“You little rebel, you!” She slaps her hand on the pile of books, making me jump. I see she is exceptionally high-strung today. “I wanna hear all the details.” She is looking me in the eye, almost like a dare.
“Ummm, do you need to get laid or something?” I ask.
“Hey, we are not talking about me here. We are talking about you and a certain tattoo god!”
That makes me laugh at the reminder of me calling him the exact same thing last night. I cannot believe I called him that to his face. It’s mortifying. Oh, who am I kidding? Half of what I said last night is mortifying. Finn is just so easy to be around, and for the first time in a while, I feel comfortable being myself around another man. I love cock and while I do love the men they are attached to, from my experience, some gay men can also be a bit judgey.
“I’m waiting…”
I fill Jules in on the events of the night, including taking Finn next door to show him the building. I, of course, leave out all the naughty bits and the stuff about Finn’s sister and family. That will never be my story to tell, and I respect him enough to keep it to myself.
“So you really like him, don’t you?” she says softly.
I shrug, “Yeah, I do.”
“I can tell,” she says. “You look pretty fucking happy sitting here talking about him.”
“I don't know if it really matters. I mean, who knows if he is going to stay permanently? He could get sick of the small town life. Besides, there is that fact that he is completely out of my league.”
“Spencer Mccallum!” Oh shit… she just full named me. “You are a catch!” she says as she paces in front of the checkout counter. “You can be in anyone’s league youwantto be in. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and Finn is going out of his way to impress you—if you’re not seeing it, you must be blind.”
“Ouch! Is there a need to poke me in the chest?”
“Well, I can’t very well poke you in the eye!”
She is right; I know that, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to believe it. Previous relationships proved that… if you could even call them relationships! They acted like they wanted to date me, until it became clear I wasn’t gonna sleep with them.
I feel this connection with Finn that I can’t quite explain; the feeling intensifying each time we meet, even though I’ve only known him for a few short weeks.
I think about him constantly, which is NOT creepy at ALL! I wish I could at least say they were G rated thoughts, but I can’t even do that. God, I want to climb him like a mountain.
“Just make sure you wear climbing gear!” Jules says, smirking, as she pats me on the shoulder and walks over to help a customer.
Damn it!That has been happening more frequently than I care to admit. Oh god, what if I have some disease where I can no longer tell if my thoughts are in my head or being said out loud?Oh, for fuck’s sake, Spencer! Get it together!
The rest of the morning goes by quickly as my thoughts turn to the list of things I need to ask the contractor. I know that the construction will affect Dragonfly, and hopefully I won’t have to close up shop completely for too long.
When Finn and Jaxon joked around about Beckett this morning, I realized I have to think about staffing, and food. I want to sell wine and local tap beer, so I make a mental note to talk with Pops about licensing, because who doesn’t want a glass of wine during book club? And I also need to talk with Jules.
Food is the hard one. I’m thinking along the lines of fresh deli sandwiches, soups, and salads. Maybe even some pasta dishes. I should talk with Olly to see if he has any ideas. I suppose I should also let him know I’m opening a cafe, considering he owns The Diner. I don’t want him thinking I'm trying to steal his customers. There is enough of a difference between dinner food and cafe food, that I think it can work. But I should at least talk to him.
The bell over the door dings and I look up to see a giant of a man walking in, holding a clipboard. If I didn’t know he was the contractor I was supposed to be meeting with, I would have drooled for another minute or two, then ran and hid.
He reaches out his hand. “Hi Spencer, I’m Liam. I hear you got some walls you want to tear down.”
We both laugh. “That I do!”
For the next hour, we talk through my ideas. I tell Liam about my idea for bench seating along the side wall; he says it will save me time and money. Ohh, maybe I could even buy some throw pillows to place along the bench or, even better, maybe Alice and her sewing club could make them.
The kitchen is going to be hard. Second only to the monstrosity that shall not be named… Liam agrees that placing it where the breakroom is makes the most sense. I really need to find a chef, and quickly. Maybe Olly can give me advice on the design if someone doesn’t magically drop into my lap.
There is a small office across the hall. I have been contemplating keeping it as an office, but Liam brought up using it as a storage room, since I have an office already over at the bookstore. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.
Standing in front of THE WALL, I hold my breath as I learn my fate.
“Give it to me straight, Liam. How long will it take to knock it down?” I say, gesturing to the monstrosity that I’m sure will give me many anxiety attacks.
He let out a hearty laugh. “It won't be too terrible, it should only take a couple of days. We can block off the area with tarps so dust doesn’t go everywhere, and the bookstore can be open while we blend the two rooms together.”
