The Last Thing She Wants (Chestnut Hills #1)

23

ellie

Still needing time to gather my thoughts about Theo, I eagerly agreed to help Daisy with an after-school pottery class the next day. Her teenage part-time worker forgot to tell Daisy she had tennis practice after school and left her to fend for herself with ten feral elementary schoolers.

It turned out, juggling teaching kids to mold clay was the straightforward part. Instead, I spent the entire hour running from kid to kid, getting them to spit the clay out that the class clown, self-proclaimed “Chestnut Hills Jester,” encouraged them to eat.

“That was the most chaotic hour of my life.” I swiped at my head as we wiped down each pottery station, the kids having left ten minutes prior.

“I like the chaos,” Daisy chuckled. “It’s a reminder that beautiful things are made in the thick of it. I mean, look at this,” she picked up a pink and purple monster waiting to be glazed. “Sophie is a genius. Yeah, I had to let her mom know she drank some clay water, but this vision she had? Chef’s kiss!” Daisy pinched her fingers together, bringing them to her mouth and giving them a big kiss with a loud smack.

I always admired my friend’s free spirit and bright ways. Though she barely talked about it, what little I knew about Daisy’s childhood wasn’t the best. Having gone to five different schools in high school alone, her mom was always chasing a guy or a drink. But now, Daisy had her own pottery shop, a successful business in the downtown heart of Chestnut Hills.

Remembering our plans for the next weekend, I gasped loudly, making Daisy scatter paint brushes across the floor.

“I forgot to tell you; I got us tickets to see Taylor Black next weekend at that small coffeehouse I was telling you about!” Registering the shock in my best friends’ eyes, I groaned. “Please don’t tell me you forgot, Daze.”

“I’m so sorry, Elle’s. I totally forgot. We have back-to-back birthday parties scheduled that Saturday. Even two at a time at one point, and I haven’t found a replacement for Liam yet. It’ll be just me and the two other gals. I can’t leave them alone with that high of a volume.” Daisy frantically looked around, as if searching for a solution.

“No, no. I made a promise to you. Maybe I can hire someone by Monday and train the mall week. I’m sure the rehab center will have some new people looking for work. I’ll call them tomorrow.”

Daisy partnered with the local rehabilitation center, liking to have at least one person on her team that she could support providing an opportunity to. After seeing what her mom went through with finding stable work, and how it affected her childhood, she promised to give others opportunities her mom never had.

“No, Daze. That’s too much on you. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just take a solo trip. It might be good to take a trip alone. ”

I pondered the possibilities. A nice hotel room to myself; going to see my favorite artist alone; maybe I’d even treat myself to brunch at Bells, a gorgeous restaurant with romantic decorations and named after the Liberty Bell. It was Philadelphia, after all.

The next day, I begrudgingly agreed to help with a Happy Hour Paint n’ Sip after the tennis teenager bailed again. The monthly event had become a staple in the town for Friday evenings, taking place just before the weekly Paint n’ Sip session couples commonly used for a date night.

Luckily for the flaky teen, I was trying to soak up every minute away from Theo so I could try to make sense of my feelings.

After telling Daisy it was time to have a talk with the teen about adult responsibilities, I told her that, of course, she could always count on me.

Happy Hour Paint n’ Sip was, unexpectedly, about as chaotic as the after-school pottery class. The group consisted mainly of men and women from the local senior’s community, and they were on a mission to make the most of the field trip.

I even had to cut one woman off. It took all my strength to keep it together after watching the senior woman try to paint her boobs and press them into the vase. Three glasses of pinot were enough for her.

Just as the bus drove off, an angry gray cloud opened, and rain started pouring sheets of white. Aware of my plans to walk home on what was supposed to be a beautiful summer evening, Daisy offered to drive me home.

“Summer Rain,” by Taylor Black blared from the speakers. Looking down, Daisy found her phone missing from the center console.

“You’re literally going to see him next week. Can you not take a break?” Daisy rolled her eyes .

“Even the more reason to listen right now. Besides, is this song not fitting?” I motioned my hands to encompass everything, including the downpour surrounding us.

A gray figure appeared in the rain, an abstract blob on the side of the road through the unrelenting storm.

“Poor guy,” Daisy slowed down, approaching the man walking in the same direction as my apartment.

Panicked, I began shrieking at my crazy friend. “No, no, no. Tell me you are not stopping! This is literally true crime in the making.”

“If it were you, wouldn’t you want us to stop?”

“No, I’d want you to be a sensible woman and drive straight by!” My voice reached new heights with each word. Rain soaked me as Daisy rolled down the passenger side window to ask the stranger if they wanted a ride.

A drenched Theo stood on the sidewalk, because of course he was.

“Hop in stranger,” Daisy flashed a wide grin and unlocked the doors so Theo could climb into the back of her massive SUV.

Why did he look so sexy attempting to dry his glasses with a damp shirt? I took a minute to appreciate him, his long lean legs, his sculpted torso on display thanks to said damp shirt, and the way his biceps flexed as he rubbed at the lenses.

“Wow, thanks Daisy,” he started, “I just ran into town to pick up my new glasses. I had no idea it was supposed to storm.” Pausing a moment to take in his surroundings, he titled his head in recognition. “‘Summer Rain?’ Ha, fitting.”

“You like Taylor Black?” Daisy and I asked at the same time. I turned excited in my seat as Daisy quirked a lip.

“Yeah, he’s a great lyricist.”

“See Daze? I told you!” I slapped Daisy lightly on the arm .

“Ow!” Daisy rubbed her arm and smirked, as if coming up with a diabolical plan. “Hey Theo, do you have plans next weekend?”

I whipped my head to my soon to be ex-best friend and shot daggers with my eyes as Theo brightly answered. “I do not, why?”

“Ellie and I were supposed to go into the city and see Taylor Black play a coffeehouse, but I had a work emergency. Wanna take my place?” her voice hitched higher as I grabbed her thigh in warning.

“Well, I would love to, but I’m going to be honest. I can see Ellie attempting to claw off your leg. Being that you are the person driving this car, and that that is the same leg you use to press the gas and brakes, I think I’ll politely decline for the safety of everyone here.”

I shyly removed my hand and Daisy gave me a look that promised dishonor on me and my entire family. While I had a visceral reaction to the idea of Theo and me spending a weekend together, I didn’t want him to misunderstand the reasoning.

I feared that if I allowed myself, I would fall hard and fast. What if this was a message from the universe that I had to give in and trust it would all workout?

“You should come, Theo. It will be fun,” I offered him an inviting smile.

“You sure?” I nodded in confirmation and turned away. “Okay, great. Looking forward to it.” Leaning forward, he brought his head between the two front seats and continued in a hushed tone. “Will you, uh, be packing that black lace set?”

I shouted his name in surprise at the same time Daisy shouted mine.

“What the fuck?” Daisy looked at Theo with big, round eyes, then back at me. “What the fuck? What is he talking about, Ellie? The piece you bought from Honey & Co. the other day?”

As the universe would have it, we pulled up to the apartments just then and Theo slid out of the back seat. “Thanks for the ride, Daisy. See you Monday, Ellie. ”His brandish of a wink was met with my pink manicured middle finger.

“Ellie,” Daisy poked me fiercely in the arm, “tell me right now what that was about.”

Pleadingly, I sighed and covered my face with my hands and told my confidant of the steamy encounter through parted fingers.

“Oh my god,” Daisy panted, leaning back in her seat and making a show of fanning herself. “It’s always the nerdy ones. I need to find myself a dirty talking, glasses wearing geek.”

“I’m nervous about what’s going to happen when we have a hotel room to ourselves for an entire weekend.”

Daisy began singing “Pony” and grinding in her chair. I responded with loud gagging sounds and exited the SUV, slamming the door shut.