Page 38 of Dandelion Sighs

“I’m not embarrassed about a thing. I’m just waiting for the word to show you all my lewd thoughts.” He flashed a smile that told me he was kidding and he got up.

That could be my sign. It’d say WORD, and it’d be where Jasper could see it. If only I was brave enough to say it.

Holding the beer loosely, he inspected his work. “One more coat and I think I can call it a night.”

I took his branch of talking about work instead. “It won’t be good to rent tomorrow.”

“It can be a just-in-case room. This wall shouldn’t get bumped or brushed.” He kept hold of his beer and retrieved the paint roller. “But if it does, I can do a touch-up.”

Fascinated, I watched him work, chatting about the paint color and what I would do when I remodeled the cabin. Mostly, I gawked and started on a second beer, just to have something to do. The play of his muscles over his back when he rolled back and forth was my very own show. The flex of his ass was subtle, but I was super attuned to him. When he’d stop for a drink and keep going without letting one drop splatter. The man made everything look easy.

He finished his beer at the same time the wall was covered with its second coat. I handed him a third, taking the final one for me. The room spun slightly. I put the last beer on the stand by the TV. I’d better not drink it, or I’d tell him that I could picture sinking my teeth into those firm buns. How I wanted to strip that shirt off and slam my mouth onto his would spill right out of me.

He glanced from the can to me.

“Two’s my limit tonight.” I scooted it closer to him. “Go ahead.”

“Let me clean this up, and I will.”

I could help with tidying everything after watching him work. Together, we hauled the painting supplies and ladder to the maintenance room. He cleaned up the tray, and I grabbed a fresh garbage bag. In the room, I switched out the bag in the trash and put our used one by the door so we wouldn’t forget it.

Our cans clinked together when I set it down. “Sounds like we had a party.”

“Nah, this was better than any party I’ve been to. And I won’t wake up with a hangover.”

Jasper took both beers and stretched out on the bed. He patted the spot next to him. “I can’t go anywhere until these wear off. Stay and talk.”

The only chair in the room had been slid close to the bed. It was too heavy to move, and I might bump a wet wall. I couldn’t ask Jasper to get up and do it just so I didn’t have to sit fully clothed on the same bed—above the covers—as him.

He might be lying down, but I still stretched out in the spot next to him. With the window open, the croaking of frogs, the humming of the cicadas, and chirping crickets serenaded us.

“I wish we were closer to the water,” I murmured. My eyelids felt heavy. Must be the little bit of alcohol. “I love the sound of the waves.”

“Have you been down to the lake since you returned?”

“No.”

“We’re going to fix that.”

Excitement unfurled in my belly. Why hadn’t I been down to the beach? There was a spot not far from the dock that people used to wade in. It’d been made an official beach, and I hadn’t gone to see it yet.

I’d been working, and I hadn’t been invited by someone like Jasper. “When?”

“This weekend. Sunday?”

“I should⁠—”

“Work. I know. Take an hour.” He took a drink and held my gaze, challenging.

I had a crappy work-life balance, and that was the way it’d be for a while. But I could take a tiny bit of time for myself. “Okay. We’ll go on Sunday.”

Jasper

A click of a door roused me. My mouth tasted like I’d brushed my teeth with a stout ale. Just as I registered a soft, warm body next to me and pried my eyes open, a “Broooo” shot me awake.

I sucked in a breath, lifting my head to a blurry vision of a shocked Landon. Blinking sleep from my eyes, I registered just what had him looking like he caught a cookie thief. I was on the bed in the room I’d painted last night, still in my work clothes. The window was open, letting in the dewy morning air. Two empty beer cans were on the end table on one side of me. On the other side, the delectable warmth that was glued to me was a snoozing Sheridan.

I put a finger to my lips.