I finish my beer before grabbing a new one and heading to take a shower.
My house is not huge by any means; two bedrooms and two bathrooms, but it’s my cozy haven, adorned with rustic wooden furniture and shelveslined with my favorite cookbooks and romance novels. I don’t have a lot of things hanging on the walls, but I have various knickknacks, including a collection of weird salt and pepper shakers I’ve accumulated over the years. Like the cock and balls set I got from Spencer as a Christmas gift last year.
One of the few things I did was update the kitchen. Before, the tiny kitchen was closed off. If you spent too much time in it, you would feel like a caged animal. I need to breathe when I’m in my happy place.
I need space to try out new recipes for The Diner and my real passion: baking.
Baking is so different from cooking up burgers and fries. No constant rush to get orders out.
Before I even make it down the hall, my phone rings. I’m not sure who I was expecting, but the slight disappointment that niggles in me when I see my sister’s name is new.
“Hey Emma, to what do I owe the pleasure? Isn’t it like two in the morning over there?”
A self-deprecating laugh echoes through the phone. “Tell that to Phoebe. She doesn’t seem to know how to tell time.” Emma jokes. “I have failed her as a mom.”
Her sarcastic humor makes me chuckle. “She’s two.”
“Yes, well, your niece should really have a job by now.”
“How is she?” I ask, missing my little peanut. Emma lives in Paris with her husband, Scott. He seems like a nice man, and he makes her happy.
After Grandfather passed, she flew off to Paris to follow her dreams of being a fashion photographer. I couldn’t be more proud of her, even though I miss her dearly. We’ve made plans for me to go out and visit hernext year. I want to hold my niece in my arms. The last time I saw them, she had just been born.
“She’s been better. She has an ear infection.”
“Oh, no, the poor thing. I think sleep is not in either of your futures.”
“What’s sleep?” she muses. “Tell me something good, Olly.”
“Well, I think I might finally do it.”
“You’re gonna open the bakery?”
“I think so…” I say, still hesitating.
I talk Emma through my ideas, and how I’m going to handle The Diner. We chat for a while, catching up on what’s been happening in our lives. She always has some new, exciting story to tell, while mine’s more of the same old, same old.
Every time I hear her voice, I realize just how much I miss her. I make a mental note to call her more, not that the time difference makes it any easier for us, but we make it work.
We end the call, and I finally make it into the bathroom. I twist the knob to hot, anticipating a hot soothing shower, but then decide against it, letting it fill before I sink into my whirlpool bathtub with a big sigh. Yep, after hearing about Jaxon’s tub, I also splurged and upgraded. I can see the appeal. My body constricts from the heat before my muscles loosen and relax in the steaming water.
It’s been a long day.
My mind drifts to the restaurant. I need to hire a manager at The Diner. It’s time. Talking with my sister just proves the point.
Seeing everyone in our group find love and start settling down, one by one, I find myself itching for something different. Wondering what thatwould look like for me. Maybe finding a partner and taking the chance of following my own dreams.
I’m at a crossroads.
That all just brings me right back to Jasper. I would be fooling myself if I said I didn’t have feelings for him. But it could never work. Jasper doesn’t do relationships and, well, Jasper is a nomad, while I like structure and routine.
But that kiss,that kiss, was full of hunger I was too scared to crave. And now I don’t know if I can go back.
But, if I’m being honest, I don’t think Jasper thinks of me that way. I’m not his type. I look like I belong in a greasy diner with my flannel shirts and baseball caps, not walking a runway in Paris.
Yes, he flirts with me, but he flirts with everyone. I’m sure that kiss meant nothing to him. Jasper is looking for meaningless hookups, and I’m not. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, but I can’t help getting emotions involved. So, for now, I just live with the small glimpse into the fantasy I’ve created in my mind and focus my attention on matters other than dating.
Thebeatofthemusic flows through my body, making every cell vibrate. With the firmness of the sweaty chest behind me, I lean back, my hand finding its place around the stranger’s neck. With a seductive sway of my hips, the atmosphere becomes charged with lust.
