“Is there any issue with that now?”
“No,” I said. “When we got divorced, the judge gave me everything. She didn’t even show up for the hearing. She knew she wasn’t getting jack shit after leaving the two of us.”
“Good,” she said with a head nod. “It was your brainchild, anyway.”
“That, my friend, is very true,” I said, pointing a chip at her. “It’s funny, though. I hated being at a desk all day as a programmer, but about two months into summer here, I can’t wait to get to the slow season so I can get out of the weather.”
“I can imagine,” she said. “I always hate when I have to decorate a home that hasn’t been moved into yet or is just being built. They keep the temps either stifling or freezing cold in the winter to save money and electricity. I had to put it in my contract that when we were on-site working, we were allowed to keep it a comfortable temperature.”
“Speaking of comfortable temperatures,” I said, realizing that it had nothing to do with what I was about to say. “Actually, no, not temps, but time. Kayla will be home soon, so we should get back at it.”
“Yes,” she said, standing up and carrying her plate to the sink.
We continued our day, finishing up the shelves in the spare bedroom and then deciding to go ahead and hang the curtains since that room wasn’t getting any major carpentry work done. I watched Alissa climb up on the ladder, her long legs and round ass tight as she steadied herself at the top. She turned and looked at me. Her cheeks blushed, and her eyes darkened. The sun cast shadows across the room from the window, and I tried not to stare at her hot body as she reached up and drilled the curtain rod into both sides. She got down and pulled the curtains onto the long rod as I sat down on the bed and waited for her to be finished. It was the last thing for us to do that day, but I wasn’t ready to leave her alone just yet. She was incredibly sexy, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
As she stepped up onto the ladder and lifted the rod into the air, the stepladder wiggled underneath her. I stood up to go stabilize it, but before I could, she tripped on the fabric, falling backward. I leaped forward and held out my arms, scooping her into them and pulling her close to my body. The ladder fell to the side, and the curtain rod crashed to the floor. She was breathing heavily and clutching my chest with her hands. I could smell the warm scent of lavender from her hair as she laid there in my arms.
Slowly, she picked her head up and gazed into my eyes, the heat between us hotter than ever. Our lips were so close to each other’s that I could feel her breath against my face. She gazed up at me, her chest heaving and my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I squeezed tightly to her body as I began to lower my head to hers.
“Dad,” Kayla yelled from downstairs as I heard the front door slam shut. “I’m home.”
I stopped moving and pulled my head back, the moment completely shattered. Alissa chuckled nervously and pulled her hair out of her face as I carefully set her back on the floor. I reached down and grabbed the curtain rod and reached up, placing it on the holders. She shook her head and laughed as she picked up the stepladder and closed it, leaning it against the wall.
“Well, that would have been a lot easier,” she said, sticking her hands in her pockets and staring at me.
We stood there for several moments, our eyes latched. Alissa smiled and looked down shyly as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was so beautiful, and I was regretting not kissing her when I had the chance. The thought of going for it cruised through my mind briefly, but I was interrupted when Kayla came around the corner.
“Hey,” she said, happier than normal and looking around the room. “Wow, I like this. Now maybe we can have guests over.”
“Like who?” I laughed nervously.
“I don’t know, maybe you’ll make some friends or something,” she said smartly.
“Very funny,” I replied. “How was school?”
“Good,” she said, turning from the room. “I’m going to get a snack and start homework.”
“And I’m going to get out of your hair,” Alissa said, walking to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“I’ll be here.” I smiled big.
I may have completely missed my chance, but there was no denying that Alissa felt the heat, too.
Chapter Twelve
Alissa
When I got home, I let out a deep breath and collapsed on the couch. Being around Ryan was almost exhausting because I had to keep control of myself, even though I was incredibly attracted to him. I wanted to kick myself for not just kissing him when I had the chance. I could tell he was just as into it as I was, not to mention the fact that he had been staring at my legs and ass all day long. To be honest, I purposely wore those shorts and that tank top because I knew they accentuated my assets, and I felt like showing off to Ryan just a little bit. I knew that it made me a bad person, flaunting my goods around a man that I didn’t even know whether a relationship was possible with or not, but for the first time in my life, I desperately wanted a man’s attention. I reached over and grabbed my phone, shaking my head. It was time I talked to Bella about all of this. I couldn’t keep it all in anymore.
“Hey, little sis,” she said happily.
“Hey,” I replied with a sigh.
“Uh oh, what’s wrong?” she asked. “Tell me all about it.”
“Nothing is wrong per se,” I said. “I just got back from starting the job on Ryan and Kayla’s house.”
“Oh, yeah, how is that going?”