“It’s on its way from great to awesome,” I answered, wrapping my arms around the tree behind me, looking for all the world like a damsel in distress. I gazed up at him through lowered lashes, California Roxie on the case. “Especially if you keep coming this way.”
The grin that crept across his face was less friendly neighborhood farmer and more sexy neighborhood pirate. Then he was suddenly there, inside my dance space.
It was time to kick this summer romance into gear. There I was, leaning against a tree in a forest with my arms behind me, my breasts thrust forward in the international signal for kiss me, you fool. I looked like the prow of a ship. And there he was, all slow amble and eyes blazing and forearms temptation, a little bit stranger and a little sexy danger.
And then there it was—a huge bumblebee, bobbing on the unseen flower highway. It buzzed my ear, dive-bombed my neck, laughed in my face, and flew right down between my outthrust boobs.
I instantly became a flailing, screaming, beating-at-my-chest ball of freak-out. I tore off my shirt to get at the bee and ran in circles around the tree, slapping at my bra while shrieking at the top of my lungs.
“Roxie? Roxie! What the hell are you—”
“Beeeeeeeeeeee!” I shouted as he stopped me cold, closing his hands around my arms and trying—but not hard enough—to not look down at my tits, now struggling to stay inside their cups.
“Okay, calm down. It won’t sting if you calm—”
“Yes it will! Bees are assholes!” I screamed, shimmying like Charo and trying to break away.
“Are you allergic?”
“No!”
“Then stop squirming!”
“No!”
“Settle down, please.”
“Fuck off!” I thrashed as the bee buzzed inside my bra. “Beeeeee!”
My primeval brain kicked in, and suddenly a vertical escape seemed to be my only option. I climbed Leo like a totem pole. He got a mouthful of abdomen as I surged onto his shoulders. I wrapped my legs around his head, thighs to ears, and arched backward into the tree. With bark at my back and a scream at my lips, I struck at my bra again. The bee looked at me, and I looked at him, and he glared.
Though I’ve never been stung by a bee before, I’ve always had a fear of all things buzzy. I’ve left garden parties, eaten inside at barbecues, and refused to hold flowers at an outdoor wedding once, all because of one tiny buzz.
I swatted at my boobs again once more, and finally succeeded in knocking him clear. He zigged and zagged drunkenly a few times, throwing me a nasty glance over his bee shoulder, then buzzed off into the forest to do whatever he was doing before the crazy lady decided to implode. “Ugh,” I said, shivering.
“Ugh?” a voice said from below.
I remembered where I was, what had happened, and where Leo now had his face. Looking down, I brushed his sandy blond hair back from his brow to see his eyes staring up into mine.
Oh. I was so mortified. “I’m so sor—”
“Ah gawna seh oo donna,” came the muffled reply, and I scooted further back against the tree, freeing his lips from my rather short shorts.
“Sorry?” I sang out, trying to make this not at all awkward.
“I said”—he grasped my hands—“I’m gonna”—giving me a little bounce to get him out from under—“set you”—I flew up in the air before he caught me neatly—“down now.”
I stood in his arms, shirtless, hair full of bark, my chest red from my slapping. He was covered in mud from my scrambling shoes, breathing heavily, and keeping his hands firmly at my waist, holding me at a safe distance. He shook his head. “You’re a bit of a train wreck, aren’t you?”
I puffed a bit of hair away from my face. “Choo choo?”
Thank goodness, he laughed.
Then he gallantly turned around while I put my T-shirt back on, which was sweet, considering he’d already had a substantial peek at the goods. Then we began walking back toward the Jeep.
“So what’s with the bees?” he asked.
“Where?” I asked, automatically ducking. My heart rate spiked at the thought that the bee had returned to get his revenge.
“Easy there, he’s long gone.”
“Good,” I said, scanning the area.
“He’s probably telling all of his buddies to steer clear of the lady in the woods in her underwear.”
“Hey!” I said, giving him an elbow. “It was just my bra.”
He just shook his head and chuckled. “No more nature for you today.” He placed his hand on the small of my back again and guided me toward the road.
It was quiet, just the sounds of our feet crunching through the underbrush. I looked up at him, his face almost in shadow. It was past dusk; we’d been out in the woods for a while. The fireflies were beginning to turn on, sparking here and there in the twilight. We’d spent the better part of the afternoon together, and it had flown by.
“Bees aside, thanks for bringing me out here. And sorry again about the climbing. And the screaming.”
“Next time, less screaming. Climbing is fine; just gimme a heads up,” he replied with an easy smile.
By now we’d reached the Jeep. “Climbing,” I announced in warning, stepping up high and settling into my seat. He stood next to the car a moment longer, and I looked at him curiously. “What’s up, Leo?”
“You’re only here for the summer, right?” he asked, his eyes staring intently into mine.
I felt the tiniest of jolts running through me.
“Mmm-hmm.” Maybe this would be easier than I thought, if we both wanted the same thing. Did this mean . . .
He leaned into the Jeep, one hand grasping the roll bar over my head, the other resting on the dashboard. Caged in by his strong arms, I looked up into his face. The edge of his mouth lifted in a sneaky grin. “Then I should probably get going on this.”
Then his lips were on mine, warm and soft. Mmm. My eyes were still open, searching his. Thrilled and emboldened by his sudden move, my mouth molded to his. The kiss was quick, too quick—before I could close my eyes and begin to revel in it, he pulled back, licking his lips and grinning like a cat.
“Hey, get back here,” I insisted, slipping my hands behind his neck, my thumbs grazing his cheekbones. I pulled his mouth back to mine, luxuriating in the feel of him. His beard tickled a bit, raspy and soft at the same time. I liked it. I more than liked it. I could see how I would very quickly begin to crave it. I leaned into the kiss, rising out of my seat a little, brushing his lips with mine. We kissed again and again, little light lip explosions and soft teasing brushes. I sighed into his mouth, and he pulled back slightly. I tried to follow his lips, and he chuckled.
“Was that a ‘this is boring’ sigh?”
“Are you kidding? That was a ‘please to be kissing me more’ sigh.” I pressed another kiss to his lips.
“ ‘Please to be kissing me’?” he asked, his eyes full of laughter.
“Uh-huh,” I nodded, placing a kiss on his forehead, his nose, his chin, and one final one on his mouth. “Is that how every farm tour ends?”
“I’d say that’s a first.” He laughed, leaning across me and clicking my seat belt.
“Good,” I replied as he walked around to his side of the Jeep. “I like being an original.”
“Oh, I’ll give you that,” he answered, starting up the car and giving me a sexy grin.
My toes pointed. I couldn’t help it. We drove back to the main house, where he put me in my car, then kissed me once more before I left.
And as I drove home, I fiddled with my music, scrolling through songs until I found Achtung Baby. I’d forgotten how awesome this album was.
Chapter 9
When the alarm went off the next morning at 4:30, I began listing all the reasons I should throttle my mother. By 4:37 I had seventeen well-thought-out reasons that would be hard to prosecute under New York State law. But by 4:57 I was in the car, wet hair tied back into a bun, travel mug of coffee in hand, ready for a day of blue plates and blue hairs.