equipment. “What’s that?” I asked.
“Kite surfing stuff,” he responded.
I raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”
“It defies explanation,” he said. “You have to see us in action.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure if I had just agreed to something I really didn’t want to.
He smiled. “We’re on the beach almost every weekend.”
“So, Hans said you guys have tried to sneak in dogs,” I said, trying to shift the conversation.
“We may have one now,” he said with a bit of humor in his voice. “I’ll have to get to know you better before I trust you with that kind of information.”
“I see how it is,” I kidded, then immediately got mad at myself for letting my guard down. I was supposed to be conditioning myself to be immune to his charms.
We walked over to the refrigerator and he opened it and peered in. “I have beer, wine coolers, soda and bottled water.”
“Better go with the bottled water,” I replied.
He handed me a water bottle and grabbed a beer for himself. We opened our drinks and then he tapped his beer bottle to my water bottle as if he was toasting. “To new adventures with new neighbors. Cheers.”
“Cheers,” I said and took a swig of the cold water. I quickly took a few more sips not realizing how thirsty I actually was.
“So, what brings you to Florida?” Eddie asked.
I wasn’t sure how much of my personal saga I wanted to reveal. “I wanted to escape the Midwest winters,” I said, which was partially true. I really wanted to escape my ex-fiancé and all of the pain from our break-up.
“A Midwest girl,” he said as studied me. “I’ve heard that girls from the Midwest have a bit of a wild streak. Is that true?”
“Not in my case,” I said.
He was still staring into my eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
I gulped. I tried to think of all the horrible things I had planned to associate with him but nothing came to mind. Shit. The only thing I could think about was him kissing me with his beautiful mouth. And touching me, everywhere, his rough hands on every part of my body.
He took a swig of beer, then leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “It’s possible that you haven’t found someone to bring out your wild streak. At least, not yet. I may have to put that theory to a test.”
Holy shit. I had never felt so much magnetism and raw sexuality exuding from another person in my entire life. If I didn’t make a quick escape, I would probably be in his bed naked in a matter of minutes. I didn’t want any wake and Eddie was a raging storm, maybe even a tsunami.
“Thanks for the water,” I said placing the nearly empty bottle on his counter. “I’ve really got to go. I’ve still got a lot of unpacking to do and I need to get the truck returned.”
“I could ride up there with you when you return the truck and give you a lift back,” he offered.
“That’s okay,” I said, trying my best not to look into his blazing brown eyes. “You’ve already done so much. Besides, the guys at the rental place said it’s not far from here and I can probably walk. It’ll be a good way for me to get to know the neighborhood.”
“It is a nice walk,” he said. “Catch you later.”
“Thanks, again,” I said as I hurried out the door. I swear I could hear him give a few chuckles as I closed the door behind me.
TWO
Angle of Attack
Monday came too quickly. My weekend was absorbed with cleaning my new place, spackling and painting, bathroom grout repairs, unpacking and multiple trips to Target and the grocery store. I was relieved when I didn’t run into Eddie again and I assumed he and his roommate were busy doing whatever it is that kite surfers spend their weekends doing.
A few times I was tempted to put a glass to the wall to see if I could hear any signs of a dog on their side of the duplex but then I realized how stupid of an idea it was. He was probably kidding when he said they might have a dog. I thought he might say just anything to get a rise out of me.
As I looked at the clothes in my wardrobe, I wondered what the dress code was for people in southern Florida. Not that mental health counselors were known for their styling sense of fashion. Plus, it was