Chapter 5
Blaze
It took everything in me to turn her down last night, and even more of my willpower not to show myself to her on her walk this morning.
I followed her. Of course, I followed.
How could I not?
She’s taken over my every thought. I would have appeared on her doorstep at sunrise to offer to walk with her, yet I didn’t want to scare her. Being familiar with her morning routine might be a bit much for only having known her a couple of days.
Except I want her to know how much she’s already consumed me.
This morning’s walk felt different. She didn’t walk as if it was a chore. The looks out at the ocean didn’t seem so lonely. And when she reached the jetty and climbed onto the rocks, she didn’t scream.
She’d closed her eyes and inhaled a deep, heavy breath. One that expanded her entire chest and stomach. She’d held it for a few seconds and blown it out of her mouth after, the air visible, and her eyes had held that same glisten in them when she eventually looked out at the horizon.
I want to know what she’s thinking about when she goes out there.
I worked on the statues all morning, sanding out the tiny details after removing the paint overnight. So many small crevices. I want them to be perfect when I take them back to her, but I know it’ll take a while.
And time doing that means less time with her.
With the festival just a few days away, traffic is picking up. I chose to walk into town today instead of fighting with the cars. It’s already later than I want it to be. I wish I’d been able to get to her before the bar opened, but it wasn’t in the cards today.
So I’m really hoping I haven’t missed her break.
The bar is humming steadily when I get there, coffee and croissant in hand for an afternoon pick-me-up. I don’t enter through the street-side door, and instead go around back to the beach entrance like I did yesterday.
And when I see her, I have to take a minute.
Gods, she’s stunning.
She’s wearing a Santa hat today. The hair around her face is freshly curled.
The low-cut top she’s wearing hugs her soft body and shows off her pillowed breasts.
I’m already trying to think of ways to get her from behind the bar so I can see what else she’s wearing, even if the view from above is enticing enough.
My stomach drops when she eventually glances across the room in my direction.
And that smile… Fuck, that smile. I thought about those eyes and that wicked grin after telling her goodnight.
I thought about it as I laid in my bed and stroked myself, imagining her thighs wrapped around my face, her lips on my length, her tits around my cock, and holding her in my arms after.
I want her whimpering my name and telling me her entire childhood after.
“Nick!”
Hearing the name I chose for the season makes my feet move.
I see Jasmine heading toward me from the corner of my eye, though I don’t lose my stare with Juniper.
She swallows and smirks at me as she pours a couple of drinks, her gaze shifting in my direction every time her lashes lift.
I swear there’s a twinge of pink on her cheeks, but I can’t be sure if that’s her blushing or if it’s from the heater.
“Back so soon?” Jasmine asks. “And with presents.”
I tear my eyes from Juniper. “How’s it going today, Jasmine?” I ask, stepping inside.
“Holiday regulars are making their way in,” she says as she peers around the establishment. “How’s the project coming along?”
“Should be done Thursday.”
“Just in time.” She glances at Juniper, who’s back to assessing me, and I revel in that stare. “You know, there’s a small table I like to keep open in the corner up front if you’d like it. That way you don’t have to stare from across the room or take up a seat at my bar.”
I chuckle under my breath. “Deal.”
There aren’t that many tables in Hudson’s—ten, in fact, with a few booths on the sides and five picnic tables outside. It’s small. No servers. From what I’ve observed, it’s just the two bartenders and two alternating cooks, with Danielle and Jasmine stepping in wherever they’re needed at the time.
Jasmine leads me through the bar, stopping at a few tables to make sure they have what they need and taking requests from a couple.
Juniper smirks at me as I near, though she never loses sight of her customers or spills a single drink.
She’s multi-tasking like the pro she is, and looking sexy as fuck doing it.
When we reach the table, Jasmine pushes her laptop and a few notebooks to the side so they’re out of the way. I set the coffee and pastry bag down, slumping off my coat to sling over the back of the chair.
“I would bring you a drink, but I’m sure that’ll be covered. Let me know if you need anything,” Jasmine says.
“Thanks, Jasmine,” I say as she leaves me to myself.
I settle into the seat and take my phone out to see if there’s any word from my brother since leaving my house.
Nothing yet.
I’m half-expecting him to show up behind me at any moment. He’s here… somewhere.
Wherever he is, I’m not going to let him detour me from my fixation on Juniper.
I glance her way again and nearly chuckle. She has her hip leaned against the ice cooler and shaking a drink as she chats with the two young women who have just sat down.
“Doll, I can get you some eggnog out of the carton or a BJ shot without the whip, but that’s it,” she’s telling one of them.
“You can’t make a martini either?”
Juniper turns to Marge. “Marge, we have any vermouth?”
“Honey, I haven’t seen that since July,” Marge answers.
“Then no,” Juniper says to the women. “It’s a small bar, ladies.
The holiday weekend order comes in tomorrow.
We might have vermouth then, but it depends on what the numbers looked like last year, and honestly, I don’t remember making many martinis last Christmas.
We can’t keep shit that’s going to go bad around here.
Let’s keep it simple. I can do basics like gin or vodka tonics, sours, some fruity drinks, or even a mule or old-fashioned.
What about something along those lines?”
“7&7?” one of them asks.
“Deal. For you?” Juniper asks the other.
“Vodka tonic,” she says with a sigh.
Juniper sets the shaker down and grabs their two drinks in a flash.
She does it so automatically, that she barely looks at the labels or button on the drink line.
Once they’re served, she glances at me, holds up a finger, and picks back up the cocktail shaker again.
She strains the drink into two short, ice-filled glasses, then takes a ginger beer from the fridge to pour on top.
“Hey, Dani, can you cover me a minute?” she asks Danielle, who’s coming out of the kitchen.
Danielle smiles my way and nods. “I got you.”
“Thanks.” Picking the glasses up, Juniper makes her way from behind the bar to me.
I guess I didn’t have to come up with a plan to get her out in the open.
My chest falls at the sight of what she’s wearing. Fucking gods. She’s wearing tights and a black leather miniskirt. I swallow at the way it’s hugging her stomach, the way it hikes in the back on her ass.
She sets the drinks onto the table in front of me, and I have to force my eyes to her face. The way she’s standing is such a perfect view. I could reach out and pull her against me, bury my face between her tits and…
I clear my throat as she takes the seat across from me.
“Hi,” she says, and that fucking smirk on her lips is going to be my downfall.
“Hi,” I reply.
Her head tilts, and she sighs so heavily that it reminds me of the beach this morning. “Hi.”
I huff amusedly at the apparent relief in her tone. “Sorry I didn’t get here before your shift.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t sure you’d come by today,” she says.
I can’t stay away from you.
“I told you I would,” I remind her.
She smiles nervously as her eyes dart to the bag and coffee on the table. “You know, we have a cook. You don’t have to bring your own food in. Unless you’re on a special diet. Are you on a special diet?”
I shake my head. “It’s yours.”
Juniper’s brows narrow at the bag. “What did you bring?” she asks, opening it. “I didn’t…” She pulls the croissant from inside and squints my way. “Did I tell you my bakery order last night?”
I don’t answer, and she grabs the coffee up, giving it a sniff. “Toffee. How did you... This is weird. Have you been stalking me?”
Yes.
“Danielle,” I answer.
“Oh, that makes so much sense. She apparently forgot to order me a cheesesteak for break. Seems like she thought I’d have something to eat already.” Juniper gives Danielle a pursed-lip look over her shoulder, and Danielle grins my way.
I nod in return as if it was all part of the plan.
“What time is break?” I ask Juniper.
She glances at the time on the clock behind her. “Now, actually. As long as we don’t get slammed—”
“Hey, Juni, table seven asked for five more shots,” Jasmine says as she comes by.
“—in the time it apparently takes me to pour these five shots,” Juniper finishes.
“I can shut the doors. Tell everyone to come back later.”
“Jasmine wouldn’t like that.”
I lean toward her. “I don’t care.”
Juniper snickers and brings the drink she made to her lips. “Who said you were invited on my break?”
“No? That sucks.” I push my chair back and pretend like I’m getting ready to leave. “Okay. I can take a hint—”
“Nick.”
I can’t help grinning crookedly when she gives me a doubtful look, and she shakes her head.
“I usually take break in the back, but there’s a few tables in the alley. And a heater. Let me get their drinks, and you can come with me back there. Drink that before it gets warm,” she says, standing.
I bring the drink to my lips and sip what tastes like a cranberry orange whiskey.
Damn, that’s good.
Juniper makes the shots quickly, filling them within a couple centimeters from the rim. She barely flinches when a minuscule bit splashes on her fingers as she gathers them together and lifts them up to take to the table.
I’m not the only person watching her walk around the bar—a man sitting a few stools away is staring as intently as I am.
He nudges his friend and together, the pair twist around to watch Juniper bend over to place the shots on the table, press her hands to her hips, and begin chatting with the table for a beat.
The onlookers are snickering, practically salivating at her figure in this skirt.
I’m going to need them to keep their eyes to themselves before I gouge them out entirely.
Juniper gets back behind the bar, takes her apron off, and touches Marge on the shoulder to tell her she’ll be back in a few. Her gaze locks on mine as she starts toward the kitchen door.
With one nod from her, I’m following like a puppy.
Pack growls at me when I walk by her.
I should bring her a treat next time.
I know she’s smelling my magic.
The kitchen heat hits me when we step through the door. The cook looks between us and grins.
“Got an extra fry here, Juni,” he says. “Unless you’re swallowing something else on break.”
“Oh, hell yes.” She grabs the basket, ignoring his comment. “Do you like cheese fries?” she asks me.
“Who doesn’t like cheese fries?” I ask.
“My aunt, but she thinks cheese is the enemy to everything,” Juniper replies.
She turns on her heel, says a quick, “Thanks, Chester!” to the cook, and proceeds to show me to the back door.
Chester gives me an upward nod as I pass by him, and I wonder if Danielle and Jasmine have been talking about us.
Probably.