Chapter Eleven
Darcy
“That’s it, angel. Doing so good for me,” Owen said in a low voice as he mouthed my neck, his hand wrapped around our cocks as water dripped down my skin.
Any thoughts of actually getting clean had been forgotten the second we’d climbed into the bath, which was good because there wasn’t enough room for us under the water anyway.
I groaned, my arms around Owen’s neck as I clung on for dear life.
My whole body was on fire, and I didn’t know how I was still managing to stand upright when my legs didn’t feel like mine.
A stream of gasps and whines poured from my lips as Owen jerked us, his fist a tight, hot tunnel.
His hand was slightly calloused, and they added the perfect amount of friction.
He already knew exactly how to touch me to send me flying, making me fall apart with the same precision and dedication he applied to his work. I’d never be able to watch him cooking without feeling turned on again.
But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make to feel his hands on my body.
“F-Fuck,” I said, moaning the word out as Owen rubbed his thumb over my cockhead. “That’s… fuck, Owen, feels so… ahh, I’m getting close.”
“Yeah? Gonna come for me, angel?”
I nodded, my hips jerking as I tried to thrust into his fist and groaning at the extra burst of friction.
Water ran down my spine, my hair plastered to my face as I tipped my head back into the spray.
I wanted to come, but I also wanted Owen to press me against the tiles and fuck me until I screamed.
The way he’d talked about filling me with his release until I was dripping kept echoing in my mind, and now it was all I wanted.
I didn’t know if I could ask for it, but I’d have to find a way to.
Along with everything else I needed from him.
My fingers scrabbled on the back of his neck, sinking into the back of his hair as I cried out, needy and vocal in my desperation.
“Owen,” I said with a moan, the sound bouncing off the tiles.
I wanted to tell him I was going to come, but the words weren’t there and all I could do was gasp out a moan as my body tensed and my cock jumped in his fist. Ropes of cum painted his fingers, splashing onto the tiles and making him groan with delight.
He seemed to love making me come, and I was happy to let him do it as much as he wanted.
His cock was still hard, his fist still tight around us as he chased his own release. All I could do was breathe out tiny moans as he drew my pleasure out with every stroke, begging whines falling from my lips. “P-Please, Owen. Give it to me. Want your cum.”
Owen groaned and nodded, licking my neck, his breath hot as he sucked a mark into my skin. His cock pulsed as he came, his release mixing with mine. “Fuck, angel,” he panted. “You sound so sweet when you beg.”
“Only for you,” I said, my mouth finding his as soon as he lifted his head. Our kisses were soft and deep, salt still lingering on his lips. I loved kissing Owen. It was something I couldn’t get enough off. If anything, I wanted to do it more often.
I just needed to find excuses to kiss him as much as possible.
Owen gently released our softening dicks, putting his hand on my waist as he continued to kiss me. I shifted slightly, feeling a few grains of sand under my feet, reminding me what we were meant to be doing.
This was only supposed to be a quick shower before we went out for breakfast. Although quick was relative. Yes, we had to get to work, but it couldn’t have been later than half-seven or eight and Lick It! didn’t open until half-ten. Plenty of time to get dressed and get something to eat.
I was still a bit surprised I’d managed to pluck up the courage to ask him out. After all, this wasn’t meant to be anything more than a working relationship with added sex. But I liked Owen, and we got on well, so I didn’t see why we couldn’t also be friends. Which again, we kind of were already.
I just wanted to spend a bit more time with him outside of the kitchen.
Talk to him without the pressure of getting things made or figuring out what we needed to order.
It felt like I spent half my time at Lick It!
answering questions about stock, marketing, budgets, and while I’d gotten good at responding while cooking, it often felt like I was being pulled in two directions.
It was part of the reason I was so stressed, because it seemed like everything landed on my shoulders.
And maybe it should, as the primary owner, but maybe I also needed to find a way to ask Alfie and Milo to take more off my plate.
Or at least, feel confident in doing things without double-checking with me first—more of an ask for forgiveness than permission situation.
I trusted them, and they knew what they were doing. I simply had to let go.
If I did, I’d be able to breathe a little easier and focus on the fun things, like developing delicious new ice cream flavours.
And getting to know Owen.
“We should finish getting clean,” Owen said, his lips half-pressed against mine, our breath mingling between us.
“Mmm, we should.”
“Problem is, I like kissing you too much.”
I smiled and nudged his nose with mine as my heart bounced. “I have the same problem.”
We kept kissing as the water ran over us, our hands slowly roaming across each other. There wasn’t any urgency, we were simply kissing for the sake of it. I could have done it for hours.
Eventually, Owen did pull back and insist we get out, and I agreed because I was starting to get hungry. We washed together, giggling as we tried to squeeze past each other in the bath so we could fit under the water. It definitely wasn’t big enough for two grown men, but somehow, we made it work.
We got dressed in my room, Owen pulling some clean underwear, shorts, and a T-shirt out of his backpack while I found my normal shirt and jeans.
I’d half buttoned the shirt up when I paused and looked down at myself.
The shirts always looked nice, but it wasn’t the most practical piece of clothing for the kitchen.
Maybe it was time for a change.
I unbuttoned it and slid it over my shoulders, putting it back on the hanger before reaching for a loose, white T-shirt.
“What do you think?” I asked Owen as I looked at myself in the mirror. It looked good—casual but still nice.
Classic.
Timeless.
Sexy.
None of which were necessary for my job, but fuck it, I wanted to look good.
“I like it,” he said, putting his arm around my waist and kissing the side of my head. “It suits you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Looks sexy too.” He winked at me and I laughed. But I couldn’t disagree. Because I wanted him to think that.
“Like you in your shorts,” I said, gesturing to the cargo shorts he was wearing. Owen grinned and put one hand in a pocket.
“Exactly. And now you can’t ban my shorts, or I’ll have to ban that T-shirt.”
“Just this one?”
“Maybe all of them. How many have you got?”
I thought for a second. “Probably not enough. If I want to wear them more often, I might need to get some extras.” I tended to prefer more of a capsule wardrobe for practicality, so I didn’t have a lot of T-shirts. Especially not ones I’d be happy wearing in the kitchen.
There were a few places in town I could get more, or there was a big Tesco Extra on the edge of town, which had a large clothing section I could raid for some cheap ones. If not, I could order some online.
Maybe it would finally be worth looking into getting some branded T-shirts for the shop.
Then we’d all match and it would save everyone a lot of hassle and money, since nobody would have to buy their own work clothes.
And we could probably get tank tops for Owen, and hoodies for the winter too.
We might even be able to get ridiculous shirts for Milo, although maybe this would be an opportunity to finally move him away from them.
“What’re you thinking?” Owen asked, kissing me again.
“That maybe I should ask Alfie to look into ordering us all some branded T-shirts to wear. We looked at it ages ago, before we first opened, but I couldn’t find any I liked. I think I need to stop being so picky, though. Whatever Alfie picks will be perfect.”
“Sounds good. And letting Alfie choose them is a good idea, take some weight off your shoulders.” He grinned. “Proud of you.”
“Thanks.” I smiled back at him as my stomach squirmed, my heart spinning giddily at his praise. I hadn’t felt this happy in a long time, but when I was around Owen, somehow it was easy.
“Now you’ve made that decision, do you want some breakfast?”
“Yes, definitely! What do you fancy? There’s a couple of cafes down by the front, and there’s Novel Tea if you want more tea and pastries. I’m sure there are more places too.”
“Have you been to Peace, Love & Pancakes?” Owen asked.
“My brother took me and the nibs there not long after I moved back. It’s an American diner, and they do all kind of classic American breakfasts and stuff.
They do this amazing French toast with berries, maple syrup, and whipped cream, and you can get a version of it stuffed with cream cheese.
And they do a banging breakfast burrito too. ”
“Let’s go there then,” I said, because all of those sounded delicious. Honestly, as long as it didn’t have bananas anywhere near it then I’d try anything.
“Awesome!” He reached down and slipped his hand into mine, picking up his backpack with the other and slinging it over his shoulder.
We made our way out into the street, Owen steering me in the direction of the diner, his hand gripping mine tightly.
It felt so natural, like we’d done this a thousand times before.
It was comforting too, in a way I couldn’t quite explain.
All I knew was I wanted Owen to keep holding my hand and stay by my side.
Part of me knew, deep down, it couldn’t be forever.
Owen’s contract only lasted until the end of September, and I didn’t think he’d want to stay any longer.
After all, he’d spent his whole life exploring the world, why would he want to give that up to work at an ice cream parlour on the Yorkshire coast? It wasn’t exactly glamorous. Or warm.
Heather Bay did have swimming though, and he could probably surf.
But… we’d be closed in the winter, or at least running extremely limited hours, so he would be able to travel if he wanted. I wouldn’t mind.
As long as he came back in the spring.
Because the other thing I was starting to realise was that I needed Owen here. Lick It! might have been my dream, and I might have two amazing friends to run it with, but it wasn’t the only thing I wanted in my life.
After all, what good was a dream if you didn’t have someone to share it with?
“I was thinking,” Owen said as we walked.
“About the tiramisu flavour. You know we get our milk from local dairies? Do any of them sell mascarpone? Or something similar if it’s a protected product.
Just thinking about how we can support more local producers.
Obviously, we have the coffee, which is awesome, and the milk, which is also awesome, but I wondered if we could get a triple awesome.
It might not be possible, but I thought it was worth asking. ”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But we can definitely ask. I think a triple awesome would be awesome too.”
“I knew you’d get it.” Owen grinned and my chest clenched.
Please come back to me, I thought suddenly. I didn’t care if he left, if he needed to wander and roam and see the sunrise over every beach.
As long as he came back to me at the end of it.
Because I wasn’t sure if I could do this without him.