Page 47 of Look My Way
“Yeah, hopefully.” I sip my drink, and he takes a huge swallow of his as if he’s been long overdue for a cold drink. Halfway through working, he takes off his shirt and drinks more of his lemonade. He looks back, smiling at me while sliding on his protective eyewear. I swoon a little every time his eyes find me in between him cutting, drilling, and hammering.
When we’re both out of lemonade, I refill our cups, and a message comes through on my phone. It’s something I expect from Daniel at this point—him saying he won’t be home untillate, and saying he thinks he should probably sleep at his place tonight since his things keep going missing at mine.
I don’t try to talk him out of it. It never gets me anywhere when I do anyway. All I send back is a swift, “Okay.”
He must be satisfied with the response because he doesn’t say anything back. Two more hours go by of me hanging outside under the sun while watching Zavier work and Daniel still doesn’t say anything. I stop looking at my phone, and when Zavier is working on more measurements, I sit closer to him, and we talk about random things like restaurants we’d like to try or vacations we’d like to take.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been to a beach before,” he says.
“Yeah, everyone tells me that. Just kept missing opportunities. Last time Daniel went with some buddies of his, I felt too sick to tag along so I stayed home. He didn’t think it was a good idea for me to go either and ended up coming back early to take care of me.”
“If you were feeling that bad, he should never have left you to begin with.”
I shrug my shoulders, running my fingers through the dirt. “I told him to go.”
“Doesn’t matter. He should have stayed. I would have, and then I’d have made plans for just the two of us to go again whenever you felt up to it.”
“Yeah? Or you could just be saying that to make yourself look good,” I muse.
“Not at all. I’ll prove it too.”
“How?”
“Whenever you feel up to it, I’ll take you myself. Just you and me.”
“To the beach?”
“That’s what we’re talking about, isn’t it?” He leans forward, resting a hand on his knee.
“Yeah.” My voice wavers.
“So, think about it. If you still really want to go and don’t want to go alone, just let me know when you want to go and I’ll be here.”
I nod, worried I’ll say the wrong thing if I speak too soon. Instead, I do what he says and think about it. Daniel would never allow me to go, but I don’t have to let him stop me either. I’m strong enough to handle it and I’m capable of deciding what’s best for myself.
“Only you can decide what’s best for you,” Zavier says as if reading my mind. His drill is back on now, and we don’t talk about the beach for the rest of the time he’s here. I make us BLT wraps, and we chat at the kitchen table until it’s an hour before I have to be at the work dinner. Zavier stays to help me pick out my outfit, and when I begin stripping out of my clothes, he starts to walk out of my room. I stop him before he can get out the door, closing it and locking it.
I gesture at the bed, and he takes a seat as I change my clothes as if I’m alone. Then I brush my hair, adjust my shirt, and turn back toward him. “Look okay?”
“Want the truth?” he says, pushing himself up higher on his elbows.
“Yes.”
Sitting up all the way, he scoots to the edge of the bed with his lips tilting up. “You look perfect.”
Blushing, I look away. “Yeah, I thought you were going to tell me the truth.”
“I am.” He gets to his feet, grabbing my hand. “You look perfect and stunning.”
With his face only inches from mine, he leans forward and kisses my forehead. “You don’t want to be late, and if you keep staying where you are while looking at me like that, you will be.”
I laugh, shaking my head, and I step back first. “You saying that almost makes me consider missing it.”
“Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for me to make you late, but today I think you need to be on time. This dinner is important to you.”
“Yeah. It is.”
Hooking his arm in mine, he walks me to the front of the house. He grabs all his tools and slips his shirt on as I grab my keys. We exit the house together and he stands in the driveway, waving me off as I pull out onto the road first. He looked so right standing in front of my house. Then again, he looks right standing anywhere, especially where I can see and feel him the most.
