Samantha paused and blew a few stray wisps of brown hair out of her eyes, glancing at the clock.
Four-thirty.
With an inward groan, she turned back to the seemingly endless task at hand.
Painting.
Though at this point, she hadn't even broken out the brushes. Instead, Samantha had spent hours washing, repairing, and sanding the walls in her new kitchen. At that moment, she was crouched down as she taped off the trim.
A clump of hair once again fell into her eyes and, sticking to the slight sheen of sweat there, wouldn't budge when she huffed at it. Growling, Samantha ripped the tape and pushed her hair back as she sprang up from her position, stalking over to the rotary fan near the sink.
"We don't need air conditioning, Sam, this is Connecticut," Samantha groused as she pulled the elastic out of her hair, allowing her long brown curls to tumble freely down her back. She continued to mutter to herself as she lifted her hair and turned towards the fan, allowing the cool air to reach her neck and scalp. "Yea, this may be Connecticut, but it's still fucking hot in July, NICK. Maybe you wouldn't have been so dismissive if it had been YOU who would be home doing all of this crap."
Samantha and her boyfriend Nick had only recently moved to Connecticut. As a high school teacher, Samantha was "enjoying" summer break while he had gone right to work. She filled her days with reading, exercise, and... painting. Or other equally exciting tasks. Nick helped in the evenings and on weekends, of course, but Sam couldn't stand sitting around when there were things to be done.
So there she was, hot, sweaty, and irritated, cursing Nick, Connecticut, and all of the unpainted walls in the world on a Friday afternoon in July.
And that's how Nick found her. Sam had been so engrossed in her internal tirade that she didn't hear him come in and lean against the doorway.
He took a moment to appreciate the view. Sam bent over the sink, braced by her arms, her head hanging low so that the fan would blow through her hair and over her neck. The sunlight streaming through the window caught on the lighter strands of her hair and lent her skin a warm glow. Sam's slim-fitting pink tank clung to her body and Nick's eyes traced the outline of her sports bra. But what came next was his favorite. Those cheerleading shorts that were a throwback from college hugged her tight ass and Nick took his time as his eyes travelled down Sam's long, tanned legs to her bare feet.
"Hello beautiful," he said softly.
Sam jumped and spun around quickly, a small shriek escaping her lips.
"Nick! You scared the bejesus out of me! What are you doing home early?"
He smiled, enjoying the way her chest rose and fell quickly in response to her fright.
"Oh, well, you know, it's Friday and we're off on Monday for the fourth. We didn't actually do much of anything all day. Some training sessions, a banquet... So, I decided to surprise you."
Nick slowly straightened; his smile faded when he saw Sam's honey-brown eyes flash and her lips set in a firm line, wondering what he'd done to piss her off.
"Well, I guess you can go change and help me with the kitchen then?"
"Uh, sure. I'll go do that," Nick said as he glanced over his shoulder quizzically, leaving the room. Sam wasn't usually like this. He shrugged and quickly changed into a t-shirt and some sport shorts.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Sam was fuming. On a certain level, she knew she was being unreasonable, but the heat and the exertion and the loneliness of moving to a new place had gotten to her and she was very irritated.
She'd also noticed the bulge in his pants and the look in his bright blue eyes.
"You did nothing all day while I worked my ass off on OUR house and then expect to just get laid? It's definitely not going to be THAT easy."
Sam quickly twisted her hair into a ponytail and started taping again, wordlessly handing Nick the second roll when he returned. As they worked silently, Sam felt Nick's eyes on her occasionally. She perked up a little and decided to play a little game to vent her irritation.
Whenever she spied him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, she would arch her back just a little bit more, thrusting her breasts out and her ass up. When Nick began running his hands through his black hair in aggravation, Sam knew it was starting to get to him.
She giggled a little on the inside, stretching and sighing as she stepped back to admire her handiwork. (Both in the kitchen and in Nick's pants.)
"OK, it looks like we're done."
Nick smiled. "Finally," he thought to himself as he approached Sam, pulling her into his arms and leaning down to kiss her. But his lips had only barely brushed hers when she pushed him away.
"The paint stuff is in the basement."
"I thought we could take a break... You know..." Nick wiggled his eyebrows at Sam, hoping to make her soften up to him with humor, but to no avail. She just looked at him stonily and replied, "We really need to finish this."
"Sheesh... Ok..." Nick set off for the basement.
While he was gathering the items needed for painting to begin, Sam quickly shed her cheerleading shorts and tank top, leaving her in only a grey sports bra and pink hipster panties.
When Nick arrived back upstairs and saw her leaning innocently against the counter, he unceremoniously dropped everything on the table and started towards her.
"Ah ah ah..." She said, smiling and wagging her finger. "We're not done. You got to sit in a nice air-conditioned office all day doing nothing while I worked my ass off in this heat. It's time for you to do your part."
Nick groaned as his frustration mounted. "That's what this is about? Ugh. Fine. Let's get it over with."
Sam's mood steadily improved and she was thoroughly enjoying herself as she pranced around in her underwear, teasing Nick, who found himself becoming more tense the longer she played her little game.
