by Terra Kelly
“That won’t happen,” Levi said and reached for the half with chocolate mixed in. He closed his eyes and moaned. “Definitely won’t happen.”
“Oh shit, they’re both amazing.” Autumn popped a second piece in her mouth.
“So do we serve them both?” I leaned my body against the counter. “That could be tricky, because how would you name them?”
Autumn held up her index finger and finished chewing. “Keep it simple. Chocolate apple pie. Then on the menu have under extras, a chocolate drizzle.” She grabbed a few crumbs on the table.
“That’s true. We do have powdered sugar listed as an extra item.”
“I honestly thought I would hate the chocolate mixed in, but it works.” Autumn walked over to the hand sink to wash her hands.
“Then I guess it’s settled.” Jesse said and threw a chocolate chip in his mouth. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Great.” Autumn was walking back over to us while drying her hands. “So we can move onto a more pressing situation.”
“Don’t you have an appointment?” Jesse placed his hand on my forearm.
“I do?” Then I registered what he was doing. “I do,” I nodded and removed my apron.
“Nope, you can’t make shit up.” Levi stepped in my way. “The last time I saw you both I believe you were fighting.”
I stood there silent. It was easier letting Jesse take control of this conversation. A part of me didn’t want them to know the truth yet. I wanted to get used to it all first. The problem was, how do you hide what they both just saw when they walked into the kitchen.
“Can’t we laugh? Is there a rule against laughing in the kitchen?” Jesse was avoiding the conversation.
Autumn circled her hand in front of us. “Oh, you can laugh. That was more than just laughing.”
I grabbed the bowl we used to mix the apple pie filling and threw the spoons, spatulas, and measuring cups in to carry over to the three-compartment sink. “Hey, listen, I need to clean these up and get home.”
“Man, you are both dodging the topic.” Levi laughed and grabbed the last piece of apple pie drizzled with ganache.
“Listen, we popped in to get some leftovers.” Autumn said and wrapped her arm around Levi’s waist. “We better head out.” They were almost to the back door when they stopped. “Oh, and for the record, I think you both would be amazing together.” Autumn turned to face me and winked.
I dropped the spatula in my hand into the soapy water and turned around. Jesse was walking toward me. “I wasn’t ready to share anything with them.”
He stepped into my personal space and placed his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay if we want to get used to the fact there is an us before we share everything with the world.”
I placed my hand on top of his. “Totally okay.”
He actually sighed. “I was worried it looked shitty.”
“No.” I pulled his hand down and wrapped both my hands around his. “Actually I love that you and I were on the same page.”
He took another step forward. “Hannah.”
“Yeah?” I let go of his hand and ran my hands up his chest.
“Does your cat really get upset if you’re not home much?”
“What?” I leaned back and tried not to laugh. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know.” He stepped away to go start cleaning up the work area.
“Jesse, what’s on your mind.” I was hoping sex but had a feeling it was too soon.
He put a few items away in the pantry and walked back up beside me. “Come up to my loft?”
I didn’t say anything for the longest moment. It was so quiet in the kitchen. The only sound that could be heard was our increased heart rates. “Why are we both freaking out right now?”
“Are we?” He turned to face me. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I cleared the distance. “It’s not like we just met.”
“That’s true.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Plus, now that you’ve opened pandora’s box, there’s no going back.”
“Did I do that?” He brushed his nose back and forth against mine.
“Jesse, can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“I thought about being with you for the last few months.”
His eyes went wide. “Really? Even when I was an asshat?”
“Especially when you were”–I put in air quotes–“a hothead.”
“Right, hothead is so much nicer.” I felt his hands slowly slide down over my ass.
My body immediately responded. “Jesse, you keep that up and the dishes will have to stay dirty for a few extra hours.”
He stepped away and grabbed my hand. “Come on.”
“We’re leaving now?” He was tugging me along as we made our way to the back door.
“We need to discuss something very important.” He pulled out his keys and quickly locked the back door.
I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. For several weeks now I had myself convinced we would never fuck. I believed I would be pleasuring myself instead of ever experiencing the real thing. Now I was being tugged toward the barn where his loft was located.
Every part of my body was reacting. We couldn’t get there fast enough.
Seven
Jesse
I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly wanted Hannah and I couldn’t wait another minute. My loft was above the barn on the back end of the property. Several years ago my dad, Zinger, helped remodel the space. It used to be where all the hay was stored but then we built another barn and this one sat untouched for a few years. Right now, it was the perfect place to disappear with the one woman who currently had my body in overdrive.
“How did you luck out and get your own place?” Hannah tightened her grip on my hand as we walked up the stairs to the loft.
“I noticed the potential and asked my dad to help make it happen.” Which was the truth. Levi was focused on other things and didn’t seem interested when I mentioned the possibilities with the barn. So I took what I wanted, just like I was doing at this very moment.
We reached the top step and she stopped to look around. “Levi is the oldest though.”
“I’m still the smartest.” I walked over to the small kitchen.
“Jesse.” She sounded shocked.
“What? It’s the truth.” I held up two bottles. “Want some of his hard cider?”
“Oh yeah.” She quickly walked over. “I love this stuff.”
“Did you try the fried apple pie flavor yet?” I clinked my bottle against hers. “We wasted several gallons trying to get it right.”
“Is this the fried apple pie flavor?” she asked and turned the bottle so she could see the label. “Oh, cherry. Do you have some here? I haven’t tasted it yet.”
“Hold on, let me go find some.” I ran back down the steps and didn’t stop running until I reached the barn where Levi stored all the extra bottles of cider. There were two six-packs I had stored behind a cabinet.
“What are you doing?” Levi said from behind me.
“Grabbing my secret stash of cider.” I held them up.
“Secret.” He scowled. “And why the hell are you hiding bottles?”
“What if you ran out?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Gotta go.” I turned and carefully ran back to my loft.
“Jesse,” Levi yelled from behind me.
“I can’t talk right now,” I said and never turned around. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a new secret spot.”
As I stepped back into the barn and looked up the steps, I thought about what was about to happen. A part of me wondered if I was making the wrong decision. The other part was telling me to stop overthinking and get my ass up the stairs. “Okay,” I held up the two six packs and was trying to talk while completely out of breath. “The samples.”
“Where did you go to get them?” She ran over and grabbed the bottles from my hands. “Jesse, I could’ve tried it another day
.”
I collapsed onto the bar stool at the kitchen island. “It’s cool.” I held my hand up. “Except for the part where I have to find a new secret hiding space.”
She burst out laughing as she popped the cap off one of the bottles. “Oh no, was Levi there?”
“Oh yeah,” I placed my hand over my chest. “And shit, I think I need to work out more often.”
Hannah sat down beside me. “Or just avoid running unless someone is chasing you.”
“That’s a very good plan.” I tapped my finger on the bottle she was holding. “So, what do you think? Was it worth all the trouble to try it?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Meh…”
I leaned forward and tickled her side. “Oh no you don’t.”
She jumped away from me. “I’m kidding. It’s fucking amazing.”
“Tell me your first thoughts?” I sat back down on the bar stool and took a swig of my cherry hard cider.
“Every time I take a drink, I think about the apple pies.” She closed her eyes and swirled some around in her mouth. “It’s crazy to me how spot on the flavors are and it’s a cider.” She gasped and sat the bottle on the counter. “Jesse.” Then she leaned forward and slapped her hands down on my thighs. “Holy cats! What about adding a hard cider to the apple pie filling?”
“How would we do it?” My mind was racing with ideas.
“Cook the cider down into a syrup and add it to the filling.” She clapped her hands and had the biggest smile on her face.
“That would be so delicious.” I pointed my index finger in her direction. “Then whichever flavor cider we’re adding, we also add some of that fruit. So apples and cherries mixed together for this one.” I held up the bottle I was drinking.
“Yes, that’s perfect.” She grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “What a great way to showcase all your products together.”
I leaned my elbow on the counter. “My only concern. Would it be a negative having so many different varieties of apple pies?” I stood up and walked over to the refrigerator to grab an apple pie. “We’ve become successful because of this one pie.”
“You don’t have to have all the varieties we’ve created in one sitting.” She reached for my hand and grabbed the pie. “You could have say, the cherry and original apple pie on Monday, or all week at a county fair. That’s how you market it, too.”
“So people would go where their favorites are that week?” It made sense. I just didn’t want to mess with an already thriving system. Yet, I knew adding new product could be a huge benefit.
“Supply and demand.” She said and took a bite of the pie.
I walked around and bent down to take a bite. “Don’t you get tired of these?” Hannah was still sitting on the bar stool. I pulled her up and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Not even a little bit.” She slid her hands up my chest and wrapped them around my neck. “But there’s a method to my madness.”
“Oh yeah,” I pulled her body closer and swayed back and forth. “Want to share your little secret?”
“Maybe.” She winked and combed her fingers through my hair sending shivers up my spine.
“Maybe?” I poked her side. “What’s this maybe shit?” I poked her side again.
She giggled and jumped back out of my arms. “Jesse,” she said and attempted to step out of my reach.
I grabbed her hand and spun her back toward me. “Where are you going?” Her head was back and she was laughing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. It was like everything slammed into me all at once. I realized what I had been missing by letting my hothead take control.
“Right here.” She whispered. “In your arms where I belong.”
“Oh, you definitely belong here?” I winked and brushed my finger down the side of her face.
“I do.” She laced her fingers around the back of my neck and pulled me closer. “Jesse?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we stop fucking around and take what we really want?”
“What do we want?”
She pointed to the bed. “Our bodies on that bed together.”
“I love it when you don’t hold back.”
“Now you love it?” She burst out laughing.
I covered her mouth and started walking forward toward the bed. She was walking backwards and stumbled while giggling wrapped up in my arms. It was a sight I never thought I would see. She was here and I didn’t plan to ever let her go.
Ever was a long time, but I knew what I wanted…and I wanted Hannah Porter.
Eight
Hannah
As Jesse moved our bodies closer to the bed, I tried to keep upright. “Do you realize we put more work on our plates with all these new ideas?” I arched my back and rested my hands on his shoulders. “How will we have enough time to do everything?”
“What do you mean?” He pushed my legs up against the edge of the bed. “We have enough staff.”
“Well,” I said, then slid my hands down and wrapped my fingers around the first button on his shirt and popped it open. “We added something else in the mix.”
“Oh.” He squeezed my ass cheeks. “Enough time for that.”
I released another button. “Exactly.” I winked. “How will we have time for that?” When I finished unbuttoning his shirt, I slid my hands up and slowly pushed the fabric off his shoulders. “Because I have a feeling this is where I will want to be most of the time.”
“You will, huh?” He fisted his hands around the hem of my T-shirt and lifted it up over my head. “That is a problem.” Then he surprised me by pushing my back onto the mattress. “We’ll have to figure something out,” he said in a husky voice that caused goosebumps to form all over my body.
I lifted up onto my elbows. “I wonder if quickies in between working count as a short break?”
He chuckled and crawled up my body. “We can pretend it does.”
I fell back and placed my palms on the side of his face. “I like this better.” Then I traced the outline of his face. “I hated fighting with you every day.”
He leaned back slightly. “You did?”
I swatted at his shoulder. “Of course I did. Didn’t you?” He dropped his head onto my chest and moaned. I lifted his head up a few inches. “What did you say?”
Jesse cleared his throat and leaned to the side onto his one elbow. “I did.” He traced his finger back and forth over my abdomen. “I don’t know. Maybe in my mind I thought it was okay.” His finger stopped right above my belly button. “I honestly didn’t expect to be here with you like this.” He splayed his hand out over my stomach and leaned up. “Hannah, I want this. I want you. I just didn’t see it in my future.”
“I did.” I admitted.
“You did?” His eyes went wide.
“I know you have a hothead. Your momma is right on that one.” He laughed at my words and leaned up to kiss me before moving back and resting on his elbow again. “Beyond all that, there was something I found extremely attractive.”
“Oh really?” He leaned forward and kissed my stomach.
I closed my eyes and had to keep my mind focused. “Yeah. Maybe it’s because you have a passion for creating recipes just like I do.” I grabbed his hand resting on me and kissed the palm. “These hands make my body come alive.”
“Hannah Porter,” he said and pushed his body up to loom over me. “I had no idea you thought about me.”
“Good,” I giggled. “It was easier as a secret.” I knew I had to be blushing. The memories of going home and tending to my needs flooded my mind.
“Why?” He bent and kissed me. “There’s more to that story isn’t there?”
“Maybe,” I shrugged and tried to wiggle out from underneath him.
“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere.” He placed his legs on either side of mine and rested his elbows on either side of my head. “Tell me.” He started to pepper light kisses on my jawline, down my neck, and along my shoulder. “I want to know.”
“What do I get in return?” I teased and wrapped my legs around his body.
“Oh, bargaining.” He kissed me once. “What do you want?” He kissed me again. I brought my index finger up and pretended to be thinking. “You don’t have a bargaining chip?” He laughed and kissed me again. This time he took the kiss deeper.
I moaned the moment his tongue touched mine. He tasted of apples and sugar. I stopped and pulled back an inch. “This.”
“What about this?”
“I want more of this.”
“You’re bargaining with sex?”
“It’s what I want.” I pulled him close again and continued where we left off. The moment his tongue moved in a circle I knew I was screwed. My body was already responding to him.
“Deal. You can have all the sex you want.”
“All the sex I want?”
“Am I going to regret this deal?” He nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck.
“Yup,” I pushed him to the side and forced him to roll onto his back. “You will.” I was straddling him and rubbing my hands up and down his chest. He reached up and unhooked my bra. The moment my breasts were free he sucked in a breath. “You’ll so regret it.” I bent forward so he could take what I knew he wanted. Right as his lips wrapped around my nipple, I needed more. This chatter had to stop. I wanted his cock inside my needy pussy and now. “Jesse.”
“Yes, Hannah,” he mumbled as he switched between each breast and sucked hard on my nipples.
“Please just fuck me.” I leaned up and begged. “That’s my secret. I took care of my needs but it was never enough.”
“Now I’m here in the flesh.”
“And I need you to fulfill every dream I’ve had for the last several months.”
“Baby, I plan to fill those dreams along with that sweet pussy.”
I lifted up and threw my leg to one side and slid my leggings and panties off quickly. Then I moved back in position and slid down Jesse’s legs to help remove his pants. “We did this ass-backwards.” I giggled. He lifted his behind as I pulled down his pants and boxers. The moment his cock sprang free I captured it in my mouth.
