Page 34 of Wallflower
I can’t prove it, but I get the feeling he knows I’m watching.
Words cannot do this man justice, and the light sheen of perspiration on the back of my neck isn’t only thanks to the summer heat. Chord’s jeans hug his tight, round ass so well, and they’re snug enough to strain across the bulge in front. Between his hours of manual labor, he walks in and out of the house with his tight t-shirt damp enough to look sprayed on, his body hard and carved like granite, his hair dark and curled around the edges.
After a morning spent doing not much more than watching him work, I’m struck by how easy Chord is in his body. Everyoneknows he’s a powerful hockey player, but his physical ease doesn’t end on the ice. He’s probably one of those people who’s never felt awkward a day in his life, and the way he handles the fences is so confident and forceful. It makes me wonder what he’s like in bed.
I startle when the back door crashes open and someone sings out, “Hello! Anyone home?” My impure daydreams disappear beneath a burning rush of guilt.
The little girl I saw the day I got here—Izzy, Chord’s niece—dances onto the porch. She wears the same little cowboy boots and hat, but her tutu is blue today, and she’s got a yellow long-sleeved one-piece swimsuit underneath.
I’m surprised to see her, given that Chord hasn’t had a single visitor since I got here, but also oddly happy that someone has come looking for him. But when Izzy spots me and pulls up with a pouty little frown, I think I should have stuck to working in the office.
“Um, hi.” I rest my elbows on my knees and lean over with a smile. “You’re Izzy, right?”
“Yes.” She crosses her little arms and pops a hip. “Who are you?”
I’m both scared and amused by her attitude. “I’m Violet. It’s nice to meet you.”
She squints at me and turns her head a little. “Are you Uncle Chord’s girlfriend?”
I laugh in surprise and look around for help just as Chord’s blonde sister, Daisy, steps onto the porch.
“Violet is Uncle Chord’s assistant, Izzy. She helps him with his hockey stuff.” Daisy squints out at the field where Chord is working, then hands Izzy the baseball cap and cowboy hat she’s carrying. “Go give these to Uncle Chord and tell him you’re here to help with those fences. Also, tell him I said the one on the left is crooked.”
“Okay.”
Izzy skips down the steps, jumps the last one and lands on the lawn with two feet and a“Yes!”then bolts in Chord’s direction. She must yell out when she’s close enough because Chord suddenly straightens and opens his arms to scoop her up and spin her around. When he sets her down again, he takes the cowboy hat she offers and hangs it on a fence post before he slips the baseball cap on his head. Backwards.
I barely muffle an indecent moan.
Daisy snorts. “I knew he would do that.” Then she looks at me. “I’ve been waiting for Chord to be a gentleman and bring you around to introduce us, but this is better.” She extends her hand. “I’m Daisy. It’s nice to meet you properly.”
I accept her hand and shake it. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
Daisy glances at the jug of iced tea on the table, steps back inside and reappears with another glass, then sits across from me and helps herself to a drink. She takes a sip, watching me over the rim of the glass with inquisitive hazel eyes.
I’m not sure what to make of her or this situation. I glance out at the field and see Chord looking in this direction, but when he notices me looking, he bends back to Izzy and his work.
I guess I’m on my own. I stick my hands between my thighs as a reminder not to bounce my knees.
“Chord’s come up to The Hill every morning for breakfast since he got here, but we missed him the last two days,” Daisy says. “Izzy and I thought we’d come look for him, and I was hoping to see you too.”
It’s in my nature to think the worst, but I force myself to ask, “Really? Why?”
She takes off her white wide-brimmed hat and drops it on the chair beside her before reclining a little and setting her booted feet up on the table.
“Because I’ve been home for weeks, and Charlie won’t go with me to The Slippery Tipple. I need todance, Vi. Please tell me you’ll give my brother the slip next weekend and keep me company?”
My heart kind of stops before it takes off again as fast as it was, only now its thrumming in my wrists instead of pounding in my ears. Chord’s sister wants to go dancing withme? I’m as interested as I am anxious—I’ve never been dancing with a girlfriend, and I’m not even sure I know how—but that’s not all. Nobody’s ever called meVi. It’s a thing only a good friend would do, but Daisy says it like she’s known me for years, not minutes, and I love it so much that warmth starts creeping along my chest.
“Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m not officially on the clock after six p.m., so it should be fine. It should be great. You know. Fun.”
“My grumpy big brother doesn’t work you day and night?” She cocks her head and considers me with lips pursed against a smile. “I think he likes you.”
“Me?” I laugh self-consciously and lower my eyes. “I don’t think Chord likes anyone.” I hear the words too late to take them back and cover my hot cheeks with my hands. “I can’t believe I said that. I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry.”
Daisy stares at me long enough to make me believe I’ve messed this up, but then she bursts into laughter and I chuckle along with her without any idea what’s going on.
Her eyes are watery with mirth as she reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “It’s okay, Vi. You’re not the first one to think that. You might be the first one to say it while sitting on his porch, using his wi-fi, and drinking his iced tea, but that means you’ve got ovaries of steel, and I like that in a woman.”
