Chapter 12

CHAPTER

TWELVE

Merrick

I'm dripping with sweat as I pull the lawn mower back into the building. I thought getting an early start I could beat the heat, but I was kidding myself. This is June in Georgia. It might be early summer, but it's still hot as hell.

My cell rings, and I dig it out of my pocket. I grin when I see Courtney's name. "Hey," I greet her.

"What are you doing today?"

"I just finished mowing the yard."

"Ugh, one of the perks of renting. The landlord takes care of that. I got lucky."

"That you did. What's up?"

"Well, Chloe called and wanted to see if we wanted to have dinner with her and Rodney tonight. I wasn't sure if you had plans, and if you don't want to go, I can tell her you're busy regardless," she rambles.

"I want to go." I'm not just blowing smoke up her ass. I do want to go. I didn't see her last night. She worked late with Jordyn, doing inventory at the boutique, and I worked late as well. We were both exhausted, so we went to our own places. I haven't laid eyes on her since Monday at her family's Memorial Day cookout. We've texted and talked on the phone, but I've not seen her in the flesh. I was starting to wonder if last weekend was too much for her. If her drunken request—even though she swears she was sober—has her pulling herself away from me. She's hesitant and giving me an out, so I think a little bit of that is what's going on here.

"You do?"

"I haven't seen you all week."

"Oh."

I grin at her reply. She doesn't get it, but she will. I enjoy spending time with her. She's growing more confident, but she still struggles with accepting that I crave her company. Not my fake girlfriend, just her. Just Courtney.

"Where are we going?" I ask, pulling my T-shirt out of my back pocket, which I stripped out of almost as soon as I started mowing, and wipe my brow.

"No clue."

"How about we hit up Sunflower Park? The food trucks are there tonight. There's something for everyone and it will be more laid-back."

"Yes. That's a great idea. It's been ages since I've been to Sunflower Park for food truck night."

"Let me know what time, and I'll swing by and pick you up."

"You know, I could also swing by and pick you up."

"Yep, but I'll be picking you up."

"I'm not even going to try to reason with you over this," she grumbles.

"Pick your battles, baby. Look at us killing this relationship stuff." That causes a huff of laughter to leave her lips.

"Go shower. You stink."

"You can't even smell me. Besides, I don't stink. I smell like a bed of roses."

"Dead ones," she fires back.

I'm grinning when I confess, "I smell like rotten ass."

"Told you."

"Call your sister, set it up, and I'll go wash my ass. Unless you want me to wait so you can help?" I toss the line out there to see what she'll say.

"Hard pass. Rotten ass was not on my bingo card today. I'll text you."

"Talk soon." I end the call, shoving my phone back into my pocket, smiling as I close up the building and head into the house to wash my rotten ass and get ready to spend the evening with my girl.

When I pull up, Courtney is sitting on the front steps. She stands and bounces over to the truck. The passenger door is open before I'm finished putting the truck in Park and taking off my seat belt.

She climbs up into the seat and beams at me. "You can pick me up, and I can open my own doors." She sticks her tongue out at me, and all I can think about is kissing her, so that's what I do.

My hand snakes out and slides behind her neck as I pull her into me. "Brat," I whisper as I press my lips to hers. She opens for me, and I groan when her taste explodes on my tongue. Forcing myself to release her, I drop my hand and sit back in my seat.

Courtney has a dazed look in her eyes, but her smile is still there. "H-Hi," she breathes.

"Hey. Do you have everything you need?"

"You kissed me."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to."

"You wanted to," she mumbles, but her smile grows.

"Buckle up, baby." I can't help but chuckle at her. She does as I ask. Reaching over, I place my hand on her bare thigh, thanks to the cutoff jean shorts she's wearing today, and pull out of the drive.

"How was the rest of your day?" she asks.

"I washed my ass, made some lunch, cleaned up a little, thought about seeing you." It's the truth. I don't plan to hide from her. This is becoming more than I expected. She's a blast to be around, and if we both get some added benefits to this little arrangement, that's just icing on top of the cake.

"You thought about me?"

"Yep."

"What about me?"

"You fishing for compliments, baby?"

"N-No," she replies.

I squeeze her thigh gently. "I like hanging out with you, and I knew that's what my plans were for tonight. It was hard not to think about it."

"Yeah," she agrees.

"How was inventory?"

She loosens up at my question, and we spend the drive to Harris and Sunflower Park talking about work. I'd rather talk about her, and how the taste of her still lingers on my tongue, but I know better than to push her too far. Courtney needs to ask for what she wants. It's my job to let her know I want whatever she does.

I'll take her any way I can get her.

I think I might be addicted to my pretend girlfriend, and all I've done is kiss her and hold her naked body against mine while we slept. I know this has trouble written all over it, but I'm too far into this to care.

Chloe and Rodney pull in beside us. I shake Rodney's hand and kiss Chloe on the cheek before we move to a picnic table under a tree for some shade.

"How about you ladies stay here and reserve our spot, and we'll go get the food?" I suggest.

"How are you going to carry everything?"

"Babe, this is done in stages. We're trying it all." I wink at her, and Chloe laughs.

"I love that idea," Chloe says.

"Me too." Rodney rubs his hands together. "We split it all and get to experience more."

"My man." I hold my fist out for him, and we bump knuckles. "Any special requests?" I ask Courtney.

Her eyes twinkle with happiness. "I want it all, Merrick." Her tone is teasing, but I can't help but think there's something else that's beneath her confession.

I lean in and press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "I'll be right back." Rodney does the same to Chloe, and then we're off.

"Let's divide and conquer," he suggests.

"I like the way you think. I'll grab two pulled pork sandwiches and two buckets of fries."

"Extra ketchup."

"I'm on it," I assure him. I mean, is there any other way to eat those tiny shoestring french fries? "Vinegar?"

"Hell yes." He nods. "I'm going to grab two large lemonades and fried pickles. The girls love those. We make them at home all the time."

"Meet you back at the table." We go our separate ways and get busy with placing our orders. We meet back at the table, and the ladies have already secured extra napkins and plastic forks.

"We came prepared." Chloe laughs when she sees the questioning look in my eyes.

"Way to look out, little sis," I praise her. Her eyes widen at my name for her, but no one comments.

Rodney hands me an order of fried pickles, and I hand them to Courtney.

"Oh!" She immediately grabs one and pops it into her mouth. "So good," she mumbles.

Rodney and I get the food passed out, and we all dig in. I cut the sandwich in half, and Courtney wastes no time picking up her half and taking a hefty bite. "Best decision ever." She leans over and kisses my cheek. "Thanks, Mer."

"Hey, it was Chloe's idea that we all get together."

"But this—" Chloe holds up her fried pickle bite. "—was all you, and it's perfect. We should make this a tradition for our group date nights."

Courtney stiffens next to me.

"Consider it done," I reply, popping a fry in my mouth. I lean my shoulder into hers, and she turns to smile at me. I wink at her, and she finally relaxes.

Conversation flows from wedding plans to jobs, and houses. Chloe and Rodney are looking to buy a house in Atlanta and move out of their apartment.

"Dessert time?" Rodney asks.

"Yes, but no." Chloe laughs. "Give me a few to let all of that settle."

"What? We ate way more than the two of you," I tell her.

"Dessert is happening," Chloe assures me. "I just need a breather."

"Me too. I should have worn gym shorts. It's indecent to unbutton these," Courtney says, tapping her flat belly.

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her I'll take her to my truck and help her out with that problem, but I bite my tongue. If it were just the two of us, I wouldn't have held back. I like to see her cheeks turn pink when I shock her with my words.

"Did you all ever get your engagement pictures?" Courtney asks them.

"Meh." Chloe waves her hand in the air. "We never got around to it. Besides, it's not necessary to have a giant wedding."

"Why don't we go to the sunflower field, and I'll take a few with my phone? It has a great camera," Courtney suggests.

Chloe looks up at Rodney.

"Anything you want, baby."

"Good man." She laughs, kissing his jaw. "Let's do it," Chloe tells her sister.

Tossing our trash, we stroll toward the sunflower field to take some pictures. Courtney could give Palmer and Scarlett a run for their money the way she's instructing them to pose. When she's done, she smiles down at her phone.

"Give me that. Now I'll take a few of the two of you," I offer.

Her eyes light up. "Thank you." She pops a kiss on my cheek, thrusts her phone into my hands, and goes to stand next to Chloe. Rodney starts calling out orders for silly and ridiculous poses, but the ladies execute every single one of them while the four of us laugh at their antics.

"Gimme." Chloe reaches for Courtney's phone, and I look at my girl. She nods, so I hand it over. "Now get over there." Chloe points for me to join Courtney, and I do as I'm told. I move to stand behind her, wrapping her in my arms.

As expected, both Chloe and Rodney call out poses, and we do every single one they demand of us, the silly, the sexy, and the sweet. By the time our photoshoot is over, we're all ready for dessert. This time, it's the ladies who tell us to sit, and luckily, our same table is still free, so we do.

They come back with funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, and fried ice cream. We eat, talk, and laugh, and enjoy hanging out. Chloe and Rodney are easy to be around. The sisters are very similar in personality. They're both laid-back and don't take themselves too seriously. At least Courtney doesn't when she's with her little sister. I've seen glimpses of this Courtney when it's just the two of us, but not like this. She's open and unguarded, and I'm glad that being here with her helps with that. The pressure of not being the third wheel and all that.

As the sky grows dark, we make plans to get together again soon and say our goodbyes. I open the truck door for Courtney, and she starts to climb in but turns at the last second and wraps her arms around me. Dropping my hand from the door, I return her embrace.

"Thank you, Merrick. Today was the best day."

I kiss the top of her head. "It was," I agree with her. I hold her for a few more seconds and reluctantly let go of her so she can climb up in my truck.

On the way back to her place, she scrolls through the pictures on her phone and sends them to Chloe. "Me too," I tell her.

"What?" she asks.

"I want you to send the ones of us, and a few of you and Chloe if you want."

"You want pictures of us?" Her tone tells me she's surprised.

"Yes."

"Okay." I can hear the smile in her voice, and all she has to do is glance over and she'll see mine. There's that word again, and yet again, good things happen when she says "okay." My phone pings several times in a row, and I'm itching to look at each image and save them to my phone.

I tell myself it's because she's my pretend girlfriend. I should have pictures of us on my phone, right? That just makes this more believable. It's a good story. I think I'll stick with it.

When we get to her place, I turn off the truck, grab my phone and keys, and rush around to open her door. She waits for me, and I reward her with a quick kiss before offering her my hand to help her down. With her palm in mine, we make our way into the house. She doesn't invite me in, but she also doesn't let go of my hand.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asks.

"Water? I need to wash down all that sweetness we just had."

"Right? But it was worth it. So good." She reaches into the fridge and grabs two bottles of water, handing me one. We both take a long pull. "Movie?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." I move toward the couch, and her hand on my arm stops me.

"The TV in the bedroom is bigger and newer, so it has a better picture." I raise my brow and she laughs. "It is, and it does. I live alone, and I like to read in bed at night, and sometimes I have the TV on for background noise so I don't feel as alone, and it made sense to put the better TV in the room where I spent most of my time."

"No judgment," I tell her. "But you have to admit, that sounded like a line. You use that on all the men you lure back to your lair?" I tease. I force the idea of another man in her bed to the back of my mind. I'm not going there.

"You're the first to be here, so no."

"Really?"

She shrugs. "I told you, I'm not very experienced, and what I do have, I knew wouldn't lead to anything. Why would I let them into my safe place?"

"But I'm here." I bite down on my cheek to keep from grinning. She's opening up and taking risks she wouldn't normally take, and they're with me. My chest feels tight at the realization.

"You're here." That's all she says as she nods for me to follow her down the hall and pushes open her bedroom door. She moves to turn the lamp on that's next to the bed and illuminates the room with a soft glow. "I'm going to go turn off the other lights," she tells me.

"I'll do it."

"You don't know where the switches are."

"I'll figure it out. Get into something comfortable." I wink, and she laughs.

"I ate too much."

"You're beautiful." I kiss her forehead before going back out to the main part of the house. I check the locks on all the doors, and then find the lights and turn them off. The soft glow of the lamp from her bedroom guides me down the hall back to her.

I find her sitting on the bed, legs crossed, wearing my T-shirt. "I wondered where that went."

Her cheeks turn bright red. "I might have borrowed it."

"You look better in it than I do, anyway." I kick off my shoes and climb onto the bed next to her.

"You're not mad?" she asks.

"No, baby, I'm not mad. Keep it."

"I planned to give it back."

"Uh-huh," I tease.

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling as she scrolls through our options. We land on a crime movie neither one of us has ever heard of. She fluffs up the pillows and once she's settled, I reach over, turn off the lamp, and pull her into my side. She wasted time on the pillows. She was always meant to be in my arms. She fits as if she were made for me, so that's where she'll be.