Chapter 14 Flo
“You’re breath reeks!” I laugh as Radish clambers onto my lap while I sit in Nathan and Mae’s living room, the dog panting in my face as he tries to practically climb inside of my skin. “Go and play with Chump, boy!”
Radish ignores me when I point to Mae’s pet tortoise’s hutch in the corner of the room.
“Stop making out with my dog, Flo.” Nathan snaps his fingers, orders Radish to get off me, and gives him a bone-shaped treat when he obliges, barking by his feet. He opens the back door, taking Radish outside for a run around in the large garden.
Meanwhile, Bennett throws a piece of lettuce into Chump’s pen, chuckling to himself as he watches his long neck stretch out to grab it. “You do know this tortoise is probably going to outlive all of us, right? Like, does nobody else find that weird? And he doesn’t have to pay taxes or anything.”
“You’d be a great psychology student, you know, Bennett?” Poppy says from her seat on the cream-coloured couch. “You overthink absolutely everything.” However, she seems preoccupied, like she has been a lot lately, cheeks turning red as she stares at her phone screen.
Bennett doesn’t fail to notice it, and when he flops down onto the couch beside Poppy and lets his eyes dart to her phone, he grinds his molars.
His eyebrows pinch, and when Poppy blushes even harder, Bennett finally stands with a popping jaw.
“Does anyone else want a drink?” The question is said with a gruff tone, and he disappears into the kitchen before anyone can answer, strides a little too eager.
Poppy’s blues follow Bennett, and she sighs, locking her phone and following him into the kitchen after casually saying, “Um, I’m gonna go get a drink too.”
Mae flashes me a look, and Sam comes out with, “What was that about?”
“No idea,” I murmur, but no sounds can be heard from the kitchen, and I wonder what Poppy and Bennett are talking about. Or doing.
“Did Evan tell anyone if he’s coming?” Nathan re-enters the living area with Radish on his heels.
“The food’s going to get cold if we wait any longer.” Mae glances at the clock, and Cam shrugs.
“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” is Nathan’s response.
I take a sip of my soda water and wine. “He said this morning that he’d be here.”
“Well, should we call him to see where—”
The sound of someone entering through the front door catches our attention.
“Sorry, we’re late,” Evan calls, and Leo’s own little “Sorry,” echoes through the hall a second later.
The kid toddles in, Donkey in hand, and is greeted by everyone.
“Evan, you came. I knew you would.” Mae’s grinning, and Cam turns to Nathan.
“You owe me ten bucks. Cough it up, loser.”
Nathan grumbles a low, “Fine,” before he digs around in his pocket and pulls out some cash, placing it into Cam’s open palm.
“You bet on me coming today?”
“Yep,” Nathan pops the ‘P’ with a smile. “And I lost. Bad.”
I snicker into the rim of my glass.
“You find that funny, Florence?” Evan mocks gently, and I throw a nod his way.
“Come on. My chilli chicken thighs are meant to be eaten hot, so let’s go!” Mae pats Evan on the shoulder as she passes him, winking at Leo before heading into the kitchen, and I just hope that Bennett and Poppy have finished whatever important discussion they were having before everyone barges in.
“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up,” I say, helping Leo take off his shoes, which he’s struggling with.
“I had to drop in to see Alexander. He’s been driving me crazy lately, so I thought visiting him would shut him up for a little while.”
“You could have asked me to take care of Leo.”
“It’s your day off, Flo, and Leo just sits in his stool in the corner and watches Whisker Wheelers with his headphones on, anyway.”
I smile, booping Leo on the nose, and then doing the same with Donkey. “Well, I missed you today.”
“Me too,” Leo giggles before he waddles off into the kitchen, chasing Radish’s tail.
My eyes now find Evan’s. Judging by his hard expression, his meeting with Alexander didn’t go well, and I find myself desperately wanting to cheer him up.
I can’t stop thinking about what I said to him the other night outside the cabin, and more importantly, what he responded with. I know he finds me attractive. I can tell by how he looks at me, but to know that the idea of ‘practising’ with me tempts him… it makes my core ache.
My mind shouldn’t be going there, but it’s completely comfortable in this lane, conjuring up images of Evan on top of me, peppering kisses down my neck while he groans into it about how good I feel.
Fuck.
“New top, trouble?” Evan nods down to the frilly white babydoll top I’m wearing, and I cock my head at him.
That nickname has stuck, I see.
“Keeping tabs on my clothing now, West?” I smile. “But, yes. I finished it yesterday.”
He hums, Adam’s apple bobbing. “Looks good on you.”
“Is that you trying to flirt?”
He narrows his eyes at me, a dark shadow passing in them. “And what if it was?”
Oh.
A laugh bubbles up my throat, and I move to stand, but as I do, my foot rolls over one of Radish’s dog toys, and my glass of wine slips from my hand.
A few droplets spill onto my leg, but Evan’s quick reflexes save the majority of the liquid.
Before I can blink, he’s crouching down in front of me with my glass in his hand as I drop back down into the chair.
It all happens so fast, and we stare at each other, very aware that one of his wrists rests on my thigh with my glass between his fingers, the other hand wrapped around my calf to support himself.
“Oh, shit,” I mumble under my breath, my body reacting to his touch, immediately craving more.
Goosebumps pebble up on my skin, and my heart flips, feeling tight and strained. After feeling my abdomen spasm, my hands effortlessly slide up Evan’s arms until they’re resting on his broad shoulders, and my thumbs trace his collarbone.
The hand wrapped around my calf slowly begins to move up, and I find myself arching, loving the sensation of his calloused fingers grazing against my skin.
My whole body has been itching over the past couple of days after I loaded a big wash and dried it all outside on Evan’s clothesline.
I put it down to pollen getting onto them, but I’m not too sure.
“These fucking legs, Flo. They’re perfect.” Evan’s eyes don’t stray from my face, but they do widen slightly when my mouth pops open and I take in a heavy breath as he reaches my thigh. He swirls around the skin, skipping over the parts that are hive-covered.
“Mmmhh.” I release the throaty noise without warning.
Furrowing his brows, Evan tells me, “They look sore.”
“Not really what I’m thinking about when you’re touching me this way.”
His eyes linger on mine, not just in the way that men sometimes look when they want something, but in the aching way that makes me feel like it’s something he needs, instead.
“What are you thinking about, then?”
My abdomen twirls, spirals and twists inside of me. I’m desperate for Evan to reach higher, to cross that boundary in the corner of our friends’ living room, and after he watches my throat bob as I gulp, he clicks his teeth together. I don’t fail to see how his jeans tighten.
But the sound of Leo’s excited squeal behind us causes him to rip himself away from me.
“Look, Daddy.” Leo attempts to balance his plateful of chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and roasted veggies in the palm of his hands, all cut up for him. “I’ve got so much!”
“Yes, you do, bud. Looks tasty.” Evan casts his gaze back to me, swallowing his arousal. “Are you coming for some food?”
“Sure.” I thank the stars that I’m not a guy because I would have a raging boner right about now, and I wipe my slightly clammy palms on my denim shorts, stealing a cooked carrot off Leo’s plate and popping it into my mouth. “These are good.”
I gave myself some insulin about fifteen minutes ago in preparation for the food I’m about to eat.
“Carrots are yucky,” Leo complains.
“They’re good for you, Leo. Make you big and strong, so try to eat all the veggies on your plate, okay?” I wink at him, turning to Evan, saying, “You too, Daddy,” as I shuffle past him with a ghost of a smirk on my face after hearing the choked sound he made.
After dinner, everyone else heads out, but Evan hovers, and I have to tell him Mae and I want to compare tampon sizes to get him to leave, which makes his face contort as he slaps two hands over Leo’s ears.
In reality, I’ve been working on a little present for Leo, and I need to do it without the risk of Evan barging his way into my cabin and discovering it. Mae and Nathan are more than happy for me to spend the next hour perfecting it until I’m pretty sure all it needs now is just a final few tweaks.
I make it back to the cabin with about ten minutes to spare until sundown, and I watch the sunset from the porch, which helps to relieve some of the anxiety I had earlier when worried I hadn’t left in time to make it home before dark.
I shouldn’t have left it so late. My upper lip was sweating every time I had to stop at a red light.
Taking a long look at the main house, I can see Evan and Leo moving around inside the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher.
Leo soon finds himself on top of his father’s shoulders, and as Evan races around the kitchen, his son giggles and clings to his hair, pretending he can control him like he’s the rat from Ratatouille.
The large window is open, and the sound of them both laughing drifts through the wind and sparks something inside of me—pure, utter happiness at watching these boys live the way they’re supposed to. The way they deserve.
Evan doesn’t have a big family, but he doesn’t need one. He’s got a boy who looks at him like he personally orbits the moon around the Earth just for him.
I understand the pressure being father-of-the-year from Leo’s perspective puts on Evan, though.
He runs himself into the ground to ensure Leo is happy and safe, and I know he judges himself as a father.
I mean, it’s difficult not to when you’re doing it all on your own, and I’m worried about how he’s going to cope when I go.
Who will they hire? What’s the replacement going to be like? Will Leo like them? What if they secretly take photos of Leo or the inside of the house and spread them, or what if they forget to remind Leo not to talk with his mouth full, and something awful happens?
I can’t stop worrying about their future, even though I’m not going to be part of it. But still, the dread clings to me, and I scratch at my itchy skin again, mainly in dislike at the detour my thoughts are taking this time.
Pulling my gaze away from the two boys, I enter my cabin, but the sight of a freshly made bed and new sheets jolts me into focus.
I hadn’t done that before I’d left?
My phone buzzes, and I pull it from my pocket to see a text that’s just come through from Mae, thanking me for coming tonight, and an older one from Evan, sent to me after he had left Mae’s, that I must have missed.
Evan: Thought it might be the scented laundry detergent making you itchy.
Sorry to invade your space, but I got you new sheets and stocked your cabin with sensitive detergent instead, so I hope that helps.
There’s also something you might be interested in on the counter.
Leo and Donkey tell me I have to say they both say goodnight, too.
A small smile unfolds on my face. My eyes shift over to the kitchen, and they expand when I see that the berry and spearmint teas I had left untouched have now been replaced with matcha powder, all different varieties: vanilla, mint, butterscotch. All sugar-free.
Something inside my heart tugs, because this small gesture of changing my detergent and stocking the cabin with my favourite drink means more than it should.
It shows me that despite Evan having these impenetrable concrete walls cemented around himself, he’s a man with a bone-deep instinct to care and provide.
He doesn’t show this side of himself to many people, and for him to feel comfortable enough to do that with me—it hits harder than I expect it to.