I love it here.
He closes the space between us. What is he doing?
He dips low next to my ear. Goosebumps break out all over my skin as his lips all but brush the shell of my ear. “Would that be unfortunate,Riley?Likingme?” His voice is deep, reaching the inner parts of my soul as shivers spread through me.
Damn.
“Tragic,” I whisper, my voice shaking, unable to contain the way he’s affecting me.
He hums in approval or calls my bluff, one of the two. When he decides to take a step back, I don’t know if twenty seconds or twenty minutes have passed, but it feels like a wrinkle in time.
I’m dizzy.
He’sdizzying.
And I think… No, I actually know in this moment that I really, really like this man, more than just physical attraction. Which I have too, because how can one not? The skin, the dimples, the hair, that edge he has about him, and those damn biceps too.
The only thing tethering me in place is this door frame I’m clinging to for dear life. I hope he can’t see how much he’s affecting me, or I will never hear the end of it.
“Goodnight, Riley,” he says, walking backwards toward his cabin, taking the ounce of sanity I had left.
“Night!” I shout, because if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I won’t let him see the reality behind my reactions.
“Lock the door!” he shouts again from across the pasture.
I do just that, locking it and sliding to the floor, my back to the door, my brain reeling. What the fuck am I going to do if I can’t get over this crush I have on the grumpy older cowboy next door?
It’s going to be a looooong summer.
15DOM NINJA DIAZ
Riley
Decision paralysis issomething I struggle with tremendously, but this? Starting ten different tasks at once and not completing any of them is the actual worst.
I started taking inventory in the shed. I figured if I work fast enough on things here, I can submit the order, and then I’ll surprise Lilly with the schedule she needs.
Except, I found cardstock, and I thought I could start jotting down activities for the schedule. I couldn’t find markers, so I started opening drawers and boxes. I could’ve just done inventory while looking, but at this point, I don’t remember where anything is, and now, the shed is even worse than it was when I came in here the first time. It’s clean, that’s a plus I guess, but holy hell, why is it so hard?
My executive functioning needs an executive function today.
Oh, there are the markers. I leap over a box of tissues and run to the back wall, where the markers and pencils are. There are flags, too; we could play capture the flag. That would be so fun. Igrab the flags and walk to the other side, but I stop dead in my tracks. Why am I taking the flags? I don’t need them; I just need to remember they exist. I put the box down, write flags on my arm, and walk back to…where was I going?
I search for a clue, one I don’t find. I do find Dom standing by the door instead.
“I’m going to give you a middle name. Dom Ninja Diaz.”
He chuckles.
“It’s not funny.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I came to check on you.”
“Why?”
He doesn’t answer. I bet Lilly sent him.
“I don’t need a babysitter, Dom. I can do this on my own. Tell Lilly she’ll have her inventory soon.”