Back to You (8 page)

“You better pray these stains come out,” she threatened.

He looked back, and his devilish grin drove her even madder.

“This is
not
the end of this,” she warned, completely flustered.

He went back to his work, as if nothing had happened.

But he had managed to shake her up – again. How did he keep doing that?

Yes. He was most definitely
impish
.

She grabbed the pitcher and the empty glasses and walked back inside. He was not going to get away with this. He had been playing her like a fiddle – and enough was enough. They were not teenagers anymore. She couldn’t remember being so outraged – he was not only mocking her, he was baiting her. He was being completely juvenile, in fact.

She couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. She wouldn’t let him get away with it.

She turned on her heels and walked back outside. With closed fists, she walked up to him in a furry.

Her heart worked double duty as she inched towards him. “I want you to leave,” she commanded with authority, hoping he would take her seriously.

He laughed – he wasn’t taking her seriously at all. “Right now?”

“Yes. Right now,” she ordered, a little louder.

“I can’t. I’m in the middle of something.”

“You’re fired. Take your things,” she said, for lack of better words. She wasn’t quite thinking logically – and she knew it.

He laughed. “I need to finish the house.”

“I’ll finish the darn house,” she snapped.

He got up and walked over to her, all the while visibly rolling his eyes. “Yes, that would go over real well, Snow,” he said softly. “And besides, you can’t fire me. I don’t work for you.”

“Well then… I’ll have my mother fire you,” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smiled again, clearly amused. “You seem to forget that I’m not getting paid for this. This is a favor remember?”

She sighed. He was so exasperating. And he was also right. She realized she was making a rather monumental scene and acting very foolish. He had a way of bringing that out in her.

She abruptly turned around and walked back. “Just stay away from me,” she warned.

And she half-hoped he wouldn’t listen.

***

Despite the fact that she had told him to leave her alone, she was actually disappointed he had obliged. He had been in and out of the house for the last day or two, and he had completely ignored her. And desperate to stick to her position, she had ignored him as well.

But… she just couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to be near him.

Although he was acting like nothing had happened between them, she still couldn’t get that kiss out of her mind. She buried her pride and decided to ask him about it.

She waited for an opportunity to be alone with him – usually there was always one other guy around, and occasionally Jesse would help out. And even her mother would often hang around, handing out crackers and cheese and iced tea.

But for some lucky reason, she found John working on the flooring, all by himself.

It was now or never.

As she walked into the messy chaos which had once been her mother’s yellow kitchen, she felt her breathing increase alarmingly. She tried to calm herself as she walked toward him, taking a deep breath. But the sight of his amazing shoulders at work wasn’t making it easy. She liked the sight of him in his thin white t-shirt and work pants – complete with sexy tool belt. She told herself to cool off as she sat down slowly near him on the old ply board flooring – the part which hadn’t been worked on yet.

“You be careful,” he warned, lining up some planks of wood “Wouldn’t want to have to pull a splinter out of your rear,” he teased, “or maybe I would,” he added with a wink, not taking his eyes off her bottom.

Geez… there he was again, with the relentless flirting, the pull and push. He wasn’t making this easy. “The stains came out of my pants,” she told him plainly. “You’re lucky.”

He laughed, but didn’t say a word. He seemed quite focused on his work, not even looking at her. She hoped he wasn’t mad at her. She had behaved rather childishly. She had always been so together – but lately, it seemed she was mess.

“I thought you wanted me to stay away from you,” he finally said, still not looking at her. “That’s kind of hard to do when
you
can’t stay away from
me
.”

He was so arrogant, she couldn’t stand it. The man was driving her insane, but she had to admit, he was also really turning her on.

She smiled and took a breath – her nerves all tied up in messy knots. “So what was that kiss all about?” she asked in her best flirtatious voice.

He looked up at her and smiled a little. “I wanted to try it out.”

“Try it out?” she asked, confused.

“I wanted to redeem myself, I guess,” he admitted. “The first time I kissed you, I didn’t exactly sweep you off your feet.”

“Yep,” she agreed, smiling at the memory. “You’ve gotten pretty good at that,” she whispered, slightly embarrassed by her own behavior. Why was she acting like such a tramp – practically throwing herself at him? It was that kiss – that darn amazing kiss. How many times had she told herself it shouldn’t have happened… but yet, she wanted it to happen again. “You seem to know what you’re doing.”

“I know,” he told her. “I know exactly what I’m doing,” he added with a cheeky grin.

And what is that? What are you doing?

“Oh well,” she said, trying to sound unaffected. “I just wanted to know what had gotten into you,” she explained as she got up. Her instincts told her to leave because she didn’t quite trust herself around him.

As she walked away, she could feel his eyes on her.

“Snow…” he called out.

She turned around. “Yes?”

“Did I?” he asked with intent eyes.

“Did you what?”

“Redeem myself?”

She smiled at the question. “Oh yes,” she assured him, biting her bottom lip, “…and then some.”

Chapter 9

THEY left at about nine o’clock for the Oceanarium and drove up in John’s truck. Jesse sat in the front with John, and Sophie and Paige were happy in the back.

“I like your nails,” Paige said to Sophie with a sweet smile. “They’re pretty.”

Sophie smiled. “Thanks, Paige. Do you ever paint your nails?”

John laughed. “Paige’s too much of a tomboy,” he pointed out. “The stuff wouldn’t stay on for even a minute.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t ever do it,” Paige protested with a pout.

“Paige’s right,” Sophie said. “I’ll give you a mani,” she promised. “Or even a mani-pedi if you wish,” she added with a glint in her eye.

“What’s a mani-pedi?” Paige asked.

“What? Are you not eleven years old?” Sophie asked, “…and you don’t know what a mani-pedi is!”

John laughed and shook his head.

The Oceanarium was not too busy, and Sophie was thankful – crowds usually overwhelmed her.

When they first entered the place, Sophie was struck by the shabbiness of it, and the pungent fishy smell. Well, this is for the kids, she reminded herself.

“This place stinks,” Jesse said, not one to hide his observations.

John laughed. “Wait till we go see the touch tanks… it really stinks there.”

They started their excursion with a small marine exhibition of sea life and artifacts. Paige was the most excited and urged Jesse to inspect and touch everything. He reluctantly followed.

They found themselves standing by some interesting looking wooden barrels with large holes – Jesse and Paige were elbow deep in them, grins as wide as their faces.

“Try this, Mom,” Jesse pushed.

“No way. I’m not putting my arm in there.”

“C’mon, Mom, it’s just sea shells and stuff.”

“…and stuff,” she said apprehensively, “no way.”

John laughed. “Live a little, Snow,” he said, taking her hand in his. The roughness of his hands on hers was a strange sensation, and she was putty in them. He could get her to do anything.

“There,” he said as he guided her hand into the mystery hole. “It’ll only hurt a little,” he said with a wink.

Although a little apprehensive, she ventured to discover the sensation of various seashells, coral and what felt like a dried up star fish. She smiled at John and felt a little foolish.

“Not so scary, is it,” he teased. His wide smile stretched to his ears. She loved when he smiled at her – one of the simple delights of life.

Next, they made their way to the touch tanks which got the kids quite excited. They could touch and feel various sea creatures, including sea cucumbers, horseshoe crabs, and many other strange looking sea creatures Sophie wasn’t too familiar with. Jesse and Paige ran over to the tanks with excitement and started discovering.

Sophie’s attention wasn’t on the sea animals, but on John and his charming daughter. With her blue eyes and golden ringlets, she was a dead ringer for her dad. Sophie remembered John as a kid – he had the same light blond curls.

John’s hair was a lot darker now – dirty blond, with the sexiest slight trace of curls. He needed a haircut, but the look worked for him – it gave him a bit of a ‘bad boy’ look. But she knew he wasn’t a ‘bad boy’. No… this guy was definitely a good one.

She observed them for the longest time; the gentle stroke of John’s hands on his daughter’s hair, pulling it away safely from the water in the touch tank. She could tell just from observing that he was a doting, caring dad.

He turned his head for a moment and caught her staring at him. She instinctively looked away – the sea cucumbers in the touch tank were suddenly very fascinating.

“Touch one,” John dared her.

“Ewww,” she squealed. “I will most certainly not.”

“You’re being timid again, Mrs. Sophie Edwards,” he teased.

Oh well… how about that… he knew her name.

He walked towards her and grabbed her hand. Here we go again, she thought. She was powerless to let go, and she most certainly did not want to touch that disgusting sea cucumber. But she did, nevertheless. And although it was quite rubbery, it wasn’t too unpleasant. “Why do you keep doing this to me?” she asked, laughing.

“Because it’s hilarious,” he said simply. “I guess I enjoy seeing you squirm,” he admitted with a teasing smile.

“You keep bringing me out of my comfort zone,” she pointed out. “And I don’t like it.”

“Well,” he said slowly, touching the small of her back, “your comfort zone is far too small.”

She bit her lip and said nothing.

A few seconds passed, and he finally spoke. “And you do… you like it.”

He was right. She did like it. But the arrogance…

“You’re making some progress though,” he said. “I’m surprised you’re not using your hand sanitizer right now.”

“Oh no,” she said, horrified. “I forgot to sanitize my hands,” she winced as she scoured her purse feverishly.

He laughed at her… again.

After they spent a little more time than Sophie would have liked at the touch tank, they made their way to the lobster hatchery where they learned all about how lobsters breed and how eggs hatch and are set into the sea. Sophie was fascinated; so much so that her thoughts weren’t even on John – not even for a minute.

Just before lunch, they all gathered around a retired fishing boat set up in the museum portion of the place, complete with lobster traps. Paige and Jesse stood at the front, hanging on to every word the presenter was saying; he was explaining how lobsters are caught and all the trappings of the lobster fishing life. Sophie and John stood back from the crowd, looking over, but not really paying attention. They stood in the dark as the front display was lit up efficiently, but the back of the room was almost pitch black.

John tried to keep his eyes off Sophie but was finding it hard to do. He didn’t care about the presentation – he knew all about lobsters. He wanted to know about her. Although he knew her well; having known her growing up, he only really knew the first half of her. The second half was still a mystery. And he wanted to know everything. He wanted to ask her so many questions, but he just couldn’t bring himself to.

“What’s your favorite sea animal?” she asked him out of the blue.

He hesitated for a moment. “Uh… it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about,” he told her laughing, and mulled it over for a little while. “Maybe the sea turtle,” he finally decided.

“They live over a hundred years,” she told him.

He smiled. “Yes… I know.” John guessed this conversation was their own personal version of small talk. He could see she was trying to ease the awkwardness between them. She always seemed a little out of sorts around him – it made him smile. “How ‘bout you,” he asked.

“The seahorse,” she said decidedly, without a moment’s thought.

“Well, you seem very final on that answer,” he noted. “You’re not even giving the other sea animals a chance.”

She turned to look at him, eyed him from top to bottom. And with a mischievous smile, she whispered, “I know what I like.”

She was doing it again – tugging at the man in him, pulling at his most primal self. He wanted to drag her to the dark corner behind them, right then and there. But human reality as it was – that would not go over so well.

“Uh… did you know they mate for life,” he asked, trying to settle down a little.

“Maybe that’s why I like them,” she mused. “They’re one of the few species who are truly monogamous.”

He smiled. “And we all know what a big fan of monogamy you are,” he teased, remembering their earlier conversation.

His words made her laugh…for the hundredth time.

They had lunch at the Oceanarium cafeteria; burgers and fries, and a chicken salad for Sophie.

“That burger is almost as big as your head,” Sophie told Paige.

“I’ll eat it all too,” Paige said proudly.

“She will,” John told Sophie. “Paige has inherited my appetite.”

“I could never finish that,” Sophie said, eating a forkful of her salad.

“You should try a bite of this burger, it’s pretty good,” John suggested, offering her his burger.

She hesitated and finally took a small bite.

“It is pretty good,” Sophie said after swallowing. “Now my salad won’t taste as good. Thanks a lot.”

John smiled. Sophie definitely needed less salad in her life, and more burger.

Their final excursion was the salt marsh hike. It was the part John had been looking forward to the most. He had done it before on numerous occasions; the marsh was beautiful and peaceful with its expansive blue skies and grasses. If you were lucky enough, you could spot various birds.

John, Sophie and the kids walked along with five other people, and the leader, Janice, who offered them some mosquito repellent before they started the hike.

“There are a lot of bugs,” she warned. “You’ll want to put some of this on,” she suggested, handing Sophie a bottle. “I have some special stuff for the kids.”

John smiled at Sophie’s reaction – a combination of slight terror and unease. She was out of her comfort zone again, and he loved it.

He smiled at her, and she greeted his smile with a frown. At least, John noticed, she was wearing appropriate clothing: hiking shoes, cotton shorts, and a light t-shirt which clung to her breast. It was nice to see her like this – dressed down, natural. She was even more beautiful this way, which is probably why he had wanted to draw her into that dark corner earlier. What had gotten into him? He didn’t know.

“The hike will be about thirty minutes, give or take,” the leader explained while everyone was applying their bug repellent and making sure they had the proper supplies: hats, sunglasses and water.

John’s eyes were fixed on Sophie’s ponytail, and he noticed she didn’t have a hat.

“Here,” he offered, putting his hat gently on her head. “The sun is pretty hot.”  It suited her.

She smiled shyly, taking the hat off. “John, this is your hat, you wear it,” she insisted. “It’s my own fault I forgot to bring a hat.”

“I insist,” he said putting the hat back on her head, more slowly than he had the first time. His gaze fixed hers for a beat, and he noticed she did that thing she always did when he got too close – almost as if she would stop breathing for a second or two.

“Besides, you need it more than I do,” he said. “Your skin is so pale,” he added, tracing his thumb along the edge of her jaw for just a fraction of a second – the need to touch her was almost intolerable. “Did you even put on sunscreen?”

“Of course. I do it religiously.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

John could hear Paige and Jesse, who were walking in front of them. Paige being the quite the chatter box, was doing most of the talking. Jesse appeared to be entertained, chiming in once in a while.

“It’s nice how the kids get along so well,” Sophie said, smiling – a true smile, a ‘happiness’ smile. She seemed happy. He loved her most when she was like this.

He wanted to take her hand in his.

“Thank you for bringing us,” she told him, scratching at the back of her neck – the relentless mosquitoes had already made their appearance. Yet, she didn’t complain. She simply smiled at him.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. 

“What’s the story there?”

“The story where?” she asked.

His eyes were fixed on the tattoo peaking out from under her sleeve – a black design of a butterfly created with intricate detailed scrolls. It had intrigued him since the first time he had seen it – that day at her mother’s kitchen table. “Your tattoo.”

“Oh… that,” she laughed. “It was just a silly phase in my life.”

He laughed. “Do tell.”

“It’s gothic,” she explained. “I went through a little bit of a goth phase in college.”

He couldn’t believe it. His Snow had always been so proper and rule-following, as she was today. But he could picture it – with her sleek back hair and pale skin.

John smiled. “With the boots, the black, and everything?”

“I even wore one of those studded collars for a while,” she told him with a little grin.

“Oh no,” he said, shocked. “You surprise me. I didn’t know you had that in you.”

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” she said with a playful grin.

And with those words, his mind went to all sorts of places. And he had to bite his lip to settle himself.

“I even had studs,” she added, laughing.

“You did not.” He couldn’t believe it.

“I had one on my brow, and one on my belly button.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said plainly. He truly didn’t believe her.

“I can prove it,” she said, biting her lip. “I have a little scar just below my belly button.”

He wanted to see it – he really wanted to see it. He looked around and saw that the group was quite a ways ahead of them. “Show me.”