She sighs loudly. “Fine. I’ll double-check.”
Once she snaps it in and secures the cover, I tell her to hold the test button until it beeps. “You did it.”
“You doubted me?” she taunts, slowly climbing down. I hold the sides of the ladder even as her ass brushes against me.
“I’d never,” I tease, but it’s hard to concentrate with her this close.
“I think you can let go now. I can’t hurt myself falling from one foot off the ground,” she states as my chest presses against her back.
Releasing my grip, I step away, giving her space. “Good job,” I tell her when she spins around and faces me. “Only ten more to go.”
Her proud expression drops. “Are you serious?”
I grin. “Nah, you got the right one.”
She smacks me, and when I cough, her eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I forgot already.”
My chest still feels a little tight, and not getting enough oxygen exhausts me, but she’s been a good distraction.
I haven’t had an attack of that magnitude in months, and it’s a good thing we never did smoke since there’s always a chance that can trigger an attack. I was caught off guard, but I should’ve known better. The garage hasn’t been used in who knows how long, other than Cami parking her Range Rover in there, and there was dust everywhere. As soon as I moved shit around, it triggered my asthma. I typically only need my inhaler when I work out too hard or during allergy season, but I’m thankful she was here to get it for me. Her springing to action and being so concerned made me realize she cares about me more than she lets on.
“You’re fine, but maybe don’t beat me up right after I can breathe again.”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Now you’re just trying to make me feel bad.”
“I’d never.” I retreat, putting space between us.
“Mm-hmm. Well, it’s not gonna work anyway.” She takes a step toward me.
Folding my arms over my chest, I step forward. “Don’t want your pity anyway, never have.”
“Do you have to argue with me on everything?” She closes the gap between us until our bodies press together.
Leaning down, I retort, “Do you have to argue with me on everything?”
She narrows her eyes. “Just for that, you can haul that ladder back into the garage on your own.”
Smirking, I laugh as she walks around me, and Bruno follows her. Damn dog has already abandoned me for her. Not that I can blame him. She’s feisty and somehow even more pretty when she’s annoyed. It’s probably why I’ve always enjoyed pressing her buttons so much. Not to mention, it’s so easy to get a rise out of her.
Once I get the ladder back in the garage, I head to the kitchen to clean the mess from breakfast and realize she already did it. I see she even figured out the dishwasher.
Well, that’s progress.
I head to my room and take a shower, needing to check in with the office. My supervisor has been blowing up my phone all morning, but I’ve been ignoring him. Not that I ever thought it was possible, but he’s somehow been more annoying than usual. I’ve told him as such, too, which of course he didn’t appreciate, but he seriously needs to chill. People aren’t spending money unless it’s essential, so sales are down company-wide.
By the afternoon, I’m exhausted from staring at my laptop screen, and my stomach is grumbling from hunger, so I get up to go find something to eat. When I get downstairs, I see Bruno has betrayed me and is on the couch with Cami. I’m surprised she’s down here, considering how she was feeling this morning. I figured she’d be sleeping or attempting schoolwork.
She continues messing with her phone, so she either doesn’t hear me or she’s ignoring me. Tiptoeing closer, I look over the sofa and notice she’s on TikTok.
Leaning down until I’m in the camera frame, I smirk. “Whatcha doing?”
“Jesus, Eli!” She jumps and quickly spins around. “Stop doing that!”
“Are you making a video?” I ask with amusement. “Can I see it?”
“No, you can’t. Go away.”
“Oh, come on. I wanna see.”
“No!”
Reaching over, I try to grab it from her hand, but she moves away.
“Stop!” She laughs when I climb over the couch and land on top of her. She holds it up above her head, trying to keep it out of my reach.
“What’re you hiding? Why can’t I watch it?”
“Because it’s just a dumb skit, and you’ll laugh at me.”
“Now I definitely wanna see it.” I grin. She shuffles underneath me, and I hold myself up with one hand so I don’t crush her.
“Never gonna happen!”
I bring my fingers under her arm and tickle her side. “Oh my God!” She wiggles long enough for me to grab the phone from her grip, and she screams. “No!”
Laughing, I pull back until I get a better view of her screen. With one arm, I hold her back as she struggles to fight against me.
Cami sucker punches me in the gut, causing me to lean forward. She tries swiping it, but I’m faster and move it out of reach.
“Nice try,” I say. “You can’t hurt steel.”
She rolls her eyes at the reference to my abs. “So I should aim lower?”
“God, no. Don’t do that.” Especially since she’s underneath me and my mind is going fucking wild with ideas.
“Give it back and no one gets hurt.”
“Just let me see it. How bad can it be?”
She pushes herself up, trying once again to take it, but I pull back just far enough so she can’t. With my other hand, I grab her wrist and hold it above her head. Towering over her, I bring my face close to hers.
“The more you fight it, the more I want it.” My
