by Blue Remy
We lay for hours holding onto one another, nothing needs to be said, we’re just enjoying the time we have left. But now that time is up and I have to leave. “Beautiful, I have to go.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to.”
“I don’t want to either. Will you walk me out?”
“Yeah.” With reluctance, I get up, put my boots back on and turn my hat backwards. Sonya puts on the Chucks she wore the day I met her. I remember thinking how cute they looked on her feet, black plaid and sparkly, they are just as cute on her now as they were then.
When she walks over to me I take her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together as we walk out into the front room. Jake and Pudge are already waiting for us so we all walk out to the truck together. I tell Pudge it was nice meeting her and then let her and Jake have their goodbye while I focus on Sonya. “I’m gonna miss ya so fuckin’ much, beautiful. When we get to our stop, I’ll call ya. Promise me you’ll answer.”
“Fuck, I’m gonna miss you too. So much. You better call me!”
I grab her in a tight hug. “I promise.”
Wrapping her arms around me, she says, “I’m yours now, bull rider, so don’t do anything to make me cut off any body parts.”
“Such a sassy lil’ thing.” We both laugh and I add, “I’m yours too, beautiful. You won’t regret this.” I give Sonya one more kiss on the top of her head before pulling away and getting in my truck. I silently pray for her to ask me to kiss her, but she doesn’t. Sonya just takes a few steps back and shuts my door. Jake gets in the passenger side and Pudge shuts his door as well. I keep my eyes on Sonya as I put the key in the ignition and start up the engine.
Pulling away slowly, I keep my gaze focused on the rearview mirror, watching as both girls hug and comfort each other. My sight goes between the mirror and the road until I can’t see them anymore, but Jake’s phone starts ringing. “Go back, man.”
“What?”
“Go back!” he shouts in the silent truck, making my ears ring. I find a driveway to quickly turn around in, then I’m heading back. When we get parked I open my door, step out and Sonya runs up to me. Her hands grip my shirt so tight her knuckles turn white.
“I couldn’t let you leave yet.”
My brows furrow. “Why?”
The smile tugs at her lips. “Because I need you to kiss me.” I stare at her, wondering if I heard her right. I can’t seem to move.
Blinking my eyes a couple of times, I ask, “What?” Her giggle seeps into my heart.
“Kiss me.”
Girl next door, Marlee Hurst has a naughty secret. For years, she’s been in bed with the town bad boy, Ren Savage. Tired of his refusal to commit, she sends the sexy bike riding bar owner packing. She thinks it’s the end, but it turns out it’s only the beginning.
A product of a broken home and an abusive father, Ren Savage didn’t do commitments. Until he saw Marlee working at the town festival’s kissing both and publicly claimed what was his. To keep the woman he loves, he’ll have to face his demons and show her he’s in it for keeps this time.
Chapter One
Marlee
A bead of sweat traveled down her neck and disappeared into the back of her new AC/DC T-shirt. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and rolled her neck. The kitchen smelled like heaven. The freshly baked rolls and the ones currently finishing in the oven gave off a fragrant aroma that never lost its charm. The shiny surfaces of the fridge and counters were as pretty as any Christmas ornament, and a new recipe felt like opening a present. The hum of the industrial sized mixer filled her soul with joy.
Cooking was her Zen zone.
There was one small drawback to the tiny kitchen in the privately owned bakery on busy days such as this one. It felt like hell. The constant firing of ovens morphed the shoebox-sized room into a sweltering tropical environment that held none of the perks of an island. Still, she wouldn’t change a thing about Dela’s Sweets. The home away from home had saved her in more ways than she could count. Besides, it was necessary to stay stocked up.
Their rolls were a frequently sought after item on a regular day. The festival starting Friday, would have the shop selling bags and boxes of the fluffy goodness by the boatloads. Every year, the town held a fall celebration where they collected a generous amount for a cause someone connected to their town. This year it was for little Georgie Anderson who had open heart surgery not long after his birth. His parents were swimming in hospital bills, and they hoped to relieve the burden greatly with their fundraising.
Closing the oven, she walked out of the small room and headed to the door that lead outside. The timer would buzz once they were ready to pull to baste with a light coat of butter before they went back in to brown.
The local owner, Dela, had a system, one Marlee knew like the back of her hand after all the years she’d put in. When she started at Dela’s Sweets at seventeen, it was a job to give her extra money and more freedom. There was nothing like owning your own green to make you feel independent. Then she realized how much she loved every aspect of the job. Luckily, she recognized this as her calling. An epiphany some spent a lifetime trying to find. Cooking had always been something she enjoyed, but getting paid to do it and learning more about the world of sweets, bread, and more, opened her eyes up to a career field she never considered before.
There weren’t as many opportunities in this small town as there were in larger cities. Plenty of people left for college, and never returned. Personally, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. The quaint township with its artistic flare, tight-knit community, and countless traditions enchanted and bewitched her. There was as special magic here that held her in thrall. She’d visited enough other places to know how rare that kinship with an area was.
Cool air caressed her face. She tilted her head up to the crisp breeze, admiring the clear blue sky. The sun warmed her skin keeping the chill from being too much. She loved fall. The beautiful colors, brisk weather, and cozy things like hot chocolate, and oversized-sweaters struck her as charming. Still, her feeling of completeness wasn’t all the way there yet. There was a missing piece to her perfect puzzle.
Footsteps sounded in the distance. She turned her head to the right and spotted her long-limbed, dark-haired best friend, Eliza gliding toward her. A grin spread her lips across her teeth. All these years later, and it was still like they were in high school with her best friend popping in to say hi.
She frowned. Why isn’t she at work at the paper? “Hey, Eliza. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here right now?”
Eliza shifted her weight from one leg to the other and nibbled at her bottom lip.
She needs to ask me for a favor. After over twenty years, she knew the signs.
“Well, that’s sort of what this visit is about,” Eliza said.
“Okay, you want to be more specific?” Marlee asked, disturbed by her friend’s strange behavior. Neither of them made a practice of beating around the bush.
“So, I got a story, out of town—”
“Oh, my God, that’s fantastic! Congratulations,” Marlee said, thrilled for her best friend’s progress at the local paper. She rushed over and gave her a massive hug. She received a lackluster squeeze in return and frowned. What the hell? Pulling back, Marlee lifted a brow.
“It’s for this weekend,” Eliza said sadly.
“Oh, no, so you’d miss the festival?” Marlee asked wondering if this was, why Eliza seemed bummed.
“It’s more than that. I can’t do it unless I find someone to replace me at the booth I’m working. I could never bail when I know how much the money we bring in affects those in need. Plus, you know how this town is. I’d never live it down.”
“Well, what are you working? I’m at the booth for Dela’s most of the day on Friday. But she left my Saturday free. Forced me to take it off actually,” she said with a laugh.
“I know, I checked with Dela before I came out here. My shift is Saturday af
ternoon, so you could do it, technically speaking.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Marlee asked exasperated. “You know I’ll do whatever I can to help you succeed. You’ve worked your ass off to get noticed since you graduated and got hired after your internship.”
“I know, but-it’s-the-Kissing-Booth,” Eliza said breathing the words out. They blurred together in one almost indistinguishable run on sentence.
Still, Marlee heard it loud and clear. She huffed. She loathed the outdated tradition. The money it brought in, however, was indisputable. By far, it was the top earner year after year. Who knew there were so many men in this county so hard up for a kiss? “Eliza—”
Eliza held out her hand. “I know, I know. I wouldn’t ask, except that I’m desperate. Who knows when this chance will come again? It’s not even a fluff piece, Marlee. It’s serious reporting about a rash of break-ins they’ve had recently. The boss is testing me. I have to rise to the occasion.”
The hopeful expression on Eliza’s oval shaped face slayed her. Her almond-shaped hazel eyes shone with excitement. If she beamed any harder, Marlee might go blind. “All right, all right, I’ll do it. What are your hours?”
“Yes, you’re the best friend, ever!” Eliza squealed, wrapping her arms around Marlee and hugging her close.
Marlee laughed. “I love you too. Please don’t suffocate me in your ample bosom,” she choked the words out.
“Well.” Eliza released her death grip. “That’s the last time I try to offer up a free motorboat to you. I’ll have you know these beauties are well sought after,” Eliza said gesturing to her Double D’s.
“I know, I’ve seen it. You’re like the Damn Pied Piper of tits.”
“Hey, not my fault. I got these from my Mama,” Eliza sang.
Marlee laughed. “You owe me so big for this,” she said.
“You might find you like it,” Eliza teased wagging her arched brows. “It’s the perfect way to get over you know who.”
If only it were that easy. She ignored her comment. “No, I will not, because kissing random people is not now or ever…been on my bucket list.” She pushed her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose and scowled.
With a beautiful tall, slender frame, chestnut brown hair that fell around her shoulders, her peaches and cream skin that made her hazel eyes pop, Eliza had no clue what it was like to be the unattractive one…Eliza was gorgeous.
Marlee never stood a chance. An older sister already took all the good looks with flawless skin, a svelte size two figure, dark curls that tumbled around a heart shaped face with fine features and a Cupid’s bow set of lips. She took after her father’s side of the family with her round face, button nose, wide hips, and dangerous curves that put her firmly in a size fourteen. Her chin length hair refused to be tamed. Thick, coarse, black corkscrews added to what she’d come to think of as her comfy chic style. The large black square glasses and her love of quirky t-shirts and jeans were a part of who she was. Different and proud of it.
The thought of standing in front of God and everybody, offering her lips up for kisses for a price made her stomach ache. It was like begging to be rejected and humiliated. I won’t let the ghosts of the past keep me from helping my best friend achieve her lifelong dream. She’d made peace with the way she looked. No, that wasn’t what she did. She made peace with the fact that her sister was a raging bitch, and her mother was a perfectionist who cared far too much about petty things. Her appearance had never been a problem for her. Marlee liked the way she filled out a pair of jeans and rocked a body-skimming dress. It was trying to live up to her sister’s legacy, and her mother’s expectations that almost drove her insane.
Self-involved, shallow and narcissistic, her sister was a mean girl to the fifth power, groomed by their uber-Southern belle of a mother. Kenna got high on the ability to make others feel inferior. It turned the two of them into arch enemies when they should’ve been thick as thieves. As Irish twins, only nine months separated them.
Pushing thoughts of her sister who’d be working the kissing booth non-stop out of her mind, she refocused her attention to Eliza. “I’m excited for you. This story is the break you’ve been waiting for. I can feel it in my gut. Go out there, be the badass reporter we both know you are, and don’t worry about a thing. The kissing booth won’t be my favorite thing to do, but it won’t be the worst thing I’ve done either.” Marlee grabbed Eliza’s hands in her own and squeezed. “You’ve got this girl. I have all the faith in the world in you.”
“But you’ll hate it,” Eliza said.
“I don’t—” The timer buzzed. Saved by the bell. “Like I said, don’t worry about that. Go prepare your things, and I’ll call you when I get off work, okay?”
Eliza nodded.
Marlee then fled back to the sanctuary of her bakery.
***
Of course, today would be perfect. Seventy-eight degrees, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze to take the edge of the heat generated in the sunny patches, the day could only be described as idealistic. She opted to wear a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, black tennis shoes, and a reconstructed Led Zeppelin T-shirt. She flat-ironed her hair. The silky strands kissed her shoulders, and her makeup was on-point.
She slowed her walk to check out the booths boasting cotton candy, funnel cakes, and hand-churned ice cream. Everyone knew the best part about festivals was the food. Later, you’ll be mine.
The kissing booth took center stage in all its gaudy white and red striped glory. The large glittery lips that hung up above it, took the tackiness over the top.
The sight of her sister on one side of the booths made her stomach drop into her shoes. Oh, fucking fantastic. I thought she would be gone already. No wonder the line is halfway to the entrance. She couldn’t say if her sister was as sexually experienced as she alluded to being or if she were a huge tease. Both options made her roll her eyes. She was such an attention whore. It seemed to be the main reason she did anything in her life.
I wonder if she even knows what she wants anymore, she’s so lost to this impossible image she has created for herself. Adjusting her satchel, Marlee held her head high as she strolled up to the kissing booth.
“What are you doing here?” Kenna asked wrinkling her nose.
“Liza got called away and asked me to stand in for her,” Marlee replied.
Kenna rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She turned back to the eager looking teen standing in front of her with a dollar. “How old are you?” Kenna asked narrowing her eyes.
“Old enough,” the red head replied. His freckles stood out on his pale face, and his blue eyes were as round as saucers.
“Right.” Kenna tapped her cheek.
He leaned forward and pecked her lip, tossing the dollar onto the stand in front of her and rushing off like a wounded animal.
Marlee snorted. If anything, this was going to be an entertaining day. She walked around back of the booth, ignoring the eyes trained on her. She’d flossed, brushed, and gargled until her mouth felt like the Swiss Alps in there, so cool and minty. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her palms grew sweaty. She flipped the sign from closed to open and waited.
A few people got out of line. Then the first man came up. In his late twenties with gauged ears and a Mohawk…he was mouth-watering. He gave her a wink and a sly grin. “How’d they rope you into this?” he asked.
“What, I don’t seem the type?”
“Your eyes say, I’m counting the minutes until I escape,” he replied.
She chuckled. “You got me. I’m filling in for a friend of mine. She got a once in a lifetime chance.” Marlee shrugged.
“Good friend,” he observed.
“I try.” Their repartee put her at ease.
He handed over a dollar. “Let’s do this super cheesy. Pucker up.”
Giggling, she pursed her lips, and they had an over exaggerated smack exchange. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
He stepped back. “M
aybe I’ll see you around?”
“Stranger things have happened,” she said. He walked away, and she settled back on her stool. The line beside her continued to move as she got a few stragglers.
***
Ren
“Isn’t that your girl?” John asked.
Ren glanced across the fairgrounds and froze. What the fuck is she doing? The thought of Marlee Hurst sitting at the kissing booth was a foreign concept. It wasn’t her style. “I think so,” he answered scowling.
They’d been off and on since she turned twenty-one, despite the fact that he was way too old for her. Forty-five to her twenty-five. Also, with his rap sheet as long as his arm, and a reputation that proceeded him, they never should’ve mixed. There was something compelling in the depths of her brown gaze that got to him. He could never give her the committed relationship she deserved, so they kept things on the down low between them. Small towns were harsh and unforgiving. She would be talked about and treated like she’d become lower class. He didn’t want that for her. They were on a definite off period right now. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck. The pops gave tiny seconds of relief.
If he saw another motherfucker laying lips on her, he might just rip their heart out. I’m forty-five I ain’t getting no younger. His refusal to label them had nothing to do with sowing his wild oats, and everything to do with the man his father had been. He couldn’t trust himself not to ruin her. He inherited the anger and the attitude from his old man. It felt like tempting fate to take on a serious girlfriend, or God forbid…a wife. The things his father did to his mother until he was old enough to step in, still haunted him.