“I don’t.”
“I know. You didn’t hesitate to squish them dead.”
“My father believes killing a spider will make it rain. He…”
She stops talking and takes a long drink. A guarded look has come over her and I’m not sure what boundary I’ve overstepped.
“So what do you think of the décor of this place?” I say, switching the conversation, hoping she’ll loosen up.
“It’s great if you like what I can only think was the in-thing in the 1950s. This place seriously needs a makeover. I got into a long argument with Roger today about how absolutely gross it is to have dead animal heads hanging from the wall.”
“I know. I saw you hauling out that moose head.”
“That was only one head. There were five more I had to fight him tooth and nail to get off the walls. I hauled that moose off the wall on my own and almost killed myself. I got a bruise on my leg.”
“I’ll have to kiss it better for you.”
She leans back into the beige sofa and sighs. “Now that, Blake, has to be the best thing I’ve heard in hours.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Alyssa
I’m playing with fire and loving it. Blake’s funny, sexy as hell, and I can’t believe he actually helped me move all those boxes. It would have taken me another couple of hours to get that job done. I’m grateful, but more than that I feel like I’ve found a friend. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. There’s this sexual energy between us and he’s an easy guy to be with. While I get the impression he can be serious, I confess to liking the carefree charmer he seems apt at playing. Plus it doesn’t hurt that it’s been months since a guy’s tried to charm his way into my panties.
But I also remind myself why I haven’t had a friend in years. I’ve kept it that way to keep my secret safe. Why then do I find myself treading in dangerous water when it comes to Blake?
He pulls off my socks and I’m seriously hoping my feet don’t stink.
“My feet probably reek,” I say, with a light laugh, as I take another long haul from the cool beer. It’s a light ale and not usually my favorite, but at the moment it’s delightful.
“Nope. They, like the rest of you, smell sweet with just a hint of coconut and lilac.”
Well, good to know he’s partial to my coconut body lotion. Perfume and lotions are my downfall. With limited funds I still find ways to get what I want thanks to sampling. I quickly discovered that if you walk into a store and look like you’ve got money, they’re more than willing to hand over samples thinking you’ll try them and come back to buy product. In my case, that’s a big, fat no. At one time I easily laid down over two hundred a month on cosmetics. I laugh recalling my one black eyeliner, cinnamon-colored lipstick, small rub on blush and mascara. That’s it. I gave up the finer things when simplicity made it easier to get by.
I groan when his magic fingers truly massage my foot. Some guys say they’ll give you a massage, but within two minutes they usually cry that their fingers hurt and start to let their fingers wander from your achy muscles to your breasts.
He leans closer to me and says, “I love it when you groan.”
Laughing, I overdo my sound effects even though I feel like I’m putty in his hands. He laughs too and it’s that easy-going manner I have to be wary off.
“You’re really good at this.”
“I’m good at a lot of things¸” he says with a twinkle in his eye.
“Like what?”
I shouldn’t have asked because I don’t want him to pry into my life. Still kneading my right foot, he quickly informs me he’s good with more things than I would have thought.
“Like dry walling, framing, and plumbing.”
He takes me by surprise. “Plumbing? Seriously?”
“Yup, my father had this job once for a good year and he’d take me with him. We mainly fixed toilets and sinks. It wasn’t fun and it made me realize one thing.”
“What?” I say, reaching for my beer again as I savor the liquid.
He gets a serious look on his face and tells me, “I never, ever, want to be a plumber.”
We both laugh at that. “Well, I’ve got one better.”
“You do?”
“Yup. I once had this job where I worked in a pet store and I know that seriously sounds like it would be a ton of fun, but my one and only job was cleaning the bottom of the cages.”
“How long did you last?”
Too long. “A month.”
“Wow, you’ve got guts.”
He doesn’t have to say it. He knows I was desperate. And he’s right. And for once I’m not ashamed to admit it or think how I suffered through it to get the much needed cash for my own place. I would have done almost anything to save up enough money for a flat. Before that I’d been staying at the youth hostel and trust me, that place was no picnic. I only quit the pet store because I got offered a full-time night shift at the bar. Before that I had been working part-time at the bar and part-time at the pet store, which I loathed.