“You’re doing far better than I am.” She was still wiping at the same spot on her shirt, so distracted that she hadn’t seen the tea vendor place another tea down for her.
I pulled her hand, took the crumpled napkins, grabbed the tea, and steered her away to a more secluded spot. When we were far enough away from the hustle and bustle, I handed Odette her tea and watched as she took the first sip. It was like she was in pure bliss. Her shoulders relaxed, and she was back in a familiar place.
“Do you come here often?” I finally asked.
“I do.” Odette turned and pointed down a road. “I’m just a few houses down that way.”
“You live here?” My question was laced with surprise.
“For around three years now.” Odette shrugged like it was no big deal, but the fact that the woman I’d been falling for for years had only been a thirty-minute car ride away was wreaking havoc on my heart at the moment. “What about you?”
“I’m over near the Jamestown area, but I wanted to get out today, do something new. This farmer’s market is one of the best in New York, and I thought, why not?”
Odette nodded as she took another sip of her tea, avoiding eye contact with me. Both of her hands were wrapped around the paper cup as she took sips every few seconds, almost like she was trying to fill the void. It was clear she was processing what I’d just told her.
“I’m guessing you’ve been here more than a few times, then?” I continued.
“I used to come a lot more but haven’t been for most of this season and really haven’t been for the last few weeks.” She took a deep breath before finally meeting my eyes. “I thought, hey, take your notebook, write some words, and get some spices and tea. That would make such a great day. Of all the days I decideto come back, you chose today to come to this market, and I’m trying hard to figure out what this means.”
Odette let her words ramble all into one before taking a long drag of her tea again.
I took a step forward and placed a hand on her arm. Her eyes finally met mine again. This moment felt like ours, like we were both trying to figure this out, but neither wanted to say it or jinx it.
“Why don’t you show me around to the vendors and give me some recommendations?”
A smile crossed Odette’s lips.
“Is that all you would like?”
My eyebrows shot up because of how I took her question was most definitely not what I think she intended. I wanted so much more than for her to walk me around and show me a place she was familiar with and most likely loved. I wanted to kiss her, hold her, call her mine. I hadn’t had my hands on her in weeks, and now that I did, I didn’t want to let go.
I wanted more time with her.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times before Odette spoke again.
“Ryker.” My name softly left her lips.
“Odette.” I took a step toward her, filling almost all the space between us.
“This is crazy. That you somehow showed up where I’m at, on the one day I chose to leave the house since I got back home from the award show. Tell me that isn’t crazy. That we’ve spent weeks talking to each other, and somehow the universe said, ‘Here, if you won’t do it, I will.’”
She was laughing now; her face showing just how absurd it all sounded, but it was true and real in this moment.
“It is crazy.” I reached my hand out, brushing some flyaways that were sticking to her face. “But I’d be crazy if I didn’t sayI loved that it happened. I loved that the feeling we felt at the award show wasn’t just fleeting.”
I placed my hand on her cheek.
“I feel it now. I hope you feel it too because it’s here; it’s real.”
“Ryker.” This time when she said my name, it sounded like a plea. I didn’t know if it meant she wanted me to move forward or to stop. But I knew exactly what I wanted in this moment.
Her.
“Can I kiss you?”
Odette’s eyes went wide, and her head nodded ever so slightly. I tilted my head down toward hers. Our lips brushed softly with the first kiss.
Brief.
