by Gwen Gavin
I made eye contact with him and he tilted his head to the side just a tiny bit. I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed it if I wasn’t watching him. There was something there that hadn’t been there before. I couldn’t read it, but it made my belly flip a little.
Before I realized it, I touched Keith’s shoulder just slightly, barely grazed it, but enough that both men’s eyes went towards my hand.
“Thank you, Keith, for being so helpful. I will take you up on that drink sometime.” I winked at him as I turned to walk away. I could feel both of them looking at me and my face flushed red hot. I was grateful that both of them could only see my back as I walked away. I added a little more swing in my hips as I did so.
What is going on with you? This isn’t how you do things? I thought to myself. I never did things like this. I wasn’t the girl that sashayed away from two handsome men, feeling them look at me. Most of my dates came from dating apps or guys from college who got to know my personality before we ever made a move towards a date.
I didn’t recognize this version of myself, but I was kind of loving it. There was an excitement pulsing through me I hadn’t felt before. It was powerful, and it made me feel powerful by extension.
Soon, I could hear Mike angrily following me towards the office. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel the annoyance rolling off of him, anyway.
I got to the office door and waited for him to open it for me. He did so with a huff and when he got close to me, I could smell that cinnamon waft off of him and I wondered where that came from, but it spoke to my more carnal urges.
I felt the urge to wave my hand in front of my face to cool myself down. The sex dream, flirting with Keith, seeing Mike get all jealous and angry at me flirting with Keith, it was turning me on in ways I hadn’t felt in a long time.
He grunted as he waved his hand in front of him, gesturing for me to enter the small space first. I did so, but the only chair in the room was the one behind his desk. He quickly closed the door behind himself and sat down hard in the chair. It squeaked under his weight.
I leaned my ass against the desk beside him.
He put his hands behind his head casually, but I could feel him stealing glances at me from the corner of his eyes.
“So, how can I help you? Did you come to apologize for ripping my pants yesterday?” His mouth was pressed in a tight line.
I rolled my eyes. Of course, when I was feeling horny and hot for him, he had to say something stupid to rile me up in a completely different way.
“Seriously?”
He shrugged. “I can’t think of any other reason you would be here.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.The “office” space was really a large closet that he shoved a desk into. The desk was covered in piles of papers that were stained with coffee rings. It was enough to make anyone feel claustrophobic, but it also made us impossibly close together. Close enough that I could study his face. His nose was charmingly crooked, he probably broke it somewhere along the way and I suddenly wanted to know the story behind that. His lips, when they weren’t turn down in a frown, looked lush enough to kiss and I wanted to feel them pressed against mine. The curiosity was almost killing me.
His lips parted just a little as he poked out a pink tongue and licked his lips. I cleared my throat and turned away, hoping that it wasn’t obvious that I was just staring at his mouth.
“Actually, I have a business proposition for you. But, maybe that was a bad idea.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm. Well, let me be the judge of that. Why don’t you tell me what it is?”
I pretended to look at my nails, giving me something to look at that wasn’t his dumb handsome face. It killed me to admit it but he was handsome in a rugged and rough way and now that I was in this tight of space with him; it was hard to deny.
“I’m a painter by trade. Not houses or commercial. I’m an artist and I teach other people how to paint. Lately, these painting date nights are becoming pretty popular. I think it would be a good idea for you to have one here. They bring in new clients and they are fun.” I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. The entire time that I was talking, Mike didn’t stop staring at me. It was a little disconcerting.
Where Keith’s eye contact felt like he already knew my number and he had figured me out completely, Mike was looking at me like I was something to be discovered or understood. I was a mysterious creature that he had never seen in the wild and he was trying to decide what I was.
His eyes made me squirm a little. It wasn’t creepy, but it was unsettling, like he was trying to decide what to do next as I spoke.
“What do you get out of this deal? Do I pay you or something?” He pressed his mouth back down in a tight line. The muscles in his shoulders were tight, and he was holding his body impossibly still while trying to look relaxed. It looked terribly uncomfortable.
“I charge for the class and they pay me directly, but they order the drinks and food from you. So we both get a little.” I brought my thumb up to my mouth to chew on the corner of the nail. I had to do something with my hands because I wasn’t sure what else I would do with them.
“Hmm. How many people are we talking? I want to make sure that if I give you a block of space that it will be worth my while.” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Can you just relax for a second, man? You’re so tense that I can feel it and it’s really making this small space uncomfortable for me.” I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I raised my voice and flung my hands around when I talked. The tension was too much for me and it was coming out as anger now and I couldn’t stop it. Mike was no damn good at all.
“What the hell does that mean? This is my office. You’re in here asking me for a favor. I didn’t realize that I was supposed to make you super comfortable here. Should I grab you a down pillow to sit on, Princess? Do I need to fetch you a cup of tea to make you feel safe and homey?” It was his turn to raise his voice which boomed in the small space. I flinched, hoping that Keith couldn’t hear his voice in the dining room.
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. God, you are the most frustrating person—”
“Are you sure that you want to finish that sentence, Princess? Aren’t you looking for a job here?” He raised his eyebrows and his mouth quirked up in this most smug way. It was the closest I have ever seen to a smile.
“You know what? Forget this. I don’t need it. I tried to come over here to make nice for Jazz’s sake. I was not only trying to give you a second chance, which seems fucking foolish now, but I was also trying to get you some additional business. For the only bar in town, it doesn’t seem that busy in here most nights so I was trying to do you a favor.” I pointed at myself, jamming my finger in my own chest with enough fervor to probably bruise my sternum.
His nostrils flared and an emotion that I couldn’t read flitted across his face.
“Fine. I’ll go. Forget it.” I pulled my purse tightly against my shoulder and turned to go before I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and he spun me around on my heel until I was facing him. Our bodies were so close, too close that I could feel his warm breath on my cheek and it reminded me of the feeling that I had in my dream that night before.
CHAPTER SIX
Mike
I pulled her around, up against my body and I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Her mouth fell open with surprise and my eyes went there, to the pert bow in the middle of her top lip. That smart mouth that drove me crazy. Her body with the curves that went on for days pressed against mine in my office.
I hadn’t thought about this moment before, but now that we were here, I froze. I wanted to kick her out of my office and tell her she was never welcome in my bar again. I wanted to kiss her and see if she tasted as good as I imagined.
The pulse in her wrist was thrumming away and I could feel it beating from where my hand was still wrapped around her.
I growled something deep in my throat as I made a split second decision
. I wrapped my hand into the back of her head and pulled her up for a kiss.
Her body responded and relaxed almost immediately, melting against me and something awakened in me I had tried to kill a long time ago.
Her mouth was plush and warm and her kisses were gentle at first, discovering each other, feeling each other. She whimpered softly and gripped the front of my shirt.
This is a dumb idea. This is so fucking dumb of me. I couldn’t help the internal dialog that ran through my head. It was so stupid. I barely knew this woman and mostly, it seemed like she hated me and I hated her too.
But there was something in the sway of her hips and the smart ass way her mouth turned up at the corners and this dark glint in her eyes that I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I let loose the hair that was tied up tight in her ponytail and ran my fingers through the long wavy locks. She groaned with pleasure and relief. I scratched my dull fingernails against her scalp and she melted further against my body, wrapping one of her hands in the belt loops on my jeans and tugging my ass closer.
My kisses turned firmer, more demanding. I swiped my tongue against her bottom lip and when she gasped; I tasted her even more deeply. She was panting, her heart fluttering in her chest and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Nothing had been like this in my life. I had never wanted someone so much and fought against wanting them just as strongly in the same breath.
The internal fight that I shouldn’t be doing this and the fact that I couldn’t help myself from doing it made it more intense. I wanted to sense every heartbeat, every curl of her lips against mine and the feel of her soft body against mine.
She sighed heavily and pressed her hips against mine and I groaned deep in my throat.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and we froze where we stood, breaking apart for a second, but not moving away from each other.
I didn’t want to move away. I didn’t want to leave her because I didn’t know if I would ever get that chance again, but I forced my feet to take one step backwards, as far as I could get in the small room.
“Yes? Ahem, I mean, yeah? What do you want?” I cleared my throat, which felt deeper from lust.
Loni scrambled to tie her hair up and away from her face, using a spare hair tie that she kept on her wrist. My eyes flitted to her briefly.
“Boss, we got a delivery out here. You gotta sign for it.” Benny’s voice called through the door.
I blew out a big breath, grateful that it wasn’t Keith’s voice on the other side of the door.
“Thanks, Benny. I’ll be right there.” And I waited to hear his feet shuffling away from the space.
“I guess we’re lucky that your grumpiness scares away the employees or someone could have barged in on us.” Loni said with a soft giggle. Her face was flushed red around her cheeks and her lips were still plump and swollen from the kisses.
As if reading my mind, she brought her hand up to her mouth to feel the sensation there. I wanted to pull her close again and feel that for myself, but there was something forcing me not too.
“Yeah, I guess we are.” I rubbed the back of my head, suddenly shy. I didn’t want her to leave, but I needed her to leave because I didn’t know what I would do if she stayed.
She reached out and punched my shoulder playfully. “Well, I wasn’t expecting my business pitch to go quite like that. It’s never happened before.”
There it was. Her pushing me away, trying to downplay it. It was just a joke after all. We could pretend that it never happened.
I met her eyes and that hint of lust was still playing there, or maybe it was something that I was projecting because I was still catching my breath. I held my hands tightly in fists next to my side.
“The painting class seems like a good idea. Send me a list of times and dates and we’ll make it happen.” I grit my teeth together. Business, man. You gotta focus.
“Uh, yeah. I can do that. Write down your number for me?” She looked towards my cluttered desk, which was even more cluttered after I almost pushed her onto it to continue what we were doing.
I scribbled it on a post-it note and handed it to her. Her hand brushed mine and with that brief contact, it was like some hole was in my chest. Mistake. It was a mistake. I thought to myself. It had to be a mistake. We weren’t lovers. We weren’t even friends. We were barely civil business partners now. There was nothing more.
She thanked me quietly but didn’t move towards the door.
“Um, I gotta sign for this or Benny will be back and I can’t promise that he won’t barge in here.” I tilted my head towards the door.
She nodded quietly, chewing on her lip.
My feet felt like they were moving through a swamp of mud as I went to the office door. My head was rolling through water at this point. Nothing was making sense. I just tried to get from one second to the next. That’s the good thing about time. It rolls on without us having to do anything at all. It forces us to move or to stay.
She looked around the small room as I turned to open the door. I left her in that room alone without saying anything more.
I knew I had to. I had to keep moving. Because these things never turn out how you think they will. The fantasy of happily ever after was a fallacy on a good day, but with someone I barely knew, who I could honestly barely stand, the odds were not in our favor.
But the sound of that sweet whimper and the heat that rolled off her body would be stuck in my head for a really long time. As I crossed the room, pointedly avoiding Keith’s eyes as I made my way to the kitchen, I shivered with the memory. I had a feeling that Loni would be a woman who was difficult to forget.
Loni
My head was in a daze and I couldn’t figure out what to do next. Mike walked out of his office and didn’t look back. All I had to show for this “meeting” was the sticky note with his phone number on it.
I brushed my fingers through my head, hoping that my rushed ponytail wouldn’t look like I just had seven minutes in heaven with the guy that owned the bar when I made my way towards the front door.
I blinked hard and shook my head as I grabbed my purse. What the fuck was I thinking?
Jazz would not be happy about this. It was hard enough that she knew that I didn’t like her new boss but the fact that I was hooking up with him in the back office first thing in the morning after asking him for a favor was probably not a great look for me.
I scooted out the bar area as quickly as I could, keeping my eyes on the floor. At least I kept my feet at a quick walk instead of the full out run I wanted to do. I needed to get away from this place as soon as I could because this was all just a giant mess.
Once I was out of the eyeline of the bar and probably Keith watching me, I ran down the stairs and towards my car, only stopping when I sat down hard in the driver’s seat and slammed the door behind me.
I rested my head against the steering wheel. My skin was burning hot and tears pricked at my eyes.
I wiped them away quickly. What the hell is wrong with you, Loni? Who are you?
I knew that I shouldn’t but the only person who I wanted to talk to was my sister. Maybe she would understand. Maybe she wouldn’t think I was a total mess, like I was feeling about myself.
I pressed the phone up against my ear and I closed my eyes as it rang. My fingers trailed along the delicate skin of my lips, almost ghosting the feeling of Mike’s pressed against mine. His body was surprisingly hard when I pulled it tight against me. The groan deep in his throat was full of longing that I had never thought I would hear from him.
Jazz’s sleepy voice answered through the phone. “‘Ello?”
“Hey, Jazz. Sorry to wake you up.” I squeaked out.
“Hmm. Yeah. What’s up?” She replied. I could tell that her face was still pressed up against her pillow.
“Well, um. I went to the bar to talk to Mike about doing a painting night there…” Even saying his name gave this spike to my heart that I wasn’t expecting
. Had I ever said his name aloud like that before? Had it made me feel the same way.
“Hmm. How did it go? He’s not the most friendly.” Jazz’s voice was monotone and bored.
How was I supposed to tell my sister that her grumpy boss was someone that I had just hooked up? The guy that I was just going on a tirade about the other night.
I chewed up my lip, thinking about what to say next.
“What happened, Loni? Is everything okay?” Jazz’s voice got more clear. She must have sat up and the worry was coming through the phone.
“Um. I don’t know. It was weird. Um. I don’t—”
“Was he an asshole to you? I swear, I told him to leave you alone—”
My voice was squeaky. “No. It’s not that, actually. He—uh—we kissed?”