Page 28 of Raised On It

Even with my hand above my eyes to block some of the daylight assaulting my vision, it’s of no use. I can’t see who the hell is on my lawn.

I close my eyes for a few seconds, hoping to bring them to life, and when I open them again, I let out a scream that would wake the dead. Miles Montgomery is so close to the window; the glass is the only thing keeping us apart.

Standing on the other side of the glass waving and smiling like an idiot is my resident handyman.

“Did I wake you up, Sleeping Beauty?”

He’s yelling through the window, but I can hear him just fine since he’s pressing his face to the glass like a child.

“Didn’t you mow two days ago?”

“Not mowing, edging. Didn’t have everything I needed the other day, so I thought I’d come back and finish up. You won’t even know I’m here.”

“If only.”

“Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you,” he continues to yell.

“You really don’t need to do all this,” I yell back at him through the window like a fool. “You were only supposed to fix a board on the back porch. Do you ever work?”

“Damn, Mason, I didn’t think it was possible, but you actually look more beautiful right now than you did when I left you the other night.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, the mess on top of my head and the smeared makeup under my eyes reflect back at me in the window.

I’ve never looked worse.

I. Could. Die.

“Nice try, Miles. It was a long night. I know I look terrible, so you don’t have to be mean.”

“Mason, you have no idea what you…” He trails off, not finishing his sentence.

Frustrated, he flips his baseball cap around and wipes his hand over his face.

“Listen, I’m just gonna get back to it. Sorry I woke you up…but it was totally worth it.”

And there it is.

That smile and those stupid dimples.

I was so busy trying to ignore him the first night I met him that I somehow missed the dimples, but standing here in the bright as hell morning light, I can’t take my eyes off them. Well,until he moves, distracting me, and when I glance up at his eyes, even through the window, I can see the gold flecks dancing with satisfaction in his copper-colored eyes because he knows his words and that beautiful face of his have caught me off guard.

“See ya later, Mase.”

He walks away and hits me with another blow when I get a look at his ass in those jeans. I’ve always appreciated a nice denim-covered ass, but I have never seen a pair of jeans filled out quite like his. His jeans, his dimples, his eyes, and most certainly, his backward baseball cap have all been featured in my journal on numerous occasions.

I always have two journals on me. One for my current work in progress and one that I spew all my thoughts about life into. I guess it would be considered a diary, but I call it a journal.

Because I’m a grown-up.

Like a girl whose first crush finally acknowledged her existence, I practically skip to the bathroom to turn on the shower. I’m acting all aflutter because the hot guy in town thinks I’m pretty.

Maybe I’m not so grown up after all.

Let’s be real, it feels like more than a playground crush.

I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I am hot and bothered and bouncing out of my skin wondering what in the world he was going to say when he stopped himself. It’s killing me not to know.

As I begin to step into the shower, I see myself in the mirror and laugh at how bad I look. Actually, I look like I was up all night having sex.