Chapter Sixteen
FRANKIE
I can’t focus. It’s Addison’s final day here, and I’ve messed up the last three customer orders, misplaced a stack of cash for the register, and spilled an entire box of to-go cups. I’ve never done any of these things before.
It’s because I don’t know what’s going to happen.
I hate being out of control. I hate uncertainty, not knowing when the next time I’ll see her is.
I’m trying to plan for the worst while hoping for the best, but I’m not used to this.
I’m not used to feeling so strongly for someone, or planning my life around anyone else, or even contemplating doing anything other than being here behind the counter of Roasted for the foreseeable future.
I throw my head back and sigh with aggravation when I realize I left the whole milk out of the fridge, and that it’s been on the counter long enough to have left a large puddle of condensation around it.
Then I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Hey,” Addison says. Her voice alone drains the tension out of me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just…” I stop and wave my hands around, dejected. “You know.”
“Yeah,” Addison says. “I know.”
She tugs me into her slight frame and rests her temple on my head. I sling my arms around her waist and take a moment to breathe her in. Then I’m moving, pulling out of her arms and stomping over to Jaime.
“You good if I leave?” I ask, and Jaime shrugs.
“I guess. Will you be back to close?”
“Sure. Wipe down out here, I’ll take care of the register and kitchen. Yeah?”
“Yeah, boss.”
I’m already untying my apron and dropping it in a hamper by the back door. This broody bitch is taking the rest of the day off to be with their girl.
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing Addison’s hand and tugging her back to her table. I start packing up her belongings, and she laughs.
“Frankie, what are you doing?” she says, taking her laptop from me. “Slow down, what’s happening?”
“I’m taking you on a date. Jaime’s got it covered, let’s go.”
Addison is grinning, infectious in her joy, and I have no choice but to smile back. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
She shoulders her bag and I grab her hand again, twining our fingers together as I weave through the tables to the front door.
I nod at a couple of the locals hanging out, and old Nancy winks at me.
She’s a nosy bat, but I suppose I can’t blame her for wanting a front row seat to the town’s current hottest gossip. Which is Addison and me, unfortunately.
We stumble out onto the sidewalk and it’s hot as heck out here. Naturally, I pick up the pace and she quickens her step as I pull her across the street to the ice cream shop.
She orders a bowl with one scoop. One single scoop, to my absolute horror.
“Oh no, absolutely not,” I say when I hear it. “Two scoops minimum, with a waffle chip if you’re not getting a cone. We’re going all out today.”
Addison balks and I raise an eyebrow, attempting to look stern.
I don’t think I’ve ever had to be stern in my life.
“Fine,” she says, crossing her arms as she turns back to the counter. “One scoop of strawberry, one pistachio, with a waffle chip or whatever.”
“Hmph,” I grumble. I’ll have my way with her later .
“And for you?”
“Waffle cone please, three scoops. One espresso, one candied pecan, and one brown sugar bourbon.”
Addison’s mouth has dropped open and I glance at her.
“Yes?” I say.
She snaps her mouth closed.
“That’s just… such a weird order.”
“Oh my sweet summer child,” I reply. “This is the best combination you could ever ask for.” I kiss the tips of my fingers and then spread them to the sky. “Incredible. Delicious. Ten out of ten, no notes.”
“Okay,” Addison laughs. “I’ll take your word for it.”
I pay and take my majestic cone while Addison accepts a bowl and spoon with her pathetic two scoops. I lick straight up the side, getting a taste of all three at once, then swirl my tongue over the top with a groan of delight.
Addison has stopped walking and is gaping at me again, her cheeks flushed. She looks so cute with her bright pink and green ice cream dripping off the spoon onto the concrete by her feet. I smirk. Poor thing, she’s got no idea what she’s in for today.
“You good?” I ask.
“Are you ?” Addison shrieks. “That was…” She searches for a word before realizing she’s dripping all over the sidewalk. She shoves the spoon in her mouth and swallows, then finishes her sentence. “Indecent.”
I bellow a laugh. I suppose it was, and we’re only just getting started.
We make our way in and out of each shop downtown, and I treat her to anything and everything I can. A trinket from the local handmade shop, a sugar cookie with rainbow sprinkles from Alex’s bakery, a fruity candle that’s layered pink, purple, and blue.
Finally we end up back at Roasted, right in time for me to finish closing before I pull her upstairs and into bed with me.
We make love slowly this time. With gentle fingers, soft lips, and tangled limbs.
Addison moans as her body responds to mine.
We lay next to each other and I suck on every part of her skin I can reach, leaving marks from behind her ear and down her throat to her perfect breasts, then across her stomach to her inner thighs.
I want her to feel me for days. I wish she’d be able to feel me for weeks.
I circle my tongue around the wave tattoo on her hip and become nearly feral with the thought of marking her permanently. I’ve never wished for a different job until this moment, but if I could tattoo myself onto her, I would.
I lick back up her body as my fingers tease between her thighs. She thrusts into me, burying my fingers inside her while she buries hers inside me too. We rock against each other, and our kisses turn desperate and messy as we lose our breath, our bodies tensing up as we both near the edge.
“Frankie,” Addison moans my name and her free hand scrabbles for purchase.
I move her fingers to my hair, and the tight fist she makes sends tingles of sensation across my scalp. The pain turns to pleasure as she keeps moving against me, and we sink further into each other. My mind, my body, everything is pure bliss. Her very presence feels like ecstacy.
“Addison,” I whisper, my lips moving against the soft skin of her neck. “My sweet Addison.”
“Yes, Frankie. Yes,” she says, both of our hips moving as we breathe each other’s air and seek each other’s pleasure.
“Oh,” Addison pants.
I pull back just enough to see her, to watch her find her pleasure as her pussy clenches around my fingers. She grinds into my palm and the way she says my name, panting it like it’s a prayer, a reverent, breathy chant, it’s too much.
My insides clench as I watch her come apart, and my own orgasm crashes over me.
~~~
I’m sore and tired the next morning, my body wrung out and my emotions already drained, but last night was undeniably worth it.
I attempt to wake Addison with a line of gentle kisses across her collarbone, but she swats at me and rolls over with a mumble.
I chuckle as I memorize the sight of her in my bed .
It’s eight in the morning, not that early for most folks, but Addison doesn’t function before nine. If she wants to make her flight, though, she needs to get up.
“Come on, sweets,” I urge, rolling on top of her to drop a kiss to each eyelid. “Time to open these pretty blues.”
“No thanks,” Addison mumbles, tugging at the blanket in an attempt to cover her face. Too bad I won’t take no for an answer this time.
“Five minutes,” I say, then stride into my kitchen to start the coffee and pack us some leftover pastries for the road.
Unsurprisingly, she’s not out of bed when I return. She’s curled on her side, one arm hanging off the bed, and a tiny bit of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth onto the pillow. I grin and consider taking a photo, but don’t want to embarrass her.
I wave the coffee below her nose, and her eyes flutter open at the same time her dangling hand reaches for the mug.
“Ah, ah!” I reprimand, pulling it out of reach. “Not until you’ve sat up.”
Addison squints her eyes. I think she’s trying to glare at me, and I pinch my lips between my teeth to hold in a laugh.
Regardless, she begrudgingly sits up, then proceeds to pull the blankets up around her shoulders. I should have thought of that.
“Nope, no blankets either.”
“Ugh, Satan.” Addison wrinkles her nose at me and this time I can’t hold it in. Even grouchy Addison is too cute to get mad at. I belt out a laugh. My cheeks stretch around a smile that crinkles my eyes, but her cute little pouty lip holds strong.
“Yep, I’m an absolute demon. Here to torture you with waking up at a normal, respectable hour.”
“Sure feels like torture,” she mumbles, but her limbs are moving and soon enough her hot pink toenails are stark against my floor and I wonder if I’ll ever see them there again.
She snags the mug and takes a sip, shoulders slouching as she nearly falls back into bed .
“Oh no you don’t,” I say.
I pull her up and tug her into the shower, turning on some music to help wake her up as we get ready.
I let her wash in peace while I take care of a couple things.
Hoping for the best, planning for the best, reminding myself that it might not turn out how I want it to… but better safe than sorry, right?
Thirty minutes later, I have a moderately caffeinated Addison bouncing into the front seat of my truck as I load her bags into the back. I eye the olive green one already there and wonder if she’s noticed it.
Addison
I finally have enough caffeine in me to be present in the world, and I hop into Frankie’s truck, buckling myself in without putting my coffee down.
It’s a classic hazelnut latte this time, extra sweet.
Frankie must have assumed I’d need the extra dose of sugar for our early morning start.
The truck jolts as they slam the tailgate shut and I turn in my seat, watching them stride to the driver’s door and step up into the cab.
This last week has been like a dream and I’m dreading the part where I have to wake up.
It’s been too good to be true, and this feeling of apprehension, that something—everything—is going to go wrong in a moment, won’t leave me alone.
I turn the music up and distract myself by singing along as we rumble down the desert highway toward Phoenix.
Frankie glances at me every couple of minutes.
Their eyes land on my thighs, bare skin beneath my frayed jean shorts, and my breasts, hardly visible beneath my baggy shirt, and my exposed collarbone and neck where I have my hair braided back.
Sometimes they seem to scour my face, imprinting it into their retinas, so I do the same.
Neither of us knows what tomorrow will bring, or the next day, or the next.
It’s terrifying.
I finally pull my phone out, having been avoiding it all morning, to see a “have a safe trip” text from Asim as well as a novel of a message from Everly. I smile, though it feels a bit wistful.
My heart stalls in my chest when I check my email, and time freezes for an endless moment. My eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of my head as they flick back and forth across the screen.
Then it clicks, and I let out an unholy screech as I fling my hands into the air.
My phone goes flying, hitting the ceiling before crashing down to the floor, and Frankie whips around in their seat.
The movement jerks their hand on the wheel, and the truck goes careening off the side of the road into the tumbleweeds and cacti.
Frankie slams on the brakes, the back of the truck fishtailing through the sand as their eyes, wide with alarm, meet my horrified gaze.