15. Jonathan
Jonathan
I was irritated.
I refused to admit it, but I’d lived with myself long enough to know that when my jaw tightened and my neck tensed, it wasn’t good. It was never good. The writhing flush simmered across my skin, making me feel hot and bothered as Lina walked past me.
“We’re almost done,” I announced. “And it’s not even ten yet.”
Lina simply looked at me as she leaned down to grab a box from the floor. The low neckline of her white, loose shirt flashed me a sliver of the tops of her breasts. I had to look away to her face. My jaw ground tighter as sweat poured down my chest.
“I don’t have much. I suppose that makes things easier,” she said quietly. The tiniest of smiles on her mouth. “I appreciate this. Thank you.”
I quickly grabbed a box on the kitchen counter and headed out, following close behind her. My throat, now dry, swallowed thickly as I kept my eyes trained on her sneakers instead of her legs, which were clad in those dangerously tight black workout leggings.
Andy and Anthony were both polite to Lina as she walked past them. However, they were all grins and smirks with me. I silently groaned at them as I followed her to the moving truck.
Lina looked over her shoulder at me as she set down the box she had carried to the truck. Although her shirt was loose, it was thin, and I could still make out every dip and valley of her back as she bent over. I fixed my gaze on her shoes again as another flush sizzled across my body.
“You look hot,” she said plainly—almost bored.
“What?” I asked. The box I was carrying dropped into the truck with a loud clatter.
I whipped my head in her direction, face scrunched up in shock.
The suddenness of my reaction made Lina raise her brows at me.
She glanced at my chest. The white shirt I was wearing was soaked with my own sweat, plastered against my chest like a fourth layer of skin.
Just like the night her brother harassed her, I watched the way her eyes darted over my chest and arms.
She eyed the width of my chest and the veins on my hands, slowly and meticulously. However, instead of her usual composed and unbothered nature, I noticed the tiniest of fractures in her icy demeanor. My heart began pumping as she looked back into my eyes.
“I said you looked hot. Not that you are hot,” she stated.
“You’re not wrong,” I said. “I am hot.”
It was an unusually warm and sunny day for February.
It was forecasted to be in the mid-80s, not a single cloud in sight.
Mild compared to the high triple-digit summers we always got here in Sunset Valley.
However, due to our usual overcast and ice-cold rainy winter days, I wasn’t accustomed to this weather.
It was true. I am hot.
Before she could retort, I grabbed the back of my shirt and peeled it off. Sweat dripped down my sternum to my flat, defined abdomen, and lower to the top of my gray sweatpants. Lina watched the sweat drip, soaking onto the darkening cotton.
Her eyes quickly darted elsewhere as I continued to stand there, half nude with the sun beating down on us. She didn’t reply as her cheeks tinged with pink. I tossed my shirt over my shoulder with a smirk on my face. I climbed into the truck to organize the new boxes we brought in.
“Whew! I didn’t realize we’d be invited to a strip show when we agreed to help this morning!” yelled Anthony as he brought a box.
Andy laughed. I glanced at Lina to find her blood red from her ears to her hands. My brother-in-law tipped his head in my direction as I organized the boxes into neat stacks.
“He likes to show off,” Andy said as a matter of fact to Lina, jutting his jaw in my direction.
“I don’t,” I scoffed.
Anthony smiled at the silent Lina. “Oh, he’s definitely showing off,” he insisted. His loud voice echoed easily, making me shake my head.
“He’s not,” she retorted quietly. I stood taller at her sudden sheepishness and her avoidance of either of the twins’ eyes. “I told him he looked hot—”
Lina must’ve realized exactly how that sounded.
She started stammering while Andy and Anthony glanced at each other.
They wore the same mischievous glint in their bright eyes and a wide, playful grin that almost made them look identical.
They glanced at me and then back to Lina, whose failed attempts to explain herself dwindled to incoherent mutters.
Irritation burned in my chest as I watched her become this shy mess in the Hughes twins’ presence—that was a Lina Lee I had never known.
Andy and Anthony just grinned. “Jonathan’s not my type, but yeah—he’s hot,” laughed Anthony.
Andy chuckled with his twin. “We get the appeal, but our types are his sister and cousin.”
They both laughed as I fought the urge to shake my head a second time. Meanwhile, Lina was silent, with her skin still flushed red. I shooed them away to get more boxes. I cleared my throat as I finally leaned over to grab the box she brought, putting it in an orderly stack.
“Ignore them,” I said. “They enjoy teasing like that.”
Lina didn’t respond, simply glancing at me, looking straight into my eyes. There was no hint of hesitation in her gaze, or even a sheepish smile on her face. Then, she turned away and left without another word. I sighed, watching her walk away.
We finished moving all of Lina’s things earlier than expected.
She didn’t have much to begin with, which made it all easier.
I glanced at her. She sat in the passenger seat as we drove the moving truck to her new place.
I offered to drive it last night, after sensing that she was uncomfortable driving such a large vehicle when we talked over the phone.
“Thank you for all of this,” she said, looking out the window.
“You’ve already thanked me enough, Lina,” I replied.
She didn’t say anything for a long time. We were almost at her new apartment when she spoke up.
“Do you do this for all of your employees?” Her voice was firm, but curious.
“Do what?” I glanced at her to find her looking at me.
My cheeks warmed up along with my entire body, making me wish I hadn’t thrown my shirt back on. I fumbled to turn up the air conditioner. She reached over to help me. Her fingers brushed against mine, only making my cheeks burn hotter.
“Help with moving.”
I kept my eyes trained on the road, but I could feel the weight of Lina’s eyes on my skin.
“Our team is mostly women; it’s natural for me to ensure everyone is safe in whatever way possible.
I prefer to be the first one at the pharmacy so neither you or any of our techs have to open alone in case someone is running late,” I shrugged.
“I never leave until the tech I’m closing with has safely left the parking lot either. ”
“You’re the only man, so you feel it’s your duty to take care of us?” Her tone was rather accusatory, irritating me.
“Yes and no,” I quipped. “I’m the manager, so I should do my best to take care of the people on our team—whether it’s mostly men or women.”
Lina stayed silent.
I spoke up again after mulling over some thoughts. “I suppose I do worry more about our team because it’s mostly women. My family is just my mom, my older sister, and me. The older I got, the more I realized the world is a scary place for women. There are many men who won’t hesitate to hurt you.”
“Is that why you didn’t hesitate to step in the other day?” I was surprised to hear her speak in such a quiet and soft voice.
“Yes.”
Lina was silent for a moment before her phone started blaring. She took a quick glance at it only to blow out a long breath, silencing the call into a whirling buzz.
“You can go ahead and answer it. I don’t mind,” I said.
“No,” she breathed as the vibrations of the phone stopped. “It’s alright.”
Just as the previous call ended, another one came in again. Like before, Lina sent the call straight to voicemail. She only resorted to calming her dramatically humming phone into silence. I glanced at her phone curiously as a third call buzzed in, catching the one who was calling.
It was her mom.
I was about to tear my eyes away when she caught me being nosy.
My cheeks heated as I jerked my gaze away and looked back up at the road.
Lina leaned back into her seat as a text sharply buzzed her phone, followed by ten more consecutive texts.
Out of the corner of my eyes, her mouth tugged into a deep frown.
She finally sighed, turning off her phone entirely as her phone vibrated from a new text.
“S-sorry, that was my mom and sister,” she muttered.
“Did something happen?” I asked.
“No.” Her answer was a sharp quip. “They’re not calling for anything important anyway. It’s nothing serious.”
Silence slipped into the moving truck as I heard her swallow hard.
“Sorry,” I finally spoke up, “I didn’t mean to pry earlier when I glanced at your phone. I shouldn’t have.”
Lina shifted in her seat, staying quiet for another moment. And then, another. I could hear her swallow again as if she wanted to say something to me. I didn’t press. I just allowed her to take her time.
“Just admit it, Jonathan. You’re curious about my family,” her low voice murmured softly.
It was my turn to swallow the burning shame in my throat down to the pit of my stomach, weighing me further into my seat. I ducked my head slightly. “Sorry.”
“Considering how much you’ve pushed your way into helping me and all. With my brother and today, I suppose it’s only normal for you to want to know more,” she said.
“You don’t have to tell me, Lina. It’s fine.” My grip on the steering wheel tightened. “You can tell me when you’re ready. Or never at all. You don’t have to explain yourself or your situation to me. I’m sure it isn’t easy.”