Page 18 of Defect
Amaris gasped a little and covered her mouth with her hand. I couldn’t fight off the smile burning its way onto my face. It started in the corners of my mouth and spread outward until my cheeks were on fire.
“In that old ass house that’s been vacant since you moved in?” She asked.
“Yup. That one.”
“Wow. So I’m guessing he’s fine as hell since you can’t stop thinking about him. There’s nothing wrong with a little eye candy.”
“That’s how I felt too but now I’m sitting in the middle of the floor meditating because I keep seeing his eyes in my head. He had the saddest eyes, Amaris. They were so beautiful though. I felt such a pull. It was right in my solar plexus and you know that chakra doesn’t lie.” I shook my head and my hair swished across my back.
“Youhavebeen single for five months, Solana. I guess sniffing around a new guy isn’t horrible.”
“I’m not sniffing around him. I scoffed as I took the whistling kettle off the heat.
“Oh, you’re sniffing. He has sad eyes and you felt a pull. You’ve locked onto his scent now.”
“Whatever. I’m not looking for a man so it doesn’t matter if he’s fine and looks like a fucking model carved out of amber and honey.”
“Damn, is he that fine?” Amaris pursed her lips together and walked over to the tea center where I was steeping a blend of lavender and chamomile that I made myself and sold in the studio. It was so relaxing that it could put you right to sleep.
“He is.” I poured hot water into my favorite mug so I could have some tea myself. “He’s also super blunt. He flat-out told me I was beautiful. The words tumbled out of his mouth.”
Amaris shrugged her shoulders and took the piping hot mug of tea from my hands. “You’re gorgeous, Solana. You always turn heads.”
“I guess you’re right but he was so forward. I liked it,” I confessed. A shiver rippled through my body from my scalp to my toes.
“But you’re not sniffing around him? Okay, girl.”
“I’m not! I’ve only seen him one time. I can’t sniff around someone I’ve only seen once.”
“Give it time,” she laughed. “This tea is amazing, Solana. You know I’m a coffee girl but…you have a hit on your hands with this one. Is this one of the blends you sell?”
“Yup. I’m getting ready to plant chamomile and lavender in the back yard so I can harvest it myself instead of buying it. I want to be able to control the soil and make sure there are no pesticides in it.”
“You’re on your way to being a force to be reckoned with. Mark my words. You’re building your own empire and I’m so proud to call you my sister.” She checked her phone and sighed. “I gotta get home after I finish this tea but maybe I’ll stop by your house tomorrow and check out this fine ass neighbor of yours. Wait…is he married?” She quizzed, lifting a skeptical eyebrow. My eyes went wide and I gave her a genuinely clueless shrug. I didn’t remember seeing a ring but then again, I wasn’t really looking at his hands when he had his shirt off. It was hard to concentrate on anything besides those eyes and those abs.
“So you don’t even know if the man you’ve been fantasizing about all day long is married? You have got to do better.” She drank more tea and laughed.
“Well, since I’m not planning to date him or be anything beyond a friendly neighbor I don’t think it matters.”
“Who are you fooling, Solana? You forget that I know you. Not only do I know you, I know how you operate. You’ve been single for five months and you’ve had one of the best glow ups I’ve ever seen after Vince. Now this piece of sex moves in across the street from you and you can’t stop grinning. You’re going to feel him out and now that I’ve mentioned it you’re going to see if he’s married and then you’re going to start drawing him in with your beautiful energy.”
Damn, Amaris knew me better than I knew myself. I still folded my arms and shook my head at her. Just because she was right didn’t mean she had to know she was right. “So, you gotta get going right?” I smiled at her and batted my lashes. She slid her full lips to the side and grunted at me.
Looking at her reminded me of how gorgeous us Monroe girls were. Amaris and I both had the same coffee colored skin and high cheekbones. We had almond-shaped chestnut brown eyes and lips so full they used to call us the soup-cooler twins when we were little. I never took it as an insult though. I loved my full lips. People paid for lips like ours. The biggest difference between me and my older sister was our body shape. Amaris had dangerous curves while I had slender tight curves.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Are you coming by the school to drop off some clothes for Malachi?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in the morning. I can’t stay though, I have three classes here and they’re all in the morning.”
“That’s great, Solana. Business is booming.”
“Thank you. I’m trying.” We hugged and I kissed her cheek before watching her head to her car. Once she pulled off safely, I started cleaning up my studio. I really could have used some help in there. I had to clean up, count the money, sage the entire space and make sure everything was set up for the next day. If I had someone to help me, it would have cut that time in half. I ended up staying there for an extra two hours before I finally went home. Dead tired was an understatement.
When I pulled into my driveway, my gaze automatically shifted to the rearview mirror. I stared at the soft yellow lights coming from the windows in the house across the street. What if Ezra was married? I shouldn’t have been looking at him the way I was without knowing more about him. I knew what I felt though and I felt he was a beautifully sad soul that I wanted to know more about.
I wanted to know everything about him. I guess that meant it was time for me to sniff around.
Damn Amaris for always being right.
