“Hey, the traffic’s all gone now. Easy drive and I need the practice,” she said with a wave. “Uh, I’ll use your bathroom real quick first and get you the hoodie back.”
Holding up my hand, I said, “No, keep it. You know we Cali boys have tons of them.”
She hesitated but didn’t give it back, making her way inside the house. Once again, watching her drive away a few minutes later, I couldn’t shake the caveman feeling blooming inside my chest as I watched her leave wearing my clothes.
ten
. . .
Vicky
“Hey, hey, hey, amica. Stop apologizing. I’m so happy you woke me up early. Didn’t think I could wait a few more days to actually talk to you anyway,” Ren said, her sleep-induced husky voice assuring me my freakout needed to be addressed.
“Thanks so much, Ren. I couldn’t wait either,” I said as I crawled into bed and gathered the duvet around me. I talked myself in and out of calling her the whole drive home, but my last few interactions with Miles prompted the emergency phone call. I could hear her making coffee as my nerves settled down.
“Now. Spill. Every. Little. Detail,” she said, holding back a yawn. It was about 5 am her time, so I needed to get this all out before she’d have to get ready for work.
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “So, I texted you about our first encounter. It was, well, weird and confusing.”
“You mean when he stared at you in his daughter’s room, then dropped pot lids and made a fool of himself?” she asked sarcastically.
I chuckled lightly. “Yup. I mean, at first I was like…what in the world was the problem, right? But every time I’ve seen him since, there’s this inexplicable spark between us.” I let my fingers glide along the soft duvet I’d picked out, my thoughts running around my head as I remembered the encounters.
“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. You’re both gorgeous people. Might aswell be gorgeous together.” I could almost see her perfectly groomed eyebrows waggling.
I pushed air from my lips and said, “That’s the thing. There’s notogether, together. I mean, we’re kind of working together, but…he’s him and I’mme. Then there’s Enzo and Anna.”
“Wait, who’s Anna? Anna in your office?”
“Yeah,” I groaned. “She made it clear that clients are off limits. Especially rich ones like the Austins.”
“How’d she bring that up? Kind of random. Oh, wait, did you write ‘Vicky loves Miles’ on your sketchpad?” she snickered.
Rolling my eyes, I answered, “Not funny. But I guess she might’ve gotten a vibe.”
“Then tell me, girl. You’rekillingme here,” she groused.
“Okay, okay. I went to his house to go over the sketches for MJ’s room.” I smiled just thinking about how awkward he was. “He got flustered, I guess, when I asked if I could take off my shoes and he said ‘take off whatever you want.’”
Ren gasped so hard, I hoped she wasn’t drinking coffee at the moment. “Are you kidding me right now?” She started laughing like a hyena, and I joined her, just reliving it through her eyes. “That’s priceless!”
“Oh, I forgot before that even happened, he grabbed my laptop bag and ended up pulling me against him. Then there was kombucha and dinner, and the text from Enzo that made me livid, and this sweet moment between us about him being a great dad,” I rambled, barely catching my breath. “Yeah, then I told him how Enzo makes me feel like a kid, and he said he’d like my pigtails, and he touched my palm, and then he gave me his hoodie, and it smelled sooo good. Then we painted together and I ate a s'more. And there were fireflies, Ren!”
“Vicky! You’re not making any sense,” she finally said, stopping my emotional tirade. “Take a breath and tell me the details. Slowly.”
For the next hour, I told her everything that had happened in detail, stopping only for her “aw” and “how sweet” mixed with chuckles, just like we were in elementary school being goofy about a guy I liked. She promised to help me find ways to get back at Enzo for his ridiculous text, encouraging me not to tell him I knew so there would be an element of surprise.
“They’ve all been the best conversations of my life with a guy, you know? There’s this deep connection that I’ve never experienced before and I don’t know what todowith it. I honestly think he would’ve kissed me if I hadn’t mentioned Enzo. I’llneverforgive myself for that one,” Isaid sardonically. “We laughed and talked like we were old friends, but with this electric feeling that was undeniable.”
“Amica, that all sounds amazing. I just don’t see the problem, though. Kiss him if you want him to be your first kiss. I’m proud of you for opening up and sharing that with him.Shocked, but proud.”
I laid down on the bed, letting the soft pillow surround my head as I closed my eyes.
“Can’t believe I told him that, either. Then I messed up the moment by saying it was because Enzo’s my brother. Then there was that moment when he was carrying MJ to her room after the s’mores. I stopped him and kissed her on the head. It felt so…right. Like I belonged there.Withthem.”
“Uff, that’s a lot to experience in just two visits.” I could hear her moving around, most likely putting on makeup. I knew I’d have to let her go soon, and it was getting late for me.
“Yeah,” I answered softly, stretching my back, realizing how much work painting was. “It’s so much in such a short time. I’ve been waiting to have this kind of feeling for so long, I mean, do you know how hard it is to watch everyone fall in and out of love in school and college while you’re the only one stuck just reading romance novels?”
