I decide to leave the tools until I know what I’m dealing with, so I step out of the truck and head up the front steps. The porch light is on which means she’s aware of my pending arrival.
She opens the door after I knock and the look on her face is one of pure shock. While she stands before me, mouth gaping open, eyes wide with surprise, I take in the image in front of me. Erin has changed out of her proper librarian sweater and slacks and is standing in her doorway wearing form fitting sweats, a green tank top, and nothing covering her bright pink toes. Her red curls are pulled up in a messy ponytail and the little bit of make-up she had on earlier is gone. I can’t help but look her up and down - and back up again - taking in the slender, yet curvy body in front of me. She’s sexy as hell, and I feel myself thickening in my sweats.
“What are you doing here?” she finally spits out, shock still evident all over her face.
I look down at her again, noticing this time that the very cold outside air is making her nipples hard through her bra. My eyes are glued to her perky chest - a chest that she usually hides behind baggy mom-clothes - and I have to fight the urge to groan. I’m hard as steel and don’t even care that I’m wearing sweatpants and pitching a tent to rival any Boy Scouts campsite.
Erin’s eyes follow mine and she realizes what I’m staring at. Her arms quickly whip up and she lays them across her chest, covering herself up. She then glances down at my pants and gasps. Her eyes fly up to my face, a deep red blush spreading up her neck to her cheeks. Her big green eyes are glued to mine. A cocky smile spreads across my lips which causes her eyes to turn venomous.
“I said, what are you doing here, Jake?” she snaps, eyes shooting daggers.
I return my focus back on her face and notice she’s shivering. “You’re cold. Can we go inside and talk about it?”
She hesitates but steps back to allow me access. I step inside, taking in the older home that she’s obviously put some work into recently.
“Jake.”
“Maddox called me and said you had a leak.”
“I thought James was coming.”
“You were going to answer the door half naked for James?” I can’t hide the irritation in my voice.
“I’m not half naked! I was cleaning up the water mess in the kitchen. I’m completely covered.” She turns away from me, ponytail flipping over her shoulder, and walks towards the kitchen.
I follow her to the kitchen taking in the soft yellow cabinets and the blue walls. The cabinet under the sink is open, a large bowl catching the dripping water, and towels spread out all over the floor. I don’t even hesitate to I crouch down on my knees on the wet floor in front of the open cabinet. I pinpoint right away what the problem is.
“Looks like you have a busted fitting. Your pipes are pretty old. I’m surprised you haven’t had more problems than this.”
“Well, I haven’t been here long enough yet. It’s only been about two months.”
“I need to run out to my truck and grab a few tools,” I say as I stand up, sweatpants wet at the knees, and walk towards the front door. My mind is filled with the repeating image of Erin answering her door with pink toes and a tank top clad chest. Shit, I need to focus or I’ll never fix her problem. All I want to do right now is fix my problem in my pants.
When I get back inside, Erin is scooping up the wet towels and throwing them in the washing machine just off of the kitchen. She tries holding her arms away from her body, but it doesn’t work completely. Her tank top is now wet and sucked against her body. It might be the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
I clear my throat and force myself to look away and back to the task at hand. I grab a wrench and get to work on shutting off the water valve under the sink. After a few minutes of checking, I can confirm that the fitting holding two pipes together is rusted and leaking water.
“So, I have good news and I have bad news,” I say as I stand back up and face Erin.
“Good news first.”
“Well, you have a rusty fitting and it needs to be replaced. It’s a pretty easy, quick fix that won’t cost you but a couple of bucks.” I wipe my wet hands on the towel she hands me.
“That’s good. So, what’s the bad news?”
“The hardware store is closed for the night so I won’t be able to change it until tomorrow for you. I had to shut off the water to the sink so you won’t be able to use it until it’s fixed. ”
Erin blows out a big breath and looks around the room. “You don’t have to do that, Jake. I can have someone else do it tomorrow.”
“Who?” I glare down at her, meeting her challenge head on.