Poinsettia Lane

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TIME IS FLYING by and somehow also crawling at a glacial pace. Everly doesn’t know how it can go so fast and slow at the same time, but eventually the weekend arrives. She’s been eagerly—and anxiously—anticipating seeing Asim again, which means the house is spotless because outside of work she’s been stress cleaning for two days straight.

It’s finally Saturday morning, she’s been up for hours already, and she’s peeking through the kitchen window, straining her ears for the first sounds of his truck rumbling down the road. Everly is excited not only to see him, but also for him to see her. She felt uncomfortable not knowing what to wear for their “gardening dates”, as she’s been privately calling their time together, so she remedied that with some online shopping. She would never admit to having gone overboard, but Frankie had no trouble accusing her of doing so when they video called the other night and Everly showed them what she bought. She’s proud to say that she limited herself to only two pairs of rubber gardening ankle boots, even though there was a third she desperately wanted as well.

Everly wasn’t exactly sure what would be best for clothing, so she got a few different outfit options to try, including the overalls she’s chosen for today. They’re a dark coffee brown with floral embroidery along the sides of her legs and on the front chest pocket, and she has the pant legs rolled up to just under her knees. She chose a light blue t-shirt to wear underneath as it matches some of the embroidered flowers, and of course, fuzzy socks. They’re tradition at this point, and today they’re hot pink dinosaurs with teeth chomping her toes. The sage green ankle boots she bought to match the gloves Asim gifted her are waiting by the doors to the patio, along with a new wide brimmed straw hat to protect her face and neck from the sun.

As soon as Everly manages to gain some semblance of control over her restlessness and settle down on a kitchen stool to wait, she hears what she hopes to be his truck turning into the driveway and immediately pops back up again, standing on her toes and leaning over the counter to look out the window. Sure enough, the Magnolia delivery truck is trundling up her driveway.

She can’t wait, and she doesn’t even try. Everly rushes to the front door and steps out onto the porch, standing at the top of the stairs again as Asim expertly maneuvers it into place where he can unload the plants directly onto the lawn, then opens the door. The moment Asim notices her, his face lights up. His eyes crinkle at the corner and a lopsided grin takes over his face as he pauses for a moment with his hand still on the truck door. Everly shifts her weight, giving him a fleeting wave and then clasping her hands behind her, twisting her shoulders back and forth in an effort to contain her restless energy as he slams the door shut and strides toward her, his long legs eating up the distance between them. She really hopes he doesn’t think she’s ridiculous or looks silly in her new gardening getup. His face splits into an even bigger grin as he gets closer and finally notices her socks, and she huffs out a pleased laugh at his reaction.

“How many of those ridiculous socks do you have?” he says in lieu of a greeting.

Everly’s stomach drops, as does her smile. She resists the urge to step back and instead sticks her nose up into the air. No one will make her feel bad about her favorite socks, especially in her own home. “More than I care to admit," she says cooly, hoping she hasn’t misjudged him.

“Good,” he replies, “I like being surprised with a new pair each time. Keeps me on my toes.” He gives her a little wink, and she realizes he wasn’t judging her with his question. Ridiculous to her is a bad thing, but ridiculous to him must not be. Her shoulders relax and she exhales a relieved breath. Asim cocks his head at her, noticing her reaction.

“You thought I didn’t like them.”

Everly shrugs. “They’re not exactly a fashionable choice.” She looks down at her feet and wiggles her teethy-toes.

Asim tips his head the other way, like a bird trying to figure out its prey. “I don’t know when I gave you the impression that I care about ‘the fashionable choice,’” he says slowly, “but rest assured that you could wear a burlap sack and I’d feel the same way about you.”

“Oh," Everly says, eloquent as always. “Okay then.”

She resists the urge to roll her eyes, but she doesn’t know how to respond to him when he says stuff like this. As usual though, Asim covers for her awkwardness.

“I do like the socks, with those tiny teeth about to nibble on your toes.” He chuckles, and then his eyes skim from her feet back up the rest of her body. “And I really like your gardening outfit today.”

Everly ushers him in, giving herself a chance to chill after that mini emotional rollercoaster, and they follow their customary routine of grabbing iced drinks and heading out back through the patio doors. Asim sees her shoes, with the gloves he gifted her resting on top of them, and although he’s not facing her, she notices his pleased smile and the way his shoulders straighten slightly in response. She slips the boots on, plops the hat over her braided hair, and sticks the gloves in her pocket for now.

Turning to him, she grins and pulls the door open. “Let’s go.”

She’s been ready for this for days.

They easily settle into their routine from last time with Asim digging the hole and Everly filling it in. Now that she knows better what to do, he leaves her to fill around each plant on her own while he gets started on the next one. They get a couple planted before Asim points out that he still needs to unload the other plants from the truck.

“I could use a break anyways,” Everly says. “Why don’t I grab us some refills from the kitchen?”

“Perfect. ”

When she gets to the kitchen with their glasses, she sees she left her phone on the counter and it shows a missed call from Addison, but she didn’t leave a message. Everly’s mind flies into overdrive, assuming something is wrong. Her sister might be in trouble, or hurt, or need her help, and although Everly recognizes this is her anxiety flaring up, logic doesn’t come into play with her emotions very well.

She rushes to set the glasses on the counter and grabs her phone, returning the video call and pacing around the island while it connects.

“What’s wrong?” she snaps as soon as her sister picks up.

“What? Nothing.” Addison’s eyebrows pinch together. “Why would something be wrong?”

“Oh, thank goodness," Everly says with a relieved exhale. “I saw the missed call but you didn’t leave a message so I assumed the worst.” She takes a deep breath to slow her heart-rate and flops onto one of the kitchen stools, resting her arm with the phone on the counter in front of her.

“What are you wearing?” Addison still looks confused, squinting her eyes as she leans into the camera, and Everly glances down at herself, having momentarily forgotten what she was doing right before freaking out.

“Uhh…”

“You’re wearing a straw hat? And overalls?” Addison’s entire face is scrunched up and she’s looking at Everly like she’s lost her mind. “Why…”

Her face suddenly clears and Everly hears her snap her fingers.

“Oh my god!” Addison’s eyes go big and round, and Everly cringes at how loud she yells.

“Shhh!” Everly flicks her eyes up, glancing down the hallway that leads to the back of the house.

“Are you trying to impress Hot Delivery Guy?! Is he there right now?!” Addison yells in a stage whisper this time.

“No! I mean, I don’t know, maybe.” Flustered, Everly stops talking and glares at her sister. Addison opens her eyes wide and raises her eyebrows, waiting for Everly to explain .

“Fine, yes he’s here right now. We were just getting started with the landscaping for the day.” She relents and quickly recaps how things have been going. She doesn’t know why Addison insists on calling him Hot Delivery Guy still. It bothers her a little, as it feels disrespectful for some reason, like she’s minimizing who he is, but now isn’t the time to get into it. Everly pushes the annoyance away and re-focuses on the man in her backyard.

“You are so in trouble.” Addison is grinning now. “You totally like him! I can see it all over your face.”

Everly shakes her head, but she can’t truthfully deny it. He’s irresistible. She also doesn’t feel like talking about this while Asim is right outside, especially when she isn’t entirely comfortable with her sister yet.

“I should get back out there," she says, glancing at the doorway again. “What is it you called for though?”

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to check in, but we can talk later. Go!” Addison says. “And have fun!” She wiggles her eyebrows and cackles just as Everly says bye and ends the call.

Everly stands there for a moment, tapping her finger on her phone as she wonders if she should have said “I love you” before hanging up. Most families say that to each other, right? She isn’t sure, as she hasn’t talked to anyone in her family for the last eight years to know, but she tries not to worry about it right now. She doesn’t think she’s ready to say that to her sister yet anyways, especially with so many new feelings getting all mixed up, and she really doesn’t want to try to figure it out while Asim is here. Smiling to herself as she thinks about him helping her, she refills their drinks and heads back outside.

He already has all the new plants lined up with the others and is working on digging the next hole, but straightens and steps onto the patio when he sees her open the door.

“Hey,” she says, “sorry that took a minute. My sister called.”

“No problem," he replies with a polite smile, and reaches out to take his glass from her. “How is she?”

Everly doesn’t answer for a second, her eyes getting stuck on his neck as he tips his head back and takes a mouthful of the lemonade.

She swallows to clear her throat before replying. “She’s good, nothing new, we just haven’t talked in a few days but I told her I’d call back later.”

“I don’t mind if you’d like to talk to her now.” Asim sets the half empty glass down on the patio table as Everly shakes her head in response.

“Nah, she knew you were over and didn’t want to interrupt. It’s okay.”

He nods, then turns with his hands on his hips to inspect their progress. Everly is relieved he doesn’t push the topic of her sister any further.

“It’s looking good so far, but I wanted to double check where you want some of these new ones," he says.

He walks over to a tree-like plant, which she recently learned (from Asim) is called Yellow Trumpetbush, and hefts it up, carrying it over to the far corner of the terrace where it meets the patio. He sets it down carefully, swiveling it a little until it’s in the right spot, then takes a few steps back, tipping his head to look at its placement. Everly doesn’t care about the tree-bush at all right now. She’s back to watching him work, his face lined with thoughtful consideration, the way he moves with fluid purpose, the flex of his muscles and his shirt sticking to his sweaty skin. Her brain is beyond caring if it’s impolite.

She snaps her head up when he twists around, looking at her inquisitively, and she assumes he must have asked her something.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Everly asks, aiming for an innocent look but knowing he sees right through her.

“I asked if you like it there, or if you want to see it somewhere else before I start digging?”

“Right, yeah that looks good.” Everly barely glances at the small tree with pretty yellow flowers and nods, not really seeing it as she instead imagines him digging with his shirt off.

Asim casually slides it out of the way and begins slamming the shovel into the dirt again. Everly still feels stuck as she stands there watching him. After heaving a few shovels of dirt to the side, he notices she hasn’t moved and pauses his work, propping the shovel next to him and leaning on it.

“While I certainly don’t mind your eyes on me,” he drawls, voice low and slow and far too suggestive for her already tenuous hold on her emotions, “I do have that one ready for you.”

Asim aims his chin toward another of the grassy clumps that she now sees isn’t planted, but is sitting bare-root in a hole ready to be filled in.

“Yep!” Everly startles and clumsily wrangles her gloves back on, kneeling down in the dirt and getting back to work. Asim’s low chuckle comes from her left as he continues digging, and she can’t help the corresponding smile that stretches across her face.

Everly doesn’t mind the manual labor as much as she thought she would, even though she works up a sweat. She readjusts the leaves and flowers of each plant after Asim plops them in the hole, getting the angle and direction right until they look just so. She keeps glancing at Asim as they work. It’s unreasonable for anyone to expect her to keep her eyes off him. Everly often catches him watching her too, and he smiles at her every time they make eye contact. It would be awkward with anyone else, but this is Asim, and together they just click.

They work for another hour or so, planting a couple medium sized plants with pretty purple flowers that read ‘Larkspur’ and some smaller daisy looking things, before Everly stands up with a huff, puffing air over her face in an attempt to whisk away the stray hairs that have fallen out of her braid. When that doesn’t work, she tears her hat off and uses her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her forehead before slicking her hair back with her hands. Asim stops working too and glances up, giving her a quick once over, then he stands and dusts his hands off.

He pulls his usual hand towel out of his back pocket, giving himself a quick brush off, and then grabs one from the table that she hadn’t noticed. He unfolds it as he walks over to her, then gently wipes her face. She blinks at him, unsure how to react. He tugs off her gloves one finger at a time and swipes the towel down her arms. It sends tiny tingles shooting over her skin, lifting goosebumps on her arms and neck where he passes the cloth over her flesh, and Everly shivers as his touch moves to the back of her neck.

She bites her lip to keep from whimpering, because even though he’s only touching her with the cloth, it still feels incredible on her overheated skin. Everly hasn’t dated in ages and she’s not a one night stand person, so she hasn’t had close contact with anyone in months, apart from the random hug with Frankie, which isn’t the same. She’s clearly touch-deprived, and Asim makes her feel more than she ever expected.

His eyes latch on her bottom lip where she’s biting it, and she mirrors the action as her eyes skim down his face too. The long, straight angle of his nose, the dark stubble lining his cheeks, those full lips. Lips that have kissed her and set her skin on fire, and that she wants to kiss again.

Suddenly his thumb is on her mouth, gently tugging her lip from her teeth, then brushing over it in a feather-light caress. Her eyes fly back up to his, seeing they’ve darkened from their usual bright green. Her instinct is to bite her lip again, but he’s preventing that, so she latches her hand onto his wrist instead, although it’s unclear if she’s preventing him from moving away, or stopping him from moving closer.

Asim startles slightly, looking down at her hand clutching his forearm, then blinks, taking a small step back from her. He turns his hand as it leaves her face, so her palm slides into his, and he clasps it lightly. Turning her hand over, Asim dips down and places a gentle kiss on her palm, and then the inside of her wrist, looking her straight in the eye and causing her to flush with heat as he does so, before gently returning her hand to her side.

He takes another small step back and smiles down at her. “We got a lot done today," he says.

Everly has to mentally shake herself to catch up with him when he turns the tables on her like this. She thought he was going to kiss her again, and she would have welcomed it.

“Yeah, we did.” She steps to his side and surveys their work. “Still a lot to do though.” Their to-plant pile is smaller, but they haven’t finished the top terrace yet, and haven’t even started planting the bottom one. Still, she’s proud of the work they’ve accomplished so far.

“It’s looking really nice. I think you’ll be pleased when it’s done," Asim says.

“Thank you again for your help.” Everly smiles at him, feeling strangely shy in this moment. It’s been a wild week, and she hasn’t given herself much down time. Her nerves are starting to fray, and she’s worried she will do or say something foolish again.

Although she would like him to stay, Everly recognizes that she needs some time on her own. A bubble bath is calling her name, and a long soak with a Hot Toddy sounds just about perfect for her aching muscles right now.

They agree to continue the next day, having gotten a good amount done so far. Everly walks around the side of the house with him to his truck, and although it’s quiet between them, she notices again that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s a normal quiet, a calm silence, an understanding that it’s okay to just be, and she enjoys it immensely.