Lovin' on You

by Fabiola Francisco

  We’re interrupted when the shots are placed in front of us. “Cheers,” I say, hitting my glass to hers.

  “Cheers.” She takes her shot like a champ and follows it with beer. I watch as she swallows and licks her lips. This woman is killing me a little bit at a time.

  I’m impressed. I wonder what else her mouth can do. I take my shot smoothly and let the alcohol burn with the mixture of cinnamon. The heat only adds to my turned-on body and imagination. Fuck, I want her.

  Sitting across from Cash for a few hours has me scorching. I don’t even know what to say, so I just drink. He’s hot, but he also seems like a nice guy. I judged him when, in reality, I know nothing about him. He seems so at ease talking to his friends and watching me. It does not even faze him that I see him eyeing me. It actually fuels his courage.

  I was ready to leave, hoping the fresh air would cool me, because no matter how hot and humid it may be outside, the air is thicker in here. Bri made sure we stayed longer, by using her excuse about not having work, to give me more time in Cash’s presence. I know how she works.

  Now, I sit across from him, the edge of his knee randomly brushing against my bare legs. The roughness of his jeans is welcomed against my sensitive skin. I try to keep it my secret pleasure, but he may be on to me, by the looks he gives me.

  I quickly stand and Cash pushes back from his stool nervously. I raise my eyebrows and smile. “Bathroom,” I say, explaining where I’m going. I walk away and hear chuckles coming from our table. I ignore them and continue my route to the restroom. Once I see myself in the mirror, I laugh. An entire day of drinking will lead to no makeup left on your face and messy hair. I rinse my face and wash my hands. Is it even worth applying lip-gloss?

  “Girl!” I jump back as Bri enters the bathroom. The lip-gloss I was applying smudges onto my cheek. She laughs as I wash it off. So much for trying. “That boy is into you.”

  “Whatever.” I shrug with indifference although I feel anything but that.

  “Ha! Don’t pretend with me. Are you imagining what it would be like to do him? I sure as hell would be if I were in your shoes.”

  “I wasn’t until now,” I lie.

  “Get your game on! Stop acting like some boring grandma and go flirt with the boy. He’s itching for your attention.”

  “Bri . . .” I warn.

  “Don’t give me that bullshit. I’ve known you for way too long. Strut your stuff like you used to do and give that boy the ride of his life.”

  “More like he’ll give me the ride of my life.”

  “Atta girl! Now, fix that lip-gloss mess and shake that ass all the way to the table so much so that he won’t be able to stand.”

  I laugh and fix my gloss before swaying back to the table. I’ve got this. I’ve never been afraid of a little male attention. At least not when I was younger. As I walk back, Cash’s eyes are on me. I stay focused on my goal—make him hard enough he’ll regret his stunt. I smirk and raise a brow as I see him shift. Never underestimate the power of daisy dukes and cowgirl boots. He clears his throat as I take my seat; my grin widens.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine. Just fine.” He drinks his beer. “Damn her.” I hear him mutter, and I chuckle.

  I quietly tease him the rest of the night and smile inwardly, watching him react.

  When it’s time to leave, Jen goes off with Ryder and I pray to God she knows what she’s doing. Before Bri and I can walk off, I hear Cash call my name.

  “Yeah?” I turn to look at him.

  “Are you going to leave without a proper goodbye, after I put my heart on the line earlier today?”

  “I’m sure your heart is fine.” I pat his chest and feel the muscles underneath. He isn’t a huge guy, but he definitely works out.

  “Not sure. I may need someone to take a look at it.”

  “I have some connections at Nashville General Hospital,” I throw back.

  “I was thinking something a little more private,” he whispers, grabbing my hand off his chest and pulling me in with our fingers entwined. He kisses my cheek. “Give me your number.” His breath near my ear gives me chills. I lift his hand and grab a pen that was left on our table after paying our bill. I scribble the numbers on his palm quickly.

  “Let’s see what you do with that, hotshot.” He groans and lets go of my hand, reading the numbers intently.

  “The things I want to do,” he replies. “I’ll call you.” It’s a promise.

  Unable to focus at home, I arrive at my go-to spot when I need an extra something to concentrate. “Hey Liv, the usual?”

  “Hey, Victor! Yeah, please. I’m on deadline,” I tell the barista behind the counter.

  “I’ll make it extra strong, then.” I pay for my espresso and thank him. With coffee in hand, I sit at a table and open up my laptop. I have a few projects I need to finish before the week ends and a total lack of concentration. Monday after Country Fest was a waste of a day. My productivity was dragging and I kept waiting for Jen to get home. When she finally arrived, I wanted to question her, but drop it. Part of me was envious she went home with the guy and I didn’t. It was my fault I didn’t, so I needed to let it go and focus on something besides Cash. Tuesday and Wednesday went about the same fashion. Now it’s Thursday, and I need to go through my ads for Nashville General Hospital and a few of my other clients. Only I would accept three jobs, one of them huge, to be due on the same day.

  I plug in my headphones and let the music take me away from my present frustration. That is until his song pops up on my playlist and his name flashes on my phone screen at the same time. What the actual fuck?

  Freaked out, I hit ‘ignore’ on my phone and stare at it. I know, to anyone observing me, I look like a disaster right now, and in a coffee shop you are always being observed by someone. My phone notifies me of a voicemail and I close it. Bri calls right after. What is it with the phone calls today?

  “Ugh! I want to quit my job!” That’s her hello.

  “Tell me about how much you hate having one hour lunch breaks and a sexy boss that . . .” I look up and stop talking.

  “Oh, please don’t stop on my account.”

  “I’ll call you back, Bri.” I hang up and stare into hazel eyes.

  “I called you,” Cash says.

  “Are you stalking me?”

  “Nope. It’s pure coincidence that I walked in here to see you sitting at a table.”

  “I saw your call. Sorry, I’m working.” I ignore his jab. I know it sounds bad, that I said I was working and he catches me talking to someone on the phone.

  “A break is always good, although, I see you already had that going with Bri.” He takes a seat at my table. “While I would have loved to speak to you on the phone, in person is even better.”

  I shrug. “I’m on deadline.”

  “What are you working on?” He grabs my laptop and turns it to him.

  “Hey!”

  “That’s good.” He stares at what I’m working on and nods in approval. “You’re talented.”

  “You’re not the only one with skills,” I tease. “Can I have my computer back?”

  “What other skills do you have? Besides graphic design and rejecting me?”

  “You’ll have to work harder to find out.” I wink. He laughs and leans forward on his elbows.

  “If I promise to work hard, will you promise to share your skills?”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  “I’ve always been a hard worker.” I notice the rest of the band members signaling to him.

  “You’re being summoned.”

  “They can go without me. I have my own car.” He waves them off, and I hear Jason mumble, “Pussy whipped,” as they walk out.

  “I do have to work.”

  “Go ahead. I’m just going to sit here and drink my coffee.”

  “Whatever, but if you’re bored don’t blame me.” I look back at my laptop and finish off the advertisements for Nashvill
e General Hospital. I open the ad for my other project and get to work on that, following the preferences my client asked for.

  Tapping on the table distracts me and I look up to see Cash with his eyes closed and his hands creating a beat on the table. He grabs a napkin and quickly scribbles something on it.

  He smiles when he looks up to see me staring at him. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

  “I see that.”

  “Go out with me,” he says confidently.

  “Straight to the point.”

  “Don’t make me beg. I’m not above getting on my knees and asking.”

  “After calling me on stage, I believe you’d beg.” He laughs.

  “That was kinda crazy, wasn’t it?” He scratches the side of his head right where his ball cap ends.

  “Uh, yeah. You don’t even know me. You saw me once and I looked like a madwoman.”

  “Twice.”

  “What?”

  “I saw you twice,” he confesses.

  “When was the second time?”

  “You were out with Jen, drinking margaritas and dancing.”

  “Okay, now I am going to believe you’re stalking me.” His laughter fills the small café and I notice people’s attention being drawn to us.

  “Pure coincidence, just like today. I promise.” He crosses an X over his heart. “Let me get to know you, as friends if you want. No formal date where you have to dress up all fancy, if you don’t want to. In fact, you can wear the PJs I met you in.”

  “Why didn’t you approach me when you saw me out with Jen?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. Stupid move on my part.” He doesn’t look me in the eyes when he says this.

  “As friends,” I say. “I won’t be going home with you at the end of the night,” I half tease.

  “That’s not what I’m looking for. I want to get to know you. Tomorrow night, dinner. I’ll call you for your address.” He stands up and leaves, probably so I don’t have the opportunity to turn him down. Does he believe I could turn down a man that smiles the way he does?

  I swear, my motivation to finish all my work on time was that I had a pending outing with Cash tonight and he was my reward.

  Just friends.

  I’m going to focus on that and not add pressure to what he wants. He’s got a future in music ahead of him and doesn’t need some chick distracting him. I saw the crowd cheer for Rebel Desire wildly when they performed at Country Fest. They’re definitely on the road to success. But, that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy the attention. I decided I needed to make more time to enjoy life and get out of this slump, and I’d be a fool to not answer the knock of opportunity. And who can turn down a hottie who wrote a song for them?

  I run towards the door when I hear a knock and almost crash into Jen. “What’s the rush?” She pauses and looks at me. “Actually, where are you going?” She eyes my sleeveless swing dress and wedges.

  I ignore her and take a deep breath, knowing all hell will rise when she sees the face on the other side of that door. Ready for her reaction, I open the door and try to smile. Instead, I am sure I have an awkward, all teeth, smile that gives me away.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. So, you were going to keep this stud a secret?” Jen says slowly from behind me. I turn to look at her and hear Cash’s chuckle. “No wonder you cleaned yourself up.” She winks and walks into the kitchen.

  “Hey,” Cash says with an amused grin.

  “Hi,” I reply, closing and locking the door behind me before we walk towards his car. Cash opens the door to his car for me and I take a seat. I wring the strap of my purse between my fingers. A nervous habit I haven’t been able to kick. It’s a total telltale.

  “Buckle up,” Cash says.

  “Yes, sir,” I joke, but he raises a brow.

  “Complying.” His smile turns dangerous. Just friends. Just friends. Hell, who am I kidding? Given the opportunity, I’d climb him like a tree and build a nest there. Or a tree house. I always did want a tree house. Sex in a tree house. I’d comply with a lot more than buckling up, unless he’s going to take me for a wild ride. I shake my head and give him a tight smile. Easy, girl.

  “I thought we could go to Tennessee Brew Works. Does that sound okay?”

  “Yeah.” I lean back into the seat as we fall into awkward silence. A song comes on the radio and it takes me a moment before my head snaps up and I look at him with excitement.

  “It’s you!” I say way too loudly.

  He laughs at my expression and nods his head. “Yeah. It’s crazy, right?”

  “How are you so calm?” My eyes widen.

  “You should’ve seen me the first time I heard them play the song. I almost crashed. I had to pull over on the side of I-65 and call my mom.” He laughs at the memory. God, could he be any cuter? “And trust me, it feels like the first time every time they play the song, I’ve learned to control myself better, and stay safe while driving.”

  “I’d freak if that was my song.” I look out the window wistfully.

  “Isn’t it the same feeling when you see your designs displayed publically?”

  “I guess, but music is so much cooler. You have thousands of ears listening to your creation.”

  “And you have thousands of eyes admiring yours.” His voice grows husky.

  “I guess.” I shrug and sing along to the rest of the song. He smiles at my knowledge of his words, but says nothing else.

  Once inside the brewery, we take a seat at one of the barrel high tops and browse their menu. We order a flight to sample and some appetizers to start with.

  “I take it you didn’t tell Jen we were going out.”

  “I wasn’t in the mood to hear her gloat.”

  “Gloat?”

  “Oh yeah, she’s a proud piece of work. She’ll say she called it from the beginning and that I should have listened to her instead of denying . . .” I stop when I realize I’m probably saying more than I should, and he will take it as if I’ve been pining over him since I first saw him.

  Wisely, he doesn’t say anything and changes the subject. We talk about my projects and I learn more about his music.

  He started the band after college with his pals when he decided he wanted to make music out of his lyrics. Apparently, he’s a writer at heart. They played in small bars and left their EP at a few radio stations until one reached out to them. They released their first single and the rest of their EP independently. From there, they have slowly built their name, opening acts and playing bigger bars and festivals. It’s interesting to hear his journey.

  Cash seems humble, as he speaks of his success. Their next step is to get signed by one of the big dogs in the industry. With the persistence they’ve had so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened soon.

  “So, fun fact . . . When I was a teen, I wanted to be a songwriter. I used to write poetry, but I thought it would be so cool if I could make it into music.”

  “Really?” He leans in with interest.

  “Yeah, but they’re totally not good. It was one of my many teen aspirations.”

  “Aspirations become our reality if we believe in them.”

  “Says the wise one,” I tease.

  He pulls back a bit and smiles. “I can be wise.”

  He reaches over, lightly brushes his fingers across my hand and squeezes mine. I look up at him, the mood changing.

  “What else can you be?” It’s my turn to lean in as I whisper. As he leans into me again, we hear, “Hey, Cash!” I move back quickly, almost falling backwards off the stool and Cash looks up to see a man standing next to him.

  “Oh, hey buddy.”

  “Sorry, I see you’re busy.” The man smiles at me. “Just wanted to tell you that you did great at Country Fest.”

  “Thanks. ‘Preciate it.”

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to your date.” He winks at Cash and walks away.

  “Sorry about that,” Cash apologizes.

  “No problem.” Then an
other group of fans interrupt and congratulate him on his performance.

  Once we’re done, Cash pays the bill and we leave.

  Standing outside my house, Cash says, “Thanks for coming out with me tonight. Sorry for the interruptions.”

  I look up at him, my wedges offering me a few inches more, but he’s still so tall.

  “No problem. It’s part of your job.” I smile tightly.

  “Go out with me again?” He cups me cheek.

  “Maybe.” My smile widens. The feel of his hand on my jaw gives me tingles. He’s so close. I shut my eyes before he finishes leaning in. The roughness of his scruff adds to the calluses on his hands and make me moan when his lips touch mine. His tongue swipes softly and way too quickly against mine before he pulls away with a soft laugh. God, I wanted more than just the tip.

  My chest rises and falls heavily, clearly affected by him. His hand drops from my face. “I’ll call you,” he whispers hoarsely.

  “Thank you, for tonight.”

  “It’s my absolute pleasure. It’s not every night I get to wine and dine, or brew and dine, a beautiful woman.”

  “You say that to all the girls?” I tease.

  “Nah, only those that show up at bars in their pajamas.” I roll my eyes, but smile.

  “Goodnight, Cash.”

  “Night.”

  When I walk inside, I lean against the door like a teenager in love and sigh. I need to get down from the cloud I’m currently soaring on or the drop to reality is going to hurt.

  “That good, huh?” Jen prances down the stairs of my townhome.

  “It was nice.” I go for cool, calm, and collected.

  “I’m glad,” Jen says, not buying my act but letting it slide. “You deserve to go out and have fun. Where’d ya go?”

  “We went to Tennessee Brew Works. It was laid-back.”

  “And?” She makes swoony eyes at me.

  “Don’t look at me that way. It was a nice evening. I’m glad I went.”

  “So, you gonna do the dirty with him?” She moves her body in some twerking motion that makes me gag.

  “I don’t need a preview of what you and Ryder did.”

  “You wish you could have a taste of that.” She winks.