Chapter Fifteen
Luke
Monday morning came around as it always did, way too fucking early.
Today was different, of course. I had spent Saturday night and all day Sunday kicking myself for how I’d left things with Meredith after we’d had sex at the shop.
I treated her like an anonymous hookup by not inviting her to my place or, fuck, even just kissing her goodbye.
I hadn’t been sure how she felt, and I froze up.
Casual, no strings was not what I wanted with her.
I don’t think it was even possible for her.
She meant too much to me. I could never put a space between us.
A lot was riding on how this morning’s staff meeting went. The plan was to compare notes, review how much money we raised and check our reviews online. Getting more customers was important, raising money for charity, of course, was a cause I cared about.
But the ratings?
That was what I was most interested in. If the average review was back above four stars and beating out the Tat Shack, then we could all breathe a sigh of relief.
The crisis would be over. Which meant that there was one less reason for Meredith and I not to be together, but also she would look for a new job.
Not working together would mean we could really start something, unless she had to leave Springwood to find a job.
Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that.
I needed answers.
I arrived at the shop earlier than necessary, a habit I seemed to do more since Meredith arrived.
No one else was there yet. I set up chairs so we could meet, and then it was a waiting game.
Meredith was next to come in, carrying a box of muffins and a tray of coffees from Oh, Beans!
“Hey,” I said lamely.
“Morning.” She turned to put the items in her hands on the table. I could tell nothing from her tone or body language, and I was at a loss on what to say. Now wasn’t the time to start an in-depth heart to heart. Not when we didn’t know how things had gone, not when we would be interrupted.
After what felt like hours, the rest of the team arrived and we got started.
Roxy stood with a coffee in one hand and a muffin in the other. “Alright, long story short, we fucking rocked it.” She wasn’t one for speeches, a part of her personality that I really appreciated.
“Donating a percentage of our proceeds to the after-school club means that they are getting a few grand from us, which I think we can be goddamn proud of. We had a ton of new faces come through the door too. Most importantly though, how did we do in the ratings?”
She turned towards Dane, who was sitting with a laptop on his knee.
We all held our breaths. None of us had looked over the weekend.
A grin spread across his face. “Not only are we back above four stars, but we’re back above the Tat Shack, where we belong.”
Roxy pumped her arms in the air, slopping coffee over the side of her cup. “Take that you copycatting fucks!”
I let out a long deep breath, and my chest felt less constricted.
Cheers went up from all the staff, and I looked across to Meredith to find her already looking back at me. She gave me a shy smile.
“The key now is to stay on top. Be nice to the customers, do amazing work like always and if all else fails, call Meredith.”
Oh, I hoped to be calling Meredith.
Dane stood. “We owe you a big thanks. Meredith will be staying on for another two weeks to try to get the one-star reviews taken down, and help me with some new ideas for the website and social media. All important stuff but I think we have done the hardest part of this process, and we should see an uptick in our walk-in numbers again.”
I loved the contrast between Dane and Roxy. They were so different and yet so compatible. Fuck, I wish I had my other half.
The meeting ended quickly, which I was grateful for. I had a half day’s work to do for Asher. But first, I needed to talk to Meredith.
She ducked out of the room as soon as the meeting ended but she didn’t get far before I caught her elbow. “Hey, can we talk?”
She glanced around then tucked her hair behind her ear. Being this reserved wasn’t like her. “Uh, sure.”
“Come on.” I linked my hand with hers and tugged us both out the fire escape door and into the alley behind the building. The air was cool, but at least we were alone.
“We need to talk about the other night,” I said.
She drew in a breath, and I realized how ominous my words sounded, so I hurried on. “We said a lot of things that night. I know we were both tired and horny, so I don’t know if you meant the things you said, but I wanted you to know that I meant mine.”
She nervously licked her lips. “What are you telling me, Luke?”
I stepped closer. “I’m drawn to you, Meredith.
I can’t help it. When you were here before, we had fun; you got me out of my head.
Now, I’m realizing how rare it is for me to feel like I can just be when I’m around someone.
I don’t talk about my childhood much or what my art means to me but I told you. ”
She bit her lip.
“This thing between us will always be more than physical. I don’t think I could handle it any other way. So I have to know, did you mean the things you said that night? Did sleeping together mean something more to you than just fun?”
Her face softened. “Of course, it did. I know the shop is important to you and you trusted me to save it. Now that it isn’t hanging between us, I think I want to give this a proper try.”
I smiled. I couldn’t keep it in. We still had nothing figured out.
She would still need to find a new job when her contract with Think Ink was over.
I was still probably overly dependent on my art to keep me sane, but none of that was enough reason to stay apart.
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her long and deep.
Her soft lips parted under mine and in the next moment I had her back against the wall and my thigh grinding between her legs.
We heard voices down the end of the alley and pulled apart just before a group of people walked by.
The moment ended, but there would be more moments. “Come to my place for dinner tonight. We can pick up where we left off.”
“Can’t wait.” She said breathlessly.