Build Me Up by Lili Grouse

you?” she muttered.
    “Sorry?”
    “It’s nice of you to offer, but I’ll take my chances with Breezer & Co.”
    “Stop being ridiculous, Kristen,” he said and locked up the tractor. “It’s just a wash. I’m not going to maul you when you step through the door.”
    He pocketed the keys and walked over to the car park without giving her a second glance. She’d follow, he knew she would. For all the huffing and puffing and sulking she could do, he knew she wouldn’t be walking back to Mrs. Breezer’s house with mud caking her legs and hands. Even Kristen wouldn’t be that stubbornly foolish.
     
    Kristen huffed and puffed all the way over to Ford’s truck. She didn’t want to be sitting down anywhere, but his truck would need a hose down in any case, so why not add to his workload? It was only fair seeing how he’d dragged her into the mud in the first place.
    The heeled boots had been her mistake, obviously, and so had putting on her favorite pair of jeans. When she’d jumped the last foot from the tractor, she didn’t realize the ground would sink under the impact of her heels. She’d managed to free one of them, but apparently the other caught on a root or rock or something.
    Then Ford came along to help. Typical male behavior – acting all chivalrous and making everything worse in the process.
    Ford had left the passenger door open for her – as if he’d known perfectly well that she would decide against walking over to the Breeze Inn . Stupid jerk. She climbed in and made sure she smeared mud in a few more places than strictly necessary. Childish? Yes. Satisfying? Totally.
    “Comfy?” he said, looking over at her with a crooked smile.
    Damn him for looking all rugged and mischievous. The muddy splatters on his checkered shirt only contributed to the dirty and rugged look, and… was that an oil streak? Kristen tore her eyes away and used one mucky finger to draw a sad smiley face on his window.
    She thought she could hear him chuckling, but when she looked over he had his standard stony face on. She leaned over and turned the radio on, making sure it too got a little smudged. Ford didn’t even blink.
    It wasn’t a long drive over to Ford’s house, and when the engine and consequently the radio turned off, Kristen remembered she was expected to get naked in Ford’s house. Not with him watching, of course, but the thought of it was enough to make her stomach clench and goose bumps break out in the most improper places.
    “You coming?” Ford said casually as he heaved himself out of the driver’s seat. Kristen took a deep breath before opening her own door.
    “Shower’s upstairs,” he said as he kicked off his shoes just outside the door. “There are extra towels on the shelf. Just throw your clothes in the hamper in there and put it outside the door. I’ll throw yours in with mine while you shower.”
    “And while my clothes are being washed, what am I supposed to do? Hide out in the bathroom?”
    “I plan on taking a shower myself when you’re done. If you want to stay for the show, that’s your prerogative,” he shrugged and walked into what she presumed was the laundry room. “If not,” he said as he stepped back out with a small pile of clothes, “you can put these on.”
    Kristen wiped her hands on the front of her jeans and took the pile from him. “Thanks.”
    “Up the stairs to your right,” he said and pointed to the staircase. “Call out when you’ve put the hamper outside and I’ll come collect.”
    Kristen gave him a curt nod and headed up the stairs. The door to the bathroom had been left slightly ajar, so she found it instantly. Inside, she spotted the hamper Ford had been talking about – an ugly plastic container with an even uglier lid. She closed the door behind her and quickly stripped down to her underwear. They weren’t in need of a wash, and she was about to put the hamper out when Sassy Kristen poked her head out and said that messing with Ford