“You’ve got to be kidding,” I muttered to myself as I reached the clearing near the water.
Standing next to the creek, staring up at me as if I’d caught him with his hand in the cookie jar, was Everett. Only, he wasn’t alone. Beside him was a massive puppy. He had the dog on a leash, but it looked like if it got a running start, there was no way Everett would be able to do anything but hold on for dear life. And Everett was huge.
“Hey there,” he said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you twice.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, smiling. “I just wanted to come down here one last time before I moved into my new place.”
“Oh,” he said. “Out of town?”
“No, no,” I said. “Just my own apartment. Not too far from Dina’s actually.”
“I didn’t even realize there were apartment complexes in Ashford,” Everett said, laughing.
I laughed too and realized it was higher pitched than normal. Almost a giggle. A giggle. From me.
“Yeah, there isn’t,” I said. “Not in the traditional sense. One old lady owns four townhouses all in a row. She calls them Ashford Apartments, but you know.”
“Ahh,” he said. “I see.”
“Who is this?” I asked, pointing toward the dog and taking a tentative step toward her. “You never mentioned having a dog.”
“This is Lily,” he said proudly. “I just got her recently actually. Got tired of living alone and she was tired of living at the shelter.”
“She’s a rescue?” I asked. He nodded and I felt a tingle of warmth on my cheeks. “May I pet her?”
“Oh, sure, she’s very friendly,” he said.
I knelt and reached out to pet Lily and was immediately slobbered on and knocked over by the energetic pup. I laughed as I hit the ground and returned some of the energy in a roughhouse pet. Lily seemed to love it and licked my face again. Everett held out a hand to help me up, and I had to brush a ton of leaves off me, which Lily danced in like they were confetti.
“She’s great,” I said. “Sorry if I got her all dirty.”
“Ah, she’s a dog,” he said. “They’re supposed to get dirty. I’m more worried about you and this fantastic track suit. Is it vintage?”
“It is!” I said. “I’ve had it since I was a kid. Still fits. Mostly.”
His eyes trailed down my body and I felt a warm sensation run up my spine. There was only one area that the track suit didn’t really fit anymore, and it was the reason it wasn’t zipped up all the way. Everett seemed to notice. But rather than make me feel self-conscious, I was glad. I wanted him to notice me. I wanted him to notice the curves of my body.
Oh no.
The blush was staining my cheeks. I could feel it. I was crushing on Everett. I could not, under any circumstances, afford to crush on Everett or anyone else right then. There was too much to do, especially now that I had retired Mom.
Rallying, I changed the subject immediately. “Well, I should get back to my run. Have a nice day.”
“You too,” he said as I waved and took off, perhaps a little too fast, down the trail toward my parents’ house.
As I ran, I could feel the heat on my neck and cheeks, and it wasn’t from exertion. I was still bringing back images from the bath, and now I was putting even more accurate details in it. Not that I had missed many the first time.
I got back to my parents’ place and immediately went in to shower. Pulling out a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt that hadn’t been worn for at least two presidential cycles, I stuffed everything else into a bag to bring to the car. I could always wash it at the new place.
I resisted the urge to let my mind wander back to Everett as I showered, focusing on getting the job done efficiently and quickly so I could get on with the rest of my day. When I was dressed and dry, I said goodbye to my parents, arranged for when I would come over in two days to have dinner with them, and then headed out the door.
My first stop was at the big box store. My parents lived not too far from the edge of town, which made the big store trips easier, though getting to Dina’s was a little more of a drive. But then again, everything in Ashford was a bit of a drive. At least it wasn’t Chicago, where I either had hours of gridlock or needed to rely on public transportation to get anywhere.
Walking through the massive store was almost like Christmas. My old condo in Chicago had been tiny, but it was home and in such a great place in the city that it was a hot commodity. I gave up a lot of stuff just so I didn’t have to move it, and now that I was striking out on my own again, I needed to get things to replace the ones I left in the condo. I wandered through the aisles and picked up stuff, already envisioning where each thing would go, like a coffee grinder and stand mixer. Things that I would need so I could keep both caffeinated and creative at home.