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I was a bad conversationalist at the best of times, so this was looking to go down as well as a lead balloon. “Yeah,” was all I could think of to say.
Meg looked between me and Skylar, a funny look on her face. “You two are a barrel of fun,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“We could talk about gardening if you like. I know how much Rob loves his gardening,” Skylar retorted sarcastically.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with nicely manicured flower beds. Actually, I was thinking of putting an English-style garden in my front yard. I found this really nice fountain at Home Depot.” Skylar and Meg both looked at me with amusement. Well, it was better than Sky’s scorn.
“Is Rob talking about that fountain again?” Adam asked, coming over to join us. “Just buy the thing already. I’m sick of hearing about it,” he complained.
“It’s a lot of money. I have to make sure it fits into the aesthetic of the house.” My love of gardening was an ongoing joke to my partners, but I didn’t let it get to me. I liked what I liked.
“Don’t give him such a hard time, Adam. Look what he did with our rose bushes. They’re beautiful!” Meg indicated the four bushes lining the fence. They had been near death when she asked me to come and have a look at them. Over the summer, I came over periodically to tend to them and eventually they bounced back better than ever.
“I’m not giving him a hard time. I respect a man and his hobbies,” Adam defended. He clasped my shoulder. “Our Rob is a hands-on kind of guy.”
Skylar’s eyes met mine briefly. And I wondered if she was thinking of the same memory I was.
**
I stood on her doorstep nervously waiting for her to answer. I felt like a kid on his first date. But this wasn’t a date. She didn’t even know I was coming. What the hell was wrong with me?
I had been spending more and more time with Skylar. She was easy to be around. She made me laugh. We liked the same food. The same movies. Our friendship had evolved naturally into something that was starting to feel like more.
That could be a problem, but I felt unable to stop it. I didn’t want to stop it.
The door opened and she stood there, looking a little bewildered at the sight of me. She was wearing torn jeans and a faded t-shirt. She was obviously not wearing a bra and I tried not to stare at her prominent nipples. Her dark hair was held up in a sloppy bun on the top of her head, with half of it falling around her face. She looked fucking beautiful.
“Rob? What are you doing here?” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Her face was flushed, and she seemed out of breath.
“I brought you this.” I held out the potted plant. “Am I interrupting something?”
She took the plant and gave me a tired smile. “I’m moving the furniture around in my living room. I can’t seem to make up my mind how I want it to look, so I’ve changed it five times now and nothing looks right. I’m exhausted.” She held up the plant. “Thank you for this. It’s very thoughtful of you.”
“Do you need any help? I have the afternoon free. And I’m definitely a hands-on kind of guy,” I offered.
Skylar’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious? Don’t offer if you don’t mean it, because I’m very near to tears here and I’m about to drag you inside and set you to work.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t serious. Put me to work, Miss Murphy.”
She waved me inside. “Well, come on then.”
I followed her into her house. She hadn’t lived there long. There were still piles of boxes in the hallway and her living room was in a state of chaos. “I know it looks like a bomb went off in here, but Kyle just finished with the floors and I’m trying to move the furniture without scratching the finish, which is damn near impossible for one person,” she complained, putting the plant down on the window sill.
“I’ll be the big manly man and move the heavy stuff while you direct me.”
Skylar swatted my arm playfully and I grinned at her. We smiled a lot when we were together. It was a nice feeling.
Skylar wasn’t kidding when she said she couldn’t make up her mind. She had me move the couch and the chairs three more times before she settled on how she wanted it. She stood in the corner of the room and watched as I deftly maneuvered furniture. I looked up at her when I was finished to find her staring at me with an expression that I had seen on many women’s faces over the years.
