“Hey,” she greeted with a nervous smile.
Since when is she nervous around me?I thought.
“Wassup.”
She stepped to the side, giving me room to come inside. I looked around at her simple but elegant decor in shades of brown. The house had an open concept, and you could see into the family room from the kitchen.
“Umm, if you don’t need anything before you get started, I can take you to the backyard.”
“Do you have any pictures of what you want to do?”
“Oh yeah. Let me get my phone.”
She disappeared down the hall and returned less than a minute later. After moving her fingers around on her phone screen for a minute, she gave it to me.
“Just swipe to the left,” she told me.
I looked through the pictures, making a mental note of the similarities between each patio.
“I can create any one of those you want. Let’s go to the backyard.”
Once we were outside, I took in the entire yard. It was spacious, and she hadn’t done much with it.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked as I looked around.
“Ten years. As you can see, I haven’t done much with the yard.”
“I noticed. Why not?”
She shrugged. “Stokely was about twelve when we moved in, so he was too big for a playset or stuff like that. The only people who visit are Nyomi and my parents, so I don’t entertain much. It never seemed important.”
“Makes sense, I guess. I’m gonna take a look around and get some measurements. You don’t have to stay out here with me unless you want to keep me company.”
“No. I’ll wait for you inside.”
About forty-five minutes later, I had what I needed, but I had a few questions for her before we went any further with the project. I went back inside and saw her sitting on the couch, reading a book.
“I didn’t think you’d call me,” I told Skye, gaining her attention.
I was shocked when I received a phone call from her asking me if I had time to come and check out her backyard.
“Why?” she asked, putting her book down and heading my way.
“Things have been a little awkward the last few times we’ve been in the same space.”
She watched me as I placed the clipboard on the table near the patio doors and slipped out of my shoes.
“You think so?” she asked, playing coy.
“Yeah. You completely ignored me when I saw you atElm Street Blues.”
When I walked into the restaurant with Gwen, I spotted Skye and Stokely right away. I noticed her looking in our direction, so I waved, and she looked away. The hostess led us to a table not far from hers, and when she saw us coming her way, she went to the bathroom.
“You were on a date, so I didn’t want to be rude.”
“It was just a date. She’s not my girlfriend.”
“I apologize for ignoring you. I didn’t think you’d care.”