Chapter Four

 

Why not stay?

He smiled when she’d agreed, hopeful they could “get to know each other” even more intimately than via communication. Something along the lines of removing her pajamas, shucking his t-shirt and shorts, finally learning if her lips were as soft as they appeared, if she was a daring lover or a timid treat…

But inside he was cringing at what she’d want to ask him. Which was only fair after she’d told him so much about herself. Having listened to her craptastic year, he could imagine how she’d react to his short list of low moments.

I sprained my ankle.

Only, that one little injury had rippled into so many larger issues.

As she situated herself on the couch again, she crossed her arms behind her head and stared at him. It was a warm gaze, an appreciative one, he thought. But instead of letting his little head triumph in the chance she was interested in him physically, he mentally groaned at the likelihood she was curious in other ways.

While she took her time watching him, he roved his gaze over her, too, following the curves of her hips and breasts, the wetness of her just-licked lips. When her throat tightened as she swallowed, he tore himself from leering and met her eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“Are you a drug dealer?”

His chest moved so much with his laugh that Polly’s head rolled down.

“No, I’m not. You don’t seem to have very high opinions of me.”

“Not much to go on.”

Touché. But then again, it meant she wanted to know more, which was encouraging. Wasn’t it? Yeah, it seemed it was. Ava held his fascination from the first time he’d glanced at her next door in a pale-blue triangular thing he’d seen pictures of his grandmother wearing decades ago. At first, he’d wondered if she was an actress for a fifties sitcom, or Mrs. Beaver reincarnated. And now having come to know her, her personality charmed him even more.

Since she didn’t recognize him, he had a chance to show her who he really was. If he could get over himself and take the risk.

She went on. “It’s just that I’ve never even really seen you before today.” She poked his leg with her toe. “Now I know I have a neighbor in the flesh. I figured you worked midnight shifts, or from home.”

Here goes.

She moved her foot back and forth against his thigh, sliding the mesh fabric of his shorts against his skin. Footsie or a rub, it didn’t matter. It was soothing.

“I’m retired.”

Her brows shot up.

Knowing he had to give her more than that, he reached out and gripped her immobile calf, massaging her warm, soft skin in response to her ministrations.

“This isn’t easy for me to talk about. But I was a professional athlete. Had been for seven years. I sprained my ankle and that was the end of it.”

“Ouch.” She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” He exhaled slowly. “So I’ve been in rehab, physical therapy, surgeries. You name it, we’ve tried it. I’m officially done.”

She nodded, her lips turning down in a moment of seriousness.

“I was married to one of the cheerleaders, and when I learned my sports days were over, so was our marriage. She’d been two-timing with my teammate anyway.”

Her brows raised as her lips pursed into a knowing smirk. “Good riddance?”

He tried to smile. “Very good riddance.” From day one theirs was a poorly matched and incompatible marriage. In all honesty, he shouldn’t have waited until his injury to claim an out. New year, new start, right?

“After I knew I was done for good, I wanted a simple place to have some peace and quiet. To recover.”

“To hide?”

He could give her that. Smirking, he said, “Something like that. This house belonged to one of my physical therapists. He’d just inherited it from his grandparents, and since it seemed like a quiet neighborhood, I thought it’d be decent place to figure out what to do next. I bought it from him, and here I am.”

“Quiet until I barged in?” She asked it with a sweet smile.

“More like until my mutt broke into your house.”

She tilted her head. “True. So what is, or can be, next for you?”

He sighed, slipping lower on the couch. No boo-hooing or “aw, poor baby” from her. He appreciated her right-to-the-point thinking. Maybe having one hit after another for the whole year taught her to sincerely adapt and move on from problems.

“Coaching? Training? Consulting?” He respected how she’d refrained from digging for more details. To know which team, or even what sport he was devoted to. “It was my whole life. My passion. I can’t not be involved with it anymore.”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way,” she quipped.

“Damn straight.”

Polly tried to shift into a more comfortable position for her nap, but gave up and slunk off the couch. Free to move, he shifted Ava’s slender legs to cover one of his. “You comfortable?”

Ava teased the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Kind of.”

Meaning…?

She released her arms from behind her head and shrugged. The teasing crinkle of a smile had him wishing to know what she was implying. Because he couldn’t be the only one in the room suffocating from the electric energy that zinged between them.

Polly nudged her wet nose at his elbow, interrupting his hope that she might be open to something more … naked.

“Does she want to go out?” Ava asked.

He groaned. “I don’t know when she doesn’t.” Pushing to sit up, he stilled when Ava beat him to it. She stood and headed for the sliding door.

“I can let her out.”

“Why? Because I’m an invalid?” He wished he could take back his retort, so ingrained in snapping at help when he’d been unable to stand on one leg. She didn’t deserve it.

She paused, her hip right at his head. Looking down at him, she deadpanned. “Never said that.”

“I just don’t want your—”

“Pity?” she asked, with an expression of utter boredom like her adolescent students might give her.

Is she ever not so damn observant? He lowered his stare from her deadpan face and took in her slim body. Down her graceful neck, over her breasts, past the nipples he could nearly see through the faded shirt, along her stomach, all the way to the profile of her curvy ass.

“I wanted to check out the hot tub while I’m over there. Been ages since I’ve been in one.” She sashayed away to the sliding door.

Following her exit from the den, he nearly fell off the couch, twisting around so as not to break his line of vision.

As soon as she maneuvered the latch for the pane of glass, he rose to his feet, snagged his water bottle, and went to join her at the entrance to the patio.  

Walking slowly in a perimeter of his hot tub, Ava faintly nodded her head. Approval? He wouldn’t argue. Steaming clear water rippled gently, the wisps of humidity curling in the air like ghostly fingers beckoning them to enter.

Between sips of water, he asked, “Wanna get wet?”

She snort-laughed, almost like a bark. “Pun intended?”

He couldn’t help but crack up at her laughter.

“God, you’ve got lame jokes.”

“Who said I was joking?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the closed door.

Filtered brightness reflected in her blue orbs, the underwater lighting casting a sharper gleam to her beautiful gaze. “Oh,” she said on the end note of a giggle.

The transition from her uninhibited mirth to shocked realization was adorable. “The hot tub,” he clarified when her blush spread. “Want to get in?”

“I, ah, don’t have a bathing suit,” she pointed out.

“Hmm.”

Stepping closer to the rim of the basin, she glanced at him. Her hot pink-painted fingernails slipped under the hem of her threadbare shirt, dancing back and forth as though she debated yanking the garment off.

“What the hell,” she said and moved her fingers to the waistband of her shorts. “Why not end the year with a bang?”

Oscar the Grouch crumpled to the cement patio and he choked on the last drink he took.

Shaking a finger at him, she lifted one side of her lips in a knowing smile. “Ah, ha… You’re not the only one who’s making off with the lousy double entendre lines.”

Wiping the spilled water from his mouth, he felt his heart race and his dick stir even more. Speechless, he watched her, scared to emit a sound in case it might break the spell and snap him out of this dream.

Magenta panties made a speedy trip down her bare legs, puddling at her feet.

Blinking rapidly, he confirmed her strip tease wasn’t a figment of his imagination. And it seemed modesty was not bait in her tackle box for this night.

He licked his lips, still having a hard time believing she was somehow reading his mind and acting out his impromptu fantasy.

She pivoted to show him the bottom curves of her butt cheeks, so much of her still covered by the t-shirt. Glancing over her shoulder at him with one raised brow, she winked. Then she tugged the shirt off in one fluid sweep.

With her tattooed back to him, she stepped into the water. She slowly lowered to the misting water, the bare skin of her ass disappearing until she hid her body under the surface.  

Brown curls cascaded to the tiled floor as she snuggled her head into the foam pillows. Turning to show him the profile of her face, she asked, “You coming?”

He let out a rough chuckle. Well, he’d started it with his stupid attempt at ridiculous naughty talk. Not caring if he ripped threads, he practically tore off his clothes. Unlike her, he let her take an eyeful of all his body had to offer, every naked inch.

As he put one foot in the hot tub, aiming for a seat two away from her, he waited for her to acknowledge him, and his nudity.

“Holy shit.” She coughed out a noise and let her jaw hang open. “I mean, uh, wow.”

“Is it too hot in here?” he asked.

She closed her eyes and laughed lightly. “You do know you’re cheesy, right?”

“Who me?”