As I lay my head on my pillow after turning off my lamp, I inhale deeply. Thoughts of Vick scurry through my mind, followed by thoughts of Blake. But as my eyes close and I drift off to sleep, the last thought I have: Is Connor having sex with Roxy?
Friday rolls around, and I rush out of work and head to the grocery store to buy enough food to feed the army of children staying at my house this weekend. When I pull in the driveway, Connor is under a truck, his legs peeking out as he works. When he hears me pull in, he rolls out on the creeper he’s using to help roll under the truck and sits up.
“Hey stranger,” he chirps as I pop open my trunk. We haven’t spoken since the night he brought his friend Roxy over. I hate how odd I acted that night, and in turn I’ve been avoiding him, so I haven’t had to think about it.
“Hi there,” I respond cheerily. “How are you?” I busy myself pulling groceries from my trunk. When I feel his hand on my lower back, I startle.
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckles as he reaches in and grabs some bags.
“Sorry, wasn’t expecting you,” I laugh nervously. When my gaze meets his, I notice he’s sweaty, and there are smudges of grease on his face. He looks delectable.
“Did you buy the entire store?” he snorts as he moves to carry the five bags in his arms in the house with me following behind him.
“I’m babysitting Wendy and Jeff’s kids this weekend to give them a break. Those kids eat like they’ve never been fed in their lives.”
As soon as we’re in the kitchen, Connor drops his bags on the kitchen table, and I set mine on the counter next to the sink. “They’re staying all weekend?” he asks with disbelief.
As I move to the cabinet and grab a glass, I answer, “Yeah. I’m nuts, right?”
I fill the glass with cold water at the faucet then hand it to him as he says, “And you plan on watching them by yourself?”
“Lexi is supposed to come and help.”
I start unpacking groceries when I notice he’s just standing in the same place, unmoving. When I look at him, he’s staring at the glass. “Why’d you give me this?”
“Because you’ve been working outside, and you look like you’re hot,” I answer honestly. “You can dump it out if you don’t want it,” I say when he doesn’t respond.
His mouth curves softly before he chugs the water down in a few large gulps. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, I’ll be around, so I’m happy to help out as well.”
I smile as I open a cabinet and put the peanut butter away. “I appreciate that. They’ll be here in two hours. Thinking about just ordering pizza tonight. Thought it might be a nice treat for them.”
“I’ll order,” Connor informs me as he heads toward the back door.
“You don’t have to do that, Connor. It’s a lot of pizza,” I chuckle.
“They’re kids. How much could they possibly eat?”
I stare at him blankly. “Uh . . .”
“I got it, Demi,” With that he exits and as I finish putting the groceries away I try to mentally prepare myself for the weekend ahead. Not sure that’s even possible.