THE NEIGHBOR'S SON by Rakhibul hasan (fb2 epub reader TXT) 📕

As time passed, my lust for the smoking hot handyman turned into genuine concern. It was almost one hundred degrees outside that day. Cade was sweating so much, his khaki shorts were getting soaked. He looked sluggish and dazed when he moved and kept blinking and wiping his brow. Worried that he‟d pass out, I decided to offer him something to drink. After pouring ice cold lemonade in a couple of tall glasses, I went back outside.

“Here. Why don‟t you take a break and drink this,” I said, handing Cade one of the

glasses.

Cade dropped the electric saw in his hands and shot to his feet. “Thanks. Yeah, I could use a little break.” He still had that sweet smile on his face despite the sweltering heat. W hen he went to grab the glass out of my hand, his fingers brushed mine, lingering on them until I pulled my hand away. My heart dropped to my stomach. Danger, danger, a voice in my ear whispered. Once again, I ran. This time toward the patio set at the bottom of the deck stairs. Cade followed me there and we sat across from each other. For what seemed like an eternity, we just sat there, staring at each other and sipping lemonade in complete and awkward silence.

“So, how is it possible that someone so young knows so much about plumbing and fixing decks?” I remarked when I couldn‟t take the weight of his blistering gaze any longer.

Cade leaned forward, his elbows on the table, his hands cradling the half- full lemonade glass in front of him. “First of all, I‟m not that young. I‟m nineteen years old, going to be twenty in a couple of months.”

Crap. He was even younger than I had estimated. I would have never guessed nineteen. Cade Fisher walked around with the confidence of a man who was at least ten years older than that. That and the oh-so-sexy scruff he was sporting made him look like a grown up. The revelation took me aback. Now I felt even guiltier for having the dirty thoughts and dreams I was having. He was barely legal. He was definitely forbidden fruit a nd more than ever I had to stay away from him.

“And to answer your question, my dad taught me to fix things with my hands,” Cade

added.

“He did?”

“Yes. He owned a home repair business. When I was in high school, he‟d let me tag along and help him. That‟s how I learned how to fix plumbing and do a lot of other stuff.”

“You said he ran a home repair business. He doesn‟t do that anymore?” Cade‟s expression turned somber. “He passed away a year ago.”

“I‟m so sorry to hear that. What happened to him?”

"Well, aren't you full of questions," Cade quipped. His lips made an attempt to smile but the sadness in his eyes gave away just how much pain there was in his heart.

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to..."

“I was just kidding. It's okay." After gulping down most of the lemonade left in his glass, he continued. "Car accident. A drunk driver traveling in the opposite direction jumped the median strip of a busy road and plunged into him head on. He died at the scene.”

I gasped. “Oh my God, Cade. That‟s horrible. I‟m so sorry.” Without thinking, I reached over and placed my hand on top of his and gave it a little squeeze. I just felt so sad for him. I too had to cope with the tragic death of a parent when I was very young, so I knew exactly how he felt.

“After my father died, my mom said she couldn‟t live at our old house anymore because it reminded her too much of him. So she sold it and bought the house down the block.”

“That‟s so sad. You must really miss him.” By now I had realized that my hand had been on his too long and awkwardly pulled it away.

“I do miss him. He was the best father a person could ask for. I‟m an only child so now it‟s just my mother and me. My father‟s death has been really hard on her so I try my best to show her as much love as possible.”

“You‟re a good son, Cade.”

He shrugged. “I try. But enough about me. What about you? What are you doing all alone in a house this big?”

I sighed. “I thought about selling and moving to a smaller place, but I love this house so much I‟ve decided to stay. Besides, I‟m not alone. I have a cat.”

“A cat?” Cade remarked with laughter in his eyes. “A cat is not company. You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think it‟s a crime for a woman as beautiful as you to be alone. I don‟t know what happened between you and your ex- husband but he‟s a damn fool if he walked away from you. If I were lucky enough to have a woman like you by my side, there‟s no way I‟d walk away from her.”

I looked down at my drink, trying not to smile, no longer able to hold his smoldering gaze. There he was again, making me uncomfortable with his words and the adoring way he was gazing at me. Damn him. Why is he saying those things to me? Doesn‟t he realize how much older I am than him? I needed to get away from him before I did something I‟d regret. I could practically see a red “DANGER” sign flashing over his head. I shot to my feet and picked up both his and my empty glasses off the table. “Well, I‟m going to get back in the house and let you get back to work, Cade.”

“That‟s a really nice pool you have over there,” Cade breathed, pointing with his chin at my massive, in- ground, kidney-shaped swimming pool on the other side of the yard. Before I could make a remark, Cade was already on his feet making his way towards it. I put the empty glasses down on the patio table and followed him.

“Yeah. This pool is one of the reasons I don‟t want to sell the house. I love swimming,” I said once I was standing on the edge of the pool next to Cade.

Cade crossed his arms over his chest. “I love to swim too. At the old house, we had a pool a lot like this one.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. My father built it. I loved swimming in it. The new house doesn‟t have a pool and my mother refuses to build one.” Cade snatched his gaze away from the water and turned it towards me. “You know, that lemonade I just had did nothing to cool me off."

"Do you want another glass?"

"Nope. You know what would really help me cool off?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”

“A quick swim in this magnificent pool of yours.”

“I have no problem letting you in the water, but how are you going to go for a swim without a bathing suit?”

With his hands stuck in the front pockets of his shorts, Cade wiggled his eyebrows at me while dragging his teeth over his lower lip. I shook my head furiously and let out an exaggerated gasp when I figured out what he was hinting at.

“No way. Absolutely not.” I turned my back to him and began to walk back towards the deck. “There‟s no way I‟m letting you swim in my pool naked.”

“Why not?” Cade asked while chasing after me.

I stopped, turned around and scoffed at the audacity of the question. “Why not? Are you kidding me?”

“I don‟t see what the big deal is. It‟ll be just a quick swim. And you don‟t have to watch me swim…unless you want to…” There it was again…the maddening lip bite. I wanted to slap him silly.

“I said no.”

“Why? Who am I hurting?”

I kept shaking my head at him. “Someone could peek their head over the fence and see you. The last thing I need is one of these nosy housewives seeing the neighbor‟s kid swimming naked in my pool. You may be new to the neighborhood, but I‟ve lived here for more than a decade. This is a small town. There are no secrets here. I don‟t want to be known as the sick, perverted lady who seduces teenage boys and watches them swim naked in her pool.”

“I‟m not a teenage boy, Sidney. I‟m a grown man.”

“Nineteen is still a child in my book. And it‟s inappropriate. I‟m sorry.”

“Fine,” Case groaned as he walked past me and continued towards the deck. “I‟ll go back to work. I‟m feeling very dizzy right now, but I‟ll go back to work. For all we know I may be suffering from heatstroke but you don‟t care about that. I'll go back to work. I just hope I don‟t pass out.”

The word “heatstroke” caught my attention. A heatstroke was a serious health issue that shouldn't be taken lightly. I followed Cade to the deck. “Really?”

Cade stopped cold and swung around to face me. He gave me a sad look as I almost bumped into him. “You know Sidney, if I go back to work feeling like this I may die. If I drop dead in your backyard, how are you going to explain it to people? And all because you wouldn't let me take a little swim in your pool. The world will know how heartless you are. How will you be able to live with yourself?”

I couldn't tell if he meant all those things or if he was just pulling my leg. Damn him. While he gathered his tools with one hand, he held his head with the other as if he had a headache. The sunburned skin on his face and shoulders looked pretty painful. I still didn't know if he was being serious or not about the heatstroke thing, but I wasn't going to take any chances. Besides, he still had a few more hours to go before he was done with the deck.

I let out a sharp breath. “Okay, okay. You can go for a swim." With a wide-toothed, triumphant smile plastered on his face, Cade made his way back to the pool. I went after him, already second guessing my decision. “Just make it quick, okay? I don‟t want anyone to see you.”

Cade paid no mind to my pleas. He just kept walking, undoing the button and zipper of his shorts and kicking his sneakers off as he reached the edge of the pool. When those shorts started to slide down his hips, I covered my eyes with my hands and turned away. I kept my back to him until I heard water splashing around.

“The water‟s really good. You should get in,” Cade suggested. His piercing blue eyes sparkled with mischief while his arms slowly treaded water.

“Not a chance,” I said with my arms crossed over my chest. I wanted to look like I was annoyed at him but was failing miserably. Cade just look ed yummier than ever with strands of wet hair sticking to his forehead and water dripping down his perfect, angular face. I tried my best to keep my eyes on his face but my curiosity betrayed me. For a second, my gaze fell… and holy freaking mother of Heaven. The man was hung like a barnyard animal. Now I was the one feeling a little dizzy and disoriented, and my symptoms had nothing to do with the scorching summer heat.

DANGER! DANGER!

“Okay, that's enough. I‟m going to go get you a towel,” I said. “When I come back, you have to get out of the water and get back to work.” Cade let his body sink to the bottom of the pool, but not before torturing me with another flash of his adorable dimples. I rushed back inside the house and grabbed a towel out of the linen closet. When I came back outside, I found Cade doing all sorts of fancy swimming strokes up and down the length of the