Breaking Free (Tom Holland) Book Two

BFB2 Chapter 18

"Are you sure you don't mind helping me?" I asked Kyle. He was carrying a large bag of mulch on his shoulders. A few bits of dirt had made their way into his wavy black hair but he didn't seem to notice or care.

"Of course I don't mind. What are friends for?" Kyle replied. His usual lopsided grin gave his voice a playful air.

I picked up a potted plant. The name "Heather" was displayed in front of it. "What do you think of this one?"

Kyle studied it for a moment. "It looks nice. I like this one though." He held up a pot full of brightly colored flowers. "Pansy" was their name.

"Those do look pretty. Add them to the cart."

Uncle Travis had eased up on the amount of schedules I had in order to give me a break. But as I predicted it was very easy to become bored while being stuck at home. Luckily, I had come up with the brilliant idea to try my hand at gardening. It was a hobby that could keep me occupied and growing something of my own would fill that accomplishment void.

"How many planter boxes do you need? Are you only getting them for the ground or are you going to hang some on the railing as well?" Kyle asked. He walked among the different kinds of planters studying them closely. As I watched him I was thankful I had invited him along. He was such a big help.

"I think I want a little of both. I'll just buy what I think will work and return whatever is left over."

Kyle nodded and started piling the planters I pointed out onto the cart. Small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead but he didn't stop until we had two carts worth of gardening supplies. When I was finally finished we pushed our carts up to the front to check out. As the cashier rang up my items I took a quick picture of my haul and sent it to Tom.

"Is he at work?" Kyle asked from over my shoulder.

"Yeah. He just got back in town last night only to leave again this morning."

"It must be tough being away from him for so long."

"It definitely was at first. I've gotten more used to it now."

"The downside of dating an actor. If only you had chosen a model instead like your sister," Kyle teased.

"It's honestly not that bad. Plus, this is something I'll have to get used to if this is to be my future."

"Oooh future plans. So you want to get married to him?"

The cashier gave me my total. I tried to hide my blush as I handed over my card. "Marriage is something that I have thought about. It wouldn't be a lie to say that I do want to marry him."

"But?"

"But it's still too early to be thinking of these things."

Kyle scoffed as he hoisted the bag of mulch on one shoulder and the bag of dirt on the other. "It's never too early to think about it. You wouldn't want to waste your time on someone you had no intentions of marrying would you?"

Kyle was drenched in sweat by the time he brought the last few items into my house. My balcony and the space in front of it were covered in various gardening paraphernalia. It was honestly daunting to look at. I looked up from the chaos to see my exhausted friend. "Oh my gosh Kyle. You're absolutely soaked. I'm so sorry."

Kyle waved off my apology. "Don't worry about it. So where are we starting?"

"I couldn't possibly ask you to help after all you've done already."

"You don't have to ask because I already offered. You want this done by the time Tom comes home right?"

"That's true."

"Well then, tell me what to do. We only have so much time."

I smiled as I watched Kyle put on the pair of gardening gloves I had bought for Tom. We spent the next few hours setting up my garden. By the time we finished my balcony had completely transformed.

"I have to say, we make a pretty good team," Kyle commented as he surveyed our work.

"We do, don't we?" I smiled at him.

He gave me a small smile. We held each other's gaze for a moment before he quickly broke eye contact. He strolled over to Tessa who was more than happy to have someone paying attention to her again. "Come on girl, let's go for a walk."

While Kyle was gone I began to clean up. I placed all of our unused materials near the front door. Then I cleaned up and put away the things I was keeping. I had just finished sweeping when Kyle returned with Tessa. "Are you hungry?" I asked him as he detached her leash.

"Starving," he replied. He was covered in dirt and bits of flowers from his head to his toes. A small streak of dirt stretched across his cheek. I walked over and wiped the dirt off of his cheek.

"You're far too covered in dirt for me to approve of us going out. Should I order some food?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Order from wherever you like. Do you mind if I take a shower though? I'd hate to sit on your nice furniture with all of this filth on me."

"Sure, I don't mind."

Kyle went down to his car to grab a spare outfit while I searched for a restaurant nearby. I got his order before he jumped in the shower and called to schedule our delivery. Then I changed clothes and curled up on the couch. Tessa jumped up and lay down next to me. I pet her lazily as I flipped through TV channels trying to find something to watch. I still hadn't found anything when I heard the front door unlock.

"There she is," Tom said happily as he came through the door.

I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Why didn't you tell me you were on your way? I just ordered food."

"That's fine. We had catered food on set so I ate before I left. Did you finish your garden?"

"I did! Come and see it!" I grabbed Tom's hand and led him over to the balcony.

Tom looked proudly over my work. "Wow this looks really good." He lifted my chin and brought his lips to mine. "Almost as good as you."

His lips brushed against mine as he spoke. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards me closing the gap between our lips once more. I ran my hands through his hair. One of his hands traveled down to the small of my back and pulled me close. The other ran through my hair. I felt myself being backed up against the glass of the balcony door. All the while our kiss became more and more passionate. Then, the moment was shattered as we heard someone loudly clear their throat. We looked towards the source of the noise to find Kyle standing in the entrance to our bedroom.