Ripped - Cassia Leo Page 0,38
the beach after I take Kaia to school. I slide my boards into the truck bed, but as I pull out of the garage, I notice a work truck parked next to our curb. I get out of the truck to head inside and get Kaia, when the driver’s side door opens and out comes a dark-haired guy who’s wearing a T-shirt in fifty-degree weather. I guess that’s not so uncommon, and it probably wouldn’t bother me in the least if I didn’t get the feeling he was only doing it to show off his arms, which are completely covered in tattoos.
He spots me staring at him and he smiles as he nods at me. “Hey, what’s up, man? I’m here to drill the new hole in your bathroom.”
“You’re what?” I reply, perhaps a bit too forcefully.
He loses his smile as he walks around the back of the white work truck toward me. “The hole for the drain in your bathroom, your… uh… your dad told me to come and drill a hole to tie into the new plumbing… for your bathroom sink.”
Something about this guy irks the fuck out of me. Maybe it’s the fact that even as a man, I can acknowledge that this guy is extremely good looking. Or maybe it’s the fact that his way of introducing himself is by offering to drill me a new hole. No, I know what it is. It’s the fact that he reminds me of someone: Chris Knight.
It’s been more than two years since Lindsay and I had a perfectly pleasant dinner with Chris and Claire Knight. It’s been nine years since Claire left me for Chris. I harbor no ill feelings toward either of them. But for some reason, this guy, who could probably play Chris Knight the rock star—if they ever made a movie about him—is pissing me the fuck off just because of the way he looks. Fuck. I think it’s time to give up this abstinence shit and toke it up with Yuri pronto.
Lindsay comes outside with Kaia, kissing her cheek as she sends her off. “Oh, are you Finn?” she says to the guy, not even looking at me. Not that I expect her to look at me when she’s carefully avoided acknowledging me all morning. And it only pisses me off more that she already knows his name.
The guy looks at me before he addresses Lindsay. “Yeah, I’m here to drill—to fix the problem in the bathroom. Is that cool?” He looks back and forth between Lindsay and me, awaiting our answer.
I nod at him as I put my arm on Kaia’s shoulder and lead her around to the passenger side to help her into the truck. “Watch out, baby,” I say when she almost steps on the hem of her dress while climbing in. I shut the passenger door and round the back of the truck so I can watch as Finn the plumber follows Lindsay into the house. I grit my teeth as the front door closes behind them.
* * *
I tell Lena to take the day off, that I feel like spending some time alone today, then I lay it all out. I give everything I have to those waves today. And as choppy and inconsistent as they are, the waves seem to give it back. The water opens up when I need it to, and curves around me, embracing me when it’s time to shut down. By the time I drag my ass out of the surf, the time on my phone tells me I surfed right through lunch and I have about twenty minutes to get to Kaia’s school and pick her up.
I quickly strip out of my wetsuit, leaving on the wet board shorts I’m wearing underneath. Then I throw on a dry T-shirt and lay a towel down on the driver’s seat before I head off. When I pull into the line of cars in front of the school, I see Kaia getting into Lindsay’s mom’s Acura a few cars ahead of me. I turn out of the line of cars and roll down my passenger window as I pull up next to Lillian.
“Lillian,” I call out, and Kaia’s face beams when she sees me.
Lillian turns to me and rolls her eyes as her window slides down. “If you were going to pick her up, you could have at least answered your phone to let us know that.”
“What do you mean? I don’t have any messages or