The last shovel full of snow was the hardest, but it always was. I finished up and put the shovels up and dusted the snow from my hands and jacket before walking up to the house. I knocked twice on the door and moved back.
Chloe opened the door, her jacket gone and a pretty cream-colored sweater in its place. Her hair was down and a little messy, which drew me in fast.
I extended the invoice to her and smiled. "I'll get something to drink at home. Thanks for the thought, though."
"Did you know this was my house?" She lifted her eyebrow and opened the door a little farther. "And, get in here. I'm not letting you drive home without knowing that you've warmed up a little. I hope your dad has good worker's comp insurance. You're lucky you didn't get frostbite out there."
I chuckled and walked in, working to take my jacket off before leaning over and getting my shoes off. Everything was soaked in sweat and I started to shiver, which seemed to piss her off even more.
"Get over here." She tugged at my arm and pulled me toward the fireplace before turning it on. "Let me heat up your drink. Take off your shirt and I'll throw it in the dryer."
"This your way to see me half-naked?" I teased her, unable to help myself.
"I could have done that ten times already, playboy. Do what I told you to do." She disappeared into the kitchen as I worked to get my socks and t-shirt off. My jeans were soaked, too, but I didn't think she would appreciate me being naked in her living room.
"Do your dad or brother have a pair of sweats I can use?" I called out to her and followed her path into the kitchen, stopping at the edge of it and taking time to simply watch her.
She turned and let her eyes move across me before turning back toward the microwave and grumbling something.
"Sorry?" I took a step into the kitchen as she pulled a mug from the microwave and handed it to me.
"Yes. I'll grab them and you can change in the bathroom."
"I'm good changing here. It's not like you've never seen a man naked before...right?"
She put her hand on her hip and closed her eyes. "Don't make this hard on me or I'll kick you out of here so fast it will make your head spin."
"Hard on you?" I laughed and moved closer to her. "You went home with my best friend last night and left me with eight drunks."
She opened her eyes and pushed at my chest, hard. "You wanted to go home with Cindy and I dropped Brian off at his house. You're crazy if you think anything happened between us."
"He's a damn idiot if he didn't try." I dropped my clothes and reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward me. "Nothing happened with Cindy. You know why?"
"Why, Finn? Because of your month off from women?"
I smiled and released her before walking toward the small room by the kitchen that held the washer and dryer. I slipped out of my pants and tossed everything in the dryer. After finding an oven mitt, I walked back in the kitchen holding it in front of my crotch and laughed at the look she gave me.
"I didn't do anything with her because she's not you. Go get me some damn pants or I'm going to resort to other means of warming up." I moved toward her and she turned, walking back down the hall quickly.
"Don't touch me. I'm not interested in anything you have to offer." She disappeared into a dark room and I forced myself not to follow her. Our relationship couldn't be built on sex. It needed a solid friendship. I needed one. Hell, she seemed to, as well.
I moved to the fireplace and moved the mitten, warming my body fully and relaxing as the chill finally began to leave me.
The sound of her gasp caused me to look over my shoulder. "Like what you see?"
"It's an ass. Everyone has one." She walked over to me and laid the pants over my shoulder. "I'll wait for you at the table."
"Thank you," I mumbled and put them on, grateful that someone in her family was tall. Too bad they had SpongeBob and Patrick dancing across them in various motions. "You did this on purpose."
"I did." She pressed her
fingers to her lips and laughed. "You look great, though."
"Right?" I flexed my pecs and sat down, reaching for the drink. "Thanks for this."
"Did you know this was my father's place?" She sat back and drew her legs up to her chest.
I wanted to lie, but couldn't force myself to do it. "I did. I heard Cindy say your last name at the club and realized that my father had a client by the same name. I had to pull a few strings, and it's creepy, I know, but I couldn't not see you again. I shouldn't want to, but I do." I shrugged and lifted the mug to my mouth.