by J B Heller
Taking a sip of my iced coffee, I thought about the day I met Piper. “I’ve been here for about four years. The day I rolled into town, literally, the little car I had died right out the front of a restoration shop. I hadn’t been planning on staying here, but when I walked into the reception area of the shop, I met Piper. The shop belongs to her brother Rhett and somehow, we hit it off and became instant friends. Still to this day I’m not sure exactly how it happened.”
Looking back over at Jake, I was rendered breathless by his stunning smile. He listened to every word I said like it was the most interesting thing in the world. His happiness was contagious; I couldn’t wipe the grin from my own face if I tried.
Suddenly Jake swallowed hard, as if he had something stuck in his throat, and started fidgeting. “What about guys? You had many boyfriends over the years?”
“Not exactly. I mean, I was no patron saint or anything, but I didn’t get around either.” I reached across the table and took his hands in my much smaller ones. “Nobody could compare to you. I never stayed with anyone longer than a couple of weeks. I preferred to just spend my time with Bob.” I sent him what I thought was a cheeky smirk, but he paled.
“Who the hell is Bob?” he asked. He wasn’t pale anymore; the colour returned to his cheeks and intensified.
I laughed at his attempt to hold his temper in check. “Settle down, would you. I was trying to be funny. You know, my Bob, Battery-Operated Boyfriend.”
Relief flooded his features. “Thank God, I thought I was going to have to send someone packing. But just so we’re clear here, you don’t have a boyfriend or friend with benefits or anything like that?”
“No, I don’t. It’s been just me and Bob for at least the last six months,” I replied.
He smiled wide. “Good. So my next question is, when can I move in?”
My jaw unhinged. “Whaa—?” I couldn’t form words. He wanted to move in? What happened to taking it slow?
“Breathe, sweetness, I was joking. Well, kind of joking,” he tried to soothe me.
My eyes were now bugging out of my head. “Kind of joking?”
“Well, yeah. I’m staying in this dingy motel and I thought maybe it would be okay if I crashed on your couch or something?” He looked down at his hands and started to fidget again. He was nervous.
“Um, well, I suppose you could take the spare room,” I whispered.
His stunning blue eyes met mine again, and that smile was back where it was supposed to be. “Really? I mean, that’s great. But I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. I’m still good with taking it slow and all. I just want to be closer to you. And I really hate that shithole of a motel.” He was babbling so fast that I could barely make out his words by the end of it.
I squeezed his hands in mine. “Yeah, Jake, I’m sure. We can still take it slow with you staying in the spare room. It’s not like you’ll be jumping into my bed the first chance you get.”
I laughed again when he bounced his eyebrows at my last comment. “I might, it’s just been me and Mrs. Palmer for quite a long time, you know.” Then he burst out laughing and I joined him, gaining the attention of Mario and Maria behind the counter. They looked over at us seated in the corner and whispered to each other while smiling at us.
Jake looked down at his watch and sighed. “Guess I better get you back to work. I don’t wanna piss off your boss. She’s liable to stab me with her shoe or something.” He stood and held his hand out for me.
“Ciao, Bella,” Mario and Maria called out as we made our way to the exit.
I turned and blew them a kiss. “La ringrazio molto. Arrivederci a domani,” I called back.
“You still speak Italian?” Jake asked as we walked the short distance back to the Den.
“I hadn’t used it in years. When I started going into the deli, Maria was always talking to me in Italian, and I guess I just picked it back up again,” I shrugged as I explained.
I stopped at the front of the Den and fished around in my big gypsy bag for my house keys. When I finally found them, I handed them to Jake. “Here you go. You can get an extra set cut for yourself, roomie.” I edged up on my tippy- toes and kissed his lips softly, then dashed into the salon before he could notice the effect such a small kiss from him had on me.
Reagan was at her place behind the reception desk as I scurried out to the back room. But she noticed my flushed cheeks. “Hubba hubba, Pix, he’s all kinds of sexy!” she called out after me. And damn, don’t I know it.
After leaving Pixie—damn, that was going to be hard to get used to, all these years I’ve been referring to her as My Tia in my head. After I walked her back to her work, I got on my bike and headed to the nearest shopping centre to get my new keys cut. I couldn’t believe she actually agreed to it. I was only joking when I suggested it, but after the words came out of my mouth, I realised what a great idea it was.
I guess if I thought about it, it was a bit creepy that I already knew where she lived without her telling me. But I’d told her the whole story on the phone over the weekend. If it were under any other circumstance, I’d definitely find it creepy.
I checked out of the motel after I grabbed my duffle that held all of my possessions. I was glad to see the back of that place.
When I pulled up to the front of Pixie’s, I took a breath of fresh air. I knew things were going to work out for us, she was even more perfect now than I had remembered her. This was a huge step, and it showed how much she trusted me. We were a pair; it was destiny that pulled us apart, but it was also destiny that brought us back together.
I pushed my brand new key into the lock and opened the door to the modest little cottage-style house. I closed the door behind me and took in my surroundings. The walls were covered in beautiful paintings. I was drawn to one in particular. It was of a girl with orange hair, her eyes downcast, and her lips full and red. She stood alone, in a flowing blue dress, and she was surrounded by a swarm of butterflies.
It was a painting of her.
I wondered who the artist was. They were obviously very talented and knew her well.
I moved away from the painting and looked around the room. There was a huge bookcase, full of books and brightly coloured photo frames with pictures of her with her co-workers. At one end of the room sat a daybed made out of multi-coloured velvet; opposite it sat a single armchair in the same fabric. A large window sat above them, shedding light on the room.
At the other end was a solid wood, rectangular table that had been painted white. It was pushed up against the wall with a few mismatched chairs pushed in around it. A small kitchen took up the back corner of the room, and off of it was a short hallway. I started down the small hallway. The first door led to a simple laundry room, the second a bathroom, and I assumed the two at the end were the bedrooms.
The hallway wall was as unusual as the rest of the place: It had been painted metallic silver with gold swirls. Nothing in this house matched, but it all fit together perfectly.
I pushed open the door to the first bedroom. One large window sat along the back wall, opening out into the picturesque yard. I dropped my duffle bag on the end of the bed and stepped closer to the window to get a better view. It was lush and green. Hedges surrounded the border, closing the little oasis off from prying eyes.
A pebbled pathway led from the back door out to a rock pond, complete with a trickling waterfall. Two white wrought iron garden benches and a matching round table had been placed under a large tree. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was covered in beautiful orange flowers. They also covered the ground beneath it.
I’d never seen anything like it.
I turned away from the garden and set to unpacking my duffle. A tallboy of drawers sat along the wall at the end of the bed, so I made use of it. I’d been living out of this bag for so long, I don’t remember the last time I actually put my clothes away in drawers. It felt strange, but right.
I noticed most of my clothes needed a good was
h, though, so I went to the laundry to put on a load. A front-load washer sat beside a dryer with a bench that ran the length of the room above it. I found the washing liquid in the cabinet beside the dryer and threw my clothes in. Once they were on, I noticed the door that must have led out to the fairy garden.
Instead of exploring Pixie’s little patch of heaven out the back, I decided to see if she had an iPod dock, music helped me think. I went back to my room, grabbed my iPod from my satchel, and went back to the sitting area. I found a dock beside the bookshelf and plugged in my iPod. I set it to play one of my favourite play lists— Mumford and Sons.
I cranked it up then went in search of food. I thought about getting some groceries or something earlier, but they wouldn’t have fit on my bike with my duffle. Figured I’d go later with Pixie when she got home.
In the fridge I found all the fixings of a killer sandwich. She even had a fresh loaf of bread sitting on the bench from the deli we’d had lunch at. I made my snack and scarfed it down. I sat at the table, drumming my fingers on the timber to the beat of the music. I had no idea what to do while waiting for her to get home.
I went to check on my washing to find it had finished its cycle, so I started throwing them into the dryer. I was belting out “I will wait” while changing my clothes from one machine to the other when I felt her eyes on me.
I slammed my mouth closed and shot upright. “Uh, I didn’t hear you come in.”
She raised a single brow at me. “I’m not surprised, with that racket you got playing out there.”
My jaw dropped. “You did not just refer to Mumford and Sons as racket.”
“Oh, I did. What are you gonna do about it?” she smirked, and I took that as my invitation to tackle her to the floor.
She squealed out and jabbed her elbow into my ribs. I lost my grip and she wriggled free from my grasp. As soon as she made it to her feet, she sprinted out of the small room, calling behind her, “Oh, yeah, I still got it.” When I got to my feet to follow her, she was in the kitchen looking all pleased with herself.
I walked up to her and took her by the waist. “I never for a moment thought you’d lost it.” She beamed up at me, making my heart pump harder and faster. I cleared my throat, remembering her request to take things slow. I had to change the subject. “I didn’t bring any food with me, you wanna take me for a drive to get some?” I asked.
She had wrapped her arms around my neck and tilted her head to the side as I spoke. I wondered what was going on in that head of hers. Her fingers gently stroked the hair at the base of my skull, sending a shiver down my spine.
“You still like it when I play with your hair,” she smiled.
I scoffed. “I just like it when you touch me, full stop.”
Her answering laugh filled me with something I couldn’t name, but it was good. “So you wanna go get some groceries with me or what?”
“Sure, I’ll just grab my keys. I’m not sure how you’ll fit in my car, though?”
I had no idea what she meant by that until I walked out the front and saw her car. An old classic Mini Cooper. You’ve got to be kidding me. I wasn’t sure I’d fit in that damn car either. If you could even call it that, a car, I mean. I stood beside the car and looked back over at her. She had a smile plastered on her face as she fought back laughter.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing. But let me ask you this, if I’m in that car, where will you and the groceries fit?” I asked.
She shrugged as she hit a little button on her keychain. This thing was too old for central locking, but sure enough the button on the inside of my door popped up. Noticing my expression, she piped up, “You like all the little modifications Rhett made to her?”
“Who’s Rhett again?” I asked, trying not to get pissed with the fact that another man had done her car up for her.
“He’s Piper’s brother. You know, I told you I broke down in front of a restoration shop when I first got to town. Well, he took old Betsy here in and gave her a hell of a makeover. I’ve never had a problem with her since.”
I grunted in response and slid into the passenger seat. My knees were up around my chin as I felt around for the lever to move the seat back. Pixie slid into the driver’s seat and after one glance at me sitting there like a giant squeezed into a clown car, she burst into fits of laughter.
“Stop laughing and tell me where the frigin’ lever is!” I demanded.
“Sorry, you just look so cute,” she gasped between more laughter; she obviously found my frustration entertaining.
I rolled my eyes. “Just what I want to hear, not only do I look like a complete tool right now, but then you go and emasculate me even more by calling me cute.”
She reached over and slid her hand between my leg and the seat, lifted the lever that I couldn’t for the life of me find, and the seat went flying back as far as it could go. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “Thank you.”
Her smile was stunning, just like I’d remembered it. I found it hard to believe that she could have changed that much since we were last together. Although she looked different, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still the same girl I fell in love with as a teenager. Nothing could break her spirit, and that’s what I fell in love with.
She was like a phoenix: every time they would break her down, she would just rise up from the ashes stronger than ever.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts, I didn’t even realise we had already reached our destination until I felt the car come to a complete stop. I looked around, noticing we were in the parking lot of the small grocer I first saw her in a few weeks back.
I turned to face her. “This is where I first saw you, I’d come to get a few supplies and this was the first place I saw. When I walked in, I saw this gorgeous girl wearing the most breathtaking smile I had ever seen. That’s how I knew it was you. I could never forget your smile.”
For a moment she didn’t respond. I worried that she wished I’d never found her. But she dispelled that thought the instant she leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. Leaning her forehead against mine, she said, “I’m glad you found me.” We remained like that for a few more moments. I don’t know what she was thinking, but I was having a hell of an internal battle. I wanted to take her face in my hands and cover her lips with mine again. But she wanted slow, and I was willing to give her whatever she wanted.
I’d never been grocery shopping with a woman before. I was used to doing everything on my own. We strolled through the aisles of the little store for at least an hour. I’d also never taken so long to get groceries before, either.
“Why do you come to this little grocer when there’s a big one up the road?” I asked her.
She shrugged one shoulder. “I like the feel of it. It’s owned and run by one of the local families and they try to get all of their fresh produce from other locals. They also have things that the big stores don’t have. Because they support all the local tradesman in town too. I guess I like that sense of family and community.” I nodded as we continued to wander down the last aisle.
When she stopped at the feminine products I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Should I stay to see what she chose in case I had to get them for her one day, or should I just keep walking?
She glimpsed at me over her shoulder and noticed the perplexed look on my face. “You right there, sailor? You look a bit woozy,” she commented, fighting back laughter.
“I’ve never been shopping with a woman before. Or, well, anyone actually. I’m on unfamiliar ground here,” I tried to explain my predicament.
She responded by raising a single brow at me and going back to her task. She grabbed a box of what I assumed were tampons, and threw them in the trolley and carried on down the aisle like nothing had happened. I followed after her, pushing the cart.
Much to my surprise, I didn’t mind shopping with her. The only awkward moment was the tampon thing, and that was minor. I was just glad to be spending time with her.
Jake helped me unpack the groceries when we got home. I couldn’t resist making him squirm when we reached the feminine hygiene aisle. It was so worth it to see the look on his face. I hadn’t enjoyed such a menial task as getting groceries so much in a long time. We chatted as we walked up and down each row, just enjoying each other’s company.
We had a few glasses of wine with dinner and continued to catch up on all that we had missed in each other’s lives.
“What’s with not having a TV?” Jake asked.
“I do have one, just not out here. I only ever watch it in bed, so it’s in my room,” I explained.
He began bouncing his eyebrows and a cheeky grin covered his lips. “So what you’re saying is I have to get in bed with you if I want to watch a movie?”
Well, shit, he had me there. I hadn’t thought about that when I had told him he could stay in my spare room. Of course he would want to watch TV. But I couldn’t let him in my bed; taking it slow would go out the window if I did. It was going to be hard enough with him being just one wall away from me every night.
If we were going to enter a relationship, I wanted it to be about who we are now, not who we were before. And sex would only complicate things.
“Um, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea. How about you give me a hand to move it out here? We can set it up in the corner over there.” I pointed to the far end of the room by my daybed and armchair.
He looked a little disappointed but didn’t comment on it, just nodded his head in agreement.
“Was there anything you wanted to watch tonight or can it wait until tomorrow?” I asked.
“Tomorrow’s fine. I’m actually pretty beat, who knew grocery shopping was tiring?” he joked. “I think I’ll just grab a shower and head to bed. I’ll move the TV out for you when you finish work tomorrow.”
I nodded. “All right.”
He got up from the table and took our empty wine glasses to the sink. He rinsed them out then came back over to me, giving me a small kiss on the forehead. Then he disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later I heard the spray from the shower and all I could picture in my head was his body, gloriously naked and wet.
