Page 6 of A Soldier's Temptation
Then he was gone, the sunshine seemed to dim a bit as she shut the door and turned to face her smirking friend. Oh yeah, she had it bad. He was part of the reason Ari didn’t date. No one could compare to John Dillon. She’d been drawn to him since the first time they spoke. He was so down to earth it was hard to believe he was a big bad Navy SEAL.
Over the last few months, they’d gotten to know each other better, but he’d never made a move. In all fairness, she’d never done anything to further the relationship either. After the disaster with her ex, Paul, she didn’t know if she wanted to take another chance. Besides, as far as she could tell he just considered her his plant sitter.
“John, huh? You’ve been holding out on me.”
“Nope.”
“Mr. tall dark and handsome lives down the hall and you never told me about him? And you babysit his plant?”
“There’s nothing to tell. We met at the gym, and he gave me some pointers.”
“I just bet he gave you some pointers,” Shira answered her expression showing exactly what she thought about his help.
“Stop that. You make everything sound dirty. He showed me how to lift without hurting myself.”
“Lift? Since when did you start lifting weights? Girl, is this why you won’t go out with us? You’re too busy ‘working out’ with Mr. Six-pack down the hall?”
“See, this is exactly why I didn’t tell you about him. We’re friends. That’s it. Got it?”
“Uh huh, sure. Just friends. So, have you and your new friend been out for coffee yet?”
“No. No coffee, no dinner, no dating. I told you, I have no desire to get involved again. Paul was enough to last me a lifetime.”
“Your lips are saying one thing, but I saw your face when you were talking to him. Girlfriend, you have it bad.” This was exactly why Ari hadn’t mentioned John to Shira. She was her best friend, but once she got an idea in her head she latched onto it like a vice grip, and it was game over. Except John was no game. Ari couldn’t imagine any scenario where it would work out, so she wasn’t going to take the chance.
“Can we change the subject? I really, really don’t want to talk about John.”
“Fine, but this conversation isn’t closed. I want to know all about him, and what’s the deal with the plant?”
“If I tell you about the plant can we drop the subject?”
“Sure. For today. There’s no way I’m letting you blow off that gorgeous hunk of manhood. Unless you’re really not interested, because then I’ll take a shot at him.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Uh huh, I thought so. Okay, so what’s the deal with the plant?”
As if to add his two cents, Mr. Darcy released a gaseous cloud in Shira’s direction before heading into the kitchen. Maybe that was the solution, if Ari could get Mr. Darcy to fart on command, she could end countless conversations she didn’t want to have. Just thinking about it made her giggle which didn’t go unnoticed by Shira who had her face half-buried in her shirt to avoid the smell.
“C’mon, it’s not that bad.”
“You’re shitting me, right? It’s horrific. How do you live like this?”
Now Ari did giggle. Itwaspretty bad, but she’d never admit it to Shira. It really was worse than usual. Maybe Mr. Darcy had gotten into something he shouldn’t have.
“Do you want to go onto the balcony?”
“If you leave Mr. Farty inside.”
“It’s Mr. Darcy. You’re going to hurt his feelings.”
“Now I know you’ve lost it,” Shira said as she grabbed her coffee mug and the plate of cookies. Ari followed with her coffee. “Ahh, fresh air. I can breathe again.”
“You act like cats don’t smell up the place. What about the litter box?”
“I have that automated one. It never stinks, and you know it.”
“If you say so.” Shira was right, her apartment never smelled like a litter box, but she had to do something to defend her precious Mr. Darcy. It wasn’t his fault he had a sensitive stomach.
