c a r t i e r

"What have I done?" I grumble to myself forcibly peeling away my eyes from the incredibly hot but incredibly inappropriate sight outside my window.

Noah, is shirtless-- again, and I've steered clear of him all day after last night's serious lack of judgment. No, scratch that. 'Lack' would assume there was a tiny amount of judgment there, but there was none. It was plainly a train wreck.

I can blame the alcohol all I want and when I'm forced to face him today or tomorrow that is the card I will use. I can't deny that I was indeed drunk, but I felt the night turning into something other than an employee and an employer getting drinks. It was enchanting.

For once in my damn life, someone was actually interested in me. Genuinely interested.

The curiosity coming from him was intoxicating in itself. It wasn't like Anthony's empty questions. It was filled with genuinity.

He also made me laugh. It felt so good to laugh.

"I can't believe I'm such an idiot." I let out a long breath upset with the choices that led up to last night.

Obviously, I'm lonely. And I looked for someone to fill it with the first person I could find. My drunk mind was more than happy with his looks and that's it.

The butterflies and giddiness was all an illusion last night. Nothing about it was enchanting.

I snort a laugh, "Enchanting, what am I sixteen? Stupid." I gather the whicker basket of my damp sheets from my naked mattress then open the small linen closet next to my bedroom door.

I had said last night I'd give him bed sheets because he's sleeping like a homeless person, so I stand to my slippered toes and grab the neatly folded sheet set from the top shelf and set it ontop of my recently washed sheets.

I reach the door, then throw a glance over my shoulder at my chest of drawers and my makeup and perfume displayed on top.

I shouldn't care what I look like...But I do.

Crossing the room quickly I set the basket beside me and put a layer of mascara on then apply a red lipstick to my full naked lips. I give myself a forced smile and rub out the red that has marked my front tooth and laugh again at my expense. "I know what you're doing." I  say speaking to my reflection.

The pretty Daisy perfume bottle sits there begging me to use it. I grab it and spray a mist onto my wrists then to go the extra mile I spray a few spritzes on the sheets I'm giving to Noah, cringing the second the scent falls to the sheets.

No one will know I want him to smell it while he's laying in bed at night.

Now I'm manipulating him, I've officially lost it.

I moan loudly and grab the basket from the floor then hurry downstairs and peek out of the kitchen window.

Noah has been cleaning up the mess he created and throwing everything into a trailer he rented.

The trailer is rounded over with debris. I continue to watch him, his muscles glistening under the sun until he finishes and without a single break or pause climbs into his old truck and pulls away taking the full trailer with him.

When I'm certain he isn't returning I leave his sheets inside and head outside with the basket and erect the two clothes lines left by the previous owners and start hanging my white sheets to dry.

The white fabric blows with the soft breeze as I continue hanging using the clothes pins from the bottom of the basket until I'm finished.

Stepping to the stoop at the backdoor a smile forms across my face as my hair follows the breeze and catches on my lips.

The hanging sheets with the wild flowers in the background and the tall spruce trees beyond that is like I'm staring at a snapshot of the past. I turn and step from the stoop and gaze around at the house behind me, my mind building the new painting within my head as I look at the small details of colors and how the sun casts the shadows.

🌻

Within my room a large white canvas takes up the clean space on an old painting drop cloth covering the wood floors. I've yet to buy an easel, but favor painting in a flat surface anyways.

My palette trey hosts the colors I've combined and I've started at the top with the base colors of white, light blue, and a hint of dark blue, swirling the top of the canvas to start the process of painting a blue sky.

Painting relaxes me, I can do it and lose track of time until my muscles ache and I realize I've been painting for hours.

I've completed the billowing clouds with my fan brush when music filters in my ear and I realize it's Noah's music.

"Shit!" My sheets! I shove up from my hunched position on the floor and run to my window watching him ripping my sheets down with his dirty hands and balling them up under his arms. "Noah!" I knock hard on the glass window.

But he continues, the clothes pins falling into the weeds beneath.

"God! Fucking asshole!" I twist around  stuffing my wet brush into the hair I've tied out of my face with a ribbon. Then race down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Those sheets are worth more than his damn truck and he's ruining them getting his gross sweat and dirt stains on them. I charge through the back door as he's ripping the pillow case from the line and I call his name again.

The line snaps violently and the pins shoot off on every direction, "HELLO!" I yell, but his fucking music is blasting from the nearby truck.

The wind picks up, blowing the large white sheet from the first line to abstruct my view of Noah. I walk faster, skipping a step, and then shove the sheet out of the way walking right into Noah's hard chest.

I trip backwards but a large hand lands on my waist and catches my upper arm.

I forget to breathe and forget why I came out here as I gaze up into the bluest pair of eyes I've ever seen.

Movement on the corner of his mouth catches my attention to his crooked smirk that sends off a flock of butterflies.

Static electricity layers my skin and the spots he's holding burn with satisfying tingles.

His mouth moves saying something and a bead of sweat rolls down my back.

His cinnamon breath fills my mouth and nose when he then chuckles, snapping me from whatever the fuck is wrong with me, "Huh?"

"I said you've got blue paint on your face." His accent is thick and his voice is deep. The sound of it unleashing another bout of butterflies within my belly. His thumb wipes my cheek, leaving it burning under the tender wake of his touch. "Have you come to fire me, boss?" He adds.

This time, I melt a little into him and grip his wrist holding the curve of my lower back and whimper, "No." I clear my throat and voice it again this time stronger, "No-."

"Oh, well, in that case." He boasts and catches my lips with his.

My ankles go weak and knee's quiver melting even more into his hold and my lips involuntarily move with his.

He kisses me hard, fisting my hair at the back of my head issueing sparks of hot delite across my scalp.

He bites and sucks on my lower lip, dragging it out slowly between his teeth as his hands move on my body but the places I'm begging to be touched.

Liquid heat builds deep in my gut and my eyes spring open when the dampness in my panties is palpable. What the fuck am I doing? Again!

Planting my palms on his pecks I shove off and try to catch my breath, "You can't do that!"

He's got red lipstick smeared all over his mouth but his tongue shoots out and he chuckles wiping his lips with his thumb looking all too pleased with himself. "I just did, Cartier." He adds, his ignorance is unbelievable.

"It stops. Right now!" I point at him, still out of breath and as an ache settles between my thighs.

Ignoring it I unclip the clothes pins and yank my sheet down as Noah adds gasoline to my building fire with a stupid giggle, "I'm not stopping, especially now that I know I'm not getting fired."

I snicker, and move to the next blowing sheet and remove it from the line, "If you do it again-"

"You're takin the piss, you kissed me back both times. And to top it off you're all moany and making sexy little sounds each time."

Cringggeeeee

"I'm not taking a pee anywhere, don't do it again, Noah."

"That's not what taking the piss means- you know what, whatever, Boss. Ignore the shit that's goin' on. I reckon that's always worked for you."

I straighten and glare right at him, "What is that supposed to mean?"

He cocks a smug brow and grabs the clothes line leaning towards me with his muscles flexed, "I'll bet cuntface gave a thousand and one signs of him cheating yet you chose to ignore them so you could remain in your little fantasy world of corvettes and designer brand toilet paper."

I clench my teeth together and my fists ball tightly, my nails pressing into my palms painfully.

He's right of course so my anger explodes, "Noah! You're fired!"

He sways a little on the clothes line then scoffs, "Fuck off." Then he reaches for the last hanging white pillow case and before I can stop him he grabs it and wipes his face and mouth all over it. "The new thatch arrives tomorrow. So unless you want to march you're nice little arse up to the roof, you need me."

He throws the pillow case at me and I catch it, seeing it's probably ruined. No amount of bleach will get this out. "I'll hire someone else-."

He laughs and looks down at me, still so pleased and unfazed with his recent firing, "There ain't no other thatcher's here. Besides me."

I stomp my foot and let out an aggravated scream then snatch the balled sheets from the weeds and turn  needing to get away from this fool. "You can kiss my ass!" I say reaching the back door and struggle to open it with my arms full of sheets.

"Bend over!"

I growl another loud scream and throw the door open, unable to catch my breath and feel my heart pounding against my chest. "Asshole!" I yell back and slam the door.

I'm fuming inside the kitchen, out of breath, and aching all over.

"Ignorant, immature, imbecile!"

Going to the sink I run the cold water and drop the sheets on the counter and throw my hands under the water. Wiping my face, avoiding my eyes, I cool my hot skin and clean the smeared lipstick off my face.

The house booms and shakes as the music rises exponentially outside.

I grip the sink and growl at the noise feeling as if I'm about to snap and kill this boy.

When the lyrics drop the C word, I lose it.

Throwing the door open I charge to his truck with all four doors wide open.

Noah doesn't hear me, and is clueless when I reach his truck and climb inside. I crawl on my knees on the torn leather bench seat then slam my fist hard on the power button to the music ending it immediately.

"Hah! Take that fucker." I say to myself, my ears gifted with the sweet sound of silence.

"OI! Get outta there!" I twist and see him running towards me and his truck so I plant my ass on the drivers side laughing to myself.

I don't know how to drive a manual stick shift, but it can't be that hard.

Twisting the keys in the old ignition the truck fires up loudly and Noah yells again.

Both my feet are on the brake and the shifter pedal thing. With a quick glance at the stick I see the map of the gears and slam it into "Gear 1".

"CARTIER!"

I laugh loudly throwing my head back then slam both feet on the gas pedal and floor it.

The old truck lurches forward surprising me and the engines screams.

My laugh ends and turns into a scream as I rip the wheel to the right to avoid a tree then rip it left when I'm headed straight for the old fence.

"BLOODY TURN!" Noah bellows behind me, spooking me and forcing me to turn around seeing he's dove into the back seat.

The truck blows through the old fence and rams into an massive over grown rose bush. I remove my feet from the pedal and the truck stalls halfway in a giant bush.

"Oh...my..." I mutter gripping the wheel so tightly my knuckles are white.

The truck jostles and Noah climbs from the back floor boards and gasps when he sees I've driven his truck into a giant thorn bush, "Cartier...You didn't just do that?"

"I'm sorry!" I peep, mortified.

The truck clicks then from the crunched metal hood smoke billows from it, filtering up within the twisted thorns. "You've killed it." Noah gawks, wide-eyed.

"I am so sorry, Noah I-."

Then he bursts into the loudest laughter and falls back into the backseat holding his stomach.

There is going to be a lot of back and forth between these two lol.

Noah 2 Cartier 0... maybe she deserves a half point lol but the wreck of the truck was a real loss of cool points lol

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CC