by Luxx Monroe
Krista reached over and moved a strand of my dark hair out of my eyes. “I’m just so happy you’re doing well. I’m so proud of you, Dax. Gary and I both are, and you know the boys idolize you. You’ve been through more in your life than most adults have.”
I took a drink of her tea and let her comments soak in. “Thanks, but I feel like I have so much more to do and learn. I really appreciate Uncle Gary letting me work for him this summer.”
“Oh, you’re doing us a favor. He’s not one to let anyone do his job for him, so giving him some extra help this summer will be fantastic. We just bought a few more rental properties, so you’ll have your hands full taking care of the grounds and upkeep.”
“Sounds like good summer work,” I said as I sat my tea down beside me. “So, I’m just kind of like your groundskeeper? If I need to help on the business side, I’d love to learn a few things there as well,” she said while patting my arm. I knew she had something more to say. “What is it?”
She closed her eyes and then reopened them, looking right at me. “I have a huge favor to ask. See, I have this really great friend, Lena, and she’s going through an extremely tough time. Her husband left her because he couldn’t keep it in his pants, but that’s beside the point.”
That made me lift one of my eyebrows, and I couldn’t help but be amused by my aunt. “Okay? So what do you want me to do?”
“Just small things around her house. Mow her lawn, make sure things are working right. We’ll add a little extra into your salary, but this is more of a favor I’m asking for. She would never let me do this if she knew I was footing the bill, and she’d end up paying you as well.”
“I feel like there’s more to this story,” I said with a bit of a sarcastic tone.
“Remember when I brought my new car up to show you how amazing it was?”
I placed my hand over my face and slowly brought it down to my chin. “The one I took for a drive when I was sixteen and never brought it back to you?”
She nodded and smiled at me. “Yes, that one. Well, remember when I said that I wouldn’t make you pay for it then, but someday you’d owe me?”
“I’m guessing you’re cashing that favor in now?”
“Bingo!” she said, and I couldn’t help but chuckle with her.
“I’d love to help out your friend. Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”
Reaching over while embracing me in a tight hug, Krista squeezed me and thanked me over and over again. “It’s a big yard, so you’ll probably be sorry once you see it. But really, Dax, this means a lot to me. Lena is seriously one of the best people I’ve ever known, and if anyone deserves a little extra attention in her life, she’s the one.”
“Any friend of my Aunt K’s is a friend of mine,” I said with a wink and finished off my tea. “Just let me know when to stop by and I’ll get her house looking good.”
“I know you will, and how about tomorrow? I think she has a lawnmower, but you can bring the company trailer that has everything in it that you’ll need. I’m actually taking her out this afternoon. It’s the first time since her divorce that’s she’s even considered it. I know it’s bad timing, but I figured you and the boys could get your apartment all ready.”
I gave her my best reassuring grin. “Sounds good, and really, your friend will be in good hands.”
Krista stood and pulled me into another hug. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t think so.”
CHAPTER THREE
Lena
“I’m not sure about this, Krista. My stomach is in some serious knots. What if we see someone we know? Like a student’s dad, or someone even more awkward? I’m going to puke.” I knew I was being a little dramatic, but I hadn’t been in the dating scene, well, ever. Jared and I started our relationship at such a young age that I basically sidestepped all of that dating stuff and went straight into something serious.
Krista laughed and readjusted the straps on her tight black dress. I was impressed that Gary didn’t mind that she was attending a singles night out with me. “Whatever, just relax and let’s have a little fun. We’re going to be in a totally different area, and I doubt we’ll see anyone we know. This is going to be good for you. I’m not expecting you to find Mr. Right tonight, but at least you’ll finally be putting yourself out there. Besides, didn’t one of your students’ dads ask you out on a date a few months ago?”
I glared over at her and pulled up my cute, fitted, black-and-white polka-dot, retro-style dress. “Yes, but it was way too awkward. I couldn’t date a father of one of my students. What if it was a disaster? Middle-school-aged kids know what’s going on, and that would have been a horrible thing to put one of my students through.”
“Yeah, I agree. But he’s not your student now. He’s going into the eighth grade, which means his dad is on the market.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, which only made me groan in disagreement.
“I’m not ready for that, even though he is pretty good-looking,” I said and laughed when Krista smacked my ass.
“I knew it! Well, just put that in your back pocket. Oh, and I meant to tell you that my nephew, Dax, is finally here.”
Krista had mentioned her nephew over the span of our four-year friendship. I’d never met him, but I’d heard about him so much that I felt like he was an old friend. “That’s great. Is he excited to spend the summer here?”
“I think so,” she said as she reapplied another coat of her rose-tinted lipstick. “He’s really grown up. I don’t even see my little nephew inside of him anymore. Unfortunately, he looks just like his father, but he’s a great kid. Hopefully his good looks will be used for good instead of selfish, personal reasons.”
“Do I even want to ask what that all meant?”
Krista laughed and shook her head. “Nope, but I do want to tell you something and you have to promise not to get mad or turn this down.”
Whenever Krista told me that exact statement, I knew it meant that I wouldn’t be able to argue with her, unless I wanted to hurt her feelings. “Depends on what it is.”
“I have a solution for your yard and little house projects that are overwhelming you.”
I raised my eyebrows at that because I actually liked where this was going. “Go on,” I said and grabbed her pink lipstick, applying a light amount to my own lips.
“When Dax was sixteen, he wrecked my new Escalade. I think I’ve told you this before, but long story short, he owes me, and I found the perfect way to pay that debt off.”
I turned around to look at her and shook my head. “No way. I don’t want his summer break to be spent taking care of my house. He’s here to work and figure things out for himself, not to mow my lawn. Now that I’m on summer break, I’ll be able to handle more things around the house.”
Krista put down her blush and walked over to me. “Stop. He was totally up for this. Ever since he ran my beautiful new car into a light pole, he’s been bothering me about how to repay me. I would never let him spend a dime on fixing my car—that’s what’s insurance is for—so this is a win-win for everyone.” She smiled brightly at me, and I knew I couldn’t turn down the extra help. I didn’t like taking this from her, but in all honesty, it released a huge burden that had apparently been sitting on my shoulders.
“Fine, okay. I’ll let him help out, but just for the summer. After that, I’ll figure something else out.”
She knew she’d had me at the start. I was lucky to have a friend like her, and we both knew how important we were in each other’s lives. I really couldn’t have gone through the past twelve months without her.
*
Walking into the bar that was hosting the evening’s single meet-and-greet was actually not as bad as I was anticipating. It helped that we were in a different town, miles away from our own. I didn’t recognize anyone, and my nerves finally calmed down. That was, until I noticed that everyone had on name tags and the tables were set up in long rows.
Nudging Krista, I whispered in her ea
r. “We aren’t speed dating, are we?”
Panic flew through my body, and I knew she could feel me tense up. “Oh, relax,” she said with a laugh. “How else would you be able to meet so many people? Of course it’s speed dating. Get your panties out of a bunch for one second. You may meet a great guy,” she said and grabbed my arm, pulling toward the sign-in table.
Turning thirty this past year was hard enough, but looking around a room where every other woman was clearly in her mid-to late-twenties didn’t make me feel any better. Even though most people told me I looked great for my age, I couldn’t help but feel out of place. I never in a million years imagined myself in a setting like the one I was in, because in all honesty, I should be at home, with my husband. We should be heading out to our yearly summer vacation, and I would be happy. We’d be happy. But that future changed the minute I found out he was sleeping with his secretary. I never found out how long it had been going on, but he swore to me that he’d never do anything like that again, that he just had a moment of weakness. Falling for each other at a young age affected us both differently. He was always curious, while I was always content.
“Stop thinking about him,” Krista warned, which made me automatically roll my eyes.
“I’m not,” I lied, and stepped up to the table where a younger-looking guy was holding out a name tag for me.
“Name?” he asked, and scribbled Lena the minute I told him. “And you, pretty lady?” he said with a wink and looked over at Krista.
Krista actually blushed and placed her hand up to her chest like she’d never been flirted with. “Cassie,” she said with a smile, and grunted when I nudged her arm.
She gave me a sideways glare and gladly excepted her new name while placing the sticky piece of paper on her chest.
“What?” she asked as we found a spot at one of the long, rectangular tables.
“Cassie?” I asked with a laugh and shook my head.
She shrugged and grabbed the glass of wine out of a young cocktail waitress’s hand and took a quick drink. “I can’t be myself tonight, so I might as well be a new me. You know, Cassie. The single lady who’s ready to mingle.”
Finally giving in to the night, I thanked our waitress as she handed me a glass of white wine, and opened up to the thought of meeting somebody new.
Except, two hours later, I wasn’t feeling any more confident at the prospect of finding a man. Sure I’d gotten seven numbers and was asked out on three dates, but none of those guys did anything for me. No fluttering moments with my heart. Not even a tiny interest in meeting any of these men later for more drinks.
“Oh, here comes a looker,” Krista said with a smile and motioned to a tall man with wavy blonde hair.
I looked up at the man who was about to sit down in front of me and I couldn’t stop the wine from spraying out of my mouth even if I tried. “Shit,” I said and tried to disperse the liquid that was now being flung through the air, right toward his face. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry!” I said and watched a man I knew, a man I’d just talked about, wipe his face off with a napkin that he was holding.
“It’s okay. Luckily I had this trusty napkin in my hand,” he said with a smile and leaned back with a huge grin on his face.
“Kirk, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
He smiled while assessing my appearance, and I knew he liked what he was seeing. “Obviously, but I have to say I’m really happy to see you. Even if I did just get a face full of wine.”
I covered my own face with my hand and shook my head. I wanted to die right there. Kirk was none other than the father of my former student, who’d just happened to ask me out a few months before school let out. Of course I declined, telling him that I didn’t feel right going on a date with one of my students’ dads, but now it was like our door was being reopened. “I’m so embarrassed.”
Kirk reached over and pulled my arm down, placing my hand in his. “Don’t be. This is the best surprise I’ve gotten in a while.”
We both smiled, and I looked into his green eyes and thought he really was a good-looking man. I bet he was close to forty, but for some reason he still had something young and playful about him. “Want to get out of here?” he asked and motioned toward the front entrance.
Looking over at Krista, I shrugged and all three of us stood up to leave. The guy who was sitting across from Krista—or Cassie, in his defense—started to object, but when we all took off, it was apparent we were done with the speed dating.
“I know a little place down the street that won’t be so obvious,” Kirk told us as we hit the summer night’s air and rounded the corner.
“So, you’re Kirk?” Krista asked and smiled approvingly at me. I nudged her arm and gave her a look that told her to be quiet.
“I am, why? Have you heard about me?” he asked in an amused tone.
She shrugged and pretended she didn’t know what he was talking about. “Probably from school. I’m your son’s counselor.”
Recognition lit up his face, and then he looked between her name tag and her face. “I thought your name was Krista Robbins.”
After ripping the piece of paper off her chest, she laughed and turned a beautiful shade that perfectly matched our lips. “I’m just helping out a friend,” she said as a blush rose in her cheeks.
“Well, let’s turn this strangely interesting night into a good memory, shall we?”
The three of us did end up having a great evening together. Kirk was a perfect gentleman, and so when he asked to see my phone, I wasn’t surprised when I had a new contact added in my friends list.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dax
Waking up at the ass-crack of dawn wasn’t something unfamiliar to me, and on that particular morning, I was ready to work. My Aunt Krista had given me her friend Lena’s address before I left her house the day before, and so when I pulled up, I had to double-check and make sure I was at the right house. Because the place I was looking at was huge. She wasn’t kidding when she said I’d change my mind once I saw it.
“Holy shit,” I said and stepped out of my uncle’s company lawn care vehicle. However, if there was one thing I never backed away from, it was a challenge.
Being that it was six-thirty in the morning, I knew mowing the lawn was out of the question, so I decided I would start on trimming the overgrown shrubs that were in front of the beautiful Victorian house. I didn’t want the neighbors to get a bad taste of me on my first job, so lawn mowing would have to wait another hour or so, which would only make the muggy heat creep warmer and warmer.
I had no idea if Lena was awake or not, so I decided to leave it alone and figured I could introduce myself later. Finishing up the front bushes didn’t take me near as long as I thought, so I made my way to the fence that enclosed the backyard. Except, I wasn’t ready for the amount of land I was about to see when I pushed open the fence. “And there’s a forest back here,” I said with a short sigh.
When the back bushes were looking at least presentable, I pulled my phone out and swiped it on. It was close to eight o’clock, which meant mowing was now acceptable. Pulling out the push mower made me wish my uncle had invested in something a little more heavy-duty, like a fucking John Deer. But the exercise from mowing that lawn would make it possible to actually skip the gym for a whole day.
I fired up the red mower, and pushed my way through the front yard—which was no easy feat—and dumped about fifty pounds of grass into the back of my uncle’s trailer.
I kept looking around, waiting to meet Lena, but she was nowhere in sight. Maybe she wasn’t even home.
Finishing up the front was a chore in itself, but when I pushed the mower to the back, I knew I needed some water. I hadn’t thought about it until that very moment.
If there was one thing about the northeast, it was that the humidity could seep through your clothes and skin in a matter of seconds.
After a while I decided it was finally time to meet the owner of the monstrous house I’d be
en cleaning up, so I walked up to the back door without even thinking. Placing my hand to the glass door, I knocked loudly about three times. I couldn’t see inside because the curtains weren’t open.
When there wasn’t was an answer, I made my way down the large deck and rounded the side of the house. I unlatched the fence and pulled it toward me quickly, but I wasn’t expecting to come in full-force contact with another person.
By the time I figured out that there was someone else pushing their way through the fence, I’d already ran right into her, making her launch forward, which knocked us both down to the ground.
I tried asking if she was hurt, but I only got a mop of blonde hair in my face, and hands that were sliding all over my sweaty, slippery chest.
“Oh my gosh!” she shrieked, and tried to balance herself on the ground, causing her body to push more into mine. My back was the only thing that was touching the grass. Hers was pressed against mine, but I still wasn’t able to make out a face quite yet because of the blonde curls that were draped around me, shielding my view.
“Shit, are you okay?” I finally asked while trying to push the tendrils out of my eyes so I could help the woman I’d just accidentally assaulted.
She pushed off my bare chest, was hovering right in my line of vision. The air that was held in my lungs suddenly combusted and left my mouth in a fast gush. You would have thought the hard impact of the fall had been the culprit of my breathlessness, but that was nothing compared to the woman I was looking at.
Beautiful, honey-blonde hair that was disheveled in a massive mess, was swiftly flipped back to frame her angelic face. Bright blue eyes, the kind you only read about, never actually seeing this color in person, were staring down at me. I also noticed the small number of freckles that were brushed across her small nose.
However, that was nothing compared to the moment my eyes began to roam down this gorgeous creature’s body, because when I noticed what she was wearing, I almost lost it. Her robe, if you can call it that, was doing a poor job of hiding a very see-through nightie underneath. I caught a glimpse of her round tits and hardened nipples, which made me instantly push the rest her body off mine because if I didn’t control myself, it would have gone straight to inappropriate.
