AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She squeezes her eyelids shut and cries out, almost robotically, “Oh my! Ignacio. You are an excellent kisser. I am so amazingly aroused. Wow! I hope no one is watching.”
“Maybe tone it down a few notches,” I say, burrowing my face in her neck.
“Uh…” Her hands fly around my back, clawing at my shirt. “Like this?”
“That’s a start.”
I take her mouth again, skating my hand down to the waistband of her ridiculous candy cane leggings. Seriously, doesn’t she know how much they accentuate her figure? She meets me in the kiss, responding with keen spirit. I growl into her because, holy cow, she tastes of chocolate. I can’t remember the last time I had chocolate.
She makes a sound in the back of her throat, which sparks a long-lost feeling deep behind my navel. It’s been so long since I’ve touched a woman like this.
That’s the only reason I can think of that explains why I’m here right now, basically making out with Olive pressed against my car. I am so flippin’ deprived of romance in my life; I conjured up an excuse to kiss her. Sure, when I learned what that a-hole did to her, something kicked inside of me to action. Making him jealous was the first thing that sprang to mind. Yeah, I know with a clearer head, I could think of several other things that would work better. But I don’t have a clear head at all. I haven’t had a clear head since the day Pancho Two swindled all that money and took off to Costa Rica. And now, with the surfer gang, I’m a walking pressure cooker.
Seriously, anything I could have done to Olive’s ex would have been a better option than kissing her. Punching him in the face and getting charged with assault would have been a wiser course of action. But here I am, choice made, and my body is suffering the consequences. I’m a little kid, scooting my socks on the carpet, and she’s a balloon, setting my hair on end with her wackadoo static electricity.
This is what happens when you work too hard. Any touch can set you up in flames.
Somehow, it registers that the footsteps have stopped. That Olive’s ex-boyfriend not only got discouraged from interrupting us, but is gone altogether.
“Olive?” I whisper. “I think he’s gone.”
“Huh?” She slowly opens her eyes, blinking as if just coming to. “Oh.”
“I don’t want to make it obvious by turning around. Can you just check real quick?”
She shifts her gaze to where she’d looked before.
“His car is gone,” she says.
Something in my chest dissolves—ice cream melted on a sidewalk sort of disappointment. I shouldn’t have kissed her in the first place, let alone wish for an excuse to continue.
“I guess that did the trick,” I say thickly, even as I remain pinned against her like wet toilet paper on a stucco wall. If I peel myself away now, I’ll rip into shreds.
“Yeah,” she says with a heavy breath. “I guess it did.”
I swallow hard, and I kinda, sorta hate myself right now. I’m her boss, for crying out loud. How many Hail Marys will it take to scrub this from my permanent record?
“Olive, I…”
“You don’t have to say a thing,” she says quickly. “You really did me a solid. Thank you for your… convincing performance.”
“Right.” Wow, do I feel like an ass right now. I step away from her and really do feel like soggy, ripped toilet paper. “Well, I think we can safely say he won’t be coming back.”
Olive clears her throat, adjusting her polo shirt which had slipped out from under her apron.
“I think maybe I’ll… do my close out now.”
She’s spooked. I spooked her. Tomorrow she’ll slap me with a huge harassment lawsuit.
“Can you come in a little early tomorrow?” I ask, because all I need right now is a disgruntled employee. We need to have a talk, but first, I need to make sure she comes in. “I’ve been meaning to go over your schedule. See if you can fit in a taco Tuesday.”
Her eyes brighten. “Taco Tuesday? Are you sure? Because, like I said—“
“Naaaaacho!”
Crap. I turn to see my dad storming toward me from his parked car, Mom and Abuela trailing from behind. How much did they see?
“Go ahead inside,” I say to Olive. “See you in a bit.”
