by Susannah Nix
He certainly wouldn’t have to twist her arm to get her to watch one of her favorite TV shows. Usually it was the other way around.
When she reached for the hair dryer, Caleb’s hand closed over hers. “Will you let it dry curly so I can see it?”
Her eyes met his in the mirror. “Really?”
“Really.” He reached up to wind a damp ringlet around his finger. “I love your hair curly.”
Okay, then.
They spent most of the day on the couch watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, with Caleb’s laughter reverberating against Penny’s back. It was pretty much the best day ever.
When they took a break for lunch, he made the rest of the shredded chicken into chicken salad with Greek yogurt and walnuts and grapes, served on a bed of leafy green lettuce, and they ate on the couch in front of the TV. They were still watching hours later when dinnertime rolled around, and they ordered Chinese food, which Penny insisted on paying for because Caleb had made three meals in a row.
“But you provided all the food,” he protested.
“That’s the easy part,” she said, knowing he was on a budget. “You’re my guest. I’m paying for dinner.”
They ate dumplings and beef with broccoli, and made it all the way to season two before eleven o’clock rolled around and Caleb sat up on the edge of the couch and said, “I really need to go.”
“You have to be at work early,” Penny said sadly.
“Really early.”
“I guess you can go home now. I’ve held you hostage long enough.”
He stood up, and Penny caught his hand in hers. “I had a great weekend with you,” he said, squeezing her hand.
“Me too. I don’t want it to be over yet.”
“Me neither, but—”
“I know. Work. Early.” She pushed herself off the couch and walked him to the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said when he’d put his shoes back on.
“Of course. Same as always.” Except it wouldn’t be the same as always, because now they’d seen each other naked. Everything was different.
He kissed her long and slow, sliding his fingers in her hair, and she let her head fall back against his hand as she melted into him. “Goodnight,” he said, far too soon. He stroked his thumb across her cheek, brushed another kiss against her forehead, and let himself out.
Chapter Sixteen
Penny was pretty sure she was walking funny on Monday.
Eight orgasms in twenty-four hours was definitely a record for her. Her prior record was two, and that had been an unusual achievement. Clearly, she’d been doing herself a disservice by dating unexceptional men.
It made spin class something of an unpleasant adventure. Hopefully no one noticed her wincing through the cooldown. But after spin class she had work, and after just a few hours of work she’d get to see Caleb again.
It was hard to concentrate on the application for a golf ball mold she was working on, because she kept checking the clock every five minutes to see how much time had passed. Never in the entire history of the universe had a morning crept by so slowly.
Finally, eleven o’clock came and she logged out of her computer and set out for Antidote. She was wearing her favorite floral-print dress today, the one with bright pink and orange peonies on it, with glossy pink lipstick to match.
She wasn’t exactly sure what would happen when she saw Caleb again, and she started to get a case of nervous butterflies on the walk over. They hadn’t talked about where they stood now or what was next. Whether what happened this weekend was a one-time thing or something they might do again.
No strings, she’d said. That meant he wasn’t obligated to see her again. Maybe he wouldn’t want to, now that he’d gotten what he wanted.
We both got what we wanted, she reminded herself. She was the one who’d propositioned him. Impermanence was built into the package. They were just killing time, a couple of grown adults having some fun. They didn’t even qualify as friends with benefits—at most they were acquaintances with benefits.
Maybe it would be better if they didn’t do it again. He might be right: the more they saw of each other, the harder it would be when he left. They should probably forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were before. Barista and customer, nothing more. Acquaintances without benefits.
But when Penny caught her first glimpse of Caleb through the glass door, it stole her breath away. Had he somehow gotten more gorgeous overnight? She felt like he should have lost some of his mystique now that they’d been intimate. But no. Her newfound knowledge of exactly what lay under his clothes only dialed up the volume on her attraction. Exponentially.
Control yourself, she thought as her knuckles whitened on the door handle. It wouldn’t do to fawn all over him like a lovestruck ninny. That wasn’t what they were to each other. No getting swept up.
She waited for her breathing to normalize before she pulled open the door. Caleb was taking an order from a trio of women fresh out of a yoga class, and he glanced up at the sound of the shop bell. A jolt of heat shot through her as their eyes met and his glance turned into a stare. He didn’t smile, but his mouth quirked in that way Penny had come to recognize as the next best thing, and she relaxed a little.
“Did you get that?” the blue spandex-clad woman said, sounding annoyed.
Caleb tore his gaze away from Penny. “Skinny soy half-caf macchiato,” he recited, typing it into the register. “What else?”
“I can’t make up my mind,” the woman in purple spandex said, stepping forward and leaning on the counter so her cleavage was displayed to maximum effect. “I’m feeling adventurous today. What do you think I should get?”
The woman in red spandex giggled as blue spandex rolled her eyes, and Penny felt an involuntary surge of jealousy. The thought of Caleb making a lavender latte for another woman roused her little green monster. That was her special drink; it wasn’t for any random woman who thrust her breasts at him.
“Our iced coffee is our most popular drink,” Caleb said in a disinterested monotone, his eyes fixed on the register screen instead of the purple spandex breasts heaving in front of him, and Penny let out a relieved breath.
Purple spandex waffled over her order a while longer while Elyse started making blue spandex’s macchiato. When it became clear Caleb wasn’t going to flirt back, purple spandex gave up and ordered an iced coffee. Blue spandex paid for all their drinks, and they went to find a table, tittering and whispering to each other like a trio of brightly colored birds.
And then Penny was standing alone in front of Caleb. When their eyes met again, she felt herself flush as she flashed back to their weekend escapades.
Act natural, she chided herself. Play it cool.
“Penelope,” he said in the same low voice he’d used when they were in bed, and another jolt of heat shot through her. So much for being cool. At this rate she’d die of the convection effects before she’d even placed her order.
“Good morning,” she replied, struggling not to smile too wide. No simpering.
“Your hair’s curly.”
She nodded and touched her hair. She’d decided not to bother straightening it this morning. At some point in her life she’d internalized the idea that fat girls shouldn’t have big hair—as if skinny hair could fool people into thinking she was a skinny person. It was ridiculous, now that she thought about it. She wasn’t skinny and she never would be, no matter what her hair looked like. Curly hair was pretty too, so why not save herself a lot of time and trouble and embrace her natural hair instead of trying to make it something it wasn’t?
Caleb’s mouth twitched. “I like it.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want the usual?” He’d switched to the same impersonal tone he used on every other customer, but he was staring at her mouth now.
She licked her lips and was pleased to see a muscle tighten in his jaw. “Yes, please,” she said and held out her card.
His
fingers brushed hers as he accepted it, lingering for an extra-long moment before pulling away.
“How was your weekend?” she asked as he swiped her card. “You look tired.”
The corner of his mouth curled faintly. “Someone kept me up late two nights in a row.” He pushed her card and the receipt toward her. “And you look beautiful.”
Penny felt her cheeks heat again and glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Fortunately, Elyse was too busy struggling with the espresso machine to pay them any attention. Penny scribbled a signature on the receipt and pushed it back toward Caleb.
He covered her hand with his, his fingertips stroking the back of her wrist. “Your drink will be ready in a minute.” He gave her hand an extra squeeze before he let go and turned away.
Alrighty, then. So much for him not wanting to see her.
Penny slid onto her usual seat at the counter and watched as Caleb warmed a stainless steel pitcher of milk and added a handful of dried lavender. Elyse was still struggling to make the spandex trio’s orders, and he helped her out while the lavender steeped for Penny’s latte.
After a few minutes, he strained the lavender out, then took a large mug from the warmer and pulled a shot of espresso while he steamed the infused milk. When it was done, he brought it over and set it in front of her. He’d made a single heart in the foam.
It doesn’t mean anything, Penny reminded herself. He makes hearts all the time. Still, her pulse raced as she lifted the cup to her lips and blew across the top.
He rested his hands on the edge of the counter, leaning his weight on them as he watched her take a cautious sip. “How is it?” he asked, staring at her mouth again.
She licked the foam from her lips and saw his eyes darken. “Delicious as always.”
“I get off at two,” he said, leaning toward her a little more.
“I have to work until five.” She stared at his lips, wondering how bad it would be if she launched herself across the counter at him.
“I thought you worked from home.”
“I do, but I have to actually work when I’m supposed to be working.”
He leaned closer still. “Can I come over when you’re done?”
“Yes,” she said, before she remembered it was Monday. “No. Sorry, I can’t tonight. I’ve got knitting.” Which meant she needed to bake something beforehand, and she hadn’t gone to the store this weekend because she’d been too busy having sex.
“Right,” Caleb said, straightening. “Of course.”
Penny considered bailing on knitting, but it seemed like a bad idea. She’d already skipped the nursing home yesterday for him. She couldn’t put her whole life on hold for a month to have sex. Tempting as it might be, it would be unhealthy to give up all her routines for him. Those routines existed for a reason; she needed them more than she needed him. Even if, at the present moment, she wanted him more.
No strings went both ways, she reminded herself. She wasn’t required to reschedule her life for him. That was the old Penny, who gave up things that were important to her. No more. If Caleb wanted to spend time with her, he could fit himself into her schedule.
“You could come over after?” she suggested, trying to sound casual. Like it didn’t matter one way or another if he did. Although she really hoped he would.
“It’ll probably be too late. I need to get to sleep early tonight.”
“Right,” she said, swallowing her disappointment. “Because you start work at the crack of dawn.” That was a perfectly legitimate reason. It didn’t mean he didn’t want to see her. He was just being practical. Casual. Just like she was.
He nodded, his expression gone flat. “Yeah.” The bell rang as a new customer came in, and he gave her an apologetic look as he moved to the register.
There was an annoyingly steady stream of customers after that, which prevented Caleb from coming back over to talk to her. When he wasn’t taking an order or making a drink, he was clearing tables or fetching supplies out of the back. She had to content herself with staring at him while he worked, but after a while it started to feel creepy so she pulled out her phone and opened the fanfic she’d been reading last week. But every few paragraphs she’d find herself glancing up at Caleb again. Occasionally their eyes would meet and her heart would leap into her throat, but he never came back over to talk to her.
After thirty minutes had passed, she got up to bus her dishes. “I’ve got it,” Caleb said, coming up behind her and taking the cup out of her hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He posed it like a question. Like she didn’t come in every single weekday.
She gave him a smile. “Of course.”
He didn’t smile back, but then he never smiled at work.
“Have a good day,” she said on her way out the door, like he was just her barista and not someone who’d given her eight orgasms over the weekend.
* * *
When Penny walked into Antidote on Tuesday, Caleb was nowhere in sight. Her heart gave a little lurch of panic.
“I’ll be right with you,” Malik called over his shoulder from the espresso machine.
“Take your time,” Penny said. She stared up at the menu, pretending to deliberate over her order. They hadn’t added her lavender latte to the board, and she wondered if Caleb had ever talked to Reema about it. It wasn’t exactly a drink that could be made quickly; perhaps it wasn’t practical. Which meant she’d have to give them up when he left.
“Hi, Penny!” Charlotte called out from the couch, where she was surrounded by philosophy books and stacks of papers again today.
Penny turned and waved. “Hello!” Charlotte was wearing a bright purple dress with a Peter Pan collar, and the streak in her hair was now a coordinating shade of lilac. “I love that dress!”
“Thank you. I love yours too.”
Penny smiled and struck a pose, flipping her hair off her shoulder in her best impression of Gloria Grahame in It’s a Wonderful Life. “This old thing? I only wear it when I don’t care how I look.”
Caleb came out of the back with a tray of clean dishes and stopped short at the sight of her.
Penny felt her chest prickle with heat and cast her face down to hide her blush.
“Americano for Drew,” Malik called out, setting a drink on the counter. He turned to Penny. “You want the usual, beautiful?”
“I got her,” Caleb said, putting down the dish tray and moving to the register. Malik shrugged and went to put away the clean dishes, leaving him to it. “You want the old usual or the new usual?” Caleb asked without meeting her eye.
“The new usual if it’s not too much trouble.”
Penny assumed he didn’t want to advertise that they’d slept together, which was fine with her. The only person she’d told so far was Olivia. Penny had been texting her updates on the latest developments in the Caleb saga, but she’d made her promise not to say anything to anyone at knitting last night. She didn’t want to put her choices up for debate by the group, or listen to any Negative Nancies who might try to rain on her fun parade with their common sense and reason.
The fewer people who knew, the better. In a few weeks Caleb would be gone, and she didn’t want everyone treating her like a brokenhearted war widow.
“I don’t have knitting tonight,” Penny said quietly as she handed him her card.
“Yeah?” he replied as he swiped it through the card reader.
“Yeah.” She screwed up her courage for the next part: “Do you want to come over?”
He tore off the receipt and slid it across the counter toward her. “What time?”
“Five-ish? I’ll text you when I’m done with work.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay,” she said. “It’s a date.” His expression changed, and she realized what she’d said. “Not a date,” she amended. “Not like a date date. We’re not dating, so we don’t have dates. I just meant figuratively.”
“I know what you meant.”
“Okay,” she said
again. “Whew.”
* * *
At four forty-five, Penny shut down her computer and texted Caleb: I’m done.
It took him almost three full minutes to respond. Just finished working out. Be over as soon as I shower.
Penny thought about him all sweaty and glistening and pumped up.
Don’t shower, she texted back. Don’t even change your clothes. Come over now.
Seriously? he replied.
Seriously.
* * *
“Oh my heck,” Penny said when she answered the door. “You look so hot right now.”
Caleb looked down at his sweaty tank top and then back up at her. “Really?”
She grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him inside her apartment. “Get in here, quick, so I can tear those sweaty clothes off you.”
He put his bare arms around her and kicked the door closed as they spun around. His damp clothes stuck to her skin as he pulled her close. His body was like a furnace, putting off so much heat it singed the hair on her arms. He pinned her up against the door, pressing his full weight into her for maximum sweaty contact. “Isn’t this gross?” he asked, his mouth twitching in amusement.
She ran her hands up his biceps and over his shoulders. “There are a lot of words I could use to describe you right now, but gross is nowhere on the list.”
His lips curved. “What kind of words?”
She pressed her face into the crook of his neck. He smelled beachy, like salt and fresh air. “Hot.” She pressed her lips to his collarbone. “Kissable.” His skin tasted like seawater. She wanted to lick him all over. “Delectable.”
His fingers curled into her hair and dragged her head back. Then his lips were on hers as his tongue plunged into her mouth hungrily. He cupped her ass and jerked his hips against hers. She moaned into his mouth as he ground against her, and his hands tightened, lifting her up.
I am amazing at this no-strings thing, she thought as he carried her toward the bedroom. Why didn’t I try this ages ago?
* * *