“Well, then wehaveto watch it.”
“But first, we need to paint this room. What color did you get?”
“Blue.”
“Oh, blue is perfect. It’s great to sleep in a room painted a cool color.”
“Hm, I just like blue, so I got blue.”
She giggles. “That works too.” Tayler claps her hands. “It looks like you did all the hard work. Everything is all taped off, you’ve got a drop cloth, and the furniture is mostly gone. Let’s get started.”
I put on some old Beatles vinyl—lady’s choice—and we paint. It takes so many coats that I have to run to the hardware store for more paint.
“We should have primed,” Tayler says, plopping her pretty ass down on my couch. “Red is really hard to cover.”
“I had no idea.” I really didn’t. “Four coats of paint. It looks good, though.”
“It does.” She’s smiling at me, and I’m smiling right back. I had fun doing a task I really dreaded doing. “You should help me paint this living room.”
She flops her head back, looking at the dark tan-hued walls. “Sure. I just need a day or two to recover.” Looking over at me, she smirks. “You gonna let me pick the color?”
“Sure. Just no red.” It makes her laugh, and I fucking love the sound.
“So, pizza andThe Shining?”
Tayler pulls her phone from the little pocket on the bib of her overalls and presses some buttons. Shrugging, she says, “Sure.”
Honestly, I’m surprised she doesn’t have to run off and study. It is Sunday, after all. Of course, I’m not about to mention any of that. I want her to stay a while longer. “What kind of pizza?”
Please say pepperoni.
“Pepperoni and mushroom?”
“Sweet.” I can pick off the shrooms. “I’ll order from Jeff’s. They deliver.”
“Ooh, in that case, can we get the spinach, Havarti, and artichoke pizza?”
No.“Sure.” I smile, but I’m not doing it convincingly.
“No.” She snorts. “I can tell by your face that you don’t like that.”
“How ’bout half that and half pepperoni?”
“Sure. That’s fair.”
I order the food and am tempted to jump into the shower, but that’s not polite. She’s still in her painting gear. “You want to shower?” I ask because I’m a gentleman like that.
“Um.” She looks at me. “Sure. I’ve got a change of clothes in my car.”
She does? “You do?”
“Workout stuff.”
Oh Jesus. It’s probably some of those tight-ass legging things.
“Ladies first. You shower and I’ll cue up the movie.”
“Sounds good.” Tayler moves from the couch much slower than earlier today. Painting is hard work. My body is sore, and I do physical shit all day every day.
