by Dylann Crush
“Are you okay?” he asked, his breath blowing across my neck, cooling the sweat I hadn’t even noticed I’d worked up.
“Yeah, you?” My fingertip traced a lazy, scrolling path over his twisty tattoo.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He rolled off and nestled into my side. With a hand propped under his cheek, his other cupped my hip, pulling me against him.
“You’re not. Although we seem to have lost the blanket.” It had bunched up underneath me and we’d scooted off the edge.
He chuckled into my hair. “Sorry about that.”
“It was worth it.” I stared up at the inky blackness of the sky. A billion stars dotted the darkness, like tiny pinpricks of light.
We stayed like that for a long time, our breath returning to normal, my heartbeat slowing to a steady, comfortable thump. Finally, the sweat cooled and my backside grew tired of the uncomfortable dock.
“I should go in.”
“You sure?” He lifted my head to snuggle an arm underneath it. “I swear, I could stay out here with you for hours, maybe even days.”
I landed a playful swat on his abs of steel. “You don’t think Liam would wonder where I was? Cassie might miss me if I didn’t show up for my shift.”
“Being a grown up sucks sometimes.”
I stretched to plant a kiss on his scruffy chin. “That’s the truth.”
We laid there for a few more minutes. I tried to soak it all in, the feel of his breath on my cheek, the warmth of his palm on my hip.
“I need to get back.” I pushed up off the dock, reluctantly getting to my feet.
He held out a hand and I pulled him up with me. Then the awkward aftermath descended. He handed me my shorts, I tossed him his shirt.
Finally, both of us dressed, he held out a hand. “Can I walk you home?”
“Sure.” I finished folding the blanket.
“What’s wrong?”
I squirmed, trying to figure out what was going on with my backside. “I don’t know. Something’s not right. I think I picked up a splinter or two.”
“Want me to take a look?”
“No. I’ll check when I get inside.”
“All right then.” He slung an arm over my shoulder and we made the short trek back to the house. When we reached the front porch he turned to face me. Grabbing both of my hands in his, he nestled his mouth against my ear.
My stomach dipped as his breath floated over my neck.
“See you tomorrow?”
Cold clammy hands seemed to squeeze my throat. Tomorrow. I’d have to see him tomorrow and pretend like none of this had happened. “Oh, um—”
“We’ll just pretend like nothing happened. Piece of cake, right?”
Piece of cake? Maybe for him. He hadn’t been relieved of the main role in his elementary school play for bad acting. And I’d only had one line to say then. How would I possibly be able to convince everyone that there was nothing more going on between me and Dustin than him helping with the build out of the studio space?
“I think maybe it would be better if we didn’t see each other tomorrow.”
“Really?” His fingers left mine to wrap around my backside and nudge me into him. “I’m going to have to see you, Harmony. One way or another.”
“What are we doing, Dustin?”
“Right now? I’m copping a feel and hoping to convince you to let me interpolate you again in the near future.” The cocky grin I’d grown to expect graced his lips.
“You’re awful.”
“Awful hot and bothered. Tomorrow?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
His lips made contact with my cheek before he let go. I picked up the flowers I’d abandoned during the heat of the moment. Then I stood there while he disappeared down the drive to where he’d parked his truck, wondering how in the world I was going to be able to pull this off.
24
Dustin
The next few days passed by in a whirlwind of drawing up plans, getting permits, and helping out around Mom’s place. And the nights flew by in a tangle of limbs on the dock out at Harmony’s place. By the time I got back to LA, the doc would probably marvel at my state of physical fitness. Harmony and I spent hours on the dock, talking, snuggling, and burying ourselves in each other. I’d enjoyed myself—too much I sometimes worried—but that was all about to come to a screeching halt. Today was the last day of school. For the next several weeks I’d be under constant supervision from both my nephew and Harmony’s son.
“Did you get my list?” Mom called out from the kitchen.
“Yeah.” I skimmed the handwriting covering the small piece of spiral notepad paper in my hand. “Need anything else while I’m in town?”
“That should do it.” She sat at the kitchen table, still in her housecoat and slippers.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay back and go later once Scarlett stops by?”
Mom waved her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be fine. It’s just a little dizzy spell.”
Her little dizzy spells had been happening more and more frequently. Had me on the verge of calling in a favor from one of the high-powered docs I’d seen out west. But Scarlett and Mom both said I was overreacting. If it got much worse, they wouldn’t have a choice—I’d get her to the doctor if I had to take her myself.
“All right. Call if you need me.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead. Being around the past couple of weeks had given me a glimpse of what I’d been missing. When I thought about my apartment out in LA it seemed so empty—the opposite of everything I’d left behind in Swallow Springs.
A half hour later I stood in front of the Lovebird Café. Harmony and I had plans to do a final walk-through of the space across the street after the lunch crowd died down. But I’d been in such a hurry to be on my way I’d arrived a half-hour early. With nothing to do but sit outside and twiddle my thumbs in the ninety-eight degree heat or take a stool at the counter inside, I opted for the latter.
As I walked in, the conversation took a nose dive, settling at a low murmur. I thought talk of my botched burnout had died down. What had happened now to make me the laughingstock of Swallow Springs? I took the only empty seat at the counter, next to Mr. Blevins. As I settled onto my stool, conversation picked up around me.
“Hi, Mr. Blevins, what’s going on today?” I set my keys on the counter as Harmony placed a coffee mug in front of me.
“Coffee?” she asked, already pouring.
“I guess so. Sorry, I’m early.” I caught her eye for a half-second and smiled.
“It’s okay. I’ll be a little while, we’ve got a bigger than usual lunch crowd.” She tilted her head, motioning to something behind me.
I twisted in my seat to see Robbie Jordan. He sat at the head of a table of what appeared to be contractors and builders. No wonder my presence had shut down the chit chat. I’d been in town a couple weeks already and had yet to come face-to-face with Robbie. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment and he reciprocated. It was only a matter of time before we sat down for a chat. The kind of conversation we needed to have was long overdue.
But not today.
Today was my last free day to wrap myself in Harmony’s arms without the fear of being walked in on by her son or my nephew. Nothing would get me down today.
I took a sip of my coffee and put the mug back down. It hadn’t tasted the same since that first day I’d arrived.
“Coffee’s different,” Mr. Blevins said. “I think she’s poisoning us with wheat germ or alfalfa sprouts.”
Harmony laughed as she swept by, her hands full of the daily special. “Oh, Frank. If I wanted to poison you, I’d use something much more deadly than wheat germ.”
“Told you so.” He turned his attention back to his newspaper.
“Now what can I get you for lunch?” Harmony stopped in front of me, pencil poised over her notepad. “We’ve got a seven superfoods salad or turkey on sprouted toast with a side of fresh fruit.”
“We’re out of meatloaf.” She leveled me with that blue-gray gaze. “What’ll it be, salad or a sandwich?”
At that moment Cassie bustled by. I craned my neck to see her tray full of meatloaf sandwich platters. “Thought you said you were out of meatloaf?”
“We are. That was the last batch. Now what’ll it be? Salad or sprouts?”
“Tuna melt?” I asked.
She shook her head, her lower lip captured between her teeth.
“Turkey sandwich then.” I leaned back on my stool while I took another sip of coffee. “And what’s with this coffee?”
“You don’t like it?” she asked.
“It’s just…different.”
Mr. Blevins raised his mug next to me. “Different.”
“Different can be good.” Harmony tucked her pen back into her apron and whirled around to hang my order ticket on the spin rack.
I watched her move around the diner. She still hadn’t mastered the fine art of waiting tables. A plate clattered to the ground, smashing into pieces, followed by Harmony making a mad dash to the back for a broom and dustpan. For her sake, I sure hoped she’d be better at running the wellness studio than she was at waiting tables.
“She’s not getting any better, is she?” Mr. Blevins didn’t look up, just kept his eyes trained on the sports section.
“No, sir. She’s not.” I couldn’t help but smile. “We’d better get her place across the street built out before she wears out her welcome here at the Lovebird.”
“You ever had one of those massages she talks about?” he asked, barely glancing up.
“Um, yeah, I’ve had therapeutic massage before. Helps keep your muscles loose.”
Mr. Blevins grunted. “If you ask me, it’s probably a front for something.”
“Really? Like what?”
“I don’t know. But we’ve made it decades without a sleazy place where you pay for a rubdown. I can’t say I’ve been missing that.”
Harmony slid my plate in front of me. “One turkey sandwich platter. Extra honey dew on the side.”
“Thanks.” I took a napkin from the dispenser and spread it over my lap. “Looks fine.”
“Fine?” she paused.
“Yeah, it’s not a meatloaf sandwich.”
She let out a frustrated sigh before heading to the back.
“You’re not winning any brownie points, if you ask me,” Mr. Blevins volunteered.
I bit into the sandwich and chewed. Not bad for a plain turkey sandwich. But meatloaf would have been a hell of a lot tastier.
“A woman like that wants to be romanced a little bit.”
I forced the dry toast down my throat. Wouldn’t have killed her to put a little mayo on it, would it? “I’m sorry, are you talking to me?”
“Who else?” He leaned away from me and poked me in the arm with his finger. “You may as well embrace it.”
“Embrace what?”
“The legend.”
“What legend?” I took another bite of sandwich, wishing I’d thought to wash down the last one with a sip of bad coffee.
“The legend of the Lovebird Café. Ever since Patsy and Duke took over the place, people who meet here tend to fall in love and get married.”
I squinted at Mr. Blevins as I reached for the mug of coffee. “How is it I’ve never heard of this legend?”
By that time Harmony had stopped in front of me on the other side of the counter. “How’s your sandwich?”
“Dry.”
“You know about the legend, right, Harmony?” asked Mr. Blevins.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard about it. But hearing about it and believing in it are two entirely different things.”
Before I could ask her about it, she’d moved on to greet a table full of customers who’d just sat down.
“Since when is there a legend?” I set the oversized sandwich on the plate and turned to the stranger on my right. “Did you know there’s a Lovebird Café legend?”
“Sure. Young lovers who meet at the Lovebird Café fall in love.” The woman next to me on the stool shrugged. “Sorry, sugar, I didn’t catch your name.”
“It won’t work for you, Eloise,” said Mr. Blevins. “Not unless you plan on knocking off your husband.”
The two laughed like they were in on some joke. A joke that somehow involved me. “Well I think that’s bullshit,” I said.
“Worked for Cassie and Rob.” Mr. Blevins tilted his chin toward the back where Rob dipped Cassie into a kiss.
“Whatever. Why don’t you get back to your sports stats and I’ll get back to my sandwich?” I suggested.
Mr. Blevins refocused on his newspaper while I choked down the rest of my lunch. By the time I’d finished, Rob and crew had left. I waited for Harmony to bus her tables and get the dining area back in order. What had that whole deal with the legend been about? Had Harmony put him up to it? I followed her path through the café. She stopped to pick up a tab then clear dirty dishes off the table. No way. Harmony and I were on the same page with regard to our arrangement. Weren’t we?
Why mess with a good thing? And we had a good thing going. Not just good, great. Maybe it was the fact that both of us had been around the dating block enough times, but we’d cut through all the bullshit and made it straight to the “comfortable in our own skin” part. I wasn’t just enjoying spending time with her naked, I also enjoyed chatting with her. She had a great sense of humor and had somehow made my word of the day app into one of the most anticipated moments of my day.
Speaking of…Harmony untied her apron and hung it up behind the counter. “Ready to take one more look before you start on the build out?”
“Yeah.”
“You need more coffee first?”
“No. I think you’re turning me off coffee.”
“Good. It’s bad for you. You should try tea instead.”
“That’ll be the day.” I held the door for her as she passed through in front of me.
“The day that what?”
“Huh?”
“You said that’ll be the day. What do you mean? What’s got to happen to get you to try swapping your coffee for tea?”
I kicked at a rock, sending it rolling to the other side of the street. “I don’t know. It’s just an expression.”
“Well, think about it.” She stepped onto the opposite curb and turned to face me. “What would it take?”
“Something big.” We were almost behind the safety of the doors, away from the threat of prying eyes. My arms ached to wrap around her and pull her up against me. But not yet.
“What if I rubbed your shoulders for you?”
“Naked?” I slid the key in the lock and turned it.
“Is that all you can think about?”
“No.” My lower lip stuck out in a pout. “I think about you rubbing my feet, too.”
“Rubbing your feet?”
“Yeah, naked.”
“You’re incorrigible.” She moved into the space. I pulled the door shut behind us and flipped the lock.
“I’ll show you incorrigible.” I gathered her up in my arms, my hands cupping her ass. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I carried her up the fourteen stairs to the second level, avoiding the top step that still hadn’t been repaired.
The light coming in through the large windows slanted across her face. She smiled at me and I was lost. In five seconds I had her shirt up and over her head. In less than ten her back was flush against the exposed brick and her fingernails raked long streaks across my back. We had to stop doing this. Deep down I knew that. But I didn’t want to. Didn’t even know if I could.
My addiction to Harmony kept me up at night, had me imagining scenarios I never even would have considered a month before. Scenarios that looked a lot like what playing house used to look like when I was a kid. I wasn’t ready for th
at. It had never been something I wanted. Never been something I needed. Had that changed?
A groan ripped through her as I gave a final thrust, losing myself inside her. She clung to me, clenched around me until we both came down from our climax. As our breathing returned to normal, a lazy smile spread across her face. Knowing I was the cause of that smile made me want to start all over again.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” I pulled out, setting her feet back down on the ground.
“You’re absolutely right. My ass can’t take it.” She peered over her shoulder, trying to catch sight of her perfectly rounded butt.
“Did I do that to you?” An angry red scrape covered half a butt cheek.
She eased her underwear up over her thighs. “I definitely didn’t do that on my own.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll take the wall next time.”
“First splinters, now this. I’m beginning to think you’re too dangerous for me.”
She had no idea. Up until now we’d been having fun. But with the boys about to be out of school, it was time to put a stop to our daily trysts. I was too dangerous for her. She needed stability, safety, security. The last thing she needed was a guy who couldn’t even give her a piece of his heart.
“Listen, about us.”
“Us? There’s an ‘us’ now?” She smirked as she pulled her shirt on over her head. “I thought we were anti-us.”
“Yeah, we are. You’re right. Technically there is no us.”
“But…” She came up behind me, wrapping her arms around to the front of my chest and snuggling her head against my shoulder. Her breasts pushed into my back.
I fought the need to spin around and claim her again. My overwhelming desire to possess her battled with the logic of keeping this purely physical, simple.
“But it feels like the anti-us isn’t quite working.”
Her breath brushed against my back. “That’s because you can’t keep your pants on around me.”
I laughed. She wasn’t lying. The more time we spent together, the fewer clothes I seemed to need. “While that is true, I need to figure out how we’re going to handle ourselves with Rodney and Liam in the picture.”
