Page 18 of The Good Guy on My Porch

CHAPTER FOUR

Oscar

I’d expected Dilly to spend a few minutes behind the waterfall before asking to go back to shore. Even I was freezing after five minutes. But Dilly seemed to be in no hurry to move on. She smiled, and it was like some weight she’d been carrying fell away. For a moment, she just seemed happy and free, the way she should always be. Our screams had been swallowed by the falls, a really excellent idea she’d had. Screaming had been the sort of release and relief I needed for many reasons, not the least of which that the sight of Dilly in that tiny bikini, her curves on display, her softness and creamy skin, had me thinking of seeing her in even less clothing, had my hands itching to touch her, had me imagining her legs wrapped around my hips. I wanted her so bad it hurt, and I needed to remember that she didn’t share any of my feelings. She had a boyfriend, one she called to check in with, which seemed unhealthy to me, but who was I to judge?

We watched the falls for another few minutes, until I noticed her lips were turning blue and she was being wracked by full-body shivers. Time to get back to shore and into the sunshine. Still, when I gestured toward the pond, she hesitated, reluctant to leave our insanely noisy spot. I let her swim out first, worried her shivering might make swimming difficult for her.

I didn’t need to worry, she swam back to shore with no problem. “That was amazing,” she said, barely able to speak because her teeth were chattering so hard. “Thank you.”

I pulled a towel from my bag. It was a small one, easy to pack, and wouldn’t do much to warm her, but she took it with a huge smile and wiped her face dry. “We can lay out in the sun to warm up,” I said, pointing to a large flat boulder just a few feet away.

She was still shivering, but she handed the towel back to me and headed that way. I couldn’t keep my gaze from dropping to her small backside, perfect in its size and shape, luscious enough to bite. I pulled in a deep breath and pictured the un-sexiest thing I could think of, the phlegm and congested sinuses I’d studied when I was learning about the salt spa business, my latest profit and loss report from the accountant, the chicken dinner Molly had burned to a crisp the night before.

“Are you going to stand over there all day?” Dilly called in her voice that seemed too big for her small body, that voice that never failed to make me smile and now ruined all my hard work at reminding my body I couldn’t have her. She was stretched out on the rock and she raised her arms above her head, putting every inch of her perfect body on full display. “It feels so good in the sun.”

Well, that confirmed it, there was nothing to be done, I was just going to have live in a perpetual state of arousal until she put her clothes back on.

I pulled in another deep breath and joined her on the rock. I sat while she laid back and stretched out like the boulder was a feather mattress. “What do you think?” I asked. “Maybe being out here isn’t so bad?”

She said nothing. She’d fallen asleep, her lashes dark and long over her porcelain skin, her lips slightly parted.

I watched her while she slept, her chest rising and falling with easy breaths, her face wiped clean of all worry and stress.

I soaked in the warm sun and watched the way the sunlight sparked rainbows in the waterfall, feeling that peace wash over me that only comes from time spent in nature, and then I shook her gently. “Sweetheart,” I said. “It’s time to get up.”

“I’m fine, Momma,” she said, her calm countenance twisting. “Everything’s okay.”

Based on her expression, it was clear nothing was okay. I shook her again. “Dilly.” I wanted to wake her from whatever concern was twisting her face. “You need to get up or you’re going to burn.”

Her eyes popped open, and then she squinted against the bright sun. She sat up slowly, her confusion clearing as she looked around. “I fell asleep?”

“I guess the hike tired you out.”

She stretched again, and I looked away. “Thanks for waking me. I burn crazy easy and I forgot to put on sunscreen this morning before we left.”

“Do you feel dry enough to get dressed and head back down?”

“I think so,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll be dry by the time we get to the car, anyway.”

I stood and offered her my hand. She accepted it, her small hand slipping into mine. I pulled her up, but she didn’t let go. She gave my hand a squeeze and looked up into my eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I can’t say I’ll ever consider hiking my favorite thing to do, but today has been an amazing day.”

She let go of my hand and walked over to get her clothes. I just stood there for a moment watching her and wondering how a woman who’d lived in the valley her entire life had never seen this waterfall, had never gone for a hike. I shook it off. She’d probably just never had anyone outdoorsy offer to take her.

We dressed in silence and walked back down to the car at a quick pace. “I thought going down would be easier than going up, but my legs are shaking,” Dilly said once we were back in the parking lot.

“Going down is less a lung workout and more a leg workout. It’s good for you, maybe you’ll grow some muscle.”

She flicked me off with a good-natured smile and climbed into the car. “I don’t know about you,” I said, when I got behind the wheel. “But I’m starving. Want to get something to eat?”

Her head was down, her gaze on her phone. I was sure she had plans with her possessive boyfriend, but she looked up and gave me a warm smile. “Sure. I get to pick, since I survived the hike.”

“Sounds fair to me. Where do you want to go?”

“Well, it’s too early for dinner, and too late for lunch, so ice cream is the only option.”

“Webster’s?” I asked, naming a popular ice cream shop in town.

“Nah,” she said. “I prefer the ice cream at Maxwell’s. Do you know it? The Italian Diner on Center street.”

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