Even with my eyes closed, the sunlight creeping into the room forced me to face the morning.
Damn you, sunshine.
“It’s almost seven.” His voice startled me, gruff and hoarse, so different from his usual smooth lilt, sending delicious shivers down my torso and into my thighs.
I made some indiscriminate noise. “I figured. Just not ready to face the day.”
I opened my eyes as I felt the bed shift. Reid had sat up and was stretching, arms over his head, bending left and right, letting me watch his muscles contract and roll like he was Zeus and I was the simple human allowed to be in his presence.
“Coffee,” he groaned further. He might be even more of a caffeine addict than I was, which said something.
“I can get it for us. Just let me…” I scooted across the bed and sat behind him, wrapping my arms and legs around his torso, taking in his scent as my face lay against his back, his silky skin hot to the touch.
“That’s almost as nice as coffee, Kayson. Almost.” Reid’s hands wrapped in mine as his head tipped back. “As much as I love this, aren’t you going to be late?”
I’d mentioned to him, sometime before going to sleep, that I needed to catch up on making the last-minute arrangements. I would stay up all night finishing the rest of those horrid flowers if it meant a few more minutes of us like this, skin to skin, enveloped in each other.
I spoke, now trailing one of my hands up and down his tight stomach. “Technically, we don’t open until eight.”
“I need a shower.”
I laughed. “I might skip it. I kind of like smelling like you. Someone should bottle it.”
“That’s true. I do smell good. But, seriously, I need coffee. How about you jump in the shower, and I’ll go pick up some breakfast.”
Reid was definitely serious about his caffeine in the morning. Wait until he saw my vintage espresso machine at home. I could imagine Reid there, reading my books, drinking coffee in the nude on my couch.
Work could wait.
I squeezed him tighter. “How about I jump you instead?”
“There’s time for that tonight.”
“Yes, there is. Okay, you win. I’m going to the shower. Are my feet on the floor yet?”
I still hadn’t let Reid go.
“You’re ridiculous. I’ve talked more this morning than I do before noon most days. You’ve turned me into some kind of human person who communicates with others before coffee. Shame on you.” With a smile, he pried my arms off his torso and rose to get dressed. I pretended not to watch, grinning from ear to ear the entire time.
Reid was mine.
“Stop staring at my ass and get in the shower. Go!”
Such a grump in the morning.
An hour later, I got to the shop. Reid had ended up joining me in the shower, and I didn’t take my first sip of coffee until after I’d left his room. The taste of him was still in my mouth. Reid was addicting, and the more I got of him, the more I wanted.
I’d almost walked straight into a street post on my way to work.
“About time, dear. I finished up those horrid little corsages—extra pins, of course. I heard Celeste nagged you one more time yesterday.”
“She did.” I attempted to keep my voice clipped and emotionless.
“Wait a minute.” Aunt Viv came over with a showman’s saunter and assessed me head to toe, whistling as she did, like I was a racehorse.
Damn, I knew I couldn’t get away with it.
“Seriously, Kayson. You didn’t even bother to change clothes? Walk of shame, indeed. You should keep some extra clothes here if you’re going to sleep around. But then again, I’ve seen Reid. No shame in your game.”
All of a sudden, Aunt Viv talked gangster.
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”
She laughed. “And on the first date, you little ho.”
I scoffed, but there was no point in denying the facts. My clothes were wrinkled and looked like I’d found them on the floor, which I had. My hair was still wet from the shower, and I was sure there was a big purple hickey on my neck.
I kind of hoped there was a mark on me.
“I’m not giving you details, Aunt Viv. You can forget it.”
A pout formed on her bright-orange lips. “None? I’ll tell you my juicy story from last night if you tell me yours. Or...I could just threaten to take you out of my will.”
She wouldn’t dare.
“Go ahead. I’ll be a millionaire once people see these baby’s breath creations—the next Picasso of flower arrangements.”
Her face grew serious. “Those things might put us out of business. I gagged a little just finishing up.”
A blush captured my cheeks. “He’s fantastic, Aunt Viv. Like, once in a lifetime fantastic.”
I flattened my hands on my work bench, leaning against it as I let the realization sink down deep into my marrow.
I can’t let him get away. I won’t.
Aunt Viv cooed and then wrapped me in one of her incredibly comforting hugs. “Kayson, I’m so happy for you. That look on your face, the one you had when he walked in yesterday, it told me everything.”
“I hope this works out.”
She whispered into my ear. “Make it work out. You’ve got to grab life by the balls, sometimes.”
Such eloquence.
“I need to get home and change. Then I’ll swing back here and collect everything and set up for tonight. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“No, Kayson. I’ve got the store locked down today. You take care of the flowers and that new little petal, Reid. When are you seeing him again?”
I smiled, bigger than I had in years. “Tonight. He’s my date. Or, I’m his date. It doesn’t matter. We’ll be there together.”
“No, it doesn’t matter. Call me when you get in if you want to share some details. If I don’t answer, don’t come over. Henry, from last night, well, he might just be a keeper, too.”
Chapter Eleven
Reid
I wasn’t sure a day could drag any more than mine had. The morning had started off almost dreamlike, with Kayson in my bed—in my shower—in my mouth. Kicking him out was one of the hardest things I’d done in a long time, but if he didn’t get his work done on time, he would miss our date, something I was more than looking forward to.
After Kayson left, all I could do—aside from enjoying my coffee—was to overthink all things, which accomplished nothing. I thought about my job and how it was very much portable. Did I want to stay in the city? Sure, I had a few friends, but most of my life was pretty lonely. I’d allowed too much of my social life to be intertwined with Topher, and now that he was gone—good freaking riddance—I was left with not much more than my online coworkers and trivia night at the neighborhood bar.
No. Nothing was tying me to that city.
But that left what? Everywhere else. Not that I had a ton of money to start over, especially if they stole my security deposit, but maybe that was what I needed. To just pack what I could and travel somewhere until I felt like stopping and then see what happened.
The romantic part of me thought about finding a room to rent in Mapleville and seeing where things could go with Kaysen. He was sexy and funny and sweet—all of the things Topher was not. But starting over in a new place you picked because there was a guy you connected with was probably one of my more impoverished ideas.
When housekeeping knocked on the door at eleven wanting to clean the room, I took it as a sign I needed to get out of there. Grabbing my phone, which was blissfully turned off, I headed for the lobby to find someplace to eat on their board of Mapleville Attractions. I was on vacation, and keeping work shut off and in my pocket felt like the best way to make relaxation happen. I could face my housing crisis and any bologna my clients were flinging my way some other time.
The board was as pitiful as I’d gauged when I glanced at it the night before. They went so far as to advertise the loca
l insurance agent. That was how exciting the town was.
Much to my surprise, the day had warmed up significantly, and my coat was sufficient for the weather, so instead of getting into my rental, I decided to take a meander down the street and see if anything caught my eye, or, more accurately, distracted me from thinking about the night before because every time I did, my cock decided it was time to play, and it so very much was not.
About halfway down the street, I began to smell greasy goodness and wondered if there was a steak-and-cheese place this far in the middle of nowhere. As I stopped at the next corner, my answer appeared before me in the form of an old-fashioned 1950s diner tucked off to the left. My feet instantly headed that way. Turned out the name of said diner was actually The Diner. It was both uncreative, yet at the same time brilliant, and a bazillion advertising ideas popped into my head, from logos to website designs. Because, yeah—that was how my head worked.
It was still a bit before I’d have expected a lunch crowd to have descended, but as I walked in, the only seats available were at the counter, which was not ideal for me. I liked to absorb a new place’s atmosphere, and when your back was to the majority of the people, it didn’t work as well.
I took the closest stool and grabbed the menu from the condiment station. It was pretty much what I’d expect from a small-town diner, menu-wise: burgers, all-day breakfast, and a bunch of sandwiches.
“What ya havin’ today?” Karyn, according to her name tag, stood in front of me coffeepot in hand. “Coffee?”
“I never say no to coffee.” It wasn’t a lie.
“I knew I liked you.” Karyn winked before filling my mug to the brim.
A familiar face stood beside me, and after a few seconds of fishing through my memory banks, I figured out from where. She was the nice woman who owned the gas station just outside town.
“Maria, right?” I figured it was best to say something after staring at her like a weirdo while I tried to place her face.
“Yeah. Mind if I sit here?” She pointed to the stool on the other side of me. “I’m waiting for my to-go order.”
“Have at it.”
“Hey, Karyn,” Maria greeted the waitress with a smile.
“Hey, Maria. The cookies are all boxed up. I’ll grab them for you.” She pushed a bowl of creamer packets my way, adding, “I’ll be back, mister,” before she made her way to what I assumed was the kitchen.
“Cookies?” It seemed an odd place to come for cookies, but I’d yet to see a bakery, so what did I know.
“Yeah, this place has the best cookies in town, so whenever it’s my turn to bring snacks to the center, I always order from here.”
“Center?”
I took a long sip of my surprisingly not-awful coffee. It wasn’t amazing, but for a diner, it was right on up there.
“Single parents.” She nodded as if that answered it all. “So, what are you having?”
“Not sure.” I was leaning toward a burger because of the amazing aroma, but they also had BLTs so I was fighting the inward battle of bacon vs. beef, not that I couldn’t throw bacon on a burger, but BLTs held their own magic. “I’m mostly killing time until I have a thing tonight.”
“A date.” She leaned in close, as if I were one of her high school girlfriends about to share all the dirt. “One night in town. Go you.”
“It’s the reason I am here.” Although bringing Kayson was going to make it far better than I ever could’ve imagined.
“And yet he blushes. Do tell.”
There was something about her that made me want to do just that. Maybe it was sitting in an old-school diner, or maybe because I was busting at the seams wanting to tell the world I met a guy, or maybe it was because her smile reached her eyes, but whatever it was, I found myself sharing far more than I normally would.
“I might have a date with the smexy florist.”
“And yet you are eating here alone.” She shook her head at me in disappointment.
“He’s working.” Although, I could bring him lunch.
“And that makes people eat less?”
She was right. He did need to eat, and it was early enough I might be able to make that happen, but there were so many what-ifs. What if I was too pushy, or he was too busy, or I got him the wrong thing?
“Here you go.” Karen interrupted us, standing there with a huge bakery box full of cookies. “On the house. You do good work.”
“You sure?” Maria held out her wallet.
“Get out.” Karyn shoved the box at her before pointing to the door, amusement bouncing off her face.
“Fine.” Maria faux pouted before smiling brightly. “Thanks, Karyn.”
“Anytime, love.” Karyn poured me some more coffee without asking. Good woman. “Decide what you’re having?”
“He’s having two number three specials, hold the onions, to go. And a root beer and…coffee?” She hesitated on the coffee as she glanced at my cup.
“Yeah, coffee.” It looked like I was bringing Kayson a number three special with root beer. Whatever that was.
Chapter Twelve
Kayson
I did a turn about the place with my hands on my hips, assessing the damage. Celeste had gone all out for the wedding, but the poor girl didn’t have much of a choice in terms of restaurant picks, and it showed. My flowers in this place was like spraying air freshener on crap.
It covered it, but not quite.
“I’ve done what I can.”
After picking up the last of my mess, I let the hostess know I was leaving before heading out the door. I’d finished up earlier than I thought I would.
I wondered what Reid was up to—probably making trouble in this town.
Wasn’t really a hard thing to do.
“Maria ordered for us. I had no idea what to get you.”
In my path stood the object of my daydreams come to life and holding a bag from The Diner that made my stomach rumble. He was dressed in a navy-blue corduroy dress shirt and camel-colored pants. The blue color of his shirt made his eyes dance. He looked like the cover of GQ, but less pretentious.
“I’ve known Maria since she was a cheerleader in high school. She would know.”
A curt smile formed on his lips.
“What?” I asked. “What’s that smile for?”
“Everyone already knows you, and I’m just getting started. I’m a little green. Sue me.”
I took the bag from his hand and laced the fingers of my other hand with his, trying to ease him the best I could.
“We have time. Well, we can make time. I don’t know anything about you, either.”
“Is there a place we can go to talk?”
It only took a second to figure out a place to dazzle and get to know Reid.
I could give him the universe right here in Mapleville.
“Come on. I know just the place.”
We got in my car and drove right out of town to the newest addition to our modest hometown.
“Huh. Who knew this was out here? And a community college?”
I nodded. “Not a lot of degree options, but more than most folks get. Maria is getting her paralegal certificate here. And I took some business classes.”
I started to get out, but Reid stopped me with his hand on mine. “Will they let us eat in there?”
Concern fit Reid to a T—cute as all hell when he was worried.
“I know a guy.”
He rolled his eyes before reaching for the handle to let himself out. “Small-town politics. I see how you are. Breaking the rules because you ‘know a guy.’” He spoke in jest, of course.
“It will be worth it. Come on.”
I led him around to the side door and banged on it three times. A few minutes later, Brent opened the door. “K-Man! What’s up? Oh, I see. Secret date. Best kind.”
“K-Man?” Reid whispered as he scooted past me and inside.
“Hush.”
“Let me guess. High school friend, too?” Reid dir
ected his question at Brent, who whistled as he led us to the main viewing room.
“Nope. Cousins.”
Reid smiled and threw his hands up. “Cousins. Of course. Oh, wow.”
The auditorium was small, but nonetheless impressive. Velvet-covered reclining theater chairs, maybe two dozen of them were set up in the center for viewing. Advertisements for what shows the planetarium offered played on the ceiling above us.
He wowed about the stars that Brent already had going from the last showing. But, as Brent left, he turned and winked at me. Yeah, Reid was going to get the Valentine’s Day special.
“Okay. What did Maria order us?” Reid asked.
I opened the bag. “She didn’t tell you? That sounds like her. It’s just burgers and fries. Did she hold the onions?”
He nodded, taking a burger from my hand and let his touch linger just long enough to make my everything throb.
“There you go. Something about me. I hate onions. All onions. All ways.”
“Then, this is where it ends.” He folded his arms and squinted. “I’m an onion aficionado.”
And then he burst out laughing. The goober.
“That was terrible! Eat your food.”
After a few bites and my absolutely melting at the moaning sounds coming from his mouth, Brent finally got his act together.
“Is a new show starting?” Reid looked around.
“This one is just for you.”
The stars in the sky above us turned one by one to hearts. His food already forgotten, Reid leaned back in the chair. “Here, love.” I reached across his lap to pull the lever that reclined his chair even farther, until he was lying almost all the way back. He still hadn’t spoken.
I’d made a good choice.
Comets blazed through the galaxy above and burst into hearts and tiny pink diamonds. There were speakers built into the seats so each blast and crescendo was both visible and audible.
My heart jackhammered in my chest.
I took the wrappers from his hands, put them into the paper bag on the floor, and clunked his drink into the holder, trying to be as quiet as possible. Satisfied my omega was enjoying himself, I, too, leaned back and enjoyed the show.
Roses for His Omega: A Mapleville Valentine's Day Novella: M/M Non Shifter Alpha/Omega Mpreg (Mapleville Omegas Book 2) Page 5
