CHAPTER 6
MACKENNA
Early morning sunlight filtered through the bathroom window as pulled my hair into a messy bun. Guilt weighed on me when I thought about the way I’d snapped at Beverly’s grandson the day before. He had every right to be upset with me for walking in on him like that.
It was his house, after all. Well, at least for the time being.
On my way out of Beverly’s yesterday, I looked at the family picture on the wall. A much younger Jimmy sat next to a blond-haired boy in front of a Christmas tree. When she told me about her grandkids, I’d assumed that picture was recent.
It wasn’t.
The last thing I expected to see in that kitchen was a solid wall of muscle, tanned skin, and tattoos.
He caught me off-guard and I reacted badly, especially when he brought up Jaxon—the one thing no one could seem to forget. Apparently, three years didn’t make much of a difference in this small corner of the world. Jimmy wasn’t even from this area, but he remembered.
It wasn’t just that, though… I’d been shocked by the way my body responded to the sight of those tattoos. The freaking nipple piercings. Inky black hair and green eyes.
Along with his cocky attitude, it was a lethal combination. Exactly the kind of thing that drove women nuts.
I hadn’t felt true physical attraction in years, and never with that intensity. If I was being honest, that was what caught me off-guard the most.
I shouldn’t be attracted to a guy like Jimmy.
He had bad news written all over him, and last time I got with a bad boy, it ended horribly to say the very least.
I didn’t need temptation or distraction. One thing I certainly didn’t want was heartbreak. I had a feeling Jimmy could be the trifecta of all the things I should avoid.
As far as I was concerned, he was completely off-limits. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t be civil toward him. Jimmy and I would need to get along if we were going to be temporary neighbors.
Or maybe I could just stay locked away in my house for a couple months.
But what about the ice cream sandwiches?
There was delivery for that sort of thing, right? Shaking my head, I laughed at how ridiculous I was being.
Surely, Jimmy had better things to do than hang around this sleepy town all the time. Convincing myself I probably wouldn’t see him very often, I made the resolve to be nicer next time I ran into him.
After putting on raggedy gray shorts and an old white tank top, I went outside and made my way to Beverly’s backyard.
My footsteps faltered at the sight in front of me.
Jimmy was there, shirtless and sweating from exertion as he spread a coat of the most obnoxious shade of green I had ever seen onto the white brick exterior of the house.
I don’t know why I assumed I’d be painting alone. When Beverly mentioned the project, I offered to help, but that was before I knew about her new roommate.
Of course Jimmy would be helping. He was a strong, able-bodied man.
For a few seconds, I considered backing out. Occasionally running into Jimmy was one thing. Being forced to work together for days?
I wanted no part of that.
I could just say I wasn’t feeling well and spend the rest of the day spying on him from my window. But I’d never been one to flake on my commitments. I just needed to suck it up.
Forcing my feet forward, I took the opportunity to study his body while he was unaware of my presence.
His black gym shorts hung low on his hips, and I could see the gray waistband of his briefs. The muscles of his back and arms flexed as he used the roller, going up and down in long, steady strokes. The angel wings on his back had something written within the feathers, but I wasn’t close enough to see what it said.
I was so focused on finding out I didn’t see the garden hose in the grass, and the toe of my flip-flop got caught on it.
Nearly stumbling to the ground, I used every core muscle I didn’t even know I had to keep from falling. Arms flailed ungracefully. Hands flapped through the air. My feet did some sort of weird dance as I struggled to stay upright.
Jimmy must have heard my scuffle because he turned just in time to see me straightening my shoulders, trying to play it off like I didn’t just almost bite the dust in front of the hottest guy ever.
“Hey, Mack. Thought you weren’t gonna show up.” He smirked. “Thought maybe you changed your mind.”
“It’s Mackenna,” I corrected haughtily, smoothing some loose hairs away from my face. The guilt I’d been feeling earlier was replaced with unwelcome sexual attraction and a bit of irritation. “And it’s only 8:30. I didn’t realize you wanted to get started at the ass crack of dawn.”
“Your dear friend, Tweety Poo, woke me up at 5:00 this morning with his ungodly screeching,” he said. “Figured I might as well make good use of the time.”
“I’m not a morning person,” I grumbled.
“That makes two of us.” Jimmy laughed, and my heart did some sort of weird fluttery thing. Then he put down the roller and held out both of his fists. “Hey, pick a hand.”
The sun glinted off his nipple piercings, and the temptation to gawk at them was almost too much. I kept my eyes trained on his face as I pointed at his left fist. When he turned it over and opened his hand, there was nothing there.
“Wrong,” he said before opening the right hand. A Hershey kiss sat in the middle of his palm. I stared at it, not sure what his intentions were. He extended it my way, and I reared back a little when he invaded my personal space. “For you. A peace offering.”
“Oh.” Surprised by the random act of kindness, I picked it up, my eyes flitting from the silver-covered chocolate to Jimmy’s face. “Thank you.”
Unwrapping the candy, I popped it into my mouth. The chocolate melted on my tongue and my mood lifted.
Maybe Jimmy wasn’t so bad after all.
I sent him a grateful look and picked up my paint brush. Starting with the trim around the windows, I purposely chose a spot several feet away and we worked in silence for a while.
My phone pinged with a text, and I smiled when I saw who it was from.
Krista: Mom said you’re coming over this weekend!
Me: That’s the plan
Krista: Why not today?
I almost laughed at her impatience. I could imagine her doing the puppy-dog eyes she had down to a science.
Me: I’m painting my neighbor’s house and trying to ignore her irritating grandson
Krista: Painting and babysitting duty? Rough deal
Me: Not quite. He’s an adult
Krista: Is he hot??
I rolled my eyes. At fifteen years old, she was boy-crazy and too cute for her own good.
I snuck a peek at Jimmy, who seemed to be busy concentrating on his section of the house. Trying to be very discreet, I snapped a picture with my phone, then sent it to my sister.
Krista: Holy shit!! Please tell me you’re getting some
Me: Don’t say shit. And no one is getting anything from anyone
Krista: Boo. You’re no fun. Mom and Dad won’t even let me date yet
Me: Good. Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?
Krista: I am. It’s so close to the end of the year that the teachers don’t even care. Mr. Dennison is asleep
A picture came through with the caption “Seriously”, and I couldn’t hold back the amused snort. The history teacher looked exactly how I remembered him. Bushy gray mustache and thick-rimmed glasses. His bald head was tilted back in his desk chair, his eyes closed and mouth open.
Me: My view is a lot better than yours
Krista: No shit. Send another pic!
Me: Don’t say shit. And no
The next message she sent me was a sticking-tongue-out emoji. I rolled my eyes again and slipped the phone back into my pocket. Then I noticed Jimmy was watching me with a sexy half-smile.
“What?” Heat crept up to my cheeks.
He paused, then shook his head. “Nothing.”
Nibbling at my lip, I tried to think of something to say because I wanted to be friendlier. Small talk wasn’t my strong suit, and I always ended up feeling awkward if I filled the silence with meaningless conversation.
Fortunately, Jimmy spoke up first.
“Listen.” He set the roller against the house and turned toward me. “I’m sorry about yesterday. You know, when I was kind of a jerk…”
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” I said with a shrug. “I was kind of a jerk, too.”
“Truce?” He walked over and held out his hand.
“Truce.” I placed my palm against his.
A spark ignited, and it felt like an electrical current ran up the length of my arm, down my belly, and into my clit.
Quickly jerking my hand away, I almost gasped.
What the hell was that?
Jimmy tilted his head to the side, confused at my reaction. Hell, I was confused, too. A steady throb started between my legs, wetness flooded my panties, and I had to fight the urge to rub my thighs together.
Needing to talk about anything that wasn’t remotely sexual, I directed my attention back to the house. “Are you sure this color isn’t a mis-tint?”
He chuckled before spreading more of the absurd hue over the bricks. “Nope. This is the color Grandma wanted. I asked her three times before she said, ‘Just paint the fucking house already.’”
My lips tipped up. “When she told me about the project last week, I thought she meant something subtle. Like sage or avocado. Not…” I waved my hand as I thought about what to call it.
“John Deere green?” Jimmy filled in.
A laugh burst out of me because that was the perfect description. I wasn’t sure if Beverly was trying to make her house stick out like a sore thumb, or blend in with the cornfields surrounding Tolson. Whatever her intention was, she succeeded in both areas.
I glanced over at Jimmy to find him gaping at me, his pouty lips slightly parted.
“What?” I asked, wiping at my cheek with my forearm. “Do I have paint on my face?”
He closed the few feet between us and I held my breath as he brought his hand up to my face. Grazing my left cheek, his voice came out soft. “You have a dimple right here.”
My eyes closed as I allowed myself to soak up the gentle touch. My nipples tightened and something tumbled in my stomach. Sweat trickled down my neck, and I suspected it wasn’t just from the heat.
The contact didn’t last long. Jimmy’s hand fell away, and he gave me that sexy smirk again.
Maybe being friendly was a bad idea.
A really bad idea.
Feeling a little light-headed, I went back to painting as I reminded myself of all the reasons why I should stay away from someone like Jimmy.