Chapter 4 #2
“That’s not necessary,” I said, my back straightening.
I still hadn’t quite gotten over the shock of finding out he was loaded.
I didn’t know exactly how wealthy he was, but I suppose I was a bit of a reverse snob in that sense.
I’d met a lot of entitled guys over the years, and I couldn’t take it if Francis was one of those.
“We can split it. I was going to ask you what kind of fence you’re thinking.
I’d suggest something sturdy, but not too high that it blocks your view. ”
I gave him a saucy grin of my own. Hey, he was the one who’d mentioned watching me from his balcony. I wasn’t above giving him a show.
“Definitely not.” He let his eyes drift up and down my very dirty and sweaty self, and he laughed.
“I was actually thinking of doing some landscaping down at this edge of the property, maybe building a gazebo with benches or something. It’s a great spot for stargazing.
I might need a walkway, too, if I’m going to be making regular fence-line deliveries. ”
My skin broke out in goose bumps, and places warmed up.
“We could do a combo stone and iron, or wood and iron, or a four-foot-tall wood reinforced at the bottom with concrete. The iron might be pricey.”
“Those all sound cool. But Kendall, what do you want?”
Such a loaded question for more reasons than one. I was surprised and pleased that he’d been so open to collaborating. I’d been a little excited about the idea of doing something that would add a little bit of art to both of our properties, but I kinda just stared at him.
“Did I say—”
“What would you think about decorative metal panels and iron? I’ve got a buddy—his name’s Kimo. He does metalwork, and I bet he would love working on something like this.”
Francis's smile lit up his whole face. “That sounds amazing! Does he have an Insta?” He sat his bowl on a fence post, pulled a stick of lip balm out of his pocket, and applied some as he gazed at me with enthusiastic curiosity.
I had to pause to determine what he was asking.
Like an old guy. Shay would have called me “Boomer” and rolled her eyes.
I frequently had to remind her that hell, no, I was GenX and proud of it.
I thought Francis was a bit older than Shay’s twenty-five, but would my age—passing through middle age, on my way to senior discounts—be a drag for him?
“Oh, uh, Instagram. Let me see.” I set down my containers of food and pulled out my phone, opening the app.
“I think it’s something like Metalhead Metalworks.
Kimo and I fought fires together in Florida.
His metalwork was so in demand, though, that he left the department to do his art full-time.
He’s been super busy. Travels all over to design gates, sculptures, and railings for people. Ah, here he is.”
Francis took my phone from me and stepped closer.
He leaned his hip into the broken fence, and his shoulder brushed against my chest as he held the phone so we could both look at the screen.
He smelled like he’d been cooking, but beneath that was something so sweet that it made my mouth water, even more than his cooking had.
Like a dessert. Like the iced lemon loaf at Starbucks.
My favorite.
“Whoa, look at that one,” he said, thankfully unaware that I was sniffing him. He tapped the screen to bring an image to the front. I leaned closer at the same moment that he turned to look at me. “Oh.”
“Sorry.”
“Are you?” He wrinkled his nose and grinned. “I’m fully aware that one kiss on Pride does not a courtship make, but I thought…” But the way he pressed his hand to his throat, and how his eyes widened the slightest bit, said different.
“So not sorry. You’re really something. I hated that I got called away that night,” I answered truthfully. It had been ages since I’d been moved to get close with someone, and that night I’d thrown all caution to the wind. Dancing with Francis had netted fantastic results.
“Oh.” There was relief in his smile. “Okay, then.”
We stared at each other, our breathing audible this close.
My gaze traveled from his eyes to his lips and back again, while he did the same.
I’d dreamed about that kiss plenty over the past couple months, and being close to him again had me desperate for another.
But also for more than a kiss. For closeness, the contact that said, “I want nothing more than to be here with you.”
“There are a few ways this can go,” he began, gesturing between us with a long finger. “Now that we’re neighbors, one school of thought would be to remain just that. Neighbors.”
“That would be one option,” I muttered, pouring as much distaste into the statement as I could muster. I hesitated to offer the multitudes of ideas I had, partly out of self-preservation, and partly out of, well, fear that he’d had a change of heart.
“Your dislike of that option has been noted,” he said with a laugh. “Option two: We could pick a house, get naked, and explore the possibilities.”
My hand involuntarily went to the front of my shorts, and I cleared my throat. “That option is intriguing.”
The air between us was supercharged. It was obvious we were both interested. Our previous encounter was cut off before we’d had a chance to really get close. I knew we would be hot together. Blazing. We’d likely ignite something out of control.
Then what? I doubted it would be enough for me. But it could be enough for him, and then I’d have to see his comings and goings and dates and boyfriends indefinitely, right next door.
Maybe a hookup was all he wanted.
“Or option C? D?” he asked, tapping his chin with a finger. “What are we up to?
“C.”
“Right. Option C, the aforementioned courtship.”
“C for courtship. Easy to remember. Okay, so, like dating?”
“It could be like dating, or like bonding.”
“Bonding like atoms? Chemistry? That would involve touching…” I ran the back of my fingers down his arm and took his empty hand in mine. His other still held my phone, which neither of us were looking at any longer.
“Or,” he said breathily, tangling our fingers, “bonding, like, doing things together, seeing what the other likes.” He lifted his chin and turned into me, his knee brushing against mine, his dark eyes so fucking dreamy.
“I like things. Things are good.” I desperately wanted to cup his jaw and show him what kind of things I wanted to do with him, to him, but I needed to be strong. Things with Francis would undoubtedly rock my world, and then I wouldn’t want to let go, or be let go.
I didn’t want that outcome.
“Kendall, I like you.” He accentuated that with a hand to my chest. “And since we're neighbors now, we need to continue to like each other, so as much as I want to do things with you, how about we start with less naked things. Like, you could come over, I’ll cook for you, and we can sit down and eat like civilized men. Or we could go out, and you can show me your favorite places in Farty Buttons.” He handed me back my phone with an eye roll.
“Excuse me, Farty what?” I laughed so hard, my body was instantly racked with hiccups.
“Soggy Bottoms? Farty Buttons? Whatever this town is called. Who named this place, anyway? Oh no!” He covered his mouth with his hands. “I hate the hiccups. Here, turn around, and I'll scare you.”
His flustered attempt to turn me around only made me laugh harder.
I held on to his hand and pulled him flush against me and squeezed, loving the press of us.
“They’ll go away, just give me a minute.
” Holding him against me as my hiccups died down was perfect.
If I were a weaker man, I would have thrown out the option I’d been fantasizing about: let me pleasure you until we both walk funny.
Francis placed his hand on my cheek, and his shallow breaths ghosted across my lips.
“I want you, but I really want to know you, Kendall. You don’t know me, and the past year of my life has been…
Let’s just say I moved here to start over.
So even though I know things would be so right between us, I want to know you first. Could you possibly, eventually, want the same thing? ”
“I already do. Let’s plan a real date and go from there. What do you say? Shake on it?”
“Kiss on it?” Francis pushed up on his toes, but he waited for me to meet him. So I did.
This kiss was slow and languid, more of an exploration than a heat-of-the-moment one like the first time. He moaned and kissed me back with a searing heat that nearly made me forget any other option than to pick him up, take him inside, and get inside.
The level of desire flowing through me wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Yes, we needed to get to know each other better, but I knew whatever interest had flickered to life at Pride was about to become a four-alarm blaze.
Francis was struggling too. He hooked his leg around my hip, trying to get closer. His nails scratched deliciously through my ever-present scruff, and then he ran them gently over the top of my scalp. His other hand fisted my shirt and pulled me closer.
I knew the day I met him that he possessed a smoldering fire, some of it good, but he also carried the kind of fire that could burn you.
From what he’d just said, it seemed to me like he’d been burned.
Maybe he was looking for someone to stoke those embers.
Bring new life to the good fire inside him.
I’d love to do that for him. I also needed to protect my own spark.
“You know what I want?” He spoke a hairsbreadth from my lips. “I want to put a gate right here so we can visit. We can meet halfway whenever we want.”
I lifted him slightly off his toes, making him laugh.
“That sounds very neighborly. How about we plan a dinner date, and we can Zoom with Kimo, give him some ideas, and see what he thinks.”