Straight As A Garden Hose

Chapter 14

Our shower was quick, and at first Everly was nervous, but I didn't pressure her to do anything she didn't want to, and she seemed to relax after that. I kissed her a few times, pushing her against the shower wall and under the stream of water, but we didn't get much more physical than that. It was such a weird feeling, showering with someone. All I ever used to do is fuck and flight, which is what Grey calls it. I've never woke up next to someone like I have been with Everly, or showered with anyone. But I was definitely starting to get used to it.

****

"Perfect timing girls," Mom said as she laid the fried chicken on the table, along with mashed potatoes, biscuits, baked beans, coleslaw, and of course her sweet tea. Dad and Calvin were already seated at the table, talking about fishing. I sat down across from Everly, and she smiled at me as she ran her barefoot up my leg. I cocked an eyebrow at her, and she held back a giggle.

Fuck, this girl knew how to drive me crazy.

"Are you still going to be able to take a look at the mustang before you leave?" Dad asked, pulling my attention away from Everly.

"Ya sure, I'll come out after dinner," I replied, taking a bite of chicken.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?" Mom asked.

"We need to leave here by seven to have enough time to unpack before work," I responded. She nodded.

"Sounds good," she replied.

****

"Dinner was amazing, thanks Mom," I said as I kissed her on the cheek on the way to the kitchen with dirty plates.

"Your welcome love, anytime," she replied. "Now get out of my kitchen and go figure out what's wrong with that car. Your father has been trying to get that thing going for weeks and hasn't figured it out. You know how he is with mechanical things."

I laughed and fake saluted, walking out of the front door to find Everly watching the sun go down, her arms crossed. I just stood back for a minute, watching her with awe at how amazingly beautiful she was. Until she caught me staring.

"Quit staring," she said self-consciously. I laughed softly and walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"I can't help it when your this beautiful," I replied, making her turn red. Then she turned back to the horizon.

"It's so pretty here. I'm going to miss it," she said softly. I nodded.

"Well, my Mom and Dad love you, so feel free to come back here anytime," I replied with a quick kiss on her shoulder. She then turned around in my arms.

"Back to the grind tomorrow," she said, taking my hand and leading me toward the barn.

"You really do love your job though, don't you?" she asked, grabbing hold of my arm with her other hand. I smiled down at her.

"I do," I replied simply. She nodded, but her eyes lit up when she noticed little floating lights close to the barn.

"What are those lights?" she asked, pointing. I chuckled.

"Have you never seen fireflies before?" I asked her, stopping us so she could get a closer look. She shook her head in response, and continued to watch them. I smiled at how adorable she was being, and I let go of her hand to catch one for her. She leaned down close to my outstretched hand, then jumped when it flew away. I laughed, and she shoved me playfully.

"Do you wanna hang out in the barn with me while I work on the mustang?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Sure," she replied.

"I'm going to change into my coveralls, but I'll be down in a minute," I said as I made my way up the steps to the loft. She nodded, then headed toward the car.

Upstairs, I dug out my coveralls that I used to use a lot when fixing up the old mustang, and slipped into them. I zipped them up only to my waist, and pulled an old tank top over my torso. It was definitely too hot to have the coveralls on all the way.

As I made my way downstairs, I thought about how Everly was still kind of a mystery. I still didn't know much about her childhood, or what exactly happened when her mom passed away. And she's obviously been in some pretty terrible relationships with shitheads. I really wanted to ask her more about it, but I also didn't want to scare her away. Maybe if I told her some of the things in my past, she would open up more? But then again, no one knew about my addiction problems except for David.

I rounded the corner and looked up at Everly, standing by the radio looking for a good station. She glanced up at me then.

"I hope you don't mind, I just thought some music would be nice," she said. I smiled.

"I couldn't agree more," I replied as a slid my fingers under the lip of the hood and opened it. She finally found the one station that had decent signal in the barn, and turned it up so we could hear it but it wasn't too loud.

"It's country, sorry," she grimaced. I chuckled.

"That's the only station that will come through in here, it's alright," I replied, as an old country song played through the old speakers.

(Play Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter)

Now that I had the hood open, I got a good look at the engine and saw multiple little things that needed to be repaired. Thankfully Dad always stocked up on miscellaneous parts, so I probably wouldn't have to go to the store.

"Can you tell what's wrong with it?" Everly asked, making her way over to where I was leaning against the engine to get a closer look. As soon as she stepped close, I could smell her shampoo, and it reminded me of our shower earlier. Even thought we didn't do anything sexual, it still made my body heat up.

"Well so far, the oil needs to be changed and a new oil filter put on. It looks like I might need to refill the power steering pump fluid too," I replied, reaching out to pull out the oil stick. The level of fluid on the stick was low, so I put it back and started unscrewing the cap for the oil tank.

"How do you know how to do this kind of stuff?" Everly asked, leaning down closer to me. God above, if she only knew what she was doing to me.

"My gramps taught me when I was younger before he passed away," I smiled, remembering how we would spend hours together in this barn, working on this car.

"That's sweet. I'm sorry for your loss though," she said quietly. I shook my head.

"It's alright. I like to think he's in a better place," I replied, wiping my hands on the rag in my back pocket. Then I stopped what I was doing as a great song came crackling through the old speakers...

Hey guys, sorry for the late post, been busting my ass with work. The worst part about vacation is haveing to catching up with all the work you missed while you were gone.

But another chapter is soon on the way.

Love you guys!! Vote and comment to keep this story going!