My hand skirts along her curves, soothing her body that I was perhaps a little rough with.
“You okay?” I check.
She giggles and falls forward, with her forehead touching mine. “More than.”
Landing on my back, I take her with me until she is wrapped across my body.
“You always do this to me.” Her voice is drowsy. “Not letting me leave the bed, which means you’re dripping down my thighs.” I can hear the smile in her voice.
Kissing the top of her head, I rub my palm in circles onher back. “Marking you the way I like it.” It’s an overpowering ownership that must be some caveman mentality.
“Maybe I like it, too. But next time will you blindfold me?” she requests with not an ounce of sarcasm because she’s serious.
That’s my girl.
A funny thing about blindfolds. They might prevent you from seeing.
But they make you feel more.
20
ESME
Clasping the clip in my hair, I growl as the contractor explains the timeline ahead.
“Are you sure?” I double-check as we stand in my living room that has now been cleared and is ready for renovation.
Steve, the man in his thirties, stares at me with pain in his expression and a pencil behind his ear. “We keep running into more issues. We need to rebuild the wall and redo the floors, and it’s best to do that in every room downstairs. Redoing the electrical won’t be easy, as this is an older home, and we have to start from scratch due to the fire. Not to mention, it will take at least six to twelve weeks for your kitchen cupboards to arrive once ordered. Then there is the fact that we also have drywall to hang, and the cement on the ground floor needs to set.”
I gave up on listening to his list when he mentioned twelve weeks. “So, when you add all of that together?” I’m afraid to ask.
His head falls as he checks his thoughts. “For sure sixmonths. I know your insurance will cover everything, but that can’t speed up infrastructure.”
My palm flies up to stop him. “I’m aware,” I say sadly.
“You have it better than your neighbor. Their contractor is a friend, and he said they are basically going to fix up the basics and resell. It’s too much work for them.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I remind myself to count my blessings. “Mrs. Tiller is going to live with her daughter. As spunky as that old woman is, this could probably have all been avoided if she, well, maybe… It doesn’t matter. Here I am with a boarded-up wall.”
He humors me and takes a few steps to place his moisture measurement tool against the one wall still intact; he already told me his findings but maybe he feels the need to confirm again. “I’m sorry, Esme. There is also damage from when the fire department put out the fire. A lot of moisture that needs to be cleared.”
Rubbing my face, I remember that my expectations were aligned with this conversation, but it still hurts to actually be confronted with it. Following Steve to the front door, there is nothing more to say. “Well, thank you again. I guess… go ahead and fix everything further that surprises us. We don’t have much other choice.”
We walk out into the sun, and I close the door behind me. Stopping near his truck, we finish up our conversation.
“We’ll get on it next week since we need to adjust our schedule. My crew is finishing up a job in the next few days. Normally, we are booked up, but I would rather take on this big project than a bunch of little projects.”
I attempt to smile in appreciation, but the corners of my mouth only manage a tiny tilt. “Thanks for that. I’ll make sure there is coffee and donuts.”
“Much appreciated, but it’s going to be a long fewmonths, so don’t you run up a donut bill from Foxy Rox,” he jokes.
“Sure thing.” Steve opens his car door, but as he is about to close it, a thought comes to me. “Hey… do you think that next week I can take the hammer to either nail something in or destroy something, anything to get out some frustration?”
It causes him to stifle a laugh. “Deal. You take care now.”
“Thanks.”
I sigh as he drives away and mope myself over to the street to check the mailboxes just as Keats rolls up in his car with his window down. He’s home early.
