Chapter 7
Now that she was awake, she might as well get something done today. That was easier said than done when she heard the lawn mower and watched Michael mow for the next ten minutes. Dark splotches bloomed across his shirt as the heat beat down on him.
Andrea sat in her office that overlooked the front yard, trying to work on the agenda for the charity she volunteered for, yet her focus kept turning out the window.
Andrea expected him to take off his shirt, but he never did. Thank goodness for that. He had already unloaded his van without one, probably giving several neighbors heart complications. No sense in adding more excitement to these poor people.
Disgusted at herself for ogling the man, Andrea closed her blinds and went into the kitchen at the back of the house, which was furthest away from the noise, and sat down at the kitchen island.
It hadn’t been part of the original design, but with some funding, she had remodeled the kitchen and opened the wall into the dining room to make it more open and allow her to expand the kitchen and add an island.
Andrea loved to cook, and she just couldn’t do it well in the galley-style one equipped with the house.
Andrea became so engrossed in her work, she jumped when there was a knock on the front door. She set down her writing, groaning when her back popped from finally being upright after hunching over the island for so long.
“Yes?” Andrea answered the door, surprised to see him.
“I was just letting you know I returned your lawn mower.” He had changed shirts into a dark forest green one.
“Thanks. You didn’t have to tell me. Like I said before, you could just leave it in the driveway.”
“It was kind of you to let me borrow it.”
“It wasn’t a problem.” Other than a few minutes of missed sleep. It was probably best she got up anyway to get some work done.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to invite you into my home.” Not that she owed him an answer.
“Fine, leave me out here in the cold.”
“We’re in Florida. It’s rarely cold,” Andrea argued, though she didn’t know why she felt the need to defend herself. It was her house, and she could invite whomever she wanted without having to explain herself.
“But shouldn’t you invite guests into your home?”
“If you were a guest, sure, but you’re not.
” He was an annoyance that she couldn’t seem to get rid of.
Andrea’s eye opened wide in shock when Michael started laughing.
She was torn between smacking him across the face for the offense or slamming the door in his face. “What is so funny?” she demanded.
“You know, you’re easy to rile up.”
“Normally, I’m not. You seem to bring out the worst in me.”
“Or your true self.”
“I am not normally such a—”
“Rude snapping hyena all too happy to suck the marrow from my bones and laugh as you do it,” he finished for her.
“I was going to say bitch.” But that was a pretty close second. It was a good description.
“Isn’t that offensive to your sex?” he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“I can say it; you can’t.” Most women were offended when called that. She didn’t care. Call a spade a spade.
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Nothing in life ever is.” She was all too familiar with that statement. Nothing in her life was fair, but she had learned from a young age to roll with the punches.
“True. Can we set a truce?”
“Fine. What are you doing?”
Michael leaned forward making his intentions quite clear. He was trying to kiss her. “Sealing our pact with a kiss.”
“No.” Andrea took several steps back to keep distance between them.
“There’s nothing to be frightened of. I’m not going to maul you like a bear.” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes raking over her body. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” He pointed at her with a triumphant look on his face like he’d figured her out.
Andrea matched his look and pointed finger. “No,” she replied in the same happy tone before returning her face to neutral.
Michael’s face fell. “Then why—”
“Did I step away?” she finished for him.
“What, you thought just because I don’t want you to kiss me, it means I’m a scared virgin trying to protect her virtue?
” she asked, bringing her fisted hands to her chest and shaking them like a leaf before dropping them to her sides.
“No, far from it. I’ve had legions of lovers.
You’d just be one of many. I’m just not attracted to you. ” A bigger lie would have choked her.
“Not even a little?” he pouted, holding up his finger and thumb an inch apart.
“Not even an iota.”
“How about we become friends then?”
“Are you still on that?” That always seemed to be his fall back when she didn’t succumb to his sexual advances, offering to be her friend.
“Why do you find it so hard to believe I want to be your friend?” he inquired, cocking his head to the side and giving her puppy dog eyes.
“Because I have a hard time seeing you being friends of women you don’t sleep with.”
“I have four actually.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking defiant.
“Wow, four whole women you haven’t slept with and are friends with, what an achievement.” Did he want a cookie or something for such a feat? Please; the only reason was probably because they were married or something and off the market.
“You seem to have some kind of horrible image of me.” He looked bemused instead of offended.
“You don’t make it easy to think otherwise, always flirting with everyone and trying to kiss them.”
“I only flirt with the women I like.”
“Well, aren’t I special.” Her voice oozed with sarcasm.
“I think we’d be really good friends,” Michael said as if he hadn’t heard her.
“You do know friends don’t try to kiss each other.”
“Pity, think how much closer friendships would be.”
Andrea shook her head, though she couldn’t say it was in disgust. It wouldn’t be a hardship to kiss this man, but kissing would lead to feelings and that was the last thing she wanted. “Or ruin them.”
“I’ve seen plenty of people kiss who aren’t in relationships. They do more than kiss, in fact.”
“Those are friends with benefits, and the answer is no,” she cut him off when he opened his mouth because she had no doubt he was going to suggest it.
“Why not?” He planted his fists on his hips, looking offended.
Andrea couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. “Are you seriously asking me why we can’t be friends with benefits?”
“Yes, you’re a woman. I’m a man. We’re mildly attracted to each other. It’s no strings attached. I don’t see the problem unless you’re not into men. You are, aren’t you?” He looked at her hopefully.
“And if I said no?” Not giving him a ready answer.
“I’d make it my goal to convince you to come back to the other side.”
Andrea couldn’t help but laugh at that. This man did have a pretty high opinion of himself. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Not everything, but I feel if you gave me the chance, we could get close.”
That sobered her up. “I’m not interested in getting close.”
“With anyone or just me?”
She didn’t know why he kept pushing her on this. “With anyone. Now I have to go. I have work to do. Goodbye, Michael.” She closed the door in his face without waiting for a response.