Page 14 of Passing Notes

I knew what Clara looked like in a bathing suit. And out of one, too. The thought of seeing all that gorgeous, soft alabaster skin again was too much for me. I got hard and immediately stepped into the corner of the counter to hide it.

I thought about the times we’d snuck up to Sky Lake together. We’d skinny-dipped when we we’d been lucky enough to be alone, and if people had been around, I’d pulled my truck into the trees, and we’d spent our time there instead. We used to make out for hours in the cab, or if it was dark, in the bed under a blanket.

My eyes drifted to the side window. Sure enough, she was out there on her porch using her foot to rock the swing while she knitted and sang along with the Foo Fighters. Nostalgia hit me straight in the gut. My erection died and my eyes turned glassy with unshed tears as Everlong floated lightly over the air between our houses. I mouthed the last line along with her as it faded away. I’d been ignoring her music as I cooked but seeing her made it real.

We’d been real.

If I couldn’t make peace with these memories, I would never be able to live in this house. I had to talk to her at some point. The look on her face each time we caught even the slightest glimpse of each other told me it would be nearly impossible to get her to listen to me. And what could I possibly say?

I pulled the potatoes out of the oven and put them on a tray along with the fixings. “Let’s eat! Come on, y’all.”

Beep

Beep

Beep

“Shit.” With a scowl, I slammed a hand on my cheap, old-school alarm clock. Mornings were not my thing. I needed clocks like this so whenever I ended up breaking one, I didn’t have to feel too bad about it.

“Are you awake, Dad? Can we have Toaster Strudel for breakfast?” Sasha had always been a morning person. She was up and raring to go every day, even on the weekends, which I hadn’t been a fan of when she was little. But now that she could get breakfast and settle into the day on her own, I didn’t mind so much. She could get up at the crack of dawn all she wanted, so long as I could sleep in.

“Yeah,” I answered with a grunt.

Had I remembered to lock the door?

I shoved a pillow over my hard-on to be safe. Images of Clara’s naked body with my hands and mouth all over it had played like a dirty movie behind my eyes as I slept. To say I’d tossed and turned all night in a horny, fitful slumber would be the understatement of the year. I was hard as a rock, and it was painful.

She burst through the door, and I turned to my side, and tucked the pillow tight against me.

“You’re always so grumpy in the morning.” She popped one hip and put a hand on the other. “You need daylight. That’s what Mom always says. These curtains suck.” She crossed the room and swept open my blackout shades.

“Ahh! No sun, I’ll melt,” I teased, hissing like a vampire as I yanked my quilt over my face.

“Oh hey, look. Clara’s outside. She’s asleep on her balcony.”

My eyes shot open under my covers. Was she okay?

At that moment, Ethan entered, because of course he did. “Why is she out there?” he asked Sasha who, naturally, opened my window and asked her.

Shit.

“Miss Clara! Why are you sleeping on your balcony?” she yelled.

Clara’s faint voice hit my ears as she said hello, and I almost lost my mind with the need to find out what the problem was.

“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t y’all worry about me. There’s a bug in my room. It’s probably gone now.”

“I’ll get my dad.”

“No! No, I’m okay.”

“Dad!” Ethan hollered as if I wasn’t right here in hearing distance. “Miss Clara needs you. She can’t go inside her house.”

Luckily, my morning wood situation had, by now, gone away. Having my kids burst into the room would do that. I made my way to the window, bleary-eyed and scratching my bare chest, as per usual.

“Morning, Clara.” I squinted into the sunlight to find her sitting on the edge of a lounge chair with a sheepish expression dancing across her face. She was delectably mussed up with messy hair and sleepy eyes. We were only a few feet apart and I wanted nothing more than to climb through my window and join her on her balcony, climb on top of her in that lounge chair and do all the naked things we used to love to do together.

“Hi,” she answered with a sheepish little wave.