Page 54 of The Good Guy on My Porch

CHAPTER TEN

Oscar

I’d screwed up. It was the thought that played on repeat all day as I greeted customers and taught a meditation class. I’d kissed Dilly and probably ruined our friendship. I sat on the porch, bracing myself for her to get home, to avoid me. She’d have every right to want to stay away from me. I’d crossed a line and, though I could never regret that amazing kiss or the way she’d felt like everything I’d ever wanted in my arms, I didn’t want to lose her friendship.

I let Buddy out and took him for a walk around the block. It was after seven. Dilly usually got out of work by six, but she often went to dinner with friends and sometimes out for drinks. If she was avoiding me, I wouldn’t see her at all. I needed to see her. Needed to know she was all right.

I was back on the porch, reading a book about Vinyasa yoga, Buddy next to me, when I heard her heels tapping on the walk. Not high heels, she didn’t dress up for work, but sandals with chunky heels. I looked up and my eyes met hers and heat streaked through me. One look at her and it was like I was back in that moment after our kiss, wanting her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. She smiled, and it was a warm open smile, even if her cheeks were pink.

“Hey, Oscar.” She petted Buddy, giving him hugs and hellos, and then sat next to me. She usually sat on the other side of Buddy, putting a furry barrier between us, but this time she sat right next to me, not quite touching, but close.

“How was your day?”

She turned a bit, so she was looking at me head on. “I was ambushed, first thing, in the morning, by a group of nosy old ladies who’d heard about our kiss at the club and wanted me to dump my boyfriend and start dating you.”

“They’d already heard about it? How?”

She held up a finger. “You know what? I told that story wrong. I was woken up this morning by a phone call from Carrie who’d heard about our kiss and wanted me to dump my boyfriend and start dating you, because I only ever date losers and you are clearly amazing.”

“Clearly,” I said, trying to keep it light, even though my heart was pounding, and my fingers were itching to grab her and kiss her again. “How did they hear about it?”

“There are no secrets in Catalpa Creek.” She spoke like she was annoyed, but there was something else her expression. Was that worry?

“And the general consensus is in my favor?”

She waved a hand. “Everyone loves you, Oscar. You can do no wrong. And they’ve decided you and I should be together, so prepare yourself for some awkward meddling.”

“Meddling? Like stranding us in a cabin to force us to admit our feelings like Nora did to Aubrey and Noah.”

“Yep. Or figuring out what we want most in the world and making sure the only way for us to get it will be to pretend to be engaged to one another like they did to Carrie and Cody.”

“So basically,” I said. “Forcing us to spend more time together? I think I could handle that.” I wanted to ask if she’d taken their words to heart, if she was considering breaking up with Jerome, if maybe the kiss had meant as much to her as it had to me, but I didn’t think pushing her to break up with Jerome would do anything but push her farther away.

She smiled over at me. “We’d probably have fun. I always have fun with I’m with you, even if you’re forcing me to hike up a dusty trail.”

My chest pinched and it hurt to smile, because I wanted so much more from her. “I know we’d have fun.”

She grinned and linked her arm through mine, resting her head on my shoulder as we chatted about random stuff and waited for the sun to set. I wanted to wrap my arm around her waist and rest my hand on her hip, but I knew, if I did that, I’d want to pull her closer and then my hand would slip under her shirt to caress her warm, smooth skin.

So, I sat there her arm touching mine, her head on my shoulder our only points of contact, and I tried to convince myself that it was enough, that friendship was enough. It was getting harder and harder to believe it.

After the sun had set, in a slow dip lacking bright colors, she lifted her head, freed her arm, and stood. “I’m exhausted. I should get to bed.”

Panic rushed through me at the thought of her walking away. I wanted more time with her, because if I was going to convince her to love me, I was going to need all the time I could get. And I suddenly knew that I had to convince her to love me, I had to fight for her, because I didn’t believe she could have kissed me like she did if she felt nothing. “You don’t have to work tomorrow, do you?”

“No,” she said, getting that adorable little wrinkle between her brows she got whenever she was confused. Okay, I couldn’t see it, but I knew her well enough to be able to picture it.

“Do you have plans tomorrow? Any reason to get up early?”

“No.”

“Perfect,” I said. “I want to show you something.”

“Okay,” she said, her stance relaxing. “I’ve got a few minutes.”

“It’s on top of the mountain.”

“What?” she screeched. “You want to take me hiking in the middle of the night?”

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