by Terra Kelly
“Yeah, I guess so.” I walked over to the corner to sit the crate down. Then I grabbed the prepped apples and stopped to look over at Olivia. “Thanks for helping on the farm this season.”
“Of course.” She started to walk toward the door. “It’s nice to be here. I forgot how much I enjoyed spending time on the farm.” Then she left.
“She is beautiful.” Autumn said from behind me.
“Huh,” I spun around and spilled some apples from the bowl I was holding.
“Olivia.” Autumn pointed toward where Olivia was standing by her car.
“Yeah, I guess.” I made my way into the prep room where I mixed the ingredients for the hard cider.
“Come on, I see it on your face.” She laughed and bumped my hip.
“There’s no look on my face, Autumn.” I poured seasonings in the bowl of apples. “Why are you here? Don’t you have work to do somewhere other than here…bothering me.”
“Mr. Grumpy today, eh.” She patted her hand on my shoulder. “Fine, I wanted to make sure you and Olivia were able to connect.”
“So really, you were just being nosey.” I grabbed a spoon and stirred the mixture.
“Nooooo…” She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.
As I continued stirring the hard cider mixture, it finally hit me. I would be working with Olivia on a daily basis. Being that close to the woman I’ve had crush on for far too long, something was bound to happen. That something would be me…and difficultly keeping my hands to myself.
Four
Olivia
Beep, beep, beep! I slammed my hand down on my phone to silence the alarm. “No, no, no, this is not normal.” I rolled over and threw a pillow off the bed. “We should be able to sleep until daylight at least.”
I stumbled out of bed and made my way into the bathroom. Right as I was about to turn on the shower, my phone rang.
“You up?” A screechy voice said into my ear. I was at my parents’ house. Their guests left early so Autumn didn’t get to wake me up in person. Thankfully. The vision of her holding cymbals over my bed ran through my mind as I rubbed my eyes still trying to wake up.
I pulled the phone away until she finished talking and then put it back to my ear. “Autumn, why are you calling me?”
“It’s early. I wanted to make sure you were up.”
“I’m a big girl. I know how to get up early.” I continued talking to my friend as I walked back into the bathroom to start the shower. “But I’m not doing my hair or wearing makeup. I have to draw the line somewhere.”
“Levi may like you even more without all the fancy stuff covering you up.”
My hand was on the faucet. I stopped and straightened. “What did you just say?”
“It’s cool to not wear makeup. I don’t either.” I could hear how she was clearing her throat. Something was up.
“Autumn. Talk.”
“Alright, but it’s still early and I need coff–”
“Hey,” I said a little too loudly.
“What?” She yelled back.
“Rewind to the part about Levi and what he likes.”
“Oh, you caught that, eh?” She giggled.
“You better talk and fast.” I sat down on the edge of the toilet and waited for her to fess up.
“I’ll be right there,” Autumn yelled. “Oh crap, I need to go, Livy.”
“No you don’t. You need to talk and fast.” I stood and started to walk in a small circle. There was a click. I pulled the phone away from ear. “She hung up on me. My best friend actually hung up on me.” I sat the phone on the counter and decided to take a quick shower. There was a friend I needed to talk to and soon.
“Good morning.” Levi’s velvety voice rang from behind me. “Looking for this?” I turned around and found him holding a mug of coffee.
“Bless you.” I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the sides of the mug.
“I didn’t know if you liked cream and sugar.” He pointed to the table where some sugar packets were spread out.
“Just sugar will do.” I grabbed two packets. “This is a nice way to start my first day. Should I get used to this pampering?” I was teasing of course. “I thought this was in the ‘do’s and don’t’ section in the man card rules? I believe this is a don’t, right?”
“What? I deliver coffee and it threatens the very thing I work hard for?”
I tried not to laugh but he was being dramatic. “Relax. I won’t tell a soul.”
He rolled his eyes. “Good because I have reputation to uphold.” He sat his mug down and walked over to the small desk where mail was scattered over the top. “If you can play nice, there will always be coffee available.”
“Just who delivers it to me could vary.” I brought the mug close to my nose and inhaled the aroma. It was definitely a fall morning in the south. I was actually wearing a sweatshirt and a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. “Can I pick the delivery person?”
Levi seemed distracted as he riffled through a stack of mail on the desk in the corner of the room. “Sure.”
“I can?” He mumbled his answer, so I knew he wasn’t paying attention. “So will Sadie start delivery at five on the dot?” Sadie was their dog that roamed around the property.
“Yeah.” He mumbled. Then his hands stilled and lifted his head. “Wait, what did you just say?”
“Sadie. The dog. She’ll deliver coffee to me.” I burst out laughing. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he just stood there staring at me. “I’m teasing.” I touched my hand on his forearm. The feeling that shot through my fingers when I made the connection threw me off. It felt like an electrical current ran down my arm and through my hand. I pulled my hand away quickly. “Okay then.” I quickly stepped away.
“Livy.” Levi was right behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck. “I need to talk to you.”
I spun on my heel to face him. “Um, sure. If we’re going to discuss policy and procedures, I need more than just one cup of coffee, though.”
He lightly laughed. “We would need a shot of espresso in the coffee for that discussion.”
“Good point.” I rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet. There was something about the distance between us that was throwing me off. “What do you need to talk about, Levi?”
He looked down and stayed silent for several seconds. When he finally glanced back up at me, there was this look in his eyes. Was this the moment I had been waiting for since I was a teenager? “Livy.”
“Yeah?”
“Um…I’m not sure how to say this?”
“Just say it. Don’t over think it.”
He flashed his heart stopping smile. “You make it sound so easy.”
“This sounds serious.” He reached his hand forward and touched my hip. Then he moved it away, and seconds later it was back. Finally, I placed my hand over his to keep it in place. “Levi, can I go first?” Something told me it was time to share how I felt about him.
“Sure.” He rested his back against a wall and pulled me closer to his body.
This was the first time we had ever held each other in this way. There were many nights where I had daydreams of holding Levi and making love to him in a barn or under the stars by an apple tree. “This is weird. It shouldn’t be hard to say but yet–”
“Let’s say what we’re thinking on the count of three,” Levi said as he moved his thumbs up and down. The movements were throwing me off.
“On the count of three.” I cleared my throat and tried to focus. “Okay, I’m game.”
We both looked at each for the longest moment and then finally Levi started to count. “One…two…” He stopped right before the magic number. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
“Levi.” I placed my hands on his chest and tried to push away. “What are you afraid of?”
“You,” he whispered so low I almost didn’t hear him.
“Me?” I felt nervous but lifted my hand up and brushed my fingers down the side of h
is face. “I don’t bite.” My words made me laugh. “Well, if I do you would beg for more.” I couldn’t believe I said that out loud. “I mean…”
“Fuck.” He dropped his forehead to mine. “Livy, I can’t wait another five years.”
“Why did you wait five years?” His words had my insides in knots.
“Do you remember Dan?” He lifted his one hand and laced it behind my neck. “The guy you were dating five years ago?”
I leaned back. “Wait, Dan.” I paused for a moment. “Shit, I do remember him.” The memory of Dan came rushing back. “That fucker.” I mumbled as my mind replayed my time with the ex.
“He was that bad?” Levi released me and stepped away. I immediately wanted him back and touching me. “You dated him for several months.”
“More like weeks.” I clarified.
“That’s impossible. Autumn told me you were still dating when you moved.”
“I broke up with Dan two weeks after we started dating.” I touched his arm. “He was an asshat. So I lied about my dating status.” I stepped closer to him. Craving his body near me. “She lied for me. Don’t be mad at her.”
“I’m sorry.” His words shocked me. “You didn’t deserve that.” He laced his fingers with mine.
“What do I deserve, Levi?”
“To be happy.”
“Who says I’m not happy?”
He chuckled. “Well played.”
I finally placed my palm on his cheek. “But, I could be happier.”
“Oh yeah, how so?”
He was going to make me work for this relationship. Did I just say relationship? We didn’t have anything yet, but fuck, I wanted Levi more than ever. “Levi.”
“Yeah?”
“Fucking kiss me.”
He lightly laughed and pulled my face closer. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?”
“For five years.” I rubbed my nose lightly back and forth against his.
“Longer.” He leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips.
“What? No.” He only moaned a yes and continued to pepper kisses on my lips, cheeks, nose, and neck. “Since you were a freshman”
“Longer.”
I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back slightly. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”
“No. Should I keep this to myself.”
“No,” I said a little too loudly. “You most certainly must not.”
“You seem mad.” He stepped away but I grabbed his hand and tugged him back.
“Not mad, Levi.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I feel bad and maybe a little stupid.”
“Why?” He moved his legs apart so I could settle more comfortably against his body.
“I’ve wanted you for so long, but you were my best friend’s brother.” I dropped my forehead onto his chest. “And…you’re older.”
“By four years. How is that too old?” He tickled my side
“Well, it sounds silly now but in high school it was a big deal.”
“That’s true. Your friends would’ve flipped.”
I patted my hand against chest. “Exactly.” Without thinking I pulled his cowboy hat off and combed my fingers though his hair. “I can’t believe we both waited this long to say anything.”
“I can.” Autumn said as she strolled into the barn. She stepped up beside us and grabbed my coffee mug. “You two need to have some hot sex.” She took a sip of the coffee. “Seriously, stop telling me how you feel and tell each other from now on.” She sat the coffee mug down and started to head toward the doorway. She glanced back. “Oh, one more thing, we do need you to help with social media still.” She raised her arm and waved as she left.
“How does she appear at the perfect time?”
“Then disappear just as fast as she appeared?” I giggled. “I guess we should get some work done.”
“Yeah right, like that’s going to happen now.” He rolled his eyes.
We both burst out laughing and dropped our heads closer together. The moment switched to heated in a matter of seconds. After all this time, and Levi wanted me, too. I always thought, why would he want to date someone so young? The realization of the amount of time we had wasted slammed against me. I didn’t want to lose another moment with him. Levi made my body ache for more, so I planned to take it all.
Five
Levi
“Shouldn’t you be taking pictures of the apples and the process of making hard cider?” I poured water into a barrel. “I don’t think potential clients will care what I look like.”
Olivia snapped another picture. “Who says these are for social media?”
“So you’re filling up your photo album with pictures of me?” I sat the pitcher down and walked around the table that was separating us. “Be careful, your phone may crash.” I grabbed her free hand and tugged her close to my body. “It’s one o’clock. You know what that means?”
“We need to make another batch of hard cider?” She put her phone in her back pocket and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“No,” I kissed her and leaned back slightly. “Is this weird to you, too?”
“Really weird.” She rested her hands on my shoulders.
“Should we dial it back some or is that even possible?” Olivia’s body was pressed against me, causing my cock to wake up and stand at attention.
“Not possible.” She cleared her throat and closed her eyes.
“What are you thinking about right now?” She dropped her head to my chest and moaned. “What? Was that a trick question?” I poked at her sides.
“Levi,” she said and fanned herself with her hand. “Fuck, I want to rip your clothes off so bad.”
“Why do I sense a but in that sentence?” I combed my fingers through her hair.
“But I also want to take it slow.” She stepped away and started to fidget with a leaf sitting on the table. “I’ve wanted to be with you for so long. Now all I can think about is what it would be like to make love to you.”
“Go out with me tonight?” I blurted out and stepped up beside her. “It will be our first official date.”
“Think we can control our hormones?” She circled her finger around a button on my shirt.
“We’ll go to the fair. There’s a lot of people there, so we’ll have to be good for a few hours.” I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. As I kissed each knuckle she slowly closed her eyes and moaned. “Then we can do whatever we want after that.”
“Whatever we want?” She lifted her head and brushed her hand down the side of my face.
“Anything.” I wrapped my hands around her waist to tug her closer.
“Get a room, you two.” Jesse dropped a box on the table beside us.
“What’s this?” I stepped away from Olivia and opened the lid.
“Fifty fried apple pies. I made extra every day this week and froze them.” Jesse rubbed his hands together and flashed a big smile.
“What are the apple pies for?” Olivia pulled the lid down to see in the box.
“Levi didn’t tell you my awesome idea?” Jesse pulled his body up onto the table and sat down. “Fried apple pie hard cider. Sounds amazing, right?”
“You made all these while still preparing the daily pies?” I closed the lid and rested my hands on the box. “I didn’t even officially agree to make the flavor.”
“Come on, you have to admit it’s a great idea.” Jesse looked annoyed.
“He’s right, Levi,” Olivia said and leaned her body against the table. “It is a great idea. Could that work though, adding actual pies to the mixture?”
“Never tried it before.” I grabbed the box and carried it to the walk-in freezer. After putting the box away, I made my way back over to the them. “I also never said I wouldn’t try it.”
“Perfect, now you have fifty pies to test out a batch.” He hopped off the table and started to leave. “Oh, by the way, it’s good to finally see you two together.” Then he left.
&n
bsp; “Are we the only ones too dumb to figure out this thing between us?” I shook my head and closed the lid on the big stock pot. “Now I’m curious what my mom is going to say.”
Olivia burst out laughing and stepped up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my body and rested her head on my back. “She may ask when we’re getting married and how many kids we’re having.”
I grabbed her hands and found a way to spin around so I could face her. “Marriage and kids?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just making a joke.” She swatted at my chest. “You’re putting words in my mouth.”
“I am. You said them.” I couldn’t stop laughing. She looked so flustered. “Can I kiss you right now? Just a simple kiss.”
“Does it have to be simple?” She winked and leaned her head back to give me better access.
“Baby, it can be long, slow, simple, fast, anything you want.” I kissed her but I didn’t pull away. I cupped my hands around her neck and took control of the moment. She surprised me by biting my bottom lip. I pushed my tongue forward, demanding entrance. She didn’t hesitate. When our tongues touched my body reacted.
There was something about Olivia. Even after all these years I knew she was the one. I loved how she made me feel all those years ago with just a simple touch. It was so much better now.
“Levi,” she said next to my lips. “Do we really have to go on a date?” I burst out laughing and dropped my head onto her shoulder. “I mean, we’ve known each other since the beginning of time. It’s not like you’re just hoping into bed with some random woman.”
“For your information, I’ve never hopped into bed with a random woman.” I pulled the sleeve of her shirt away and kissed her shoulder. Then I left a trail of kisses up her neck and stopped at the sweet spot behind her ear. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted.” I knew what I said was huge, but it was the truth.
Olivia Hart had been on my mind since the moment she stepped onto Appleton Farm with my sister. She had me heart and soul. I just wasn’t ready to tell her yet I wanted this thing between us to be forever. What if the word forever scared her away?
