His Reverie (Reverie #1)(24)
On a few of those nights though, I dreamed. Of Reverie. Of taking that little kiss between us further. Of touching her, slipping my fingers into her hair to see if it’s as soft as it looks. Pulling her closer until her sweet curves mold to my body and she wraps her arms around my neck, moaning against my lips as I take the kiss deeper…
Yeah. Dreams. Definitely not my reality.
Last night Michael came over with a twelve pack of beer and we polished it off quick. Too quick. I’m not usually a big drinker. Alcohol causes nothing but trouble. Considering that Reverie’s been ignoring me since the Fourth of July, I’ve been frustrated.
So I drowned my sorrows in beer.
Unfortunately, Michael met Krista. She can’t stay away, even though she’s still pissed at me. Within five minutes of us arriving she was knocking on the door, as if she could scent new meat. The dirty looks she shot me when I opened the door didn’t stop her from pushing her way inside like she owned the place, her eyes alighting on Michael as if she just discovered a pot of gold at the end of some sparkly rainbow.
She flirted with me, she flirted with Michael and then after about ten minutes of that bullshit, I grabbed her arm and escorted her pretty little ass right on out of there. Krista whined and complained, Michael even shooting me a look that said let her stay but I ignored him. Ignored her too as I shoved her right on out of the apartment and slammed the door behind her.
“She’s trouble,” I told him when he expressed interest. “Trust me. You don’t want to get tangled up in that mess.”
He left it alone and so did I. We drank. And drank. Michael moaned and groaned over Heather and I let him. She’d been all into him after the fireworks show. They’d made out in his truck and she’d even given him a hand job. The dude had been ecstatic, talking about her nonstop the day after she jerked him. How this was going to be the best summer ever because for once, he nabbed a girl early in the season.
His words, not mine.
Two days off and she shows up yesterday acting like he didn’t exist. Heather had barely looked at him, let alone spoken to him. I felt his pain, not that I’d told him. No way I could let him know how far gone I was over Reverie. How I barely kissed her and she ran like I shoved my hand in her panties.
We were good and drunk within an hour. I refused to let Michael drive home so he crashed out on my couch. We woke up hungover and grumpy as shit. I drove to work wincing against the sun, pissed that I lost my sunglasses somewhere at the Hales yesterday. And later that afternoon, when I realized it was my turn to clean out the horse stables, my grumpy mood went straight to quietly furious. Downright f**king hostile.
Yeah. This week went from full of potential to absolute bullshit, just like that.
Glancing around the stables, I let forth a growl, pissed that I gotta clean this mess. I whipped off my shirt just before I walked inside since I knew it was gonna be hotter than balls in here. I rest my hands on my hips, surveying the area, making mental notes of what I need to take care of.
Mostly all of it since there’s chaos everywhere. Guests had come for the holiday and their kids loved to ride the horses every day. Lucky me.
I’m shoveling horse shit within minutes, sweat dripping down my face and chest, the air so close and sticky I feel like I can hardly breathe. The old khaki shorts I pulled on this morning because everything else I own is in the laundry basket are slipping low on my hips. I forgot to put on my belt before I left for work and with one wrong move the shorts could fall to my feet in an instant. I’m constantly hitching them up which is driving me crazy.
This entire day is driving me crazy. I just want it to be over and done with.
After I finish cleaning out the manure, I replenish the hay and refill all the water buckets. I shuck my work gloves and even groom the damn horses, not that I mind that job. I like brushing their coats and murmuring soothing words to them in the hopes that I’ll gain their trust. It soothes me too and considering how riled up I’d been when I first got there, I’d needed to relax as much as they did.
I even brought them carrots to chew on, trying to get on their good side because a couple of them are old and cranky. It works. Soon they’re all snorting and neighing at me, demanding my attention, and when one in particular leans over to snatch the carrot right out of my fingers that was not meant for him, I start laughing.
It feels good to laugh. I’ve been tense for days. Frustrated. Hungover. Riled up.
“He’s always been greedy.”
I jump about a mile at the sound of Reverie’s lilting voice and turn to find her standing directly in front of me, wearing…God. She tries to kill me every single day with her wardrobe I swear. A sky blue T-shirt that stretches across her chest, the fabric so thin I can see the lace trim of her bra. Denim shorts again, these a little shorter and revealing her long, tanned legs, her feet encased in dark brown cowboy boots.
She doesn’t even try to be sexy. She’s more on the modest side but every time I see her, she gets to me. Makes my entire body go on high alert. Just having her close sends a crackling energy between us, one I can’t control no matter what I do. It’s just…there. Like we have no choice but to either ignore it or deal with it.
I prefer dealing with it though I know I should ignore it. I get the sense Reverie would rather deal with it too.
“You like sneaking up on me don’t you?” I ask when I finally find my tongue.