She shakes her head. "I already have a job. I can't do it."
"I'd only need you a few hours a week, or whatever you can do. You can set the hours. Morning. Night. Doesn't matter to me. Work whenever you want."
She chews on her lip, seeming nervous and unsure.
"I'll give you fifteen bucks an hour."
She doesn't respond.
"Twenty?"
"It's not about the money," she says. "I just can't do it."
"So no on the dinner, no on the job. Got it." I step back, lifting my hands up in surrender. "Sorry to bother you. I'll leave you alone. Oh, one more thing. My brothers will be here this weekend to help me fix your sidewalk."
I turn and walk away, frustrated that she's acting like this and not explaining why. We had a great time together the past couple nights and I thought we could at least be friends, but now she's acting like she wants nothing to do with me. If she's mad about the kiss or feels awkward being around me now, she should just tell me. I'd rather talk about it and get it out in the open than have her give me the silent treatment or hide from me.
"Nash, wait."
I turn and see her coming up behind me. She's out of breath, which is odd because she only had to take a few steps.
"Yeah?" I ask.
She chews on her lip again as she closes her eyes, then opens them. "I um...I guess I could work a few hours a week."
"Are you sure?"
She glances at her house, then back at me. "Yeah."
"Do you need to ask your parents?"
"My parents? I'm 21. Why would I ask my parents?"
"You were looking at your house like you had to go ask them. I thought maybe you couldn't work because you'd already committed to helping them out. Like maybe babysitting your brother or something."
Her eyes dart to mine. "How do you know I have a brother?"
"I saw his tricycle in the garage. So do you have to babysit him? Is that why you can't come to dinner?"
She shakes her head really fast. "No. It's not that."
"Are your parents back from their trip?"
"No, they're not home." She glances at the house again. "I have something in the oven. I need to go check on it."
"What are you making?"
"Um, cookies. Chocolate chip."
"Could we have them for dessert?"
She doesn't answer.
I nod. "So dinner's still off. Okay, well, we can talk about the work stuff later, I guess." I start walking, but notice her following me so I stop. "Was there something else?"
"Yeah, I was um...just wondering if you were going to make us listen to that horrible country music again during dinner."
I smile. "Yeah. I am. My place. My music."
"Then those steaks better be damn good." She smiles just the tiniest bit.
"Best steaks you've ever had. Guaranteed."
She walks off. "See ya at six."
I watch as she makes her way back to the house, my eyes on her little round ass that's tucked into a pair of red shorts which are paired with a tiny white tank top that drew my eyes to her breasts when she approached me. Her silky dark hair is pulled back in a ponytail, swinging behind her as she walks. She goes inside and my mind finally snaps back to what I was doing and I turn and walk back to my house.
What the hell was I thinking asking her to work for me? I'll never get any work done with Callie around. She gets anywhere near me and I can't take my eyes off her.
This project is definitely going to take longer than I thought.
Chapter Eleven
Callie
Why did I agree to work for Nash? I can't work for him. I have things to do. Things here at home like...nothing. Who am I kidding? I have nothing to do. Every day is the same and if I don't start making some changes, I'm afraid I'll never be able to. Nash offered me a chance to do something different so I took it. It was hard to say yes. My heart was beating so fast I could barely answer him. But I had to. As scared as I am of change, I have to at least try this. If it doesn't work out, I'll just tell Nash I quit.
"Hey." Nash smiles as I walk up the stairs to his deck. "You showed up."
"You thought I wouldn't?"
"I wasn't sure." He's standing there in khaki cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, his hair tousled like it just dried that way after his shower.
Looking at him, I feel that twitch in my stomach. That annoying fluttery twitch that some would call butterflies but I'm not calling it that because that would mean I like Nash as more than a neighbor. We agreed that's all we are so I need to put a stop to these thoughts I keep having about him. Like the thought I'm having right now of him kissing me like he did last night.
"Is that for me?" He's still smiling as he points to my hand.
"Oh. Yeah." I hand him the beer I brought. "It's one of my favorites. I thought it'd go well with the steaks."
He takes out one of the bottles and holds it up. "I like this one too. So you like dark beers?"
"Yeah, especially with meat. With steaks or burgers, I always like a heavier beer."
"Same here." He sets it on the table. "Thanks for bringing it."