When I finally caught my breath, I smacked him on the shoulder as he slowly pulled out. “Silly ass,” I scolded, trying to fight against his contagious grin.
“What did I do?”
“You know what you did.”
“Yeah, gave you the best sweaty dick of your life, that’s what I did.”
He helped me down from the counter, then smacked my butt again as he followed me to the shower. There, we made love again, then put on just enough clothes not to scandalize the delivery person when the food we ordered arrived.
“Hey,” Nixon said, pulling me into his lap as we relaxed on the couch. “I’ve been thinking about it… and you know how you’ve been asking me for years about doing some rebranding for Pot Liquor, modernizing the logo, all of that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course. You’ve told me no like thirty times, because you’re mean.”
“I told you no like fifty times, because you’re mean.”
“I’m not—“ I stopped, thinking about some of the things I’d said to him over the years, including that wish that he would fall into the deep dryer. “Okay, maybe I was a little mean.”
Nixon grinned. “Uh huh. Well… since we’re basically starting over anyway, maybe you should talk to a graphic designer about the logo. You wanted to do it, so… I’ll let you take lead on that. We’ll go with whatever you decide.”
“You think we should be moving on something like that already?” I asked, resting against his shoulder. “The investigation isn’t over, and we don’t know what the insurance company is gonna do.”
He shook his head. “Nah, we’re moving forward regardless. I’ve got savings, I’ll get another loan…. Whatever needs to happen. But when we can start cleaning up the space, clearing things out, I think we should be ready. So… we’ve gotta get this other stuff done.”
“Okay.” I nuzzled my face into his neck, breathing him in. “I’ll talk to Simone, see if she can put me in touch with whoever she used.” I kissed the space between his neck and shoulder, then brought my hand up to caress his ear.
“Yeah… sounds like a good idea,” Nixon murmured absently, closing his eyes.
I kissed him again, then moved to straddle his lap. “You tired baby?”
“I am… and what you’re doing feels good.”
He opened his eyes, then gripped me at the hips, pulling me closer so I could feel his hardness.
“Again, Nix? Are you serious?”
He gave me a sleepy smile. “Hell yeah. We’ve got five years to catch up on.”
— & —
“I cannot believe I agreed to this shit.”
I smirked at the disgust on his face as Eddie looked around the graphic designer’s office. He glanced warily at the “living wall” of green plants that lined the office, then around at the natural stone and wood tones that made up the rest of the office. It really was like stepping into a whole different realm.
The designer’s office was located in one of the newer buildings on the block, so everything else had a very clean, modern look, in blacks, whites, and stainless steel. Simone had described the woman as “earthy”, but I’d imagined more… hippy than “zen”. Poor Eddie looked so out of his element. His style was eclectic enough — a perfectly pressed oxford paired with ripped jeans and shoes that looked fresh out of the box — but he still looked very… misplaced against such natural elements.
Her desk was empty when we walked in, so we sat down in the comfortable chairs in front of it.
“What’s wrong, Eddie?” I asked, trying not to laugh at his scowl.
He turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “If this chick comes in here burning sage, I’m out.”
Before I could respond to his silliness, a door opened behind the desk, and a girl with long twists walked in, the clunky heels of her boots clicking against the natural stone tile floor. In a word, she was… cool. Dark skinny jeans, white tank, tribal print blazer, tons of chunky wood jewelry and an extremely pretty, make-up free face in sable skin.
She brought a calm, pleasant energy into the room with her, and I couldn’t help smiling as she rounded the desk and came right up to us.
“Hi, you must be Charlie?” she said, surprising me with the calm sensuality of her voice. I was expecting… perky, from this girl who barely looked older than twenty. She extended her hand, and I returned the gesture. “I’m Astrid Wilson… hopefully your new designer.”
Eddie’s deep tenor broke in. “I’m sorry, you’re the designer? Little girl, quit playing. Is this bring your daughter to work day or something? Does your mama know you’re playing in her office? Where is she?”
Astrid’s face spread into a smile. There was no trace of annoyance as she turned to Eddie, sweeping him with a gaze before she returned to his face. I knew that “hey boo” look in her eyes, and fought my own smile.
“I have no idea where my mother is at the moment, but this is my place of business, and I’m perfectly capable of handling it — and my clients — without her assistance. I have no children, and I’m not one myself. I’m twenty-five years old, brother. A grown ass woman… I assure you.”
Holy shit.
I didn’t think a day would ever come where I saw a man or woman knock Eddie off balance, but there he was, eyes wide with interest and attraction, lips slightly parted like he didn’t know what to say.
With a little grin playing at her lips, Astrid turned to me, winked, then said, “Alright Ms. Bennett. Let’s talk about what I can do for you today.”
seventeen.
nixon.
I would never get tired of waking up next to Charlie.
Even though it had been the norm for the six years we were together, all of a sudden it felt like a novelty. Like a prize I’d won for completing a challenge. Only… now I knew that without proper care, my privileges could be easily revoked. That wouldn’t happen again. Not as long as I could help it.
The sun wasn’t quite up, but light was starting to filter in through the curtains. With her eyes still closed, and her bare breasts gently rising and falling with her breath, Charlie seemed at peace. I reached out to touch her, not to wake her up, but because I just couldn’t help it.
She stirred a little, reacting to the impact of my hand at her waist, caressing her skin. Her eyes stayed closed, so I pulled away, leaving her to sleep while I climbed out of bed and headed for the shower.
Under the spray of the hot water, I closed my eyes. Today marked two weeks since the loss of the restaurant, and it still… just didn’t quite feel real. We’d been to the site, had the damage assessed, ruled out foul play, all of that… and still… it just kind of felt like something that… happened.
I grinned as soft hands circled my waist.
Charlie stepped into the shower then pulled the curtain closed behind her, smiling as I turned around. I kissed my honeybun, morning breath and all, and she giggled when I drew her closer, lowering my hands to squeeze handfuls of her butt. We stayed in the shower, touching and playing and cleaning each other until the water ran cold, then stood side by side in front of the sink to brush our teeth.
Unreal.
This was like… an alternate reality or something. Waking up with Charlie. Showering with Charlie. Brushing teeth with Charlie. Such a difference from not even six months ago, when she made no effort to hide her continued disdain for me.
And all it took was a damned conversation.
I made a mental note of that, tucking it with the other things I’d learned during our separation. Just talk shit out. No excuses. Just sit down, and say what you have to say. That went right beside make sure it’s really a breakup, and don’t keep the girl waiting six years for a ring.
While I got dressed to leave, she pulled on a little dress that barely skimmed the tops of her thighs and left the room. I hadn’t even gotten my shirt over my head, but I followed, my attention stuck to the easy sway of her hips. She giggled when I reached out to grab the hem of her dress, smacking my hand away as she went into
the kitchen. I sat down on the other side of the counter, at the bar.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Charlie asked, looking up at me as she pulled a basket of eggs from the refrigerator, followed shortly by a variety of vegetables.
I scratched at my eyebrow, cringing a little before I gave her an answer. “Another meeting with the contractor, remember?”
Charlie paused mid egg-crack to roll her eyes at me, then went back to what she was doing without saying a word. She had a long standing bias against construction contractors — and a long standing ban against participating in meetings with them — since she tried to put a screwdriver through one’s hand when we first opened Pot Liquor.
To her credit, that guy was a complete asshole, at least to her. He never started shit around me, but when she would go and check on the site, it was always condescending “let’s wait until the boss man is around” or “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about, little lady”. What burned Charlie up the most was, “are you sure you have the authority to make a decision like that?” as if she hadn’t put up half the money to pay his crew in the first place. But him touching her was the final straw, and his crew had to pull Charlie off him. The only things that kept me from killing him: I wasn’t there when it happened, and Charlie begging me to please keep your ass out of jail, don’t you dare leave me saddled with a half-finished restaurant and this big-assed loan.
In any case, she had no interest in dealing with contractors anymore. Even when we fired ole boy, and had to hire someone new, she shifted that responsibility to me, and found another way to help.
“So have they given you any estimates on how long it will take?” She pushed the whisked eggs to the side so she could chop the vegetables while they warmed to room temperature.
I sighed a bit as I thought about yesterday’s meetings, one with Grant about the fire, the other with the new contractor. Charlie had a late meeting with the graphic designer, and by the time we were both back at the apartment, we were too tired to do anything except sleep.
“About eighteen months.”
Charlie put her knife down, staring across the counter at me with her lips parted. “Eighteen months? Are you serious?”
I drew my shoulders up, then nodded. “Unfortunately, yeah. The site has to be completely cleared, the rest of the building torn down because they’ve gotta do some stuff with the foundation. Then we can actually start rebuilding, and it has to be done carefully, because Urban Grind is on the other side, and we don’t want to cause any damage there. Not to mention the shit-ton of building inspections we’re gonna have to pass.”
“Why so many inspections?”
“Grant told me yesterday that the fire was caused by electrical issues. I mean… I wasn’t too surprised, because I knew some of the buildings still had the old original wiring. Roman updated UG, we updated Pot Liquor, and we were trying to talk to the other owners about updating theirs too— precisely so this kinda shit wouldn’t happen—, plus some other remodeling stuff just to make the block look better in general. We even offered to help offset the costs, since it would benefit everybody. Everybody was on board except Mr. Parker. Come to find out, his ass had been paying off the inspector. The other businesses with the old wiring were getting citations and shit for it, while his ass was skinning and grinning talking about he passed. If he hadn’t died in the fire, I would’ve punched him in his damn face.”
Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “Nixon!”
“What?! Charlie, he didn’t even have connected smoke detectors, sprinkler system not working, just… wild ass negligence, and was smug about it. We put everything into that place for almost ten years, and it’s gone because he couldn’t buy a hundred dollars’ worth of smoke detectors? Hell I would’ve bought the things. So yeah, I would’ve punched his old ass, with no regrets.”
Shaking her head, Charlie finished chopping her veggies, and finally turned on the stove. “I don’t know about punching anybody.”
“Says the girl that tried to separate a man’s finger from his body.”
“Well, he should have kept his damned hands to himself.” Charlie tossed me a little grin, then reached to grab her omelet pan from the rack. “Anyway… eighteen months is a long time. Everybody will have forgotten about us by then.”
I shook my head. “Not so. I mean… that was the whole point of the meeting with Astrid yesterday, right? To talk about building a website, doing the cooking videos on YouTube, keeping our name in front of people…”
“Right. But… we still have bills to pay in the meantime. And what about our employees? I mean, it was a great plan to keep a surplus in the payroll account so we could still pay them for the last two weeks, but that’s ten people, Nix. We can’t pay them indefinitely with no income, and the website and YouTube channel aren’t gonna cut it. Neither is the cookbook.”
Pushing out a heavy breath, I laid my forehead on the counter. “I know, I know babe. I’m still figuring that part out.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then, Charlie looked up from her skillet and gave me a bright smile. She leaned over the counter, grabbing my face in her hands to kiss me, then went back to the stove. “Brighten up, Nix,” she said, glancing at me over her shoulder as she poured eggs into the pan. “Remember what we said, no negativity, right? We’ll figure things with the restaurant out, and it’ll be fine. You almost weren’t. We almost weren’t. But we are. You are. And that’s the most important part. We have plenty to smile about.”
“And pity parties don’t make payroll.”
Grinning, Charlie turned again, pointing her silicone spatula at me. “O-kay?!”
I got up, moving around the counter to get into the kitchen, where I approached her from behind and wrapped her in my arms. She was absolutely right. Of course it hurt to lose something we’d worked so hard to build, for such a large part of our life. But when it came down to it… being able to hold the love of my life in my arms again was what really mattered.
— & —
“Man you still haven’t given her that damned ring?”
I scowled at Carter in the passenger seat before I turned my eyes back to the road. I’d brought him along with me to the meeting with the contractor, then to another meeting I’d set up after my conversation with Charlie that morning. I had been feeling good until this fool told me he still hadn’t proposed to Viv. Months had gone by since that day in the barbershop. What the hell was he doing?
Across the car, Carter sighed. “I’m trying to figure out the right time to do it. We’re just now coming up on a year together. Isn’t that too soon?”
“Man, I knew I wanted to spend my life with Charlie before we ever went on a date, so… I’m probably the wrong person to ask.” I chuckled, thinking of the crush I’d had on Charlie since we were little kids. She was pretty, and smart, and funny, and she could hang with the guys. And I don’t mean she was hanging around trying to be seen, either. She would play any sport we played, talk about anything we talked about, watch any movie we wanted to see, and actually enjoy what she was doing. And she had a potty mouth to be reckoned with. It was love at first “fuck you”.
“So what the hell do I do?”
“Give her the damn ring, genius.” I laughed at Carter’s deadpan expression. “Look… when is the actual day of your anniversary? And please tell me you know that shit.”
He gave me a wry smile. “It’s next Saturday.”
“Same day as Charlie’s birthday?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded. “Okay. So we’re doing the birthday dinner thing at Honeybee, right? You bring Viv, everybody is feeling good, having fun. After dinner, take her somewhere nice, with a view of the water, and propose. Keep it simple.”
“Is that what you would do for Charlie?”
“Nah. I would go even simpler than that for her, because I know that’s what she would prefer. Cook her favorite meal, take her to the bedroom and tire her out, then put the ring on her finger. Don
e.”
Carter looked out the window, chin cupped in his hand like he was deep in thought. Finally, he turned back and nodded. “Yeah. I think I’m gonna do that. I mean… I’ve gotta do something. About a month ago, she kinda freaked out, wondering what we were doing… I let her know I wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Good… but you know it’s still on her mind, right?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m ready to go ahead and make a move. What about you and Charlie? I see you’re back to being neighborhood sweethearts again.”
I chuckled. “Yeah… we’re just taking it easy though, you know? It’s like the honeymoon phase again right now, we’re feeling each other out. I know one thing I’m not gonna do.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Shaking my head, I pulled into the parking lot behind our building. “Wait another six damned years to lock her down.”
— & —
“It was a black, frozen, snowy night in 19…whatever makes it 34 years ago. A blizzard, up in the Spanish Pyrenees, and I was stuck at the ski lodge. It was a luxury resort, in Baqueira, but still… stuck is stuck. A beautiful, tragically stranded expat meets a handsome stranger with an Italian accent but tawny, olive-toned skin. That is how the story begins. I was sitting at the bar…”
Charlie tapped me on the shoulder, her expression a mixture of horrified and confused as she leaned to speak into my ear. “Is my mother really telling the story of my conception to a room full of people?”
I chuckled, then kissed her cheek. “Looks like it, baby.”
Melissa Bennet was by no means sloppy drunk, but the slight drag in her words certainly indicated a bit of tipsiness. But it was all good. It was a celebration, with friends and family. Everybody, including Melissa, was having fun.
Roman and Simone, with their two kids, with Leah looking a little… uncomfortable with her husband beside them. Eddie was there with a guy I assumed was his date, but he kept shooting glances at Astrid, who was ignoring the shit out of him to pay attention to her own date. That was funny. Viv and Carter were there as well, along with Rod, Carter’s little brother.
Fall In Love Again (Serendipitous Love Book 3) Page 17
