Page 76 of Small Town Swoo
“Not in those exact words, but he said something about wanting to avoid attachments.”
She nodded slowly. “Ah.”
“But it’s fine. At least he was honest about it. I know up front what this is. And he’s so good to me, Roni,” I said, shaking my head. “The last guy I was with did nothing but tear me down. When I moved back home, I couldn’t get out of bed for a month.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful. I never knew that.”
“It was before you came here. And I don’t ever talk about it. But Dash is the complete opposite from that guy.He could not be sweeter or more helpful or encouraging. And the sex...”
A slow smile crept onto her red lips. “And the sex?”
My eyes closed, and I tried to think. “Words are failing me.”
Veronica laughed. “It’s that good?”
“Good doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. Hot seems inadequate. Mind-blowing is completely insufficient. The stars collided, Veronica. I saw them. I heard them. I felt them.”
She smiled. “You deserve it.”
FOURTEEN
dash
After eatingan early dinner at Austin’s with him and the kids, I spent the evening alongside him in his workshop, sawing and sanding and staining the wood planks for Ari’s kitchen.
The garage door was open, and we could hear the kids playing in the backyard while we worked. It reminded me of my childhood, of running around the neighborhood with my brothers and friends until the streetlights came on, when my dad would drag us all inside to clean up and go to bed. Even the scent of the air was the same—clean and woodsy.
The work reminded me of my childhood too. While I’d never been as handy as Austin, our dad had made sure we knew the basics of carpentry, and we’d all tagged along on jobs with him to earn a little extra allowance here and there. I didn’t often work with my hands anymore, and I realized that I enjoyed it. It required skill and patience, strong hands and a good eye, but it wasn’t a performance. You didn’t have any lines. And the only thing you had to feel was the desire to do the job well.
Austin wasn’t really a talker, so we mostly worked side by side in silence, which was fine with me. I knew he was probably itching to ask me what was going on with Ari and why I was doing all this work on her house, but he refrained, and I was grateful. I had the feeling that, like Xander, Austin would not think our arrangement was wise. Xander hadn’t said anything out loud in the kitchen today, but I could tell by his expression that he thought we were making a mistake.
Eventually, Austin left me alone in the garage and herded the kids into the house for showers and snacks before bedtime. By the time he came out, I’d finished applying the stain.
“Looks good,” he said, assessing my work.
“Thanks.”
“You’ll mount it on the wall and add the hooks tomorrow?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’ll swing by and grab everything in the morning. Then Ari can show me where she wants the hooks.”
“How are things going with you guys?”
“Fine. It’s casual,” I added, although it didn’t reallyfeelall that casual when I was with her. “We’re just hanging out.”
“Veronica said she’s coming to the wedding?”
“As Mabel’s date,” I said quickly. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to look at the screen. It was a text from Ari.
How did everything go?
Good. I’m about to leave Austin’s. Can I call you in a minute?
Sure xoxo
I called her on my way home.
“Hello?”
