Thirteen (Love by Numbers Book 4) (4 page)

“I’m H, well my name’s Harry, but everyone calls me H.”

“Pleasure to meet you Harry, and thanks again for helping a bunny out.”

She turns and begins her duck waddle towards the school’s playing fields that are now decked out with all manner of games and stalls.

When we reach the stall with the sign ‘Easter Bunny’ painted on the side, she turns and reaches for the stack of egg boxes in my arms.

“This is me for the next two hours, or until my eggs run out. Are you a parent or are you helping for the day?”

I open my mouth to reply because I’m not ready to say goodbye to Bunny Girl yet, when a voice calls out from behind me, “H, I’m glad you made it. You’re with me on the touch rugby stand.” We both turn to around to see Josh striding towards us.

“I thought it would be more fun for you than the Hook-A-Duck you got stuck on last time.” He looks towards Bunny Girl and says a quick, “Hey Delilah; fur looks good on you,” before guiding me from the stall and away from my bunny.

“How’d you know Bunny Girl was Delilah?” I ask with a quick look over my shoulder to watch her setting up her display of eggs.

Josh follows my eyes and smiles knowingly, “She’s something else, hey?” I nod slightly in response, still staring back at the big, pink ball of fur, just wishing for another glimpse of the girl underneath.

“Delilah is a Physiotherapist who works with one of our students. The bunny costume was a bet she lost with that student. That’s how I know who’s inside the bunny.”

I walk with my head turned towards the Easter stand, watching as the pink bunny gets farther and farther away.

“Can you stop pining after the bunny and get your head in the game?”

I drag my eyes from Lilah and look over at Josh as we approach a cordoned off area with inflatable sides.

“These kids can be ruthless with their tackles, so watch your crown jewels and don’t let them take you down or you’ll never get back up.”

“Great. I can’t wait.”

We climb over the sides of the temporary pitch and begin to pull out all the balls, cones and bibs.

I can’t help but steal a few glances back towards my new furry friend.

“So… Bunny Girl, I mean, Delilah. Is she single and ready to mingle or is she another school hottie with a girlfriend?”

Josh stops mid-bend and drops the remaining cones to the floor. He walks slowly towards me and sets his hand on my shoulder as we both look at Bunny Girl who is now handing out chocolate eggs to the gaggle of children that surround her.

“I don’t know her that well, but she’s an amazing woman. You two would probably have a lot in common.”

“Like what?”

He gives my shoulder a squeeze before dropping his hand, “Like humour, quirkiness… life. You should stay at the end and offer to help her tidy up. Maybe you can find out if she’s available for mingling.”

He walks away, back to his duties and moments later we are swarmed by a gang of eight-to-eleven-year-olds, all ready to kick our arse.

T
wo hours of touch rugby with a rowdy bunch of kids is a whole new world of pain. I’ve been elbowed in the eye, ribs and nuts and took a nasty tackle to the floor when a kid, who swears he was only ten but looked more like sixteen, dived on me from behind. This tackle resulted in, at least, a dozen other kids joining the fun and creating a ‘pile-on H’ mountain.

Yeah, it’s been… Hell.

I drag my broken and weary body around the pitch, helping Josh pick up all the equipment and ponder whether I smell too badly to approach Bunny Girl and offer her a hand. Hell, she can have both hands if I just get to see her face and those white cotton encased tits again.

What can I say? I might have been de-balled, but my libido is finally coming to life and I’m not risking it running away again.

“Thanks for today, mate.”

Josh hands me a bottle of water and smacks me across the back, jarring a few of my war wounds in the process.

“Yeah, it was fun-ish, but don’t go asking me again in a hurry.”

I stop bagging up the bibs to look over at Bunny Girl’s stall. I think most of my injuries were caused by looking over at her and not focussing on the devil spawn who were intent on unmanning me.

The bibs are snatched from my hands and I tear my gaze away from my new obsession to see Josh staring at me with a soppy grin on his face.

“Go, help the girl out. I can finish up here.”

My leg is already over the inflatable siding as I ask, “You sure you’re okay to clear up on your own?”

He laughs and nods his head in the direction that my body is screaming at me to walk towards. “I’m not sure wild horses could keep you away for much longer. Besides, I spot my girls walking towards me.” His face lights up.

I look over my shoulder to see Laura and Baby Ivy heading our way. Laura wears the same beaming smile as her husband and for a brief moment, I feel jealous.

Will I ever get what they have?

Will the woman of my dreams ever walk to me with that same smile on her face?

Will I ever see her cradling my child?

Woah! Hold your fucking horses!

Where did that thought come from? I’ve been unable to get it up for months and now I’m thinking of making mini Harrys or Harrietts.

Calm the fuck down, Davidson.

Let’s go and seal the deal first. At the very least, find out if she’s single.

I approach her stall and see mountains of empty foil wrapping littering the floor, but not a chocolate egg left in sight. I was kind of fancying a little choccy pick me up, but those bloody kids have pillaged the lot.

Bunny Girl is now headless; her big furry bonce is sitting on the table looking at me while she has her back to me and is bending over like those chicks do in the fitness videos when they touch their toes. Straight legs no bend to the knees. It looks weird, yet still hot and I imagine her peachy rear clad in a shiny pink lycra leotard, instead of the fluffy pink bunny fur it is now.

“Are you going to keep staring at my arse or are you going to be of use and help me pick up some of this bloody mess?”

I flick my eyes away from her arse to see her head between her legs and she’s looking at me from her upside down position with a shit eating grin on her face.

“I wasn’t…” I attempt to deny my lycra fantasy but she cuts me off.

“You were, it’s fine. I’ve heard loads of men have bunny tail fetishes. Your secret is safe with me.” Still upside down, she winks at me before lithely unfurling herself to her full height.

I can’t help myself and my mouth shifts into gear before my brain, “Why do you make it so hard for yourself? Bending like that might be a sight for my sore eyes, but it has to be killer on your muscles.”

Something passes behind her velvet brown eyes, but in a blink it’s gone and she shrugs before replying, “It’s more comfortable than it looks, you should try it.”

She turns away from me once more and grabs a roll of black rubbish bags from the table, tearing one off and handing it to me.

“Be of some use, Banana Man, while I go and change.”

She smirks at me before waddling off in the direction of the car park.

Banana Man? What the…?

I smack my forehead with my palm and drag my hand down my face.

She saw me get out of the Banana Mobile.

Great. Just, great.

Ball-less, bunny-less and I’ve gone and lost my man-card too.

I shake my head and bend to collect up the rest of the trash muttering to myself, “Hey, Delilah. Fancy coming out for a coffee with a loser?”

“Yes.”

I spin around so fast I almost land on my arse but I manage to right myself at the last second by grabbing the table, causing the bunny head to roll off onto the floor, where it lands, straight at her feet.

She does that super hot bending move again and picks her head up from the floor. I know I’m gaping like a Goldfish gasping for air, but I swear she just told me yes.

“Yes, I said yes. I’d love to go for a coffee with a loser.”

I snap my jaw shut and squint my eyes. Is she a mind…

“No, I’m not a mind reader, you’ve been saying all those things out loud, not thinking them.”

With that, she turns tail and walks away, throwing over her shoulder, “Meet me by that yellow hairdryer you arrived in and I’ll take you for a ride in a real car.”

Then she’s gone and I’ve lost the ability to speak.

I’m going for a ride with Bunny Girl, in her sexy as fuck Mustang.

Giddy up!

W
hen I saw him unfold his tall frame from out of that teeny, tiny, yellow car, I had to hold back a laugh. That was until I saw the melancholy on his handsome face.

From that moment on, I was determined to be as dorky as possible. My mission: Make the cute guy with the sad eyes laugh.

My first few attempts to get him to crack a smile failed dismally. All they served to do was humiliate me and make me look like a bit of a nutcase, but I wasn’t going to give up that easily.

When he came back to help me tidy up, and I caught him blatantly checking out my arse, I couldn’t help but tease him. Watching a slight blush creep over his strong cheekbones and seeing his flummoxed reaction, made this game a lot more fun. It also hid my embarrassment about my leg problems. Something he noticed, but I found easy to gloss over. It made me more determined to chase up my Doctor’s appointment, so I could finally bend without creaking again.

I
use the teacher’s locker room to strip off my bunny costume and pull a long, maxi skirt from out of my bag. Luckily, the crinkly fabric hides the haphazard way I stuffed it in earlier. A quick spritz of perfume and flick of my hair, and I’m ready to take Harry for a ride in Clarabelle.

I walk towards the back of the car park, now all but empty except for a few remaining volunteer’s and teacher’s vehicles and as I approach the side of Clarabelle I can see Harry’s sandy brown hair just beyond the roof of my car. He’s leaning against the Banana Mobile, typing on his phone and is oblivious to my arrival.

“Are you Googling for escape excuses?” my tone is light, but his head still snaps up like he’s been caught out doing something he shouldn’t.

“No, I wasn’t… I mean… I was just…” He motions to his phone before slipping it into his pocket. “Just texting my mate, Jake. Asking him for advice on… something.”

Oh, this is too easy.

“Advice about me?” I smile sweetly and flutter my eyelashes.

“No, on…”

“Coffee?” I tilt my head in mock confusion, and that blush reappears on his cheeks.

“No, it was…”

“Mustangs? Bunny fetishes?”

His eyes go wide, and I can’t help the laugh that slips free, “I’m just messing with you. Tell me, H. Are you always this easy to rattle?”

A mumble of, “Not normally,” leaves his full lips and his self-conscious shrug makes me feel bad for teasing him. I also feel bad for noticing how edible his plump lips look, especially when his tongue nervously flicks over the bottom one.

This bloke could be magnificent if he just smiled.

“S
o, do you still want me to take you for a ride?”