With an added pep in my step, I hopped out of the shower and toweled myself off. To say I was overly pumped to spend the day with Lakelyn was an understatement. As I exited the bathroom, the sound of Sheba frantically barking caught my attention. I bypassed the closet and learned the source of her excitement had stemmed from the knocking at the front door.
Gripping the knot in my towel wrapped around my waist, I picked up the mini-Chewbacca look-alike so she wouldn’t add escape artist to her résumé. Once I opened the door, I found a wide-eyed Lakelyn standing on the other side, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking in her effortless beauty.
She stood before me wearing blue Converse, ripped denim shorts that showcased her exceptionally long legs and a V-neck navy tank top with thick straps that highlighted the natural glow of her tanned skin.
While her outfit was simple and understated, she was beautifully flawless with her hair pulled up in a messy topknot and what looked to be only a coat of mascara on her lashes and a brush of rosy lip gloss across her lips that I would give anything to sink my teeth into one day.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—I should go. Come get me when you’re ready.”
She met my eyes, but I could tell I’d knocked her off-balance with my state of undress. The sensation made me want to puff my chest out proudly, but now wasn’t the time. After all, I’d had a lazy morning caught up in my thoughts about her, thus making me run behind schedule.
“No, no, come on in. Just give me a minute to get dressed.” I left the front door ajar, hoping she’d follow suit and come inside while I jogged back to my room. I dropped Sheba in the tangle of sheets on my unmade bed, another thing that proved my mind had been elsewhere, threw the towel in the hamper, and put on a pair of boxer briefs under my athletic shorts. With a sleeveless shirt in hand, I ushered myself back toward the main living space of my home with my little friend eagerly nipping at my heels.
“I’m beginning to think you have an aversion to shirts?” Lakelyn asked from perched on a stool at my breakfast bar.
“Should I?” I smirked.
“No, you definitely shouldn’t.”Her private inner thought tumbled past her lips unbeknownst to her while she tried averting her gaze at first, only to give in and openly peruse my upper body without restraint.
I used the silence that stretched between us to make work of subtly flexing my muscles as I reached for my baseball hat off the counter. Under her watchful eye, I ran my fingers through my hair forcefully before putting it on backward and grabbing the small cooler of food I’d prepared from the fridge. As I rounded the peninsula, I caught Lakelyn shifting her legs while making no effort to climb down off the stool, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the blush dusting over her cheekbones had anything to do with tension coiling in her core, much like I felt deep in mine.
A draw.
A pull.
A need to satiate.
I stopped short behind her, wanting to bathe myself in her soft raspberry scent. “Your wish is my command.” I dropped my voice low and was careful not to brush the shell of her ear as I reached around her for my truck keys before tucking the corner of my shirt down the back corner of my shorts while I headed toward the door to grab Sheba’s leash.
“Come here, girl,” I called out, slipping my feet into my sneakers as Sheba’s nails skidded across the living room floor. “You’re such a good girl, aren’t you? Yes, you are.” I rubbed behind her ears while she gave me a healthy dose of puppy love licks to the side of my neck and face. There was a part of me that could get used to having a dog around; if it weren’t for my job, I’d have one in a heartbeat.
“Look at you two besties.”
“Yeah, we’re always fast friends when together, so much so, in fact, I tease my sister; her dog loves me more all the time.”
“That’s not very brotherly.”
“Sure it is. That’s what siblings do.” As soon as the words left my mouth, the damage was done.
Lakelyn’s whole demeanor changed. The playful smile that only seconds ago sparkled brightly, extinguished as if I’d blown out the flame. My banter transported her to a place a million miles from where we stood as her eyelashes dusted across the tops of her cheeks and sadness blanketed her expression.
I stood and reached for her hand. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” At that moment, I wanted to kick my ass for being an insensitive jerk.
She shook her head, retreated from my touch, and reached for the cooler on the floor before heading outside toward my truck without a backward glance. I hated that my innocent slip-up was the source of her pain and that she felt the need to put distance between us. I knew better than anyone; everyone had emotional triggers that could creep up when one least expected and often at inopportune moments.
So my task for the day became singular, one of determined purpose.
Bring back that gorgeous smile on my new neighbor that monopolized my thoughts when we weren’t together.
* * *
“I just need to run inside and pick up the paint I pre-ordered.”
“You’re going to leave Sheba in the truck? You can’t. It’s too hot outside.”
“Gosh, no! One, I’m an officer of the law and that’s illegal. Two, do you honestly think I’d do that? That’s animal cruelty at its finest.”
“I just thought . . . I’m sorry, Boden, I know you’re a good person and would never.”
