Chapter 20
twenty
The loud bang of a door slamming jerks me out of a dead sleep. The first couple days of filming have been brutal. I’ve had to revisit emotions and memories I haven’t thought about since I wrote the script months ago.
Grumbling to myself, I push out of bed and shuffle into the kitchen. A good dose of caffeine should do the trick.
But when I open the cupboard, it’s only to discover an empty coffee pod container mocking me from its place on the shelf. Great.
I check the time. It’s early, just past seven. Pretty sure Bean & Co. opens at six. If I hurry, I can grab a cup before heading to set.
Five minutes later, I’m out the door dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants I probably should’ve tossed in the laundry a couple of days ago, a wrinkled T-shirt and sunglasses. My hair’s a mess, but I don’t give a shit. No one’s going to recognize me at this hour anyway, and if they do… oh, well.
The morning air is crisp as I jog down the back stairs and around to the front of the building. My stomach growls as I duck under the coffee shop’s green awning. Guess a breakfast sandwich is in order as well.
I’m so focused on my mission I fail to notice the door swinging open until it’s too late.
The impact sends me and whoever I barged into stumbling back as I hear a startled gasp followed by a sharp “Shit!” which sounds awfully familiar.
When I regain my balance and look up, my heart stops. Of course it’s Lizzy.
But that’s not the only thing that has me frozen in shock.
Contents of what used to fill her coffee cup are now not only soaking the front of her top, but her chest, too.
For what seems like an eternity, but is probably only a few seconds, I’m distracted by the dark liquid as it trickles down between her breasts. Her full. Succulent. Firm, but soft. Tits.
Lizzy clears her throat, jerking out of my daze.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry!” I blurt, panic setting in when I see her wincing in pain. Shit. That coffee had to be hot.
Without thinking, I dash to the nearest table, grab a handful of napkins, and rush back over to her. “Here, let me—”
The next thing I know, I’m wiping and dabbing at her chest. It takes approximately three seconds for my brain to catch up with my hands before I realize exactly what I’m doing.
Essentially fondling Lizzy’s breasts. In public.
My hands freeze mid-dab as our eyes lock. Shrewd, green eyes are narrowed in on me, one eyebrow arching in question.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Heat floods my face as I snatch my hands away, soggy napkins clutched in my fists. “I—I was just trying to help. The coffee—it had to be hot and I thought—”
“Soooo, you thought feeling me up in the middle of a coffee shop was the solution?” She crosses her arms over her chest, which only serves to emphasize the lickable mounds under the wet fabric clinging to her dusky skin.
“No! I wasn’t— That’s not what I—” I stutter, gripping the back of my neck. “Jesus, Iz. I was only trying to help.”
People are openly staring now. The tips of my ears burn with mortification. This is not how I wanted our next interaction to go.
When my gaze catches on her full mouth, I swear her lips twitch before they turn down into a frown.
“Well, your help isn’t wanted,” she snaps, snatching the napkins from my hand to pat her chest. “Now I have to go back upstairs and change.”
“I’ll buy you another coffee,” I offer quickly. “And I can run upstairs and grab you a clean shirt if you want.”
She gives me a look that suggests I’ve just sprouted a second head. “You want to go into my apartment and paw through my clothes? Yeah, not happening.”
“I meant one of mine,” I clarify, then immediately regret it when her eyebrows shoot up even higher.
“You want me to wear your clothes now?” She lets out a humorless laugh. “This just keeps getting better.”
I sigh. Jeez. I’m such an idiot. “Look, I’m really sorry about the coffee. Let me at least buy you another one?”
Lizzy glances down at her soaked top, then back up at me. For a moment, I think she’s going to tell me to go to hell.
“Fine,” she says finally. “But only because I can’t function without caffeine, and you just destroyed my entire supply for the morning.”
Relief washes over me as she brushes past, the scent of jasmine and coffee brushing under my nose.
It’s intoxicating.
“What did you have?” I ask as we approach the counter.
“Large vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso,” she sighs, brushing her hands over her top.
The barista gives us a sympathetic look. “Rough morning?”
“You could say that,” Lizzy mutters.
“Can we get a large vanilla latte with an extra shot, a large black coffee and a breakfast sandwich,” I tell the barista. “And maybe a few more napkins?”
“You got it,” she smiles, ringing us up.
As we step to the side to wait, an awkward silence falls between us. Lizzy is still deliberately avoiding looking at me, her attention focused on the damage to her shirt.
“I really am sorry,” I say quietly.
She sighs, finally meeting my eyes. “It’s fine. Accidents happen.”
It’s not much, but it’s something. A tiny crack in her armor that lights a spark of hope inside.
“So,” I venture, shooting my shot at a somewhat normal conversation. “Early start today?”
“Yep.”
I nod, watching her fidget with the napkin in her hand.
An uncomfortable silence stretches between us. I rack my brain for something—anything—to keep the conversation going, but come up empty. All I can think about is how beautiful she is.
“Large vanilla latte with an extra shot, large black coffee, and a breakfast sandwich, for Rowan!”
Lizzy steps forward to grab her coffee cup. “Well. Okay, then. Thanks for the coffee.”
“Sure,” I murmur, doing everything in my power to keep my eyes off her chest and my dick from springing to attention in my sweatpants.
The wet fabric of her top, now slightly translucent and clinging to every curve, reveals the lace pattern of what looks like a blue bra underneath.
My mouth goes dry as I try to focus on anything else—the ceiling, the floor, the barista.
How fucking shiny Lizzy’s hair is.
“Guess I’ll see you around.”
My eyes flick up to hers. “Yeah. See you.”
Then she turns, full hips swaying as I stand in the middle of the coffee shop like a fucking idiot, staring at her round, perfect ass as she walks out the door.