Love Potion Number 10

by Conner, Jennifer

  His breath was uneven in her ear. “I have a confession to make. I’ve had a crush on you for months.”

  She stepped back. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? Ask me out?”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “Felix…” Her words trailed. “What I’m wondering now is, where have you been all my life?” She grinned.

  “I’ve always wanted to be someone’s cliché.” Royce chuckled. “I’ve been in the copy room, where I always am.”

  “I think it was me who should be paying more attention.” She smiled and planted another soft kiss against his mouth. “Would you like to stay?”

  Royce couldn’t believe what he’d heard her ask. “Really?”

  She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him in for another searing kiss. “Stay,” she repeated against his lips.

  He kissed her long and slow, wanting to know the taste of her. Royce drew fingers up her bare leg to her thigh. He ran his touch under the hem of her dress and then under the scrap of lace panties he found there. Her muscles quivered.

  She looked up at him through half lowered lashes. “I…I never do this on a first date. Just jump into something.”

  “Me neither. But, it feels right, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded and took his hand. Everett led him down the short hallway to her bedroom. Pushing Ludwig off the bed onto the floor, she came toward-him again and flipped around on the bare pads of her feet. “Could you help me with the zipper?”

  He obliged, and when she let the black dress slide off her shoulders to pool on the floor, Royce felt his heart falter. Her breasts were full and encased in black lace. Her silky hair spilled over her shoulders.

  “You’re so beautiful…” he said. They helped each other remove the rest of their clothes until they were naked.

  Slowly, he walked her backwards until her legs hit the edge of the bed. Royce stared at her face and brushed his knuckles along her cheek. He trailed his fingers down her chest and over the nipple that thrust into his palm. Her breath caught.

  “I’ve wanted you for so long…” Royce stroked a thumb over her breast and then took the tip in his mouth. She sighed and his body tightened in response. He stepped away only long enough to retrieve a condom from his wallet. When she rolled it down his length, he nearly came undone.

  He pressed her back on the cool bedspread. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. He tried to hold the waver out of his voice to give her a chance to change her mind, but god, he wanted her.

  “I want you inside me,” she said a little breathless and cupped his buttocks to urge him closer.

  Royce pressed forward. Sensations swamped him. He didn’t move for a long moment as he tried to gain some form of composure. Slowly he began to move. Everett arched and opened for him to drive deeper. He slid a hand beneath her to bring her more intimately to meet his thrusts.

  She placed a hand on his chest. He understood her meaning and let her roll him onto his back. Straddling him, she took him inside her again. Rocking slowly at first, she then increased the pace.

  She began to tremble. Royce reached up and touched her face, “Open your eyes… look at me when you come.”

  Her eyes opened leisurely as she rocked back and forth watching him. She grabbed his hands as if to anchor herself, and then Everett cried out in release.

  With their gazes locked, he reached his own climax.

  She smiled, as he tugged her down to lay across his chest. His heart felt as if it would burst through his chest.

  “That was amazing…”Royce said.

  “Sometimes when you aren’t expecting something, it can be the best.”

  Chapter Five

  “You did what?” Lynne asked.

  “I slept with Royce,” Everett said as her cheeks heated. “He’s funny, smart and a music geek just like me. I can’t believe it happened so quickly, but he was there and I was there, and it was perfect. Why hadn’t I ever noticed him before? He said he’s wanted to ask me out for months.”

  Lynne rolled her eyes. “What about Felix and the love potion and all of that equation?”

  “If the love potion worked, then why wasn’t he there instead of Royce? But believe me, I have no regrets. Royce was amazing.”

  “I don’t know…but, you’d better be careful with this.” Lynne bit at her red manicured fingernail.

  “Wait a minute. Yesterday you thought it was all a bunch of baloney and now you’re a believer?”

  “No. I don’t know. Karma…or whatever that is. Just be careful.” Lynne shrugged. “Did you see Chase and Ella down the hall this morning? I finally had to tell them to get a room, they were all over each other. Maybe it’s just something in the air.”

  “Whatever is in the air, I’ll take it.”

  Both women laughed.

  “Maybe it’s more than that, because it’s definitely something.” Lynne rubbed her stomach. “You get lucky and I get a touch of the stomach flu. I’m not feeling too hot.”

  Everett laid a hand on her friend’s forehead. “You look kind of green. Maybe you better go home for the day.”

  “I’ve got too much to do. Maybe I’ll take a sick day tomorrow.”

  ****

  Royce did his duty and filled Felix in with all the details on the symphony. He left out some details about how amazing the show was, because he thought he saw Felix’s eyes start to glaze over as soon as he mentioned Beethoven. He also completely left out the part about making love with Everett. That was for the two of them alone. Intimate. Private. Special.

  “That was about it. Thanks for the tickets,” Royce said as took the last drink of his latte.

  “You only got one of the tickets. Everett got the other one. You didn’t say anything about how that went. Did she say anything? I got the feeling she thought I was going.”

  “Nope.” Royce rocked back in the chair and laced fingers behind his neck. He was a really bad liar and he knew it.

  Felix looked around to see if there was anyone close by. “Did you see Everett this morning? From the moment she walked past me in the hall…there was something different about her. She looked smokin’. That red sweater dress she’s wearing could burn down a house. I want to get some of that.”

  “Stay away from her.” The words left Royce’s mouth before he realized it.

  “You devil.” A sly smile crossed Felix’s mouth. “You fucked her last night. Way to go. How was she?”

  Royce tried -not to come up and out of his chair. “I’m done with this conversation.”

  “Me thinks I hit a nerve. Do you have a claim on her or something?”

  “No, I don’t have a ‘claim’ on her.”

  Felix chuckled. “That’s what I thought. And hey, buddy, all is fair in love and war.”

  As Royce watched Felix saunter away, what he really wanted to do was to run after him, spin him around, and punch him in his perfect five-o’clock shadowed jaw. Royce knew he didn’t have a claim over Everett. He would never want that anyway. He knew how much he wanted her, and after last night, he wanted her even more.

  But, she was the only one who could make that decision about how far their relationship would go.

  Deep in thought, Everett was as she worked through the stack of files piled up. She was startled by a deep voice and looked up to find Felix leaning over the wall of her cubicle.

  “How are you this morning?” Felix gave her one of his trademark smiles, walked in, and - propped a hip on the edge of her desk.

  Before today, she would have swooned if he’d paid her any notice, but this morning, she felt nothing. “Good morning, Felix, and how are you?” she asked politely.

  “I was thinking about last night, and that I’m really sorry I didn’t make it.”

  “It al
l worked out.”

  “Yes… I bet it did.” He let his words hang between them. “To make up for any misunderstanding, I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow night. I’ve been waiting for a reservation I made a month ago at this new Thai fusion restaurant downtown. I’d love for you to go with me.” He took her hand and kissed the knuckles.

  She stared at him, shocked by his bold move. “I’ll have to see. Why don’t you ask me again tomorrow?” What she really wanted to do was buy time to see if Royce was going to ask her out. She needed to find out if what the two of them shared was real.

  Felix’s eyes twinkled. “I’d never really noticed how sexy you are.” He kissed her hand again. “And, thanks for the cookies. I didn’t have time to eat them at work, so I took them home. They were great. I ate every last crumb -.”

  Everett’s heart dropped as she drew her hand out of his grasp.

  Oh no, the love potion. Crap. Now the love potion is working and I don’t want it to!

  Felix wandered past Royce’s cubicle again. When he popped his head in, his face held what Royce’s mom used to call ‘a shit eating grin.’

  He made an okay sign with his fingers. “Everett and I have a date tomorrow night.”

  “What?” Royce tried to keep the shock out of his voice.

  “You heard me. Thanks for getting her warmed up.” Felix made a gun with his fingers, and shot a round at Royce as he walked off.

  Royce sat and stared at his computer monitor. He’d hoped it was more than what it was and put too much into last night. Obviously, it was just a booty call for Everett until she could get hooked up with Felix―the man she really wanted.

  Royce banged a fist against his forehead and sighed. He could never be that man.

  After work, when he saw Everett at the elevator, he didn’t know what to say so decided to say nothing. He was acting like a big baby and he knew it. He’d hide his hurt until they parted ways when the elevator doors opened and everyone rushed out.

  He heard her say, “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” he murmured as he headed out the doors and toward the parking garage.

  Chapter Six

  Even though the closed neon sign burned in the window of Madame Anaosov’s office, Everett thought she heard a television, so she continued to rap on the glass.

  Finally, the door opened about six inches. “What?” Madame asked, looking perturbed.

  “Do you remember me? Please, I need your help,” Everett said.

  “No refunds.”

  “No, I don’t want a refund. I need another potion.” As Madame started to shake her head, Everett reached into her purse. “Here’s seventy-five dollars in cash. I know you’re closed and this is an inconvenience, but I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “It is inconvenient.”

  Everett pulled out her change purse and shook the contents into her hand. “Here’s another twenty-three dollars and whatever change. Please.”

  The old lady opened the door wide as she took the cash from Everett’s hand. “The love potion didn’t work?”

  “It did work.” Everett shook her head. “That’s the problem. The wrong man has the cookies. I went out with another man from my office... not the one I gave the love potion to, and well, he’s great. But now, the guy I gave the potion to ate it and wants to go out with me. You have to make another potion to cancel out the other.”

  “You don’t want the first man now?”

  “No.”

  “You have found love with another?”

  “I…I don’t know. But, I’d like to find out.”

  “You are crazy woman.” The old lady shook her head and grinned, revealing missing teeth. “I have to say, I’ve never had this happen. It’s a new one. You sit here and wait. I will bring what you need. You will have to come and tell me how this all works out.”

  Everett came into the office the next morning with her tin of cookies tucked beneath her arm. Before she lost her nerve, she walked straight down the hall and into Felix’s office.

  “Morning,” she said brightly. Felix looked up and met her smile.

  “Boy, am I happy to see you. And, by the way, you look like a knock-out again today.”

  She held out the tin. “Since you enjoyed the other cookies so much, I thought I’d make you another batch.” She opened the lid and placed them on the desk in front of him -.

  He looked into the tin, but didn’t take out one of the cookies. “Have you thought about my offer to go out with me tonight?”

  “I’ll tell you what. You can stop by my cubicle in a few hours and let me know how you liked the cookies. I’ll give you my answer then.”

  “I can wait for something as good as you.” He smiled again and she noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Can you also have the Murdoch files copied in triplicate by the time I stop by?”

  “You’ve got it.” When she shut the door behind her, she let out the breath she’d been holding. She’d also had her fingers crossed the whole time.

  Please, let it work. This time, she said the silent prayer for a whole different reason.

  Royce hadn’t slept well for the second night, and now he felt like shit. He’d tossed and turned for hours. When he did start to drift off, it was with Everett’s naked body straddling his, that popped into his mind. He could still feel her fingers trailing over his ribcage and could picture her lips swollen from his kisses.

  He’d been right. They’d had so much in common, it felt like he’d known her for years. She was so easy to talk to and actually knew what he was talking about when he made some abstract musical reference. And the sex…well, it had never been like that with another woman. Royce wasn’t into one-night stands, but he’d had some for comparison. He knew Everett was someone he could come home to and make love with every night.

  The whole experience had been something different for Everett. It was just one night and what he needed to do was get over it or it was going to drive him nuts.

  He’d avoided Everett since yesterday. There wasn’t anything else to say.

  “Hey, partner in crime,” Felix said, as he came into his cubicle.

  Royce couldn’t wait until he had an office with a door he could lock.

  “Just stopped by to let you know everything turned out great. Wow…I can’t believe my head is still on. What a hot night!”

  “Good to hear.” Royce’s coffee suddenly churned sideways in his stomach and he wiped a hand across his mouth.

  “Wow…I mean, wow. White hot. Over and over. For hours.” Felix grinned as he made an inappropriate gesture with a circle and index fingers.

  “Great…I’d love to hear more, but I really have to get these reports done by noon or it will be my ass.”

  Felix held up his hands in defense. “Sure, man.” He stopped. “Here’s some more cookies that Everett made for me yesterday. I thought you might like them.” He set the tin on this desk. “They’re all yours.” Felix walked away.

  Royce took off the lid and stared at the cookies neatly packaged inside. “Dammit,” he muttered. She made Felix another batch of cookies. Were these laced with the love potion too? She’d wanted to make sure? And now she got what she wanted, Felix had sex with her. ‘White-hot, over and over’.

  Ugh…Felix. Of all men.

  Well, he hoped she was happy. He frowned at the cookies like they were laced with arsenic, which they were when it came to him. He couldn’t have anything to do with them―in more ways than one.

  He didn’t need this kind of drama in his life. There was someone out there for him. He just needed to look in the right places. It was time for a fresh start.

  Chapter Seven

  Everett couldn’t take it any longer. When it came time for her break, she strode down the office corridor until she got to Ro
yce’s cubicle. She found him packing a cardboard box with the belongings from his desk.

  “Hey…Royce. What’s going on? Why don’t you return my calls?”

  “Really? What’s the point?” He let out a hardened laugh. “You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve taken a job upstairs with financing. This is my last day in this department.”

  “Why would I be happy to hear that?” She touched his arm, but he just glared at her.

  “Sounds like you had a great time with Felix last night. Nice to hear all the ‘details’ secondhand.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He placed his pencil holder in the box and then reached behind it. “Oh, here, you can have this back too.” He tossed her the cookie tin. “You wouldn’t want to misplace it so you can fill it up again for Felix.”

  “Did you eat these?” she asked.

  He spun to face her. “I don’t need any damn cookies to fall for you.”

  “How did they end up here? On your desk?”

  “Felix brought them to me, just like he did the first batch.”

  She felt her eyes widen. “You got both bunches of the cookies I baked?”

  “Yeah, well, you know Felix. He has to watch those chiseled abs. No refined sugars or trans fats for him. He’d never be caught dead eating junk food.”

  “Did you eat them?” she asked again as she took the lid off and looked into the empty tin.

  He didn’t answer her, but went back to packing his box. “I gotta go. They’re expecting me upstairs for a welcome party.”

  “Wait…” She took his arm again. “Can we talk? Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking for. Please?” she pleaded.

  “Why?”

  “Just like the first night we met, I think there’s been a misunderstanding here and I’m trying to understand what’s going on too. But, just talk to me. I think I deserve that.”