Page 16 of Unmasking Love
"Oh, sure, yeah, that'd be great."
She starts driving again. "What else?"
"I bike everywhere so I'd need a place close to bike trails."
"When you say everywhere, what do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't have a car."
"Oh! Got it." She says, surprised. "That's actually, well, what do you do in the winter?"
It’s my turn to smile, this is the most common question. "I've got cold weather gear and thicker tread tires. Like snow tires for a car. If it's storming I'll call a ride share or have someone pick me up."
"Okay, I'll admit I don't know much about the bike trails around here but I'm willing to learn." She says with a grin as she turns into a neighborhood.
"Maybe I can take you on a ride sometime," I choke out. My mouth got drier with each word as I realized what I was saying. It’s innocent enough in the context but my mind immediately gets carried away as I imagine her straddling my hips in reverse cowgirl, using her hair like fucking reins. My palms start sweating and I try to dry them on my jeans without drawing attention to the erection pressing against my fly.
"It's been years since I've ridden a bike, but if anyone can show me the ropes, I'm sure you can." Her gracious, non-filthy reply is a relief and I fill my lungs with air again. I watch her delicate wrists move the steering wheel while my mind goes back down the rabbit hole. She pulls into the driveway of a huge home and the lot is heavily wooded. Unfortunately the idea of showing her the ropes hasn‘t helped my wood situation one bit.
"Now, I didn't know you wanted a kitchen garden before I set this viewing up so let's just use this as a test run. We’ll figure out what things about the home itself you like and don't like. That will help me find the right property for you."
She turns off the car and slides out of her seat, I follow suit and walk around the front of the car. Before she meets me she stops to pull a large bag out of the back seat and one of her feet pops up as she leans in. My eyes travel down her gorgeous backside, pausing for a moment on the short hem of herskirt, and I fixate on the pointy nude shoe and imagine kneeling in front of her and pulling it off slowly before dragging my knuckles up her calf. I pinch my thigh through my pocket in an effort to cool my jets. This is going to be a problem. I’m going to struggle concentrating on this home with my mind fixated on Harper.
I barely notice the front porch as my mind battles itself and I try to remember all the reasons I don’t date.
I know I had them but none are coming to mind.
She keys in a code at the front door and we step into a marble floored, three story foyer with a large chandelier hanging overhead. I can feel her watching me as I take it all in.
How do I tell her I hate it?
"I can tell you're not a fan. Which," she shrugs, "is more information for me to work with. Let's keep going. It's a lot of house and afterwards you can tell me everything you hate about it. Deal?"
"Deal."
***
Fifteen minutes later we're laughing as we climb into the car. "Okay, truth time, I had a feeling you wouldn't like it. No person under 30 should, but scouts honor, that portrait was NOT in the listing's photos."
"They would’ve had to mark itexplicitif they had."
Harper wipes a tear from her eye. "No wonder it's been on the market for months."
"I know they'd take it with them when they left, but the idea it was even posed for, in that room, would haunt me."
"For sure! No one should know that happened there."
"I did text a picture to the group chat." I admit.
"Ohno, Felix isn't going to send me anymore teammates!" Harper laughs as she starts to drive away from the scene of my future nightmares.
"Actually," I scroll through the responses from the boys, "I think they've been inspired."
"Really?" Harper asks as she leans closer to look at my screen. I am enveloped in her floral scent. Sweet roses with a hint of vanilla like someone brought a bouquet of flowers into a bakery. My brain maps the scent while I try to understand the various shades in her hair. Browns and tans mix with strands that could be called red and the blend is mesmerizing.
I nod and clear my throat remembering that we’re talking about the team group chat not the intricacies of her hair color. "Duncan has already shared a link to an artist who will do "tasteful nudes" in the privacy of your own home."
"Wow, they work fast."
