Thank You, Charlie

Chapter 5

I shoved my keys into my purse and stepped out of my car, feeling a little nervous. Sally had told me to come at five o'clock and I purposely left from my house a little early to get there on time. However, I decided to go through the coffee shop drive thru to get my daily kick of caffeine and now I was five minutes late. Hopefully she wouldn't mind.

A lawn mower started up somewhere nearby, drawing me out of my daze. Hesitantly, I walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the front door. It flew open immediately.

"Hello, dear!" Sally exclaimed, pulling me inside. Her hair was in a bun and she had white paint splattered all over her shirt. She looked completely different from what she looked like at the engagement party.

"Hi," I said sheepishly, "Sorry I'm late." Her house was very modern and nicely decorated, which was surprising since she was older and I would have expected her to have an older style. The living room had paintings leaning against the couches and a bookshelf and a desk sitting in the middle. I assumed she was redecorating.

She waved a hand. "No big deal," she said, her eyes narrowing in on my drink, "Although, I also could have used some coffee right about now."

"Sorry," I murmured, "I should have asked you if you wanted one." I was already messing up at this job and it was probably the simplest one around.

Sally smiled. "No, I'll just make one. I have an espresso machine. Anyways, I'm painting my husband's office and I was hoping you'd want to help me."

I nodded. "I've never painted walls before, but that sounds fun."

"Great!" She grinned, then lead me down the hall. When we went into the room I took in the mess. There were tarps all over the floor with paint dripped all over them and tape along the flooring. I was surprised she hadn't hired a professional painter honestly, since it was obvious she had money.

"I don't have any other clothes with me," I told her, "I don't really want to ruin these ones I'm wearing." I might have sounded snobby, but both my shirt and jeans were brand new.

"Oh, of course!" She exclaimed, "My husband has some old clothes you can probably wear." Before I could even utter a word, she left the room and went into the room down the hall. She came back with a brown polo shirt. I laughed when I put it on and it was down to my knees. "Now doesn't that look lovely?" Sally laughed. "Shoot, I forgot to grab a paint roller for you. They're in the shed in the backyard. Go grab one."

I walked out the patio door in the back and stopped in my tracks. Noah was mowing the lawn with earbuds in his ears. He didn't have a shirt on and I could see his very defined abs. Not to mention, his arm muscles were very prominent as he pushed the mower. He glanced over and turned off the mower.

"What the heck are you wearing?" He asked, not even concealing his laughter.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Polos are in style, don't you know?"

He shook his head, amusement in his eyes. "They definitely are not," he paused, "Well maybe the crop top ones, but not ones that are down to your knees. You look like a box."

I shrugged again. "I guess not everyone knows about the styles of today."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, Abigail." He turned the mower back on and continued his path along the grass. I walked over to the shed and tried to find the roller that Sally had told me about. I found it and made the trek across the lawn, finding it difficult to keep my eyes off of Noah. I could now see why Lola was so obsessed with him. A slow smirk came across his face and he turned off the lawn mower again.

"I would feel a lot more comfortable if you weren't staring at me," he said, "I feel violated."

I tried to keep my cool, but I could feel my cheeks heating up. "You have something on your face," I deadpanned, making it up on the spot.