Page 29 of The Chemistry Coach
She glared at him.“I will pay you one million dollars to never make an innuendo in my presence again.I haven’t recovered from the audiobook fiasco.”
“Ehh.I already have a million dollars,” Lover said.“There’s more value in the jokes.”
Daisy threw her hands in the air, slapping them on her thighs and leaving flour handprints on her leggings.“Lord, give me the strength.We need pizza sauce.I’ll be back in half an hour.”
She charged for the door, but Hazy stopped her.“Wait,” he said.“Lover and I will go.You stay and do the dough thingy.”
She eyed him up and down.“It’s a company car.I can’t let you drive it.”
Lover winked at her, and Connor once again contemplated violence.“I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Daisy acquiesced, threw them the keys, and they walked out the door, leaving Daisy and Connor alone in the kitchen.
She faced him and leaned a hip against the counter.“They’re so dumb, but I kind of love them.How do they do that?”
“Beats the fuck out of me.”Connor flipped the block of cheese over in his hand and started grating at a new angle.
They were quiet as they worked side by side, but the silence between them was comfortable.That was a surprising realization.They had never been alone together, and Connor had assumed any moment they shared would be charged.
When they had finished what they could without sauce, Daisy pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge.
“Want some?”she asked.
“Please,” Connor said, and she poured two glasses, handing one to him.
Daisy did the same maneuver he’d seen her do at her house to sit criss-cross in a recliner.The rocking motion as she tried to climb up with a glass of red wine in her hand gave him anxiety.
“Do you always have to stand on a piece of furniture before you sit?”he asked.
Daisy contemplated the question.“Most of the time I stand first.”
“Isn’t that bad for the structural integrity of your furniture?”
Daisy shrugged, sipped her wine, and ignored his concerns, changing the subject.“I met your sister the other day.”
Connor had wondered if she’d bring it up, or if he would have to.Before he could ask why she’d been there, Hazy and Lover barged in.
“We got the sauce!”Hazy held up a jar of store-brand pizza sauce.
“And booze!”Lover added, showing off a bottle of cheap whiskey.
Daisy held her wineglass up in cheers.“Way ahead of you, buddy!”
They made quick work of assembling pizzas, eating dinner, and cleaning up.Connor assumed they were done for the day, but he should’ve known better since it was barely seven pm.
“Alright, boys!”Daisy announced when the last crumb was swept from the kitchen counter.“We’re going out!Go get dressed.”
It was unclear where they were going outtoconsidering the nearest town was a fifteen-minute drive and seemed to have one stoplight and a gas station when they drove through it.Connor didn’t ask questions, glad he had packed clothes for every occasion.
He was the first to be ready and waiting downstairs.Relief filled him when Connor and Hazy joined him.They had all chosen a game day outfit.Respectable.Put together.Attractive.But when Daisy joined them in a short pink sundress that swished about her hips, cowboy boots, and her curly hair framing her face, she put them to shame.She’d added one of those little flippy things to the end of her eyeliner and painted her lips red.She burst out laughing when she noticed them all staring at her.
“What the heck are you guys wearing?We’re going out!Not going to a business meeting.”
They shared a confused look.“That’s basically the same thing.”Connor pointed out.
“It isnotthe same thing.You would wear this to a bar?Or a club?In the city?”
“What?”Lover asked.“Don’t we look hot?”
