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“That’s good, I’ll take a mini-vacation and visit you,” Parker said, smiling as if he liked the idea. It comforted me, and I felt I could handle such a long shoot since he’d come to visit.
I noticed it was a bit cooler than usual as we walked Simba. I was glad I grabbed my sweater and put it over my T-shirt. We strolled in no hurry and talked about life in general.
Hand in hand, we went over our plans for the next couple of weeks. I had gotten all the bids in and picked out the contracts that suited my needs and met the criteria of reputable work. I had most of them coming the next day to survey their jobs and give me a starting date along with a contract. Then, there was dinner with Parker’s family to attend, and finally, we decided to take Parker’s boat out fishing in Boca Grande on Monday.
Simba roamed and barked at rabbits, squirrels, tortoises, pretty much anything he spotted except people. We waved to a few passersby and bid them a good evening.
We were both ready to call it a night shortly after we returned. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep, slipping into a night of sweet dreams that floated around in my mind, of Parker and what life had left to unveil.
Olivia
“Am I good enough? Yes, I am.” – Becoming Michelle Obama
The next day proved to be a little stressful dealing with contractors. Parker had offered to help, but I wanted to do this myself. I told him to take a run with Simba and enjoy his day. After a kiss, he left to let me be and take care of some much-neglected housework.
The first contractor that showed up at nine was for the kitchen. I walked him around and picked out countertops, cupboards, new appliances, and a new kitchen sink. The kitchen remodel would cost me nearly fifty grand when all was said and done.
Next came the bathroom contractor: he showed me some water damage and said I’d have to replace the concrete board. I picked out tiles for both baths, new hardware, toilets, and vanities, which cost almost as much as the kitchen, having two and a half baths.
Finally, the window and door company representative came out, and that appeared to be the easiest of the day, I thought. I picked out a new garage door, front door, and sliders. There were four of them, along with new windows. It was expensive, but worth it due to the age of the existing ones.
Next came the flooring contractor. I had decided to have him replace all the floors instead of the contractor doing the bathroom. I felt that if one company did all the floors, it would be less likely to have workmanship differences.
The landscaper and lanai team were coming out later that day, and by noon I felt like I’d been up twenty-four hourswith all the coming and going of contractors. I plopped down on my favorite seat, Mr. Globo, with tea in hand. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
I heard Parker on his roof, banging something, and a smile touched my lips. I bet he looked hot up there, and I don’t mean as in sweaty. I knew he was replacing some soffits and wanted to clean out the gutters.
The last few days had gone by so quickly, and our relationship had developed almost overnight; it felt surreal.
I took a sip of tea and made him a glass for when he came down off the roof. Walking over with a large glass of iced tea, I couldn’t help but notice his bare chest glistened with sweat. I wanted to run my hands down them and feel his muscles contract.Get your mind out of the gutter,I scolded myself with a slight giggle. Handing him his drink, he took a long swig of it and thanked me.
“How’s dealing with the contractors going?”
“Exhausting! Thankfully, I only have one more coming today: the landscapers.”
He smiled. “Want to go out to dinner?”
I contemplated for a few minutes. “Sure, I’ll meet you there around five?”
We agreed on a small local place that had a bar. I kissed him and headed back to my place–after petting Simba, of course.
Contractors gone, and satisfied with my choices, I jumped in the shower.
When I entered the bar, I could see Parker wasn’t there yet, so I sat at the far end of the bar and ordered a gin neat. While sipping my drink, I saw him sit at the other end and wave the bartender over. I was sure he noticed me at the opposite end. Iwore a tight green dress that laced up either side, sleeveless, and strappy sandals. A slow smile appeared on my lips as I wet my bottom lip with my tongue. Drinking the last of my gin, I set the glass toward the bartender’s side, indicating I’d take another. I watched as Parker spoke with the guy making the drinks. A moment later, the same guy placed another drink in front of me; I nodded in thanks.
“This is from the gentleman at the end of the bar.” He pointed his chin in Parker’s direction.
I held the glass up in a way of cheering toward the man opposite where I was seated. He winked and gave me a smile with smokey eyes. I nodded to the right, offering the open chair next to me and Parker, grabbing his drink, strutting over to where I sat. Sitting, he took my hand and kissed the back of it. All the while, the bartender watched as Parker made his move. We talked in low voices, pretending to be strangers. I threw my head back and laughed at the story Parker had just told me. We had another round, whispering in each other’s ears as my hand caressed Parker’s thigh.
Parker called the bartender over, threw a fifty-dollar bill on the bar, and told him to keep the change. He stood, helped me off the stool, and walked me to the door, his hand on the small of my back. When outside, we couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on the bartender’s face as we left together; all he thought was we’d just met ten minutes earlier.
“That was sexy as hell,” Parker said with a low growl.
“Yes, it was. It was also fun,” I agreed, laughing. Wondering where we’d eat now, I asked Parker where he wanted to go. He thought about it briefly; we decided to grab Chinese and take it back to my house.
A bit tipsy from the gin, I carefully drove home and waited for Parker to arrive with dinner. I changed into my lounge shorts and a half tank, then fixed us both a glass of gin. It had tasted good and loosened me up quite a bit at the bar; I favored keeping it going.
Ten minutes later, we shared foods from the cartons of Chinese. I laughed when I saw all the food and I learned that night that when Parker got Chinese, he got enough to feed an army, wanting to taste all his favorites. We ate and laughed until tears rolled down my face about the bar scene.
