Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
This week has been an absolute drag. In a good way. The store has been jam-packed, and people have been asking us to host more events. I have scheduled another Poetry Night and will make it monthly.
I have been waiting for this date with Lilah. To be honest, I’m nervous. I haven’t seen her since the morning we had coffee on the bench, but we chat every day.
Checking the time on my phone, I notice it's ten to six. I walk outside to the car and drive the short distance to Lilah's place. Because it's so quiet, there is a parking space right out front of the cafe.
I have never been up to her apartment before.
I notice the stairs to the left of the building and head up there.
I knock quietly on the door and wait for her.
I hear footsteps approaching before the door swings open, and there she is: long floaty dress, hair out with what looks like a bow in the back, a huge smile on that beautiful face of hers.
‘Hello.’
‘Hello, Sunshine. These are for you.’ I hand her the small bunch of wildflowers from my garden.
‘Thank you, they are beautiful. Let me put them in water. Come in.’
Stepping inside, I take notice of the huge bookshelf across the back wall. I walk over, taking it all in. This is a huge collection, easily five hundred books.
‘This is amazing. How many books are here?’ I ask, turning back to her kitchen.
‘Um, last I counted and, it's been a while, six hundred and eighty.’
‘Wow. You could open your own store.’
She giggles, and it is the sweetest sound I have ever heard.
‘Only need one thousand to be considered a library, that’s what I'm aiming for.’ She turns the tap on and fills up a glass. ‘There.’ She places the little vase on the coffee table. ‘Should we go?’
‘Let's go.’
We make it to the Mossy Pint right on six. Walking through, I immediately see Ezra. He nods and walks over.
‘Hey, you must be Lilah. How are you?’
‘Good. It’s Ezra, right? You own this place now?’
‘I do, it’s nice to meet you.’ He nods. ‘Right this way.’ He gestures to the back.
We walk over to the right of the dining area. There is a small area that is closed off by a floor-to-ceiling curtain.
‘Here you go. I just recently finished this area off. You are the first people to use it.’
‘Wow, Ezra. This is beautiful. I will have to bring the girls back here.’
‘Thanks. Yeah, sure, tell everyone. Need all the help I can get,’ he tells her. ‘Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. Oscar will be your server and will come by soon to take your orders. I’ll send some wine over. White?’
‘Oh, yes, please,’ Lilah practically groans.
We take our seats, and our server takes our orders. Pumpkin gnocchi for Lilah and steak and veggies for me.
‘Thanks for picking me up.’
‘Thanks for saying yes,’ I say. I mean it. She catches that and smiles into her glass.
Under the table, her knee finds mine. A slight nudge, but it helps ground me a little more.
Ezra returns with drinks. ‘Food won’t be long,’ he says. He glances back at the curtain. ‘Want me to keep it closed all the way?’
‘It’s good like that,’ I say.
We drift into some easy conversation while we wait for our food to arrive.
‘What was your first job?’ I ask.
She wipes a thumb along the water ring her glass left. ‘A Beach kiosk back home, actually. One group ordered twelve flat whites, and I welded the thermometer to the milk jug.’ She winces, laughing, ‘My boss hated it and made me buy a new one.’
‘Did they drink it?’
‘They were surfers. They’ll drink anything.’
I tip my head. ‘Worst coffee you’ve ever made?’
She counts on her fingers. ‘Once I grabbed the salt instead of sugar. And the man proposed to me because I remade it before he could complain.’ She shrugs. ‘Staying cool under pressure is my thing.’
I grin. ‘I can see that.’
She nods at me. ‘You?’
‘Council library, in year ten. I got shushed on my first day by a lady named Mavis who carried knitting needles like weapons.’ I laugh at the reminder.
‘Thought I’d improve the crime section and alphabetise by author.
Three regulars staged a revolt. One threatened to “report me to the series order gods.” I put it all back. ’
She laughs into her wine. ‘You rebel.’
‘It was a phase. I’ve matured. Slightly.’
‘What’d you like about it?’ she asks.
‘The rules,’ I say. ‘Things had places. If you paid attention, you could find what people didn’t know to ask for.’
Our food arrives, and it smells so good. We start eating right away and making minimal conversation, just enjoying the meal.
‘Wow, this is amazing,’ Lilah moans.
‘Right? This steak is cooked perfectly.’
‘We will have to come back for another date.’ She winks.
Our server comes back over to clear our plates. ‘Would you like to see the dessert menu?’
I look at Lilah, hoping the date wouldn’t end just yet. ‘What do you think?’
‘Okay.’ She gives a shy smile.
He nods and walks off.
Moments later, Ezra returns with a plate in hand. ‘I decided for you. Choc lava cake. The chef is trialling it and you two are the guinea pigs.'
‘OMG, my favourite. This looks so good, Ezra,’ Lilah gushes. Suddenly, I am learning that books are not the only way to her heart.
‘Dinner was great, thank you,’ I tell Ezra as he hands me the bill.
‘No worries, mate, dessert was on me.’
‘Please make sure you tell the chef it was the best choc lava cake I have ever had.’
He laughs. ‘Will do.’
I hand him my card without hesitation. Lilah tries to do the same. ‘I don't think so. You won’t pay for a single dinner I invite you to… ever.’
Her cheeks flush as she whispers, ‘Thank you.’
Stepping outside into the early spring air is nice. We decide to take a walk through town. I can come back for my car later. We walk past the mural on the wall of the post office—I have never noticed it before.
‘Wow, this is beautiful.’ I take in the way the old tree branches curl around in different directions, a girl sitting under it reading a book.
‘People say it always changes. However, the artist—Rey—says she has never been back to change it. I guess it's just another one of those unexplained magical things this town does.’ She shrugs her shoulders. ‘I bet it will look different next time you walk past.’
We keep walking towards the other end of town. There are a handful of people walking around, but none of the shops are open.
‘What do you think about an ice cream cart? Or a window in the cafe where I could open a little ice-cream bar?’ she asks.
‘I think it's a great idea. Would Nettie go for it?’
‘I haven’t mentioned it to her yet, but maybe it's something I could do when I take over?’
I nod at her, looking around. Wattlewood Ridge seems like a safe place, right? But the thought of her out in the open serving ice cream to people? No fucking thank you.
‘I think it would be safer to have it in the store, at least you would be able to lock the doors. Just in case.’
She looks at me with a smirk on her face. ‘Worried about my safety, Lucas? That’s a very boyfriend thing to do.’
Shit… Boyfriend? Am I ready for that? Is she ready for that? She only just got out of a relationship like… I actually don't know how long ago.
‘Hey.’ Her hand drifts to my shoulder. ‘Where did you go just now? This town is safe. There is practically no crime… ever.’
‘Crime… yeah, good, okay. Good.’ Lucas, what is wrong with you?
I look up, noticing we are at Brew contemplating how to make it work is… sexy.
I gently grab her left hand, intertwining our fingers. Wrapping my free arm around her waist, I pull her close and lean down, so our foreheads press together gently.
I can feel her breath as she exhales. ‘You’re cute when you talk about council permits, you know.’ I smile, pulling back as she swats my chest with her hand.
Taking the opportunity to grab it, I push her against the wall behind us. It’s dark enough that no one walking past would notice. I lean in closer, trailing my nose from her collarbone to her jaw.
She moves her head slightly. ‘Sorry, ticklish,’ she says, all breathy.
As she turns her face to meet me, my lips crash into hers. It's not soft and calm. I kiss her like my life depends on it, hers too. She slides her arms down, curling them around me as I let go of her wrists.
The kiss is desperate; she is rushing. Almost as if she thinks it might end. I pull back just enough to say, ‘Slow down, beautiful,’ against her lips.
I retake her lips, slowly this time, swallowing the sounds she's making. She slides her tongue against mine. I can still taste the wine she drank earlier. I kiss the side of her mouth, then her jaw, her temple, trying to commit to memory how good it feels to hear her moan my name.
‘Lucas,’ she breathes. ‘Not here, not yet.’
Pressing my forehead back to hers, I nod. ‘Okay,’ I whisper.
I’m thankful it's dark out, so no one can see the effect kissing her like this has had on me. Adjusting myself, I pull back. She lets out a giggle as I say, ‘We can wait until you are ready.’
She grabs my hands, pulling me into a hug, then presses a soft kiss to my mouth. ‘Lucas, I want,’ she stops, eyes falling shut for a moment before she exhales. ‘I want you. I really do. But there are things I still need to figure out.’
Her voice dips, almost to a whisper, ‘I wasn’t planning on getting attached again. And you…’ she looks up, meeting my eyes, ‘you weren’t supposed to stay. You were just supposed to be passing through.’
I nod, throat tight. ‘Guess I’m not great at sticking to plans.’
That earns a small, wavering smile. ‘Walk me up the stairs? It’s not safe out there. Never know who’s lurking in the dark alleyways of Wattlewood Ridge.’
‘You got it, sunshine.’ I follow her towards the steps.