Page 46 of Poinsettia Lane

Feeling rejuvenated, Everly proposes they head back out and try to finish up the planting today. It’s still early afternoon, so they have plenty of daylight left, and she won’t let one little misunderstanding ruin their day.

~~~

Everly swipes her gloves together, standing and taking a step back from the terrace. They’ve finished filling in the last clump of deergrass and Everly is sticky with sweat from her forehead down to her toes. She takes her straw hat off and fans her face with it as she walks back up tothe patio and plops down into a shaded chair.

Asim chuckles at her theatrics, pulling the bottom of his shirt up to wipe off his forehead, and Everly shamelessly lets her eyes wander down the ladder of abs to that delightful ‘V’ near his hips. Asim catches her, of course, and he stalks in her direction, sending her heart into a gallop before it takes a nose dive when he veers at the last second toward the remainder of his ice water instead, then thumps down into the chair next to hers.

“Good work out there," he tells her. Everly peels the gloves from her fingers and drops them on the table.

“You too. Thanks again, I never would have done all this without your help.”

Asim eyes her for a moment and she raises her eyebrows.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Oh,” Everly tucks a stray hair into her braid as she forces herself not to look away from him. “Good, much better. Thank you.”

“Good,” he says, and turns his attention back to the plants. “Now we just need to water them.” His eyes gleam as he says it, glancing her way. She’s not sure what that’s about, but her gut says he’s up to something.

Asim heaves a breath and then stands back up. “I noticed a spigot on the side of the house, but no hose. You have one in the shed, maybe?” he asks.

“Sure," Everly says. She has no idea. Hose or no hose, she’s taking a few more minutes in the shade.

Asim huffs a laugh and strides across the lawn to the shed, then disappears inside. Everly perks up when he comes back out with a green hose coiled and draped over his shoulder, massive biceps flexing as he hauls it across the lawn to the house. She doesn’t have any of the fancy watering attachments that give it a nice even spray like what he has at the greenhouse, but that doesn’t seem to bother him.

He attaches one end to the spigot and turns the water on, then cinches the hose closed as he uncoils and drags it closer to the terrace. Everly stands and steps to the edge of the patio, ostensibly to help, but really just to get a better view. He uses his thumb to disperse the spray and lets it rain down over the plants on the lower level.Giving them a good soak, he turns his attention to the top terrace, nearer to Everly’s location.

His eyes flick to her, and his mouth pinches. Before she can react, he adjusts the angle of his thumb and water shoots straight toward her. Everly shrieks, throwing her hands up and leaping back from the cold spray.

She holds her arms out and shakes them off, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he just sprayed her with a hose. Like a child. She blinks down at herself, feeling a bit like a wet rat, then hears his bellowing laughter.

Everly looks up from swiping the water off her arms, eyes slashing toward him, narrowed in a playful glare. He has his head thrown back and the hose is loose at his side, water sloshing onto the grass next to him. She doesn't waste a second of his distraction.

Dashing down the two terrace levels faster than she has ever moved in her life, Everly snatches the hose from his hand and turns it on him before he can react. She’s not nearly as precise with dispersing or aiming the spray as he is, so she sets her sights on quantity rather than quality.

Everly drenches him and jumps out of his reach before he has a chance to react. Water blasts him directly in the chest, and his full-bodied laughter turns into a growl. Asim pins her with a look so full of heated anticipation it makes her core clench, and then he leaps toward her. She matches his movement, dancing backward and cackling when his arm swings out and just misses snagging her waist. He would have had her if her wet shirt wasn’t stuck to her like a second skin. She turns the hose on him again, soaking his hair, the rest of his shirt, and one entire pant leg. Asim laughs and swipes water out of his eyes, combing his hand through his hair and then letting out a roar, coming at her a second time.

With a yelp of alarm, Everly attempts to skip backward out of his reach again, but this time she slips in the wet grass and stumbles, her feet skidding out from beneath her as her body twists in the air. Releasing the hose, water goes flying in every direction as she flails her arms in an attempt to latch onto anything that could stopher fall. She scrunches her eyes shut, bracing herself for impact, but before she lands, she feels an arm band around her waist.

Instead of hitting the ground, she simply stops, hair hanging down around her face and breath wheezing out of her lungs. Everly opens her eyes slowly, sees a massive hand splayed out on the grass just inches beneath her face. The moment stretches, time warping around her. She haltingly turns her head, eyes tracing up the bulging arm to a shoulder, which is when her head can’t turn any further and her hair blocks her from seeing more.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you fall, did you?” Asim’s voice rumbles in her ear. She gasps a breath, filling her starved lungs after the air was punched out of them from his arm clamping around her. That’s when she notices his chest is pressed to her back, and he’s holding her horizontal against him. His breath gusts through her hair and Everly shivers, tingles cutting down her spine. Asim rolls so he’s lying under her, his back in the grass with her looking down at his face instead of his hand.

He’s wearing that boyish grin she loves, eyes twinkling with laugh lines creasing around them. His arm is now around her waist, holding her chest tight to his, his heart hammering against hers. Asim’s smile slowly fades as his eyes roam her face and neck.

“You okay?” he asks, his hand coming up to smooth the hair back from her cheek.

“I’m good.” Everly smiles at him, then looks down at her shirt between them. Her eyes widen when she sees that her light yellow shirt is now transparent, the comfy bra she’s wearing underneath clearly visible. It’s nothing super sexy (because yard work), but it’s also much less than a typical sports bra since those always feel too confining to her. Her nipples are practically stabbing him through her wet clothes.

Asim’s eyes follow hers and flare with desire. His hands drop to her hips and he rolls them again, putting her on her back underneath him. His weight on her feels incredible and Everly reaches up, running her hands along his arms and across his shoulders to link her fingers together behind his neck. Everly’s breathing isheavy, her breasts grazing his chest with every inhale. She hasn’t been this close to him in the daylight like this before, and her eyes are taking advantage, perusing every inch of his face so close to hers.

Her tongue sweeps across her bottom lip and Asim’s eyes darken. She gives in to temptation, and pulls. He is an immovable object though, and she pulls herself up to him instead of what she intended, which was to yank his head down to hers. As soon as their lips touch, Everly doesn’t care, and Asim gets sucked into her just as fiercely as she does him. His arms band underneath her as he props himself on his elbows, holding her off the grass with one hand splayed out between her shoulder blades and the other diving into her hair, angling her head and deepening the kiss.

When she hears herself moan into his mouth, the sound startles her back into the present moment and Everly remembers where they are. Lying on the grass, in her backyard. Although she would love to stay in this moment with him forever, she’s pointedly aware of the fact that she has neighbors and does not want to be caught romping about in the yard, while soaking wet no less.

Noticing her change in demeanor, Asim pulls back and looks down at her, a slight crease in his eyebrows. Her eyes dart around, ensuring there are no nosy neighbors staring at them, and Asim catches on quickly. He stands, holding his hand out for her and lifting her to her feet. Everly attempts to brush herself off, as does Asim, but now that they’ve both been thoroughly watered the dirt just smears to mud across their skin and clothes.

“Well," Everly huffs. This was a fun idea in her head, and the cool water certainly feels good on her sweaty skin, but she hadn’t accounted for what happens after the fact. She’s also shocked that she didn’t once think about how she’s literally muddying up her pristine appearance, and even now that she realizes it, she doesn’t particularly care.

---