by June Kramin
Feeling a little refreshed and a lot hungry, she started some water for spaghetti and went over to her computer. “Why am I not surprised?” She grumbled when she saw an e-mail from Bix. It would be a waste of effort thinking about how he acquired her e-mail address.
“Hiya, doll face, oops — I mean Ellie. I took the liberty of boosting your Internet speed while I was there. If your service provider catches on and finds out, we never met. Just kidding, it wasn’t illegal…well…mostly. Enjoy! ~ Bix”
She had no other messages and nothing else to do online so she shut it back down without a response to him and went back to making supper. Her phone rang and she sighed.
“You are a persistent little bastard, aren’t you?”
“I saw you received the e-mail. How is your speed?”
“How did you see I read the e-mail?”
“Delivery receipt confirmation. I get notifications to my phone.”
“That’s creepy.”
“Not as creepy as the app I have that tells me where you are when we talk.”
“You do not!”
He laughed. “I do, but I don’t have it on you, no worries, d — Ellie. You need to accept it anyway…at least on the legal version,” he added.
“Now I am hanging up on you.”
“Relax. Hey, why are you are standing in your kitchen over a boiling pot of water? I thought you weren’t hungry.”
“How do you…” She turned around and there he was, standing at the window over the sink waving at her. She held her robe closed tighter and slammed her phone on the counter and went over to the door. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked as she whipped the front door open.
He walked over like a scolded child, hanging his head slightly. When he reached her he took her face in his hands kissed her. He gave her one gentle peck at first and said, “I missed you,” then went back for more until her tongue met his.
Chapter Sixteen
Ellie was taken by surprise and hated the way her body reacted to his kiss, but she didn’t stop him. She didn’t want it to end and lost all track of time. When their lips finally parted, he gazed into her eyes. “You going to slap me again?” She just shook her head no and he smiled. “Good.” He kissed her again. This time they were broken apart by the sound of water boiling over. Ellie ran to the stovetop and turned it off and moved the pot to a back burner. Bix removed his jacket and boots before coming in any further.
When she turned back around, Bix was right there and began kissing her again. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist then he walked them over to the couch and laid her down. Taking off his shirt, he lay down on top of her. His hands roamed as he made his way down to the tie of the robe and undid it.
She moaned, “Bix,” breaking apart the kiss, but protested no further when he began kissing her again. He made his way from her lips, down her neck, and finally took time at each breast. He moved back up, longing for her lips again. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, searching for the answer of how far he was going to take this. When she ran her hands down his sides then unsnapped his jeans, he had his answer.
They made love on the couch. Bix swore he’d never felt anyone so perfect before. They seem to fit together like no one else he’d been with and he had to focus his attention on mundane computer details and HTML codes to keep himself from climaxing before he was able to take care of her. He thanked all that was holy that he knew how to get her just right. Either that or it had been a really long time for her because it wasn’t that long of a wait. He felt her tighten around him as she threw her head back and pulled him closer. He buried himself deep in her and allowed himself to finally climax with her.
After catching his breath, Bix lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “I’ve wanted that for three days,” he said, with another soft kiss.
“Get up.” She pushed on his shoulders and tried to sit up. He backed up and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Is something wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have done that.” She shyly looked away and pulled her robe closed around her.
“You sure seemed to enjoy it, Ellie.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.
She pushed his hand away and stood up. “Damnit, Bix. I don’t want this. I thought we were going to be friends. You came over with a condom in your pocket like you knew this was going to happen.”
He stood in front of her, uncaring that he was naked. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “A guy can hope, can’t he? What’s wrong with this anyway? I like you, Ellie. I like you a lot.”
“I’m not ready for a relationship, Bix. This goes beyond the comfort level of friendship.”
“You can’t say you regretted it. I’d go out on a limb to say that was some of the best sex I’ve had in my life.” He picked her chin up with his hand. “Tell me it wasn’t good for you.” She looked up, but wouldn’t speak. “That orgasm of yours about ripped off my johnson, Ellie.” The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk, but she remained unamused.
She pushed away his hand. “I’m not going to say it wasn’t good, but we can’t do that again.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’m just going to walk away from you now.”
“I never claimed to be smart. I dropped out of college, remember?”
“No, I don’t. You never let us go there. We going to talk about that now? Get all the cards on the table? ’Cause I sure as hell want to have sex with you again, Ellie. You can’t look me in the eye and tell me you don’t either.”
She met his eyes. “I don’t want sex again with you, Bix. I’m going to get dressed.” Her eyes dropped down his body. “I suggest you do the same. Please let yourself out.”
She walked into the bedroom and put pajamas on. She huffed when she reached the kitchen and saw Bix at the stove. He was stirring spaghetti noodles in the water that Ellie had placed back on the burner earlier.
“What are you doing?”
“Sex gives me an appetite.”
“I don’t recall inviting you for supper.”
“It’s the least you can do after letting me have my way with you then kicking me to the curb. Which cabinet is the sauce in?”
She dropped into a kitchen chair. “Above the microwave.”
He pulled out a pot from a drawer by the stove then reached up for a can of sauce. “Four cheese or mushroom?”
“Go crazy and surprise me.”
He poured the sauce in the pot then went over to the toaster. The bread was right next to it. He dropped in a couple of slices.
“What are you doing now?”
“Poor man’s garlic toast. Where are your spices?”
“To the left of the stove.” She pointed to the cabinet.
He dug through until he found garlic salt. He saw the butter on the table and had to walk over to her to get it. He leaned down to grab it and moved over enough to steal a kiss on the way back up. It had caught her by surprise and left her no time to react to it. The toast popped up and he went over and buttered it then a timer went off.
“You want to get the noodles strained? I’m a little busy over here.”
Angrily, she went to take care of the noodles. Bix assembled everything and asked her to set the table. He brought the pot over and motioned for her to sit.
“Too bad I didn’t have more time. I make mean meatballs. Oh well, maybe next time.”
“There’s not going to be a next time, remember?”
“Oh, right. My bad.” He served them each up a helping of noodles and poured the sauce over it. They both took a few bites in silence.
“So,” Bix said. “Same time tomorrow?”
Ellie dropped her fork to her plate. “I’m not kidding, Bix. I feel like a cheap slut and your smugness isn’t helping matters any.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be smug. I just keep hoping you’ll change your mind. I could go again in — ” he looked at his watch “ — another twenty-one minutes.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Thank you. That’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to me yet.”
“If I’m such a bitch, why do you want anything to do with me?”
He shrugged and took a big bite of noodles, talking with his mouth full. “I like spunk. You going to talk about school now?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“No.” Pushing back from the table, she retrieved the forgotten garlic toast and dropped the plate on the table.
“Thank you.” He picked up a piece and took a big bite out of it. “What can we talk about if we can’t talk about school or sex?”
“I guess we don’t have anything to talk about. Maybe we shouldn’t be friends.”
“We got along fine this morning, Ellie. When your damn panties aren’t wound so tight, you are pleasant company believe it or not.”
She dropped her fork to her plate and brought her hand to her face and began to cry. “Why did you have to do it, Bix? Why couldn’t we just be friends and leave it at that?”
“Shit. Again with the waterworks.” He went to her side and pulled her head to his chest. “Because I wanted you, Ellie, and I thought you wanted me, too. You put on such a tough act, but your body responded in ways that you couldn’t fight. I’m sorry. No, I take that back. I’m not sorry for what happened, but I am sorry this is how you feel about it. If you say no more sex, then fine — but you’re not walking out of my life. New kid in town, remember? I sure could use a friend. I’m sorry I couldn’t control myself enough for the both of us, but I won’t let it happen again. Friends?” he asked as he leaned her head back.
“All right.” She nodded, wiping her cheeks dry.
Ellie leaned by the door while Bix got his coat and boots on. They stood silently staring at each other for a while before Bix finally said goodnight. He reached for the door and opened it, but stopped and turned back around.
“What it is?” she asked.
“You’re not having an affair with your boss, are you?”
She sighed. “No, I’m not.”
“Why did you say you were?”
“I never said I was. I just never corrected you when you accused me of it.”
“You were sure going out of your way to make it sound like it on the phone.”
“Fred and I are close. That’s how we talk. He treats me more like a daughter than an employee.” She paused for a moment. “What made you suspect I wasn’t?”
Bix grinned at her. “If I told you when I figured it out, you would only blush, Ellie. Good night.” He stole one last kiss on the cheek after all.
Chapter Seventeen
Ellie arrived at work almost an hour early the next day. Fred had paid her for the two days she lost during the storm and she felt like she needed to make up the time somehow. She was meticulous about keeping the place spotless at all times and it seemed to need an extra once-over with her away for two days. No one else took the time to clean the crystallized syrup off of the pumps. In all fairness, she always did it before anyone even noticed it so the other employees probably didn’t even know it was a job that needed to be done.
She made the day’s assortment of coffees, wiped the surfaces down, dusted the novelty shelves, and then sat on the couch with her cup of Nicaraguan coffee. Her head dropped back and her mind went to Bix. Her stomach flip-flopped and she cursed it for doing so. Closing her eyes tight to block out the memory only brought it back stronger. Her cheeks flushed as she thought about the way her body responded to him and the way they moved together. She had enjoyed it, but hated that she could feel nothing but guilt over it.
She had no business feeling so good. Tony had been gone for over a year, but she still felt as if she had cheated on him. He would never again be able to experience love like that, what right did she have?
The timer for the scones buzzed, shaking Ellie out of her thoughts. She went over to the small oven and pulled out the fresh batch of blueberry and lemon delights. She helped herself to one while placing the others on a rack to cool. Fred walked in just then and caused her to jump and drop it.
“Sorry there, Ellie. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“That’s all right, Fred. I’m a firm believer in the five second rule.” She picked it up and took a bite out of the corner. He gave her a funny look. “I clean this floor. I damn well know I can eat off of it.”
He chuckled. “I have a meeting set up with you for ten o’clock today. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Who is it with?”
“Some feller wants to talk about adding computers to the place.”
“Why would we add computers? The register works fine. Don’t go wasting a fortune just to get some kind of fancy automated system we don’t need, Fred.”
“I know. I told him as much, but he insisted we give him a listen. You can be your charming self and shoo him out the door after he gives his five-minute pitch, all right?”
“All right. As long as you have the counter covered.”
“Mandy is coming in. She doesn’t have class today.”
“All right. I’ll take care of it.”
“Knew you would. Thanks, Ellie.”
“I’ll fill you in after he leaves. I need to talk to you about our biscotti company.”
“Talk to me now. What’s wrong with it?”
“The company? Nothing. It’s just the sales guy gives me the creeps lately.”
“You want me to call them?”
“No. It’s embarrassing. Maybe I’m imagining it.”
“He getting fresh with you?”
“Not even that bad…it’s just…I can’t quite put a finger on it. Maybe I should let it go.”
“No, you shouldn’t. If he makes you uncomfortable find another company. There’s enough of them out there.”
“You sure?”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You come before any damn cookie. Switch companies, Ellie.”
“Thanks, Fred.”
At five minutes to ten, Bix walked in the front door and up to the counter. “Hi, Ellie.”
“Hello, Bix. Mocha again today?” she asked in the plainest possible tone she could drum up, trying to treat him like any other regular customer.
“Sure.”
Ellie gave the order to the barista and took Bix’s money.
“I also have an appointment with Fred. Can you let him know I’m here?”
“You? You’re the computer guy he was talking about?”
“That’s me.”
She crossed her arms and stiffened her back. “He passed the buck to me. Said I could throw you out after five minutes. I’m not interested in a computer back here. Ginny does the books on one and that’s great for her but I certainly don’t need an overpriced, over-gadgety register to do what I can by hand and I don’t need a computer monitor to show an order when I can shout it over my shoulder.”
“I’m not talking about a POS computer.”
“Piece of shit?”
He laughed. “Point of sale. I’m not talking about a register type; I’m talking about computers for your customers to use.”
“You want us to be a cyber café?”
“You don’t have to go that far, but I think a few terminals…” He looked behind him. “Do we have to do this over the counter or can we go sit down?”
Just then, Mandy walked up behind Ellie. “Hand me the royal scepter, boss lady. I’ve come to take charge of the counter.”
“Thanks, Mandy.” Ellie removed her apron and hung it on a hook by the sinks. She used the hinged countertop to come over to talk to Bix. Mandy gave Ellie Bix’s mocha when she reached the other side.
“Let’s go sit on the couch.”
After they sat down, Bix asked, “Where were we?”
“Cyber café.”
“Right. I wouldn’t go that far. Most people these days have their own laptops so you wouldn’t need to buy a bunch of desk-top machines like the cyber cafés years ago. I’d have one, two a
t the most with a shared printer, get a good service provider and add a wireless router for your customers’ laptops.”
“I don’t see a lot of customers with laptops in here.”
“That’s because you don’t have wireless.”
“I don’t know, Bix. My mind just didn’t go to this.”
“That’s because you don’t think computers. You said yourself you aren’t into computers, but you have to catch up to the rest of the planet, Ellie. I’ve been to the other coffee shop in town. I didn’t care for the drill sergeant there or their coffee, but the place was packed. There were a dozen people on their laptops. I know you’d draw in some of that business if you offered that here.”
“Are you sure this isn’t some ploy so you can be here working and in my face?”
“That would be the bonus, but no. I can set it up for you, but there won’t be the need for another employee. It runs itself. If you have any problems with the computer you buy, if you go that route, I’ll take care of it for you.”
“And what is that going to cost me?”
“Sexual favors.”
She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You almost had me.”
“Wrong. I did have you.”
“You’re not helping!” She looked back at the counter and lowered her voice. “You almost had me sold on the idea.”
“Can’t you ever take a joke? I was kidding. I usually get seventy-five bucks an hour doing repairs, but I’ll do it in trade for a prepaid coffee card or something. I’ll set the machine up and keep the programs to a minimum so there won’t be much to go wrong unless someone accidentally installs a virus on it. You’ll hardly see me for maintenance, I promise you that much.”
“But I’ll see you otherwise, anyway.”
He leaned forward took her hand. “You promised to be my friend, Ellie. I just want to see you have some job stability. If you guys don’t keep up, you’ll be out a job.”