20. Tyson
TWENTY
TYSON
I balance two trays of coffee in my hands as I make my way over to Josie’s house.
It’s almost ten in the morning, and I’m still a little nervous about whether it’s too early to be dropping by.
I told her I was coming, but I have no idea how late she was up and if she was too stunned by me leaving last night to shut me down about having breakfast together this morning.
I come to a stop on her front porch. As I stand here with my hands full of a variety of coffees, I realize that it might be a good time to get her phone number.
This morning would’ve been a lot easier if I could’ve texted her asking about her coffee order and setting up a time for breakfast. But on the flip side, with me showing up on her doorstep, it’ll be a lot harder for her to say no to breakfast, whereas she might’ve let me down easy over texts and told me she changed her mind about it.
I take a deep breath, my mind flashing to last night.
I desperately wanted to kiss her. And I almost did.
Our lips were not even an inch apart. It was obvious she would’ve let me too, which only made me want her more.
I’ve never craved the taste of someone I’ve never even kissed the way I crave her, but there is something to be said for anticipation.
Last night, she made it obvious that she didn’t share a real connection with the last man she was with.
I now have this intense desire to show her what a real connection feels like, and to do that, I want to take my time.
I shuffle the drink carriers around in my hands just enough to knock on her door. My knuckles hit the wood three times before I’m fixing my grip on the coffee tray once again. I try to ignore the way my pulse spikes and my stomach drops with nerves.
She didn’t mind when I showed up last night with cake. I told her I wanted to deliver food, so surely she won’t mind when I show up in the morning with coffee. Hopefully, she was up late working. Hopefully, she felt inspired.
The door swings open, and I’m immediately met with Josie’s wide smile. “I was wondering if I imagined you telling me we were going to have breakfast together.”
I open my mouth to respond, but I’m too swept up in how incredibly beautiful she is this morning to form words. She wears a pale yellow sundress. The hemline hits the tops of her thighs, reminding me that last night, my fingers were pressed against the same spot.
I force my gaze away from her thighs and look up, finding that the dress ties around her neck with thin yellow strings.
Josie watches me with a soft smile. She’s pulled her hair back with a simple white headband, and I’ve truly never seen such a beautiful woman.
“Tyson…” Josie says my name slowly, the smile on her lips slipping as she tilts her head to the side.
I straighten my spine. “I brought coffee,” I announce. I grimace, trying not to focus on how I should’ve greeted her or responded to her statement. Instead, I word-vomited the first thing that came to mind because I was too busy reeling from her beauty.
Josie laughs. “I see that. Are you expecting more than just us? That’s a lot of coffee.”
I look at the trays in my hands. I see where she might question my reasoning for showing up with eight coffees. “I didn’t know what kind of coffee you liked, so I ordered all their specials.”
Josie presses a hand to her chest as she stares at me with her big, beautiful hazel eyes. “You did what?”
“I didn’t have your number to ask you what kind of coffee you liked, and I was too nervous to make a guess, so instead, I asked the barista to make one of each signature drink.”
“What if I just like my coffee black?”
My neck feels hot as I process her words. “Do you really just drink your coffee black?”
She smiles and opens the door even wider. “Nope. I love a sugary coffee. Come inside and tell me my options.”
I let out a sigh of relief as I follow her inside.
The moment I step through the door, Mouse is greeting me by weaving in and out of my legs as I follow Josie into the kitchen.
He lets out meows of protest for every step I take instead of kneeling down to pet him, but I focus on getting the coffees inside safely without spilling them before turning my attention to her cat.
Josie carefully takes one of the trays from me as we come to a stop next to her counter. I set the other tray down and look at the cups and the names written on the sides of each, trying to remember what each one had in it.
I stare for a few moments. I know the barista told me exactly what each coffee was, but now that I’m in Josie’s presence, I’ve completely blanked on what they are.
I scratch the back of my neck as my gaze meets Josie. “Can I be completely honest?” I ask, my voice low.
Her blonde eyebrows draw together on her forehead. “About coffee?” she asks cautiously.
I let out a nervous laugh as I run a hand over my mouth. “Kind of. I made the barista repeat to me what each coffee was made up of, and the name of it, so I could relay them back to you, but then I saw you in this dress, and I suddenly can’t remember a damn thing.”
Josie rubs her lips together as her fingers smooth over the fabric. “So you like the dress?”
“I love the dress.”
She looks down at it for a moment before training her eyes on me once again. “Good. Which one of these coffees is yours?”
I shrug as I turn my attention to the options. I was so focused on trying to figure out what she might like that I hadn’t even thought about choosing what I wanted. “I’m not picky. You pick your favorite, and then I’ll have one of the seven other choices.”
“I can’t believe you brought over eight coffees. I’m going to have to put that in a book.”
I scrape my hand through my hair as I meet her gaze. “Yeah?” I ask, not bothering to hide the hopefulness of my tone. “Does that mean you were able to get some writing done last night?”
She bites her lip and nods before she works on opening a straw. “Yes. And I wrote this morning too.”
Pride blooms in my chest. There’s a calmness to her demeanor this morning that seems new. Her shoulders don’t seem as tense as they have been, and she looks at me with what can only be described as a twinkle that wasn’t there before. “Does that mean you’re feeling inspired?”
She pops the straw in the coffee closest to her. “You could say that,” she answers nonchalantly before lifting the coffee to her lips and taking a sip. “Oh, that one’s good,” she mutters, before going in for another sip.
All I do is stare at her, waiting for her to elaborate on how much writing she got done.
Josie doesn’t seem to notice. She takes a sip from four more of the coffees before I can’t resist the urge to ask any longer.
“So, how was writing?” I ask, trying to keep my tone completely casual.
Her eyes meet mine as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “It went well,” she offers.
I lean forward, my eyes scanning her face for any indication of what she means by it went well. Did I inspire her? Did she think of me while writing?
“I’m waiting for you to tell me more,” I rasp.
“This one’s my favorite,” Josie declares, lifting the cup from the tray and setting it on the counter.
She pulls her focus from the drink and shifts it to me.
Her smile slowly builds as she looks at me.
“Thank you for the coffee. I really needed it this morning. And I love that you went to so much effort to find one I liked.”
I’m still dying to know more about how her writing went, but instead of pushing it again, I drop it for now.
I return her smile as I take another step closer to her, now fully encroaching on her personal space.
She doesn’t seem to mind. The upturn of her full, perfect lips doesn’t falter at all with the proximity of our bodies.
“Of course. Now, let me see which one is your favorite so I can remember that for later.”
She grabs the coffee and holds it up between us, showing off the side where the barista wrote the name of the drink.
“The Hamptons Honey Latte,” she says. “It’s delicious.
” She takes a small step toward me, bringing our bodies even closer.
Her arm brushes against the front of my shirt as she lifts the cup between us and nudges the straw toward me. “You have to try it.”
I look down at the cup she’s holding. There’s a lip gloss mark on the straw where her lips were a second ago. My gaze drifts from the straw and lands on her mouth before I can think better of it.
I lean forward and take a sip, keeping my eyes on hers the entire time. She doesn’t look away as I try her drink. If anything, her smile grows a little, like she’s caught me focusing on her mouth instead of the drink and doesn’t mind.
The coffee’s okay. It’s a little sugary for my taste, but I don’t say that out loud. I don’t want to do anything to stop the moment between us. There’s a thickness to the air as I finish swallowing, my gaze locked on hers the entire time.
“Good, isn’t it?” Josie asks, her eyes moving to my mouth for just a second before meeting my gaze again.
I nod, even though the sweetness isn’t what I’m paying attention to. All I can think about is how much better it might be if I leaned in and tasted the coffee straight from her lips instead.
“So good,” I murmur, no longer thinking about the coffee. All I can think about is wondering what exactly she’ll taste like. I also can’t rid my brain of the mental picture of the way her lips wrapped around the straw just moments ago, and how I’m now imagining them somewhere else as well.
It’s early in the morning, and something about her already has my mind going to dangerous places.
I close my eyes for a minute, trying to force myself not to get hard over watching her drink a coffee.
I’m trying to take things slow with her.
It’s the entire reason I didn’t kiss her last night when she was practically begging for it.
The last thing I need is for her to notice just how turned on I am by something as simple as sharing a coffee.
Josie brings the cup closer to her and takes another sip. She smiles around the straw before nodding.
“Yeah,” she says, a soft laugh escaping her. “This is dangerous. This might be the best coffee I’ve ever had.”
I smile as I try to force my mind to abandon the mental picture of her lips wrapped around the straw. I also try to get rid of the far more distracting thought of what her lips might look like wrapped around me.
“I’m really glad you like it, Josie,” I tell her, my voice a little lower than usual due to the attraction coursing through my veins. “I’ll make sure there are plenty more of those coffees in your future while you’re finishing your book.”
Her mouth curves a little at that, like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me, but she doesn’t say anything out loud. She sets the coffee down on the counter, her arm brushing mine again in the process. The touch is light, but I still feel it everywhere.
She doesn’t back away.
Neither do I.
She tilts her head up as she looks at me through her long, thick eyelashes. That’s when I notice that she’s wearing makeup today.
I noticed the lip gloss earlier, but now I see the soft shimmer on her eyelids, the way her lashes are darker and fuller than usual. It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there.
My lips twitch as the realization settles in that she got ready for her day with me.
A warmth spreads through my chest at the thought.
“So what’s the plan for breakfast?” she asks, changing the subject and pulling me from my thoughts. “I’m starving.”