He rumbles a vague reply. “I guess so.”
“Well, if you’re ever looking for a practice partner, you know where I am.” It’s supposed to sound casual, like I’m kidding, however, my purposeful tone slips in.
God, I’m an idiot.
There’s a heat behind Evan’s eyes now, hot and simmering, and his tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip, shoulders rising as he takes in a deep breath. His glower drops to my lips, and he scrunches his eyebrows together before making a low sound from his throat.
But he eventually closes his eyes and rises to his feet. He nods towards the main house, indicating the conversationis over. “I should try to get some sleep, otherwise, I’ll be in a bad mood tomorrow.”
“You’re always in a bad mood. But thank you. For helping me.”
His lips tug in a half-smile. “You’re causing me an awful lot of trouble for someone who’s only been here two weeks.”
“No more burnt toast. I promise.”
“I’ll get the cabin a new toaster in case it happens again. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? I can stay for a little longer if you need me to.”
“I feel much better, thanks.” I stand to show him how steady I am on my feet.
“Okay, well, night… trouble.”
The nickname makes my stomach knot up, and I scrunch my nose up at him.
As he begins walking away, I glare at his back, unable to find the frustration I want to, because I’m distracted by not only his rippling muscles, but the fact that I just offered to be his sex practice partner and he just completely ignored me.
I’m not easily embarrassed, but that was a shame-inducing experience.
Before he’s far enough away that I can no longer see his silhouette, Evan pivots so he’s facing me. “Oh, and you have no idea how tempted I just was to take you up on that offer, kidding or not, so be careful what you joke about, Florence.”
The lake’s water just outside Evan’s property bites at my toes, cool and smooth, soothing my rash. Since the UV index is so high today, I'm sure to catch a tan, so I rummage around in my bag that sits on the ground for my sunblock.
I discovered this place a few days ago while on a walk for inspiration, and plan to embroider the surrounding forest onto a cushion—something I can take with me on my travels to remind me of this place. It’s just so calming.
The warmth of the sun sinks into my skin, and the light air helps to dry my wet hair from my early morning splash around. I squeeze the bottle of sunblock and spread the contents over my shoulders, since I plan to be here for at least another hour or so.
Then there’s shuffling behind me, and I twirl my head to see Evan, who hasn’t appeared to have seen me yet. He yanks his white T-shirt over his head from the back using one hand, as well as shuffling down his shorts, leaving him in just his tight black underwear.
The way his body catches the light is mesmerising. And his thighs. Man, his thighs. I’m sure he could crush a watermelon in his sleep with those things.
Why am I now imagining myself as a watermelon? Jesus Christ, Flo.
Evan moves closer to the lapping water, so it seems we both had the same idea to come for a morning swim today, and I clear my throat and stand, grabbing my bag. I’ve already been here for a little while, so it seems only fair to let him enjoy it in peace.
My bag rustles a bush nearby, and Evan’s head twists. “Don’t worry, I’m going.”
“Shit, Flo, I didn’t see you.”
My khaki bikini blends in with the foliage, so I see how.
Evan can’t help himself, and his eyes follow the lines of my body, honing in on where the ties of my tight bikini bottoms dig into my hips. I see his entire face tense before he sits by the water, knees to his chest, arms resting over the top of them.
“You don’t have to go,” he tells me. “It’s a public area, Flo. We can both enjoy it.”
Leo’s on a breakfast play date with Gracie at a nearby kid’s cafe this morning, who’s in the area for business again, so there’s no real reason for me to rush home and start making breakfast—Evan never eats it.
“If you’re sure.” I settle back down, propping my sunglasses up on my head and angling myself to the side so I can pretend not to stare as Evan wades in the water of the crystal clear lake. But I can’t help but appreciate that this is a view that is rare to outsiders, and I feel fortunate that I’m sitting here, casually watching this man like it’s nothing.
“Do you come here often?” I ask, cringing at how much that sounded like some cheesy pick-up line, which makes Evan angle his head at me as he ventures deeper into the water until just his head is bobbing above it.
