Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

DANI

Y ou have to come over, Nessa. He has nipple piercings. Nipple. Piercings. Oh, my God.

I can't help sending the text, and moments later, Nessa replies, first with a raised eyebrow emoji before adding, You like nipple piercings? Never would've thought you were that type.

I didn't have an opinion one way or the other until three minutes ago when Kyle took his shirt off. And now, I'm suddenly thinking they're hot as fuck. Help!

Nessa hits me with a laughing emoji. She's a big, big believer in them and says, I can't come over. You know that. I'm already home with Mom. But send me a picture!

Whooo, if only, but… I can't do that! He'll see me. He already saw me gawking at him like I've never seen a half-naked man before.

Well, it has been awhile, thirsty girl. She adds a GIF of a woman chugging water like she's dying of dehydration, the liquid running out of her mouth, down her chin, and dripping all over her chest.

She's a hundred percent correct, unfortunately. It has been a long time since I've had sex, which didn't bother me in the slightest until a few minutes ago. I've been very good at taking care of my own needs, thank you very much. Now? I'm feeling a bit tense, but still, Not helping.

Nessa sends me another emoji, this one a motion emoji, rolling back and forth and laughing. Picture. You might be living a life of celibacy, but your girl needs a lil sumpthin', sumpthin' to get through the long, dark, lonely nights.

I roll my eyes. Nessa doesn't date any more than I do, given that she's focused on taking care of her mom, but she does have a friends-with-benefits situation that keeps her satisfied. I don't know all the details about the guy, but he's apparently well hung, no headaches, and has a tongue that's powered by an F1 engine. She might sleep alone peacefully at night, but it's only because she gets all her naughtiest dreams fulfilled during the day.

Not that it totally stops her. I'm waiting…

Those three little dots on her repeat text stare me in the face, tempting me, taunting me. Maybe I could just…

I can't get the temptation out of my head, glancing out the window over my sink, chewing on my thumb as I debate with myself. It's darker in here than the sunny afternoon outside, so maybe I could snap a quick shot? For Nessa, of course, not for me. No way, it's totally not for me.

I mean, Kyle is annoying… with his big truck in my way, his stupid smile, and charm that probably gets him whatever he wants. He probably thinks that with a grin, a wink, and maybe crooking a finger, he can get any woman in the world to drop her panties for him.

He's such an asshole.

Still, I find myself opening the camera on my phone and getting right up to the window. I zoom in tight, ignoring the other workers and focusing solely on the handsome jerk who pisses me off, making sure my camera is focused before I click the button on the screen. The picture freezes for a second and then disappears, and before I know it, I've taken three pictures in a row. Like he can sense me, Kyle looks directly at my house, almost like he's looking at the window where I'm hiding. But there's no way he could know what I'm doing. He's probably just laughing at me for dropping the grill lid like an idiot. And it was embarrassing. I've never acted like some stupid fan-girl at a Maluma concert or something.

Kyle seems to go with it, putting his hands on his hips and grinning, almost like he's posing. To hell with it. If he's gonna pose, I'll take advantage, so I snap a couple more shots.

I exit my camera app and start looking through the shots to see what I should pick when another text from Nessa pops up at the top of the screen and I click over to find that she's sent me a GIF of Bugs Bunny drumming his fingers on a table. She's waiting, still wanting a pic. I shouldn't, but I send her one of the ones of Kyle almost posing. Nearly instantly, she replies with OMG! Girl, get you three scoops of that banana split.

Not happening. He's an asshole. A pretty one, but an asshole, nonetheless. I'm sure of it.

Nessa laughs. Hate sex can be good sex. Tear the headboard off the wall, smack each other's asses, say filthy things. That's all I'm saying.

I send back an eye roll emoji and set my phone on the counter, choosing the live action out the window as I wash the day's dishes. Usually, I use the view to curse my neighbor. Today? I've never been so thankful for the window over my sink.

There's always a lot of dishes, and a lot of scrubbing to do, so I'm busy for hours. My steel wool budget is considerable, and if I had my wish, I'd get one of those pressure washers that can strip the chrome off a bumper. Something like that would be just enough to get through caramelized onion crust on stainless steel.

It's after five when there's a knock on my door. I look up to see Mr. Asshole himself standing on my front step, looking like a sex dream, if I'm being honest.

How'd I miss him getting all the way to my door from Kathy's yard? Guess I was a bit too focused on scrubbing this pot , I think with a glare of ‘I'll be back' at the offending dish.

Drying my hands on a towel, I walk to the door, not opening it for him. Through the screen, I ask, "What?"

He holds up a fifty-dollar bill. "I told you I'd pay for Joshua. I meant it."

My pride basically demands that I tell him to take that money and shove it up his ass. I don't need his pity, his charity, or his interference in my business in the first place. But pride doesn't pay the bills. Logic does, and losing a regular customer hurt, even if Joshua overstepped so many boundaries he might as well have been jumping hurdles.

It pains me, literally makes my stomach clench, but I open the door a crack and snake my hand out to take the money. "Joshua only missed two meals this week, so I'll count the other thirty toward next week."

Kyle dips his chin as he scrapes his hand over his scruffy jawline like he's thinking. He smiles at me, and once again, I'm sure that look has made many a pair of panties fall. "Naw, the fifty is for today, for Joshua and his crew. You didn't only lose out on his payment, but the whole truckload of guys, right?"

Dammit, how could he even guess that? Was he watching them? With a start, I realize he wasn't watching them . He was watching me . But he's right. Blackballing Joshua meant I lost the whole crew.

At least temporarily. I'm sure they'll be back. Eventually, Joshua's boss will swing by one afternoon after the lunch rush, beg forgiveness, and send Joshua to apologize profusely so they can get back on my good side. Or just leave his immature ass at the job site to feast on the cold leftovers. But it wasn't today, that's for sure.

Still, it's too much. "You don't have to do that," I argue, my pride rearing up. "Seriously."

He shrugs, looking both sexy and bashful at the same time, which makes him even sexier, dammit. "I know, but I want to. Think of it as good will."

"The only good will I need is for you to move your truck."

That's it, Dani, stay mad at him. Find reasons to stay mad and not think about his chest with its dinner plate pecs and oh, so sexy… nope, not thinking about those silver bars, woman! Stay mad!

Why the hell can't I just say thank you? I don't know, but those two little words are nowhere to be found on my tongue. I want to curse at Kyle and yell that I don't need or want his pity. I work hard, and all I need is for him to stay outta my way.

And again, he just rolls with it. The man's a fucking emotional jiu-jitsu master or something. "Working on that too. Kathy's a piece of work, though I suspect you know that better than I do."

Well, at least that's something we agree on. "She's a stuck-up bitch who thinks she's better than everyone else," I reply honestly. "Especially me."

His smile vanishes, and I swear there's a tick in his jaw like he's gritting his teeth. But there's no need for him to get all riled up. Not again. I've been dealing with Kathy for over a year at this point, ever since she moved in and decided that my cute but old, and okay, a little rundown, house didn't deserve to be beside her bigger, ready to be gutted and renovated home improvement project.

But she's wrong. I was here first, this is my neighborhood, and hopefully, I'll be here long after she's gone—whether that's moving away or dying. I'm not wishing ill on her, but she's older and subsists on bitterness and bitchiness, which can't be good for your heart.

"You can include us in the people she thinks she's better than," Kyle shares with me. "She tried telling Wayne how to dig this morning and is upset the dirt pile is blocking her view," he reveals, acting like it's top secret when he glances over his shoulder toward Kathy's house like she might pop out of the shrubbery that wraps around three sides of her house. To be fair, she might. I wouldn't put it past her to eavesdrop to satisfy her nosiness.

"It'll be something else tomorrow, and then another thing the next day. She'll find something. Get used to it," I sigh wearily, having long-ago tired out of her constant complaints and shenanigans.

For a moment, Kyle and I lock eyes and there's a sense of connection, like we're on the same side of something. Us against the world. Or at least against Kathy. And I think that was Kyle's whole mission in coming over here. The money gave him an excuse, but he's trying to find common ground with me for some reason. Probably because he has no intention of moving his damn truck and I'm going to be stuck running my ass off for weeks while he's working next door.

I break our eye lock first and hold up the money as I lift my chin defiantly. "Thanks for this, but you don't have to cover Joshua's meals or his crew. It's a loss, but I'll be fine."

Kyle nods easily and smiles again. "Sure. But you think maybe we could replace those orders? I've got Wayne, Zeus, and Frogger here every day for the next six weeks or so."

Goddammit, he's stubborn. And it'd be easy to say yes. That'd be three, maybe four if I fed Kyle too, to replace the five orders I lost. But before I even let that thought fully form in my mind, I'm shaking my head. "Nope. Not feeding Kathy's minions."

Anger flashes in his eyes, and I feel like for the first time, I'm seeing the real Kyle. Not the handsome as fuck crew leader, or pool installer, or panty dropper. I cut him with that one. "I'm not her anything. She's my client."

I smirk, taking the one advantage I've found in our verbal battle. "Sure, keep telling yourself that when she's got you scurrying about like mice over there doing her bidding. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do so I'm ready for lunch tomorrow."

Not giving him a chance to answer, I spin around, thinking myself pretty haughty about it too until Kyle clears his throat and calls after me, "Hey, by the way… your flash was on today. But if you want a photo shoot, I'm happy to take my shirt off for you anytime."

I stop, my heart in my throat as I look back over my shoulder, my eyes wide with shock and a little bit of fear. He saw me?

Kyle is leaning forward with his hands on either side of the door frame, looking like a thirst trap incarnate as he stares intently through the screen to see my reaction to his words. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

I spit out the denial by reflex, as if simply denying it happened can erase that he knows what I did. But instead of getting mad, he just chuckles, the cocky fuck. "Yeah, sure. Play innocent all you want, but we both know you were taking pictures of me. You like the jewelry? I've had 'em for a while, so you're welcome to see, touch, and lick them if you want."

The imagery he's painting ignites something hot and liquid inside me. I'd like to say it's anger, and I'd really like to say it's in my stomach. Truth is, it's lower, right at my core, and it's definitely arousal. But I won't let Kyle know that. "In your dreams," I shoot back.

His smile melts away. "You have no idea what I dream about where you're concerned, Miss Becerra."

His voice has gone husky and rough, and even through the screen, I can feel his eyes drift over me from head to toe, taking his time to peruse every inch of my body. It's irritatingly sexy. And for some reason, the fact that he called me Miss Becerra makes it that much more ridiculous. And all the sexier. "Call me Dani," I sigh, "and go away."

The return of his smile telegraphs that he thinks he's won this round. Truthfully, I'm not sure he didn't. But either way, I've got fifty bucks I thought I wasn't getting today, so I'm calling that a win for me.