Page 38 of This Time Around

“That sounds amazing.” Ana’s attention doesn’t leave mine, but mine’s fixed on April. She offers me a soft smile and asks what else I have planned.

“I’m in the process of creating a drink menu with punny book names to serve at the bar.

“Ooh, what about Tequila Mockingbird?” Ana asks with a chuckle.

“No, Cheeky Chi-tini,” April fires back, her voice much lighter.

“No, no, Hellcat High roller,” Ana nods her head in approval. “A nod to MK. She’s my favorite FMC.”

We spend the next hour laughing and making grand plans for the opening.

“This made my night, you guys. Thank you for coming.” I smile at them both. I know April came around, but I hate feeling uneasy around her. “Would you guys like to come help me get everything set up this weekend?”

“I can’t believe you can get set up already. I mean, I know it feels like it’s taking forever to you, but this is moving quickly.” April’s voice is cheery on the surface, but I know her well enough to hear the slightly forced undertone.

“I think the landlord is eager to have the rent covered.” I smile.

“Knox and I would love to help,” Ana cuts in.

“Me too, of course. I should have led with that,” April adds.

Despite the lighthearted change in her demeanor, there’s something in the way she’s watching me, like she’s reading too much into everything, and it’s making the air between us heavier than it should be.

Luke

“Luke, this is amazing,” Blake sniffles through watery eyes.

I wanted to do something nice for her to show her just how proud I am of all the hard work she’s been putting in. The neon sign I ordered for her to hang behind the bar finally came in, and the designer did a better job than I could have ever imagined. Little embellishments of dark emerald green, to mimic the perfect shade of greenery she plans to scatter across the space, enhancing the bold script that reads “Lit and Libations.”

“They did an amazing job,” I marvel. The look in her eyes any time something arrives at the bar makes me even more glad I moved her in here, where I get to witness every single expression crossing her face. It’s been a few weeks and today is the day Blake takes occupancy of the space. We decided we needed to start with assembling bookshelves so they are ready to be lined with books.

Blake came over early this morning to sign for all the deliveries. She’s been ordering things like crazy in preparation for today. She’s been so excited for this day, she might have been a little ambitious in her plans.

I came a few hours later when I got off work.

If I know nothing else about my girl, it’s that she needs food, or “hanger” sets in and she’s unbearable, so I brought breakfast also knowing she’s terrible at feeding herself when she gets busy.

In just a few brief hours, all the reinforcements we called in will be here. My mom and dad, Ana and Knox, and April will be here to help unload all the book inventory onto the shelves. For now, it’s just the two of us, assembling her perfect space and bringing it to life.

“Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and come drink some coffee and eat a bit? You’re going to need fuel, so you have enough energy to get all of this done today,” I encourage her.

“Yeah, ok, Doc,” she mocks.

“Don’t mock me, or I’ll spank your fine ass until it’s hard for you to sit,” I tease.

“Oh that doesn’t sound like the punishment you’re intending.” Her laugh is light and full of amusement.

After she finishes placing the last shelf on the case we just assembled, she stands and wipes her hands on her pant legs. As she saunters over to the bar, the smile crossing her face as she takes in the progress we have made heats my insides. She is so goddamn beautiful with her hair a mess in her ponytail, the beads of sweat gliding down her temple, and the gentle flush of pink on her cheeks, but the most amazing part of the package is the globes of her ass in the black leggings she is wearing. I want to touch her, to kiss her, to take her right here on the bar, but I know she needs to eat, and if I distract her now, she will lose all interest in her food.

I sit back and watch her take tiny little nibbles off the bagel with tiny little bits of strawberry cream cheese sticking to her lower lip. She sets down the bagel and starts taking bites of pineapple and strawberries off the fork, and my cock stirs to life. I wait patiently until the last bite of her bagel is gone before I stand and make my way over until I’m standing right behind her.

“Pink suits you,” I praise, kissing her neck.

“What?” she asks, turning her stool until she is facing me.

Just as her face comes into full view, I bend down and kiss her lips, sure to suck the small bit of strawberry cream cheese off her bottom lip as I pull away.

“And fucking delicious,” I whisper in her ear.