“She doesn’t need a third wheel, Lols,” Willow chides.
“We’re all missing the point,” I say.“I shouldn’t want to go out with him, right?I feel like the way he acted when we met is pretty inexcusable.What does it say about me that I’m willing to look past it just because he’s stupid hot?”
“And stacked,” Lola adds, setting down the chips to rinse her hands in the sink.
I toss her the dish towel hanging over the stove handle.“Yes.He’s hotandstacked.”
“Andsweet for asking you to dinner,” Willow throws in, rolling up the chip bag and returning it to the cabinet.
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose.Looks like Ethan has a new fan club.“You’re not making this any easier.”
Willow shrugs.“We all have bad days.Sometimes, first impressions aren’t an accurate representation of who a person is.When I first met Sebastian, he tried to bite me.But look at him now.”
Now he just tries to bite everyone elsebuther.
Lola gives Willow a dismissive wave.“I don’t know about all that, but I do know that hate-sex is crazy hot.So I promise not to revoke your feminist card if you want to bang the Thor next door for a few weeks.”
Here I thought maybe they’d give me some good advice.Instead, I feel more conflicted than ever.“Thank you both for being entirely unhelpful.”
A breathy laugh pushes through Willow’s lips as she draws back the curtains for one final gander.“You know, your poor neighbor’s back looks awfully red,” she says.
Lola nudges Willow aside and stands on her tiptoes so she can see.“Willow’s right, it does look red.Imagine how sore his poor back will be after working outside all day swinging that heavy…hammer.”She bites her lip.“If only there was someone we knew with an SPF obsession who could come to his rescue.”
“If only,” Willow agrees, looping her arm through Lola’s and tugging her backward toward the front door.
“I hate you both,” I say.
“Love you, Clo,” they reply in perfect singsong, wiggling their fingers in the most obnoxious wave.Lola grabs her bat on the way out, gives me a wink, and the door closes with a quiet click.
I catch the curtain and glance next door, purely for unselfish reasons.
Ethan’s back really does look red.
My fingers trail along the dipped scar on my shoulder.Wouldn’t offering to help be the neighborly thing to do?Ethan didn’t have to change my tire, but he did.He didn’t have to invite me to dinner, but he did.
He didn’t have to fix my bike, but he did.
Giving him some sunscreen isn’t that big of a deal.It’s not as if I’m proposing to the man.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I grab an extra tube of sunblock from the hall closet and prepare to cross enemy lines for the second time in as many days.
Lola’s Mustang is still in the driveway, and I imagine that she and Willow are cackling like rabid hyenas right now, but I don’t look because, if I do, I’ll lose my nerve.
Who cares if I’m attracted to a jerk?At least I know exactly what I’m getting into.And it’s kinda nice to be the one making this decision instead of waiting around for a man to make the first move.
When Ethan sees me at the base of the stairs, his eyes widen behind the safety glasses he’s wearing.
“Did you put on sunblock today?”I shout over the shrill noise of the electric saw.
He draws back the wood before pushing the glasses onto his forehead, making his hair stick up every which way.
I want to drag my fingers through it.Give it a tug when he’s being a dick.
This is a new low for me.
“What?”Ethan shouts.
I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand here and yell at this guy.I climb up the set of bowed, blackened stairs he’s rebuilding, smirking down at them.And he had the gall to give me crap about my staircase.Maybe while he’s fixing his, he’ll throw a couple of boards my way.
