Kendra Lee is dirt poor. Fletcher Cadwell? Not so much.
The two Stanford students return home for the summer and somehow manage to cross paths in... his yard? After finding out that Kendra was hired to be a gardener for the summer, Fletcher is com...
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Fletcher places the last ripe peach into the basket and grabs it by the handle to climb back down the ladder. Kendra eyes him as he moves, but he tries his best to avoid her piercing gaze.
"I'm going to go put these in the kitchen," Fletcher says abruptly. "Maybe Cyrus can make a pie or something with them."
Kendra grabs one out of the basket as he passes by but demurely responds, "okay," as if she had done nothing at all.
Fletcher bites his lip to cover a smile and adjusts his grip as he arrives at the patio. He can hear laughter through the french doors and isn't surprised to see Kendra's friend, Vicky, sitting perilously close to Cyrus on a barstool. They're both sitting in front of a blender and several supplies: whipped cream, a carton of ice cream, and chocolate syrup. Fletcher eyes the finished creation inside the blender: chocolate milkshakes.
"I picked some of the peaches," Fletcher says, and Vicky's eyes snap to his, blush trailing up her neck. Fletcher sets the basket down on the island. "I was thinking you could make something later, but it looks like you've already handled dessert."
Cyrus grins, and pulls out several tall glasses and steel straws. "Nope, this is just a little snack I whipped up for Vicky here. How about you take one and bring another to Kenny, too?"
Fletcher bites back a groan. Just an hour or so of knowing each other, and Vicky's already got the chef wrapped around her finger. But the milkshakes are tempting...
"That sounds great, thanks," Fletcher replies and grabs the two finished creations from the counter. As he returns to the garden, Fletcher takes an experimental sip through the straw and curses. They're beyond fantastic.
Kendra raises her head up from the worksite and pops a grin. "What have you got for me?" She spends a quick second yanking her gloves off and then reaches for one of the glasses.
"Vicky convinced Cyrus to make milkshakes, apparently," Fletcher responds. He takes a seat on the soft dirt and leans against the peach tree, watching her curiously. Kendra glances at him, and then the milkshake, and then at him again. Her tongue darts out from the corner of her mouth and she licks a great big dollop of whipped cream off of the top. Kendra's eyes shutter closed for a few, interesting seconds as she experiences the taste, and then she giggles.
"It sure is nice to have her around, I guess. I want him to make more of these." Kendra finally takes a sip from her straw, and she lets out a sound of approval.
Fletcher chuckles. "So you're a dessert girl?"
Kendra snorts. "Who isn't? Remember that time I got drunk and ate like half a dozen donuts in one sitting?" She shudders. "That did not end up being a very good night."
Fletcher's eyebrows raise. "Yeah, I do. But you only had like half a beer... you got drunk off of that?"
Kendra smiles sheepishly. "I know, I'm like the biggest lightweight there is. But it's true- half a beer is pretty much my limit. Any more than that, and crazy stuff starts going down." She twirls the silver straw between two fingers, and he watches as the remainder of her whipped cream mixes into the milkshake until the two become one. She takes another sip, and then her eyes drift to mine.
"Why do you keep on watching me?" She says suddenly, and Fletcher blushes.
"What?"
Kendra quirks a brow and smirks. "You know what I'm talking about, Cadwell. Every time I look over at you, you're already looking at me. It's getting a little creepy," she teases with a glint in her eye.
"Nothing in particular," Fletcher replies hurriedly. "You're an interesting person, that's all."
Kendra's eyebrow somehow raises even higher. "That's all?"
Fletcher nods, confirming her statement, even as the lie seems to burn a hole inside of him. He'd always been a coward when it came to Kendra. Even though he'd liked her since probably the first millisecond they had met, he had almost no intention of admitting it to her. He could never happen with her group, or William Yong, especially. Not to mention the fact that she didn't even like him.
"Hmm," She replies softly, eyeing him as she finishes the last of her shake. Suddenly, her phone started to ring. Kendra grabbed it from her back pocket and rocked back on her heels, waiting for the person's voice to come through.
"Oh hey," She says in a low tone, fiddling with a piece of mulch. "How are you?" After a few more seconds of the person speaking, she responds, "oh okay. Yeah, sure, I'll see you then. Okay, great." Kendra pauses, and then looks directly at Fletcher. "Wait-" She stops for a moment, and then- "do you mind if I bring a friend?" Kendra smiles at him. "Yeah, Fletcher Cadwell? You met him a few times back at school. Yeah, he lives here. Yeah, okay. Great! Bye!" Kendra presses a button on her screen and then slips the phone back into her pocket.
"So," She says after a moment. "Some of my friends from school are coming to Wren's house for a few days, to hang out. Do you want to come back with Vicky and me tonight? I think Wren has some booze to spare too."
Fletcher shrugs. "Sure."
————- A/N
Hi!!! I hope you're enjoying! Sorry for uploading this late- I totally forgot that today was Tuesday :)). But! it's technically still out on time basically, so hopefully that isn't too unforgivable.
