15. Will
CHAPTER 15
Will
T he week has gone by faster than most. I’m trying to figure out the state of the store, but Grandpa keeps such a tight lip on everything.
“Grandpa, I’m going to The Shed. You sure you’re good to close tonight?” I ask for the fifth time.
“Go, go, I’ll be fine. And if I need you, I’ll call you, okay?” He stares at me, and when I don’t respond he mutters, “Promise.”
It’s Valentine’s Day, and I would have loved to see Millie already, but I know this is one of the busiest days of the year for a flower shop. Even with all the bundles she put together on Monday, she was busy every day this week. We texted about some event logistics and plan to go around to businesses next week, but I was never able to get her alone. I did stop by to fix the squeak in her door, but she yelled at me to go away when I started to kiss her.
I can tell she’s getting confused about what we are to each other.
She hasn’t said anything or asked if I’ve changed my mind about leaving since today marks one week since I’ve been in town.
And it’s because of that that I know something is wrong. It’s not like her to go with the flow without a plan.
She’s the most organized person I know, has a list for everything with deadlines, and has a calendar that’s always pre-scheduled. So, after she pushed me away earlier this week, I decided to resort to texting her as my form of communication. And sending her memes I stumbled upon, to make sure she didn’t go a day without laughing.
After I check on Grandpa one last time, I drive to the venue.
I pull into the gravel drive ten minutes later and park next to Millie’s car at the end of the row.
I’m not surprised to find it busy. The space looks different than on an event night. There’s one bar open to the left, the music to the right, and a gigantic dance floor in the center of the room. There’s an upstairs balcony that wraps around the entire building, but it’s always dark, so there’s never a reason to go up there.
What I am surprised by is seeing Jeremy in nothing but a pair of denim jeans and boots. He’s lost his shirt and replaced it with a sash that says “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”
“What are you wearing?” I ask as I approach him.
My eyes rake the room. I spot Millie on the other side dancing with Florence, Ava, and Riley. She’s wearing a tight dress, the color of a deep blue ocean. Fuck, I’m going to get lost simply staring at her.
Jeremy punches my arm. “You know, I’m being fairly cool about this whole you and my sister thing, but you did ask me a question.”
He’s being modest. He loves that Millie is with me, as that means he won the town bet and is therefore a little richer than he was a week ago.
“It was rhetorical, and she’s my girlfriend. I’m going to stare,” I deadpan.
Jeremy fakes a gag. “Stop, not on my birthday.”
I laugh. “Come on, let me buy you a drink, birthday boy. Let’s cheers to being twenty-nine.”
At the bar, I order us both something from a list of special drinks Jeremy has crafted. He always prefers to come to this bar since he feels like he can be “more free” than he can at the one he owns on the main strip. Not sure how that logic works, but he knows how to craft a good cocktail.
A sweet voice comes from my left. “Four shots of tequila, please.”
The heat of Millie’s body next to mine is enough to short-circuit my brain into thinking about nothing but tearing that damn dress off. I check her out, taking my time looking at where the hem of her dress hits. Her ass is practically hanging out, and that would make me jealous, knowing others will be staring her way, but she’s hot as fuck when she’s confident like this.
And even though we are in a fake relationship, she’s still mine.
“ Hi, love,” I say in her ear as I graze a hand down her back and cup her butt.
“Oh, hi, it’s about time you got here.” Millie turns toward me and places a hand on my chest. Her fingers dance along the buttons on my shirt, the sensation turning me on. “I had a thought since we are dating and will have many watchful eyes on us tonight.”
“You have a thought?”
A smirk forms slowly. “What if we let tonight be whatever it needs to be? No rules.”
“No rules?”
Millie plants a hand on her hip and tries her best to pout. “Will. Why are you making this complicated? I trust you. I’ll tell you if you cross a line, remember?”
I chuckle, wrap a hand around her wrist, and lean closer to ensure she’s the only one that hears me.
“Are you looking for trouble tonight, Rose?”
“Are you going to be able to give me what I want?”
Fuck . Her hand trails down my chest and rests on my pants, right on my cock. To anyone else, we’d look like we were simply close and talking about something. They wouldn’t know that her little fingers are wrapped around my length, teasing me.
Two can play at this game. This is a time I’m thankful for the low lights in the venue. I wrap my hand around her ponytail, which hangs right around the middle of her back and I tug. She grips my cock, shocked from the gesture.
Starting at the base of her neck, I lick a line. She shudders under my touch. I let my face hover next to hers and whisper, “I plan to tear this dress off later and give you exactly what you want, plus interest.”
I let her hair go and grab her jaw to bring her lips to mine, consuming her in a passionate kiss. Her fingers unwrap from me and find their way to the back of my neck, pulling me closer to her. If I cared about PDA before, now is not the time to worry about it. I’m in the middle of making out with the girl of my dreams and no one is going to stop this.
“You can make out with your man later, come dance with me while you still can.” Florence says from my left. Of course I’d assume no one would stop us right before we get interrupted. Florence grabs Millie’s arm and pulls.
“I’ll make it up to you later,” Millie whispers in my ear and plants a kiss on my cheek before she lets Florence drag her to the dance floor.
I have to remind myself that this isn’t real until I decide what’s next for me. Again. I already recognize I’m in trouble with feeling too much for her, but it’s always been this way. I don’t know if it makes a difference or not if I withhold myself from her.
We both know we can’t be together at the end of the day. Her life is here, and mine is…not sure at the moment. The timing is never right with us. Or at least it wasn’t? Tonight isn’t the night to dwell on these thoughts, not when I’m on the verge of professing my love to her. Damn , I have it bad.
With a sigh, I turn back to the bar and drink one of the shots Millie ordered but forgot to take with her. I’m sure this is going on her dad’s tab for Jeremy’s party, which is funny because he’s the mayor, but he’s a fun dad.
Grandpa was a great father figure, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the same. Especially when I know my dad is out there. The last time I heard from him was over a decade ago. He’d entered his third marriage. He invited me to the wedding with a day's notice and I told him I wish him the best, but to never reach out again. Who knows how many other families he’s had and ruined.
“You two are awfully cozy,” Grant says as he appears next to me, handing me a beer.
Grant Owens is the third to our trio of best friends. He moved to Willow Pines when we were in high school, and the three of us became inseparable. We bonded over pizza rolls and rock music. He works with Florence, Ava, and Riley over at Travel with Willow and even though that kept him busy, he would travel to visit me every few months if I wasn’t able to make it back here. This is the first time I’m seeing him since I’ve been in town.
“She’s my girlfriend, Grant, what do you expect?” I ask.
He narrows his eyebrow. “I don’t believe it,” he says and takes a gulp of his drink.
“Why?” We have been making it believable, right? We were making out in public.
“She wouldn’t date you.”
I’m mid-sip when he says that, and it’s so much of a shock that the liquid goes down the wrong tube. He slaps me on the back a few times to try to help, even though it makes it worse.
“She would too date me,” I say. “She is dating me, Grant.”
“I love you man, but you mess with her, and the entire town will be after you. This isn’t college anymore.”
On a scale of one to ten, how acceptable is it to punch one of your best friends square in the jaw? Because I’m feeling a little angsty.
“Sorry you missed your shot, Granty.” Jeremy slides between us and throws his arms around our shoulders. He’s going to regret all of this tomorrow.
“I don’t want your sister, man. I have enough to worry about with this film studio coming out here this fall.” Grant groans, slumping further in his chair.
“Forgot about that.” Jeremy slips his arms off us, sticking his hands in his pockets. He still looks ridiculous in the damn sash. He’s not even Irish.
“What’s going on?” I ask Grant.
“Oh, there’s this film studio in California that needs a small town to film a new movie. They’re sending their assistant director to take care of the project. She’ll be in town for six weeks.”
“It’s possible she’ll be single and looking to mingle ,” I suggest.
“That would require me to be open to dating, and I don’t know if I can do that. Katy stays with me on the weekends and when Lilah can’t watch her. She’s my only priority and has to stay that way. You still need to meet her.”
I mumble an agreement and take another sip of my drink because I’m not sure how to respond to that. It’s been so long that I’ve missed the birth of my best friend's child and promptly forgot about it. She’s almost a year old by now.
For the next little while, I lean against the bar and catch up with them while keeping my eye on Millie. She’s been non-stop dancing with the girls and every time she catches my gaze, she winks and throws her head back in a laugh. She’s the cutest fucking thing in the world. We may be faking our relationship, but I’m not faking my feelings for her.