Page 11 of Boxer Next Door

Fuck!

He looked down at me, eyebrows jumping up in surprise. I could feel my face heat in a blush, and I fought the urge to fold my arms over my chest. I had a push-up bra on under my blouse and he was wearing a sweater, but in my mind, I imagined my nipples had brushed against his warm, hard chest. There went all my effort to calm down.

Ken laughed, and I envied how relaxed he was. “Sorry, sorry,” he said quickly, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to crowd you.”

“It’s fine,” I said quietly, looking up to meet his eyes, even though the flush on my cheeks was already there.

Our eyes met and held, and I sucked in a, thankfully, quiet breath. There was heat in his eyes, and I had to wonder if I was imagining it. I knew I had to, but I couldn’t look away. Again, I had no idea what I had in mind, what I was supposed to do.

He’d hardly been there ten minutes, and already he was messing me up. Damn.

After a minute, I could feel my cheeks starting to grow warm again, the blush that had been cooling down was back again. My breathing was also starting to come a little fast, as well as my heartbeat. If I didn’t do something, didn’t move, then he would notice. I took a deep breath, one that pushed my breasts high, and made myself turn away.

“I don’t see how you can fix the fence, though,” I said quickly, changing the subject. “The wood was old,= to begin with, as I told you, and it’s all been there a long time. Now that you’ve knocked down one side, I might just have to redo the whole fence going around. Removing all that wood…”

“It’ll be a bit of a challenge,” Ken said, picking up from where I’d left off. “But all it’ll take is some time. If you think you can survive with your fence as it is right now, then I can manage. I can't imagine hiring someone to fix it is going to be cheap.”

He was right. With my job as a lawyer providing for the family, we were stable enough, financially. I didn’t have to worry about Bryson’s food, clothes and other needs. I still had payments on the car, though, not to mention other bills lying around the house. Most people assumed being a lawyer was some glamorous job that paid extremely well. But considering I’d planned my life around a double income and it was only me now, my paycheck at the end of the month didn’t exactly make us rich.

I could handle a few expenses here and there, but this…

“I could call up someone around here and get a quote.”

“Or I could just help,” he countered.

This guy was stubborn! I turned to him, intending to complain, but stopped when I saw his earnest expression.

He really must have felt bad about this. I couldn’t think of any other reason why he would insist this hard. Besides, I knew if it was going to take some time, besides buying some materials, professional help might get just a little bit pricey. I couldn’t just consume my entire paycheck, after all. There was my son’s future to consider, and I put about ten percent in savings every month.

I pursed my lips and considered his offer.

“Are you sure you want to be responsible for this?” I asked. “I mean, it’ll be a lot of work.”

“Absolutely,” he said quickly, eyes lighting up. “I have to make it up to you somehow or I’m not going to be comfortable. Sorry if that’s a little selfish.”

I could feel my heart melt just a little, the corner of my mouth tilting up into a tiny smile.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish. But,” I added when he opened his mouth to speak, “if I’m letting you put in the labor, the least I can do is provide the materials. If you’re not doing anything right now, you could come with me to purchase them?”

The invitation was out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I blinked. I was supposed to be getting some time away from him, not spending even more in his presence, not with how I felt.

“I don’t have any plans. Although, I think I should drive? Considering what we’re going to look for, my truck would probably be best anyway…”

Right. Where the fuck would I have fit all the materials anyway, my trunk?

“I don’t mind,” I said.

Just like that, we were heading back outside and to his truck. Ken led the way, and I couldn’t help but follow, my eyes dropping down to his ass a couple of times on the way. He unlocked the truck, and I got in.

“Do you know everything we’re going to need?”

Ken shot me a glance. “Well, I have this internal checklist, but it’s only things I can come up with off the top of my head. It’ll probably be adding up to a lot…”

“Right,” I muttered. There were still plenty of costs to consider. Who the fuck was I kidding anyway, that I could find someone to do the job for me when I couldn’t afford it?

“I can pay for the materials.”

“Oh, no,” I said quickly. “We already agreed you’re providing the labor.”