32. Chapter Thirty-Two | Theo
Chapter thirty-two
“I’ll bring the cinnamon rolls out after they’re done. It should only be five more minutes or so. Sorry, we ran out of them so fast this morning!” Cami cheerfully explains as she wipes down the counter.
“Thanks, Cami. I can’t be mad about them selling out; they are the best in town.” I nod to her as I pick up our drinks to claim a table in the back of the coffee shop.
The last month has been a whirlwind—but of the best kind.
The morning after our first date, we met up at the annual Fourth of July parade with the rest of Forrest Falls.
While we were watching the parade with our girls and Savannah’s family, Murphy invited Gigi and me to join them for the annual barbecue at his house.
The party was filled with friends, food, and plenty of fireworks.
I barely saw Savannah as she seemed to be an unofficial host of the party, but it was a great chance to get to know her family a bit and Gigi had a blast running around with Savannah’s girls and niece.
Gigi won’t admit it, but I think she had at least two ice cream cones and two popsicles, which also would explain why her stomach hurt on the way home.
I can’t help but smile thinking about the brief moment Savannah and I stole sitting on a blanket spread out in the backyard. Having my arms wrapped around her and stealing a few innocent kisses under the fireworks felt like so much more than just the day after our first date.
Since the Fourth of July barbecue at her dad’s, we’ve continued our weekly coffee dates and managed to sneak away for a few dinners without our kids, but we’ve also had multiple phone conversations and countless text messages back and forth.
I’m not always a huge texter, but let’s be honest, I just want to talk to her in any way I can.
I hate that I haven’t seen her in a few days, so when I sit down at a table toward the back of Java Jive and my phone vibrates with a text, I slide on my glasses and I’m relieved to see it’s just from my brother and isn’t Savannah canceling.
Van
Hey, sorry I missed Gigi’s FaceTime this morning. I was in a meeting with a new supplier. Did she need something?
With Van living primarily in London, it would be easy to use the distance as an excuse to not have a close relationship, but thankfully, technology eases the challenge.
Gigi naturally has a closer relationship with Pippa, but I think that would be the case even if Van lived on the same continent.
I can’t be mad though; my brother is a great uncle despite living over four thousand miles away.
Van is eleven years younger than me, and that age difference was significant growing up, but seems to feel smaller and smaller as we get older.
He went from being my little buddy in my shadow to one of my best friends.
Me
Hey, no I think she was just calling to say hi. She did mention wanting to come visit you sometime this summer. What does the next month or two look like for your schedule?
Van
Shit. August is an absolute shit storm. We have that launch on the 20th and between that and press, I don’t even know when I’ll sleep.
Me
That’s right. I’m sure she will forgive you… so long as you send her the new model after its launch.
Van
After? No, she’s already on the pre-launch shipping list.
Me
You don’t have to do that; she can get the new headphones when everyone else does.
Van’s tech company does a little bit of everything, but they revolutionized the wireless headphone scene, specifically with how comfortable the earpiece is to wear, as well as the battery longevity on a single charge.
He has been wildly successful but tends to get a little lost in his work, forgetting to lift his head up every now and then for things like socialization or meals.
Van
Funny thing about owning the company? I get to do what I want, and if I want to treat my niece like the VIP she is, no one gets to tell me no. So with all due respect, fuck off lol.
Me
Ok, ok. She’ll appreciate that. Maybe look at your schedule and let me know when it would work for her to FaceTime you quick to say hi? She misses you. And while you’re at it, put Pippa on your list of people to call.
Van
Fuuuuuuck. Is everything okay?
Me
Yeah, she’s fine overall, same stuff going on.
Van
Is there an emergency exit to this guilt trip or is it going to land soon so I can get off it? I didn’t wear the right shoes for it.
Me
No exit, no guilt trip intended. Pippa mentioned yesterday that you hadn’t called her back, despite her calling you three times in the last week.
Van
Got it. I’ll call her before end of today—may be midnight my time, but before end of day. Promise. I’ll find a time to call Gigi too in the next day or two.
Me
That’s all I ask, just make some time.
Van
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need to pop into another meeting. Talk later.
The soft jingle of the bell over Java Jive’s front door grabs my attention as a divine vision walks inside.
Savannah’s hair is in a soft braid pulled over to the side and off her shoulder, and the blue gingham sun dress hugs her generous curves in all the right ways.
I’m sure the sleeve style has a name but I’m not even sure I know my own name right now.
With the sun behind her, she looks like she walked straight out of a music video from the eighties and the coffee shop is the set for her to strut into with her wedge heels.
The dress highlights my favorite feature of her body, and the ample cleavage likely isn’t even intentional.
She would have to wear a turtleneck to not show any cleavage with how incredible her tits are, and I’m not mad about it at all.
Like always, her face is beautiful, but when she sees me, her entire face lights up as she walks toward me.
She says hey to a customer sitting at the counter as she passes by, making her way to me.
“Hi!” she squeaks and I meant to give her a kiss on the cheek, but once she was near, I was engulfed in her vanilla orange blossom perfume.
Before I can even think about it, I wrap one arm around her waist and pull her snug to me as my other hand runs along her jaw and angles her head so I can kiss her hello properly.
She quietly hums in agreement as her plump lips meet mine and I taste her cherry lip gloss as we pull apart.
I run my tongue over my lip to taste the lip gloss she left behind. “Hey, I missed you,” I tell her. Full court press, no bullshit, all cards on the table. She seems momentarily surprised by my statement but quickly recovers as a slight blush graces her delicate cheekbones.
Savannah leans in with a quick shrug of one shoulder.
“Yeah? Well, that makes me feel better about missing you too.” Is she shy right now?
What in the world is this version of my feisty kitten?
I lean in and kiss her forehead before pulling out a chair for her.
I also intended on having her sit across the table from me, but it’s a four top so she can sit right next to me instead.
Unless she wants to sit on my lap, I’d be good with that too.
Cami brings over two oversized fresh cinnamon rolls, but instead of avoiding Savannah, this time she meets her eye right away.
“Hey, Savannah. I didn’t even see you sneak in.
Thanks for waiting on these, I can’t seem to keep them stocked today.
I can’t really blame anyone though. I think I’ve gained five pounds in the seven months I’ve worked here! ”
Savannah smiles at the barista. “I can’t believe you’ve been in Forrest Falls that long already.
How are you liking it? Does it feel like home yet?
” Savannah’s question causes Cami’s smile to fall, not all the way, but enough that Savannah and I share a look as Cami stares and fiddles with the bracelets on her wrist.
“I’m … I’m not sure about that yet. But I think it was the right decision to come here, at least I hope so.” She glances to the front do or as a group of high schoolers come in. “I better go help them, enjoy your cinnamon rolls y’all!”
“I thought you said she wasn’t running away from you anymore after those women were rude to you,” I quietly ask.
“She hasn’t, well, until today, I guess.
Maybe she’s just an odd duck that marches to her own drum.
” Savannah shrugs as she cuts off a piece of her cinnamon roll.
“Mmmm, so good!” Savannah declares as she takes a bite of her own roll.
There’s a small smear of icing on the corner of her mouth, and without even thinking, I reach out to brush it away with my thumb.
I meant to bring it back to my own lips, but Savannah turns her head quickly and licks it right off my finger. “Mine.”
She’s a queen in her own right, but she makes me feel like I’m king of the world when she looks at me like that.
“Careful, baby. You play with fire, you might get burned,” I tell her as all of my blood rushes directly to my cock that is now jealous of my thumb.
Savannah giggles but I wouldn’t mind consuming her like a wildfire, although not here.
I’m too much of a possessive asshole to want to share any of her sweet sounds with anyone else.
We catch up on a few mundane things before I ask how the previous evening went with Shane taking the girls to dinner.
“I’m glad he finally showed up though instead of cancelling. How did it go for the girls?”
She looks away at the question and purses her lips before rolling her bottom lip between her front teeth. I sit up a bit straighter—something isn’t right.
“Well, it went fine, uh, overall, until we had a little … situation.” She squints her eyes and scrunches her nose like that’s not the right word.
I don’t like it.