to enter a fighting ring.
And he is, almost. We don’t know what that bird is capable of. I take a few steps to follow him, holding my so-called weapon tightly .
“GO!” I urge him forward with a laugh that echoes above all the usual morning sounds.
Gripping his broom tighter, he heads to the bushes. Before he comes closer, there’s a flutter of wings, and suddenly, the rooster is here—bursting out from the shadows with a squawk that sounds way too smug for a farm animal.