Chapter 3 #3
Me: I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings by declining the date.
I don’t know if you know this, but I’m opening a new store in town.
It’s a New Age store, and I’ve practically been doing all the work myself.
My parents are older and can only help but so much.
So I’m behind on a good amount of what needs to be done, and my Grand Opening is Samhain (your Halloween).
I just wanted to take advantage of the extra pair of hands for a few hours since you were agreeable.
I waited patiently for his answer as I continued to check on my hives, knowing it would take him a minute.
Quinten: 1 is fine. Let me know if you need me to bring any supplies so we’re not wasting time going to the hardware store.
Even though I knew he wouldn’t get my reply for a while, I still sent it to assure him that I had all the supplies we would need.
Then my parents and I packed the kids up and headed out for the day.
I’d missed JJ something fierce over the past month.
My self-imposed isolation had been both a punishment for overstepping when it came to Dosia and Pumpkin’s relationship as well as wanting to give them space to find themselves.
But it also took me away from JJ, and the newest member of our family, SJ.
He might be less than a year old, but I still wanted him to know me like JJ did.
Having Oolong helped. I was not above extorting my dragon to get laughs and smiles out of the kids.
I tried really hard not to be so nervous. This was Quinten. Beyond what I knew our future held for us, this was not a date. It would never be a date. He was here to work and I was here to get my store ready. It was not a date.
But that didn’t stop me from putting on a pair of jeans I knew made my ass look fantastic and an older shirt I had cut the neckline out of so it drooped to one side. I tried to look casual while also letting him know I was very much a grown woman.
Oolong and I had already spent most of the day in the store. After playing hooky the day before with SJ, JJ, and my parents, I was even further behind than I wanted to be.
The biggest hold up was building the shelves.
I’d already painted the walls, but the shelves had been delayed in shipping and had arrived almost two weeks late.
Contrary to popular belief, I was not omniscient.
I did not know everything about everyone.
Even I could order a half dozen sets of shelves and not know that they would be delayed until after they’d been shipped and it was too late to cancel the order.
Around noon, I sent one last message to Quinten. I could see that he’d read my final message the day before, but he did not reply. That was fine. It hadn’t needed a reply.
Me: If it helps, bring her.
I saw the message was read immediately, and I felt a little wicked for showing off.
I’d already watched his Motivation Monday video.
As usual, it was clips of his exercise routine.
From his warmup to his workout to his cooldown to his post-exercise ritual of spraying his water bottle over his head.
He really should have named it Masturbating Monday, because damn.
Quinten: I’m not even going to ask how you knew. Are you sure?
Me: Positive.
I didn’t point out that I had already purchased a litter box, food and water dish, and a scratching post for when Cuppa Joe was in my shop.
Me: Door’s open whenever you get here. It’s not a hard 1pm.
I started to put my phone away when it buzzed unexpectedly. Odd, I hadn’t anticipated him replying to that beyond maybe a thumb’s up emoji.
Quinten: Are you there alone?
Frowning at the question, I replied honestly.
Me: Yes.
Quinten: Do not leave your door unlocked. It is not safe. I will knock when I get there.
Maybe it wasn’t a good thing that the AED machine I had purchased for my store was still in the shipping box in the back. The way my heart stammered at his protective, assertive, and domineering message made me wonder briefly if I was having a heart attack.
Me: Do you really think I wouldn’t see someone coming?
Quinten: You’re not a god. I don’t know what it is you can or cannot do and I don’t care. Lock your damn door. I’ll be there in about forty minutes.
My entire body shuddered, and I swore my ovaries just hung an Open for Business sign outside my vagina. This was going to be the longest forty minutes of my life, followed by the longest four hours of my life.
I wasn’t sure I was going to survive.
Like me, Quinten was dressed in jeans and an older-looking shirt.
He wasn’t wearing a jacket. Instead, he had on a long-sleeve shirt under his cut and a backpack slung over his shoulder.
As his video had instructed on Saturday, I was a good girl and locked my front door.
But the sound of his motorcycle gave away his arrival before my gift had.
Gods, he was tall. And all those muscles. Unfortunately, I spent so much of my time admiring and pleasuring myself to his videos that the sight of his body so close to me now made me lust drunk. It took me far too long to fiddle with the lock to get it turned so I could open the door for him.
My voice came out breathless as I greeted him. “Hi.”
He put his arm on the doorframe, towering over me and giving me a peek of the hard muscle between his belt and the bottom of his shirt. “Hi.”
My heart wouldn’t stop racing. This was so a bad idea. I hadn’t wanted my parents here to chaperone, but now that Quinten was here, that was starting to feel like a poor decision on my part. Without them here, I wasn’t sure I could control myself.
His dark eyes stared down at mine, making me think of coffee beans and snowy evenings by the fireplace. He had a unique aroma about him, a mixture of sweet, earthy tones, masculine musk, and motor oil. I wanted to drown in it, rub my face all over his chest like a cat and coat myself in his scent.
Quinten raised a dark eyebrow. “Are you planning on letting me in?”
I jumped. Flushing, I mentally kicked myself for just standing there, staring up at him. I was not playing this cool. Fuck. “Shit, sorry.” I quickly backed away so he could enter.
As he stepped inside, taking in the mess that was my store, I couldn’t help but wonder his thoughts. Closing the door, I flipped the lock again.
I scrambled forward towards my counter. The large area was perfect for my store because it wasn’t set up with separate rooms. Right now, both sides of my walls were bare because my shelves were still in pieces and the center of my store was covered in closed and open boxes.
Behind my counter, I wanted to put my honey and some local baked goods.
I’d already talked to Mabel at the bakery about supplying some.
The other shelves would be filled with books, trinkets, and novelties, like my beeswax candles and essential oils. Comfy seating areas would fill the middle of the room and I would have my tarot section towards the back.
The door to my storage room was also behind my counter. I currently was using Cuppa Joe’s litter box to prop it open.
I scooped Oolong off my counter top next to the register I still hadn’t set up. At least I finally got my Wi-Fi working last week.
“I know it’s a mess,” I hastily said, a note of apology in my voice. I cuddled my dragon to my chest. “The biggest delay is getting my shelves built and secured to the walls. Once that’s done, the rest should fall into place.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s why I’m here.
” Quinten gently set his backpack down. He barely moved the zipper before a black cat head popped up through the open hole.
She yowled a protest for being confined so much.
“I’m not even going to ask how you knew she was giving me a hard time about being left behind,” he said as he lifted his cat out of the backpack.
“But thank you for letting me bring her. This is Cuppa Joe.”
I smiled and lifted my dragon off my chest to show him. “And this is Oolong.”
“Oolong?” he asked. He settled Joe on his shoulder, and with the ease she went, I knew this was a normal routine for them. She was entirely black but for the white socks on her feet.
“You’re really going to question my dragon’s name when your cat is ‘Cuppa Joe’?”
“Touché,” he conceded. “Favorite tea?”
I nodded. I pointed to the small rolling cart I had set up earlier that morning. “I don’t drink coffee, but I set that up for you.”
Quinten wandered over, a look of curiosity on his face. He picked up one of the pods. “These are all Starbucks blends.”
Blushing, I nodded again, but said nothing.
“Uh, thanks,” he said awkwardly before putting the pod back. He did not, however, make himself a cup of coffee as I was hoping he would. Turning, he paused. He was standing to the left of the counter with the cart next to the open door that led to my storage room. “Is that a litter box?”
“Yes.”
His eyebrows drew down slightly. “Do bearded dragons use litter boxes?”
“Some can,” I answered. For the most part, they didn’t because litter boxes were too big for them. Oolong was trained to do a little dance for me. I would put out a tissue, he would do his business, and then I’d toss the tissue. Done and done.
Quinten faced me fully. “Does Oolong?”
I nervously pet my dragon’s back as I said shyly, “No. I bought that for Joe.”
A weird silence fell. I felt itchy, not sure how to break it.
Quinten came to stand on the other side of the counter from me. “You bought my cat a litter box?”
“Yes and no.” I made a face. This was not turning out how I’d hoped.
So much for us being fast friends and hitting it off right away.
“I’ve had the litter box for a while. I didn’t know why I had it, only that I would need it one day.
And since Cuppa Joe is the only cat I expect to be coming in here, it’s hers now. ”
He just stared at me. There was a slight squint to his eyes, like he was trying to solve a problem.
Gods, what if I was the problem? What if he just walked out of here and that was it?
No help today, no friendship, no date, no future.
What if he took one look at me, saw how fucking weird I was, and walked out?
It was a possibility I had never considered.
I was far from normal. I was nowhere close to being normal, and I never would be.
I would always be me. Socially awkward, creepily accurate, and mysteriously prophetic.
More like mysteriously pathetic. I’d spent so much of my adult life believing that Quinten would fall in love with me, because I saw our future together, and yet it had never even occurred to me that he might not like me.
What if this was my curse, my payment? What if I was doomed to love a man who could never love me back?
“Okay, I’m just going to ask because I’ve never been one to beat around the bush. But are the rumors about you true? I mean, you’re building a New Age store, so I have to assume, but still. Are you a witch?”
My back stiffened and an old defensiveness rose up. Normally I didn’t care when people called me a witch. I called me a witch. I played it up too, and had certainly had my fun with it, but it was also my religion. I wasn’t some phony or charlatan trying to swindle people out of their money.
“I’m Wiccan,” I clarified sternly. I felt the crystals on my rings start to hum at my rising anger.
Quinten didn’t seem defensive or disgusted by my proclamation. “Honestly, I don’t know what that means or how that differs from being a witch. I just don’t want to be offensive by accidentally saying something.”
I blinked, immediately deflating at his honest curiosity. “No, I’m sorry. I’m used to people making fun of me, or worse, demanding the winning lottery numbers.”
“Do you know the winning lottery numbers?”
My eyes narrowed slightly. “No. Even if I did, I wouldn’t say it or use it, because that would be using my powers for personal gain.”
He made a gesture around the store. “And this isn’t?” Again, he wasn’t saying it mockingly. But like a student in a classroom eager to learn.
I put Oolong down on the counter. “Of course not. This is going to be hard work. I’m going to have to fight every day to keep my doors open, but it’ll be worth it.
This is going to be a safe place for everyone, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, or religion.
Teens are going to be able to hang out here after school, and adults are going to be able to come here to decompress after a long stressful day.
I want a place that’s spiritual in its community value more than monetary value. ”
Quinten’s dark eyes seemed to lighten at my words. “Cool.” He picked up Joe and placed her on the counter next to Oolong. He pointed a finger in her face as he ordered sternly, “Don’t eat the dragon.” Then he started rolling up his sleeves. “Let’s get started.”