by Turner, Xyla
Then she parked her ass on my couch and crossed her legs. Leaving no room for debate or even a counter argument.
What the hell?
I growled out loud, turned towards my bedroom and that was when I heard the laugh.
It was seeping into me and that was something I could not afford.
* * *
“Hey there, Phoebe. How ya doing today?” the clerk asked, as we walked into the humongous nursery filled with plants, vegetables and flowers sorted by the various products each one produced.
“Hey,” she sang and hugged the older woman standing in the middle of the dirt aisle. “How’s Emily? Is she over the ‘I hate Mommy stage’?”
“Ha, I wish. Now, it’s the ‘I hate Mommy and Daddy stage.” The woman with the salt and pepper colored hair laughed. “I welcomed Pete to the club. He’s walking around like a lost puppy.”
The two women laughed out loud at the poor man’s misfortune and proceeded to go towards the end of the aisle.
I must be chopped liver because not only was I not introduced, but she didn't even turn around to see if I’d followed the cackling women.
I did, but the point was I had been ignored.
“So, who’s your friend?” the woman asked.
“Oh my God,” Phoebe shrieked and ran over to me. “I'm so sorry.”
Both arms snaked around my left bicep as she hung on and those big eyes landed on me. “Please, forgive me. I'm so used to coming here by myself. I just got caught up.”
Fuck.
What was I supposed to do or say when she was holding onto me like that and her face filled with remorse. My head nodded and her smile showed those bright teeth behind pouty lips, almost blinding me. Not literally, but figuratively. It was like her smile engulfed a person in warmth, much like her laugh.
Phoebe’s thumbs swiped my arm twice, then she let me go. I didn't realize I had inhaled her scent; it was a sweet warm fragrance. I didn't realize I’d kept it trapped in my nostrils until she let me go and I exhaled.
Holy shit.
Phoebe apologized again and said, “This is Zou. He's my neighbor and he's volunteered to help with the backyard.”
What world did she live in because she said that with a straight face? The woman damn near threatened to stay in my place until I put my shit on to leave. Parked her ass on my couch and everything.
“The name is Goliath,” I corrected her.
Phoebe turned her head with that fucking smile and a raised eyebrow.
“Ahh,” she nodded.
“So glad you volunteered. This girl right here has been running the project, practically by herself, and she does it well.”
What project?
I had scoped out the grounds before I actually moved in. When I went out back, there was a huge space but it was covered with black plastic, hiding what was underneath. I assumed there was construction being done and dismissed the view.
It was surprising that there was an entire garden out there where produce was cultivated and then sold. That took entrepreneurial skills, management, and a lot of other talents that didn’t jump out when looking at the annoying woman.
“Oh and my name is Rose. Yes, I know I work at a nursery and it's ironic, but I didn't name myself,” she chuckled.
“Nice to meet you, Rose.” I held out my hand.
She gripped my extended palm and the color rose to her cheeks.
“Oh my.” Rose fanned herself with her handkerchief.
Phoebe smacked my chest and said, “See what I mean. Now imagine if you would have come out with no shirt.”
What the hell was going on?
My groin tightened slightly as my eyes landed on Phoebe’s. Her smile caused a warmth to pass through my blood. Though I did not know what type of look I was giving her, for the first time since I met her, she blinked, stopped smiling, and turned her head to avoid my gaze.
“Oh yes,” Rose added.
“So,” Phoebe cleared her throat, “let’s get everything I will need because I have a lot to do before dark.”
We did not spend a lot of time there since my neighbor had everything already mapped out to the last nail needed to secure the tarp.
When we arrived back to the apartment building, I helped her bring everything into the backyard and it was definitely not the same as what I saw when I first moved in.
“Thanks, Goliath.” She put emphasis on my name. “I can handle it from here.”
“This dirt is kind of heavy. Do you need me to drag it somewhere?”
She looked around and my eyes dropped to her denim short-shorts, emerald tank top and the slide-on athletic shoes.
Damn.
Nope, I wouldn’t be able to handle much more of her.
“It’s okay.” She looked back up at me. “I think I can handle it.”
“Okay.” I turned and rushed to get away from the woman who was affecting me in more ways than I’d care to admit.
Chapter 4
Walking Dead
Goliath:
My kindle was about to run out of juice while reading Power of the Pen by Xyla Turner. The guy in the story was in the army like I was and had lost his family of brothers. This was almost the way I felt, but all of my brothers hadn’t been killed. Some relocated back to their home towns, were moved to different bases, and a good number of them had died during active duty. Dealing with the deaths was hard enough, but the separation from the structure was mind numbing.
The guys and I talked infrequently as it was difficult but we kept saying those of us that were state-side would have a get-together. We always said we would do it, but it seemed like we were all sort of stuck.
Or maybe just the walking dead.
It was the next day when a knock came on the door. This time it was early afternoon and it could be no one but her. I opened the door wide so she could enter. There was no point in trying to block her, she would just push past anyway.
“How may I help you today?” I asked with purposefully planted sarcasm attached to each word.
“Goliath.” She smiled. “So glad you’re in a chipper mood. I’ve worked so hard for that.”
I almost laughed.
Fucking crazy.
“You smirked.” She pointed towards my mouth. “Yesssss.”
Her fist pumped in the air in triumph.
Shaking my head, I closed the door behind her and folded my arms over my chest.
“So, you need help moving the bags of dirt?”
“Oh no. Kevin came to help me,” she said. “Today, we’re going to the beach.”
Who’s Kevin?
Beach?
“What?” I asked her for the billionth time.
Right on que, she burst out laughing.
Fuck.
My hand itched to turn her over the back of the couch. She was fucking with me. Like, really fucking with me.
“No,” I said.
“Zou, I mean, Goliath.” She took a step towards me. “We must go to the beach, because this is the season for clams and I need to collect them now or I’ll miss it.”
“Don’t you have a car?” I asked.
“It rides weird in sand.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“You drive it, you’ll see.”
She was now in my space and fucking up my head with her smiles and sarcastic comments.
“No,” I repeated.
Her head lowered slightly as those long lashes reached above her eyelids.
God, her eyes were adorably big and they were on me.
“Fuck, Phoebe,” I growled. “Why can’t you go with someone else? Why can’t Kevin take you? I don’t want to go. I don’t want to be on the beach, and I don’t want to hang out.”
Her chin lifted and this time there was no laughter or anger. She just stared at me for a beat and said, “Back to grouchy, huh?”
She turned on her heels, went to sit on the couch and grabbed my Kindle.
“Maybe we can read this,” sh
e swiped the screen of my tablet as it illuminated, “book. Uh, Power of the Pen.”
I groaned out loud. The woman was not listening and I wasn’t sure how else I could say, I wanted to be left alone.
“Oh no. You’re almost done. Is she a good author? Let’s pick another book by her.” She went to the author’s credits. “Oh, I like this cover. Let’s try Under Further Review. I love sports romances.”
She wasn’t going anywhere.
I stomped to my room, pulled my shorts off and put on some swim trunks, grabbed my sandals and stalked back to the front door. Phoebe was still swiping through my Kindle contents, until I said, “Any day now.”
“Huh?” She looked up. “Who is this Xyla chick? I think I like her. I can already tell Diamond and Shane’s book is going to be a hot one!”
Fuck.
“Come on, we’re going to the beach,” I snapped.
“Yay!” She dropped the Kindle and jumped to her feet. “Glad to see you’re less grouchy.”
Phoebe grabbed onto my arm and led the way out the door. Once we buckled up in my truck, she started bouncing her ass on the seat, causing the entire bench to shake.
I placed my hand on her thigh to steady her. Immediately, her body stopped moving and she became stiff. I looked to her and her eyes were looking at my large hand firmly gripping her thigh. I removed it and said, “Stay still.”
“I'm just excited,” she started to wiggle around again. “Do you know how long it's been since I've been back to the beach? These clams have beautiful shells and make great jewelry.”
My hand gripped her thigh again, as I said, “Are you going to stop moving around in my fucking truck?”
“I'll try.” She held out her hands as if she was steading herself with her palms facing the window.
I shook my head because she was crazier than a loon.
When we finally made it there, I slowly followed her as she made her way to the water. It wasn't crowded like I expected because this part of the beach was not the tourist part. There were no shops, food venues, or even any of the street vendors. They were all on the west side of the beach.
On the side we were, only the vacation homes remained in the area.
I'd thought about living out there but being on the beach everyday reminded me too much of being overseas.
Phoebe kept walking and I lagged behind aimlessly until she started removing clothing. The shirt came off then she stopped and started to wiggle her ass out of her denim shorts, revealing a nice little bikini.
Holy shit.
I closed my eyes for a moment in an attempt to get her hot body out of my mind.
“Zou, what's wrong?” she yelled, causing me to open my eyes. Her hand hovered over her forehead. “Is the sun blinding you?”
“No,” I cleared my throat and answered back.
“Cool, over here,” she waved me to the east side.
When I caught up to her, she had pulled out a large towel and was lying down.
“I thought you said you came out here to go clamming?” I inquired.
“Yeah, but they don't really show until the sun starts to set. So, I'm pretty pale and I figured I needed some sun.”
Wait, but it's only two-thirty o’clock.
“So you're going to be out here all day?” I asked.
“Of course,” she laughed. “You're so silly.”
“Phoebe,” I snapped. “Do you have a ride home because I'm not staying out here all fucking day?”
Her pink bottom lip poked out, then she said, “Zou, I mean Goliath. What do you have to do? Come on and keep me company. So you can see the miracle that's about to take place at sundown. Plus, you could use a little more tanning. The ladies will really fall all over you then.” She smiled and kept her eyes on me.
Shit.
I didn't have anything to do but this damn woman already had me all the way here at the goddamn beach. No point in going back. She'd probably need a ride.
“Fine,” I huffed and took off my sandals.
“Ha! Perfect, I brought my extra-long blanket too.” She patted the large space next to her.
I sat down and my arms rested on my knees as I thought about how I got here.
Phoebe touched me, causing me to turn around.
“You want some sun screen?” she asked.
My hand nabbed it from her and I began to rub lotion on my arms. Then I took off my shirt and began to rub it on my front. When I turned to ask her to put some on my back, her lips were parted and her eyebrows were up.
“What?” I asked, knowing that my annoyance was evident.
“Nothing, just be careful where you flash those puppies.” She blinked and continued to rub the lotion on her legs.
“Can you get my back?” I asked.
“Sure!” She rose on her knees with her hand out waiting for me to give the sunscreen lotion back.
Phoebe’s palms started to rub against the tight muscles near my shoulder blades, then on my upper spine, and moved down to my lower back. I felt her nails scrape the top of my ass then she quickly retreated and moved to rub the lotion on to my shoulders. She reapplied some more lotion and went through the same movements except this time she didn't go anywhere near my lower back. In another time, I would have made a snide remark, but I didn't see her like that and there was no need to remark on what would never happen.
Ever.
“Okay,” she said chipperly, “now you have to do my back.”
She rotated on her knees so her naturally tanned back was bared to me. That bikini didn't do a fucking thing to hide her body. Strings were all I saw and boy did she look damn good.
I slowly squeezed the lotion into my hands, rubbed them together and placed them on her scorching body. She remained still as my hands moved all over her, and I was skittish as she was. My hands touched any piece of skin I could see. Her flat stomach, the top of her ass and even under the string and around the side of her bra; touching the side of her breast.
To her credit, she didn't even flinch, but her body tensed up slightly. When I finished, she said, “Thanks, Zou,” laid back on the towel and put on her sun glasses.
I looked at her sexy ass for one moment, then I followed her and did the same.
Almost one fifth of five minutes passed by before she started talking my head off.
“Aren't you glad to get out and get some fresh air?” she asked. “It's so nice out here. I love it.”
“Are you going to talk the whole time?” I asked.
“Well no, of course not, silly.” She chuckled. “At some point, I'll go for a quick swim, then I'll come back, reapply and do it all over again.”
“Hmm,” I grunted.
“So, where are you from?” she asked. “You never told me? Are you a trust fund baby or are you like me and just dumped what society and family thinks and went your own way?”
Oh boy.
“Yeah, something like that. I'm from Onley. You?” I asked.
“I'm from Chicago, my dad still lives there and he's only recently growing on the fact that I live out here and work for myself.”
“Work for yourself?” I asked.
“Yeah, I make jewelry. It usually sells online but I've sold some to the locals as well.”
That was to be admired.
“What did you do before you moved here?” she asked.
“What did you do before you moved here?” I mocked but was also very intrigued.
“I was a Fortune 500 executive.”
What?
“No shitting?” I asked as I came up on my elbows.
“No shitting!” Her chin turned down as her shades showed my own reflection.
This annoying woman was an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now, that was hard to believe. She walked around like she didn’t have a care in the world but if she was an exec, she had to have been super ambitious and probably a type A personality. The woman I’d come to know was nothing like that.
“Why are you so surprised?” Phoe
be asked me.
“You don’t act or look the type.”
“Well, I was and I’ll never turn back,” she mumbled and laid back down.
There had to be more to the story and why I was curious seemed dumb, but I was. She continued to ask questions off and on but I never answered her second question. What I did before I moved here. It wasn’t clear to me why I didn’t want to tell her since she’d probably eventually pry it out of me anyway, but I didn’t want sympathy. Not from her or anyone else. I didn’t want the ‘thank you for your service’ comments or ‘I’m sorry’, or whatever the fuck people said when they met a veteran. We didn’t go in there to hear that bullshit. Shit, we barely survived, whether that was physically or mentally. I know, I was barely living. Like my mom had said, ‘the walking dead’.
Some time had passed and Phoebe jumped up and said, “Come on, lets hit the water.”
“No,” I said without moving a muscle.
“Come on, Zou. You’ve come this far; you might as well get in.”
“No,” I said in a flat tone.
“Ugh,” she sighed.
Then, I felt sprinkles on my stomach. My eyes opened to see Phoebe picking up sand and throwing it on me.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snapped at her.
That’s when the sand hit my face.
That was it.
She must have known it to because she took off running towards the water as I leaped to my feet.
Her ass was going down.
Phoebe was faster than I expected and I did not catch her until she hit the water. Lifting her up, I picked her up and threw her further in the water and went to throw her again. The woman was screaming and laughing hysterically. This time when I lifted her, she was above my head and I brought us further out and threw her in again. Once she emerged from down under, I went to grab her again, but she ducked back down. As I was bending down, looking for her, I heard the water splash and then felt Phoebe on my back, giggling, coughing water up and choking me with her arms as she held on tight.
“Gotcha,” she laughed.
It really was contagious and I’m sure a smile was on my face. Shit, I couldn’t fight her any longer.
My knees bent so that I could go under and get Phoebe off of my back. Once she let go, I turned around and pulled her into my body. She screamed, then laughed again but soon she stopped and her eyes met mine.