The Boyfriend Project

by Rachel Hawthorne

  “I got the impression when you talked about him before that you didn’t like him.”

  “He’s nice enough. He’s just a little too cocky and thinks he has this competition nailed.” She furrowed her brow. “How did you know it was him, anyway?”

  I lifted a shoulder, regretted it as soon as I did it when the muscles protested. Fought back the grimace. “Tommy knows him.”

  “Tommy Simms? We should have him in the gun show, too. I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

  She really had a one-track mind when it came to the shelter. Although I completely understood, because animals were so important to her.

  “How long will it take to finish the wing?” she asked.

  “From what I understand, the rest of the summer.”

  “It’s going to be so nice when we can handle more dogs.” She squeezed my hand. “You’ll be part of that, of making a difference.”

  “I’m making a difference with that fund-raiser.”

  “That, too.”

  With her fork, Kendall broke off a bit of meatball and tossed it to Bogart. The dog snatched it out of the air. Then he settled down, chin on the floor, as though that small action had tuckered him out. I was tempted to join him. I didn’t know if I’d ever been so tired.

  “So, your mom’s date? Same guy?” I asked.

  “No, someone different. He took her to the Shrimp Hut. If Avery were working tonight, I’d have her text me a photo of them.”

  “You haven’t seen him?”

  “Nope. Mom wouldn’t even tell me his name. Think she was afraid I’d Google him.”

  “Has to be hard for her to date after so long.”

  She started playing with her food again. “I miss him sometimes, you know?”

  “You probably always will.”

  She nodded. “But some days it’s more than others. It’s going to be hard on Mom when I leave.”

  “But it’ll be good for her and you,” I said, even though I didn’t know if that was true. I had no experience with psychology.

  “Was today scary for you?” she asked, her green eyes filled with earnestness.

  “Actually I started working yesterday. It was a little strange. Totally different environment, but I like it.”

  “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  “I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

  “I wish your dad saw you like I do.”

  “You mean as hot stuff?” I asked.

  She laughed lightly. “No! I just wish he had more faith in you.”

  Sometimes I did, too.

  She dropped her fork into her bowl. “I’m done.” Then she reached for my empty bowl.

  “I’ll help you clean up.” I slid off the stool, moaned a little as the muscles rebelled.

  Her eyes widened. “You okay?”

  “Just sore.”

  “Want a massage?”

  “That’s a lot of trouble.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “What else are we going to do tonight? You’re obviously not up for walking Bogart.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  She gave me a pointed look.

  Okay, so it was that bad. I sighed. “Be gentle.”

  She gave me a seductive smile that almost banished all the aches. “I think I’m about to have you exactly where I want you.”

  Chapter 21

  KENDALL

  We went to my bedroom. As long as we kept the door open, I knew Mom wouldn’t mind.

  Jeremy took off his sandals and his shirt—the buttoned kind that I was used to him wearing. It was short sleeved, and I wished it had been long sleeved so he could have rolled them up. I knew it was crazy, because he’d only been working at his new job for two days, but I could have sworn his muscles looked firmer. With a groan, he stretched out facedown on the bed. I went into my bathroom and located some lotion, grabbed a towel, and returned to my room. Bogart had followed us up and was resting on the floor, his droopy eyes on Jeremy as though he understood his pain. Dogs were supposed to be intuitive about stuff like that.

  I poured a little lotion along the dip in his back, along his spine. He jumped a little.

  “That’s cold.”

  “It’ll be warm in just a minute.” I’d caressed him before, applied sunscreen, but I’d never tire of having the opportunity to just admire the expanse of his bare back. He was cradling his head on his hands, with his face turned to the side. He was watching me. Leaning down, I kissed his cheek. “Relax.”

  He took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.”

  I skimmed my hands from the waistband of his khaki shorts all the way up to the nape of his neck. He released a long, slow moan.

  “Nice,” he murmured.

  Yes, he was indeed nice, very nice. I was feeling slightly superior to Jade and Darla because I was seeing what they hadn’t; I was touching what they never would.

  “I got a little jealous today,” I admitted quietly while I slowly stroked his shoulders.

  “Yeah?”

  “You don’t have to sound so pleased.”

  “I just never really thought I was the kind of guy that girls got jealous over.”

  “Of course you are.” Even if Jade and Darla hadn’t remembered him from before. I wasn’t going to tell him that. I gently kneaded his muscles. Ran my hands down his arms, back up and over his shoulders.

  “You don’t have to be jealous,” he said. “You’re it for me.”

  I nipped at his ear. “Same goes.”

  I skimmed my hands over the broad expanse of his back. Had I ever realized how broad he was? He really needed to wear smaller T-shirts. The kind that looked like he’d been melted into them.

  “Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?”

  “Mmm-huh,” he murmured sleepily.

  “What would you get?” I asked.

  “Dunno. A wolf maybe.”

  “Where?”

  “Back, left shoulder.”

  I pressed a kiss there. “Anywhere else?”

  “Right shoulder. A tiger.”

  I kissed his right shoulder.

  “Neck,” he muttered.

  I nuzzled his neck. “Where else?”

  “Every . . . where.”

  The last of the word trailed off. Lifting my head, I peered at him. His eyes were closed, his face totally relaxed. A tiny little snore sounded. He was obviously not only sore, but exhausted.

  Very carefully I eased off the bed and moved to the chair at my desk. I studied him. I was probably the only one who would notice that his hair was a shade longer. He hadn’t shaved before coming over. The shadow over his face made him look a little older. The khaki shorts were the old Jeremy. It was a little like I was looking at what I’d had and what he was going to change into.

  I wondered if the khaki would eventually go away. I wondered if I’d even recognize him. I shook my head at the stupid thought. Of course I would. The outside might be changing, but inside he’d be the same.

  Wouldn’t he?

  The light in the hallway hitting my eyes woke me up. I was on my bed, lying on my side, Jeremy’s arm around me, his bare chest to my back. I blinked at the shadowy apparition standing in my doorway. I nearly screamed before I realized it was Mom.

  Gingerly I eased off the bed and padded over to her. “I know this looks bad,” I whispered, “but I was giving him a massage—” Okay, that might not sound any better.

  I stepped out into the hallway so I wouldn’t disturb him and gave her a quick explanation about his new job and the toll it was taking on him. The entire time she just gave me this secretive-looking smile.

  “Kendall,” she finally said, “I trust you. In less than a month, you’re going off to college. I won’t know precisely what you’re doing or whom you’re doing it with. But I expect you to be the smart girl you’ve always been.”

  “I will be,” I told her. Nodded. “I am.” Then I realized how dark it was. While I didn’t know the exact hour, I was pretty sure it wa
s late. “You enjoyed your date.”

  “I did, yes.”

  “Are you going to tell me his name?”

  “Sam Morris.”

  “Of the car dealership?”

  She nodded.

  “You met him online?”

  “No, actually I’ve known him for a while. We crossed paths at the produce section of the grocery store the other night. . . . One thing led to another and he asked me out.”

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “I think so, yes. He’s a widower, so he gets me.”

  Just like Jeremy got me. “I’m glad. You deserve to be happy again.”

  “Well, let’s not order the wedding cake just yet.” She ruffled my hair and nodded toward my bedroom. “His parents might be looking for him.”

  “I’ll nudge him awake.”

  “Night, sweetie.”

  There was a dreaminess to her walk as she carried on down the hall. It made me smile, reminded me of how I’d felt the night that Jeremy had first kissed me. I walked back into my room and sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey, you,” I whispered.

  Jeremy squinted up at me. “I’m awake. Woke up while you were talking to your mom but decided to play possum so I didn’t disturb you.”

  “Sam Morris,” I told him. “Can you believe it? He has to be years older than she is.”

  “Just because he has white hair doesn’t mean he’s old.” He sat up. “Maybe you can suggest he dye it.”

  “Funny. He is good looking,” I said. Tall, slender.

  “Maybe you should ask him to be one of your gunslingers,” Jeremy suggested as he pulled his shirt on and buttoned it.

  I tucked my legs beneath me. “Huh. Someone to appeal to the older crowd.”

  He paused, looked at me. “I was kidding.”

  “I’m not. It’s all about raising money for the shelter. Some diversity in ages could make a difference.”

  “Do you really want to put a guy your mom is dating up there for people to gawk at?”

  I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I didn’t want to see him in a T-shirt flexing his muscles. On the other hand—

  “I asked you to do it.”

  “True enough.”

  Standing, he took my hand. “Walk me out.”

  We didn’t say anything as we went down the stairs and headed outside. When we got to his car, he leaned back against the door, put his hands on my hips, and brought me in for a searing kiss. It was like we hadn’t kissed all summer. Or maybe he needed fortification before he headed home.

  He pressed his forehead to mine. “Could have been doing that all night instead of sleeping.”

  “You needed the rest. We’ll make it up tomorrow night.”

  “Count on it.”

  He got in the car. I watched him drive away, his speed a little faster than usual. I didn’t know why that bothered me.

  The pressed-trousers-and-buttoned-shirt Jeremy never would have bucked his father, never would have left the law firm. This jeans-and-rolled-up-sleeves-at-work Jeremy—he was hot. He was what I wanted. Wasn’t he?

  Chapter 22

  JEREMY

  Kendall might not have any interest in Chase, but I was pretty sure the guy was very much interested in her. He always seemed to be in the dog play area whenever she was. He always spoke to her, always made her laugh. Once I saw him fold his hand over her shoulder, and I nearly bit the nail I was holding between my teeth in two. I really didn’t like this guy. I especially didn’t like the attention he was giving my girl.

  Three days in, and I’d had enough.

  After work, I found myself knocking on Fletcher’s door. When he opened it, he seemed as surprised to see me as I was to be there.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Was wondering if you happened to have an extra root beer you’d be willing to part with.”

  He gave me a once-over. “Sure. Come on in.”

  “I’m not disturbing anything?”

  He grinned. “Dude, I wouldn’t have invited you in if you were. Avery’s helping her mom cook dinner so I’ve got a few minutes before I need to get over there.”

  I followed him into his apartment. It was a single room with a sitting area, bed, and dresser.

  “Take a load off,” he said as he reached into a mini-fridge and pulled out two brown bottles.

  Dropping onto the couch, I took the bottle he offered me and drank deep. “Thanks.”

  Sitting in a chair, he put his feet on the coffee table, studied me, waited. I wasn’t really sure why I’d come to see him. Yes, I was.

  “So you were right about Simms Construction. I got a job helping with the work on the animal shelter.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Oh, yeah. It’s just that . . .” Leaning forward, I dangled the bottle between my fingers. This was hard. “I see this guy, Chase, flirting with Kendall when she’s taking the dogs outside.”

  “Dude, she’s crazy about you. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  I wasn’t exactly worried—or maybe I was. I just knew that I didn’t like it. “This gun show we’re doing? It was Chase’s idea. I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s going to win. I’d rather he didn’t. I thought maybe you should take the competition a little more seriously and whip his butt.”

  “Why not you?”

  “You’ve got a good three inches in height on me.”

  “Height’s got nothing to do with it. It’s all about the abs. They’re the first things a girl’s eyes go to.”

  “I don’t have any abs.”

  “We won’t know that until we dig for them. You played baseball this spring, right? So you’re in pretty good shape. Start doing a lot of crunches. I mean, a lot of crunches. Those abs will seem to come out of nowhere. Then during the competition, do a little shirt lift, and the girls will go absolutely crazy.” Pointing his bottle toward me, he arched an eyebrow. “Don’t ask me how I know that’s true.”

  “You really think that’s all it’ll take? Sit-ups?”

  “Add some curls for your forearms. You know, lift weight, put it down. Up. Down. Old-school exercising can do it.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this what you’re doing?”

  “You know it.”

  “You could have mentioned this when we were at the beach house.”

  “I wanted to win for Avery. Wasn’t going to lose my advantage. But now it’s more important for us both to beat this guy.”

  I regretted a little that I hadn’t become friends with Fletcher sooner. He might be a tough guy, but he was a good tough guy.

  “Don’t say anything to Avery because she’ll tell Kendall, and I don’t want her to know what I’m doing.”

  “She’ll probably notice when you’re making out.”

  “That’s fine. I just don’t want her to know until she notices.”

  He grinned again. “The things we do for chicks, right?”

  Right. This was for me, too, but I didn’t want to lose Kendall. And suddenly I was afraid that if I didn’t change—if I didn’t at least beat Chase—that I might.

  Chapter 23

  KENDALL

  I was starting to see Jeremy more while I was doing my volunteer work at the shelter than I did in the evenings. The couple of nights during the week that he did come over, we made out a little, but mostly we watched TV. While he was getting accustomed to the strenuous work, the heat still took a toll, so he was usually tired, content to just hold me on the couch.

  I’d get to the shelter around lunchtime, stopping first at the B. S. to pick up some burgers. Jeremy would take his break when I arrived. We’d sit under a tree and visit, while watching the dogs romping in the fenced area. We’d talk about leaving for college, the things we thought we should take with us, what we thought it would be like. The classes we wanted to share. The distraction of waiting to hear if we got the on-campus jobs we’d applied for.

  Saturday, after I got out of the car at the shelter, I grab
bed a wicker basket out of the backseat. I’d decided to do something special and make the lunch myself. My grandmother’s chicken salad sandwiches and Jeremy’s favorite dessert: double fudge brownies.

  As I walked toward the construction site, I spotted him talking with Jade. He was wearing a red tank top that revealed his clearly defined muscles and his bronzed skin. His face was shadowed with stubble. He looked older, tougher . . . sexier.

  I couldn’t deny that at that moment I didn’t think he’d ever looked hotter. I wanted to wrap my arms around his waist and plant a kiss on him. Shallow, I know, to be so mesmerized by the transformation from buttoned shirts to tight cotton. But I wanted to skim my hands over his arms and shoulders, feel the firmness of those muscles that hadn’t been there at the beginning of summer.

  I wanted to do exactly what Jade was doing.

  I stopped in my tracks as she took her fingers on a little journey along his biceps. I hadn’t noticed how close they were standing. She’d be able to feel the heat shimmering off him. She was giving him a seductive smile that was filled with wicked promises.

  He was smiling back.

  My chest tightened at the sight of their obvious flirtation, and I was fighting to draw in the hot, humid Texas air. He’d never grinned at me like that, like he was considering doing naughty things with me. I had the fleeting thought that I wanted to leave, that I didn’t want to see this. I’d wanted to make other girls jealous. I hadn’t wanted to be the one who became jealous.

  Jeremy saw me. His smile grew and he waved. His apparent gladness at seeing me loosened the knot in my chest so I could at least breathe again. Squaring my shoulders, I walked over.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” I repeated, my brain not really functioning yet.

  Jade gave me a once-over as though she were sizing me up for a wrestling match. Then she looked back at Jeremy and did this stupid little thing where she touched the tip of her tongue to her upper lip. “See you later.”

  She walked off with an exaggerated roll to her hips.