Page 14 of Do It Yourself
“Hey, hey. It’s fine. I know this is hard for you.” Jude’s hand reaches out and rubs up and down my arm. “I’m just here to help, not disturb. Put me to work.” Jude gives my arm a squeeze before letting it drop, stepping back and looking around the market booth.“How much longer is the market open for?”
“We can start cleaning up, everything closes out around now and I don’t think we’ll have any more customers.”
We’re basically sold out anyways. Jude offers a nod in acknowledgement, starting to box up our remaining inventory. I step beside him to help but he quickly stops me. “I’ve got it. You need to get some better footwear if you’re moving all of this stuff multiple times a week.” His voice is gruff and shocks me. It’s night and day to the calming tone he just used moments before.
I look down at my shoes, confused. I’m in my sandals, the sandals I always wear. Well, unless there’s snow on the ground. “What do you mean? This is what I always wear to the markets.”
“Just because that’s the way it’s always been done, doesn’t mean it’s the right way. It’s not safe, not with you doing the heavy lifting.” I….don’t know what to say to that. So, I say nothing. I just watch Jude’s back as he lifts and organizes everything we need to take back to the Farm. For a moment, I let myself drink him in and think of all the things I’d let him do to me if he was anyone else.
For once, my dirty thoughts provide the perfect comeback. I’m glad his back is still to me, I probably look like a lunatic with the grin I have painting my face now.
“You got a foot fetish or something, Muscles?”
Chapter Ten
JUDE
Ineed to chill the hell out.
After I got off the phone with Lola and had a moment to breathe, I could admit I almost respected Mabel’s move of leaving me with my metaphorical dick in my hand.
Do not think about Mabel seeing you with your dick in your hand.
I was prepared to give her the props she deserved but seeing her flirt with that rando, pressing her tits together to give him a glance of those alluring milky globes, I saw red. With the poor guy scurrying off and with that threat gone, I was able to focus on helping Mabel get everything put away.
“You got a foot fetish or something, Muscles?” If all the blood in my body wasn’t rushing straight to my groin, I would have been cognizant of the mirth in her tone. But, goddamnit, Mabel’s hot as sin voice, her asking about my fetishes, and giving me a nickname?
Not the most original nickname but she can call me whatever she’d like.
I cough to clear my throat and do my best to stop my voice from cracking. I need to respond or she’s going to think I really did have a....well,maybeif it was her feet.
Nope.
No, no no. This is about work safety and nothing else. I’m finally able to push out a rough response.“That’s not very work appropriate.” I lift a box and angle it as best as I can to keep my semi covered up. Work inappropriateness as far as the eye could see at the Warren Honey booth.
“I’ll start taking these back to your truck, lest you feel inclined to ask about my other fetishes.” I allow my voice to drop slightly and make eye contact with Mabel. I’m not-so-secretly praying she would want to know about what got my motor running.
“Yeah, you do that.” She growls out and I do my best to hold back my laugh at how angry she sounds. I’d be worried that I’d crossed a line but I saw her pupils dilate as I looked at her.
We make quick work of breaking down the booth and loading up Mabel’s Farm truck, almost in complete silence. When she climbs into her truck I try and fail at keeping my eyes off her wide hips and her voluptuous bottom. She drives off without another word.
The cold shoulder does nothing to stop the excitement strumming in my blood. Mabel may not like me but she’s attracted to me and that is definitely something I could use to try and put some cracks in the wall she’s built up to keep me out.
“Hey Boss!” I stop my mid-step and look over my shoulder, my eyebrows furrowed. I’ve told everyone who works on the Farm to not call me Boss but the chuckleheads that live with me in the Bunk House never listen, they think it’s hilarious.
Reese, one of the new guys, jogs towards me. I don’t understand the expression on his face. He looks worried but Ican see a strange sparkle in his eyes, like he’s trying to remember the punch line to a joke.
Once he’s close enough we don’t have to shout at each other, I give him a quick nod. “What’s up, man?” Reese bends over, hands on his knees, taking in big gulps of air. I pull my ball cap off and wave it in his face, a poor attempt to cool him off. I was on my way to watch Mabel’s process for making honey sticks and the last thing I want to do is to miss it because Reese passes out from over exertion.
“Sorry, Boss. Just got word that one of the temp guys found a box of puppies near the apple orchard and Lola’s out” I let out a curse at his words. Frustrated, I tug on my hair before slapping my hat back on my head, flipping it so it now rests backwards. The apple orchard is on the opposite side of the farm and this is a situation that will need to be addressed immediately. With the sun now at my back, I want protection from the sun on my neck. No one tells you this but neck sunburns are the fucking worst.
Reese and I make our way to one of the empty golf carts that allows employees to get around quickly. There’s an awkward moment when Reese tries to sit in the passenger seat at the same time as me, his smaller frame basically bouncing off my body.
“You gotta drive, man. You got the report of where they are.” I point out, sliding into the seat. Reese nods before shuffling over to the driver’s side and starts driving.
I don’t know Reese as well as I should. He’s a newer employee, hired alongside one other guy in the last month or so. With Lola’s new shadowing program I haven’t been able to spend as much time with them as I would have liked but from what I’ve heard, Reese is fitting in more than the other new guy. From the brief encounters I’ve had, that checks out on all levels.
We ride in silence, my thoughts jumping between trying to figure out what to do with a box of puppies and getting to Mabel as quickly as possible. Today just so happens to be one oftheveryrare times Lola takes a day off, which means that I’m unfortunately in charge.
