“Beck,” I groan again, ringing the doorbell for Reagan. “What did we just talk about?”
He holds his hands up. “Hey, that’s a plus for me, Jenni-cakes. I didn’t say anything about you.”
“As if, that was implied for both of us.”
Beck takes a step up, invading my personal space in the best way. It doesn’t matter that we’re surrounded by snow, Beck always smells like a cozy fall day. “Is it a plus for you too then?”
“I’d say I’m indifferent.” I shrug him off but quietly take another inhale of him.
His head tilts back, and I can already tell there’s another flirty comeback on the tip of his tongue.
“Hey, you’re here.” Reagan pops her head out the front door. Her eyes track every bit of the minimal distance between me and Beck. “Come on in.”
Beck holds out one hand for me to lead…then the other finds the small of my back. That’s on the plus list. Every. Damn. Time.
Taking a few steps into the main hallway, I can immediately see the vision explained in Beck’s kitchen brought to life. There’s not a single thing in here, but I can see it.
The two rooms on the sides are separated by glass walls while the back wall has this insane art deco tile that I think could easily mold to mine and Reagan’s styles. The floors seem to be real hardwood that’s in great condition which is a nice plus.
The bay windows have this adorable bench seating underneath them and my immediate thought is how perfect of a waiting area that would be.
“So, whatcha think?” Reagan asks, stepping in front of me.
My mind is running with ideas already, but I try to contain it. No point in letting her see my excitement until I can give a full green light.
“I see what you mean…I could see the execution of us doing this playing out.”
Reagan’s smile isn’t one I typically see this wide, and honestly, it’s refreshing. Seeing her genuine excitement for this helps a ton. I know I could make it work with her, but I’d rather us have a good partnership in this, than me simply being someone who helps pay the rent.
Reagan gestures to the room behind me. “For right now, I think this would be the better space to have your set up. I did some research on all the shop requirements and health codes, we’ll definitely have to work on some plumbing and electrical for both sides. The floral shop will need it more for the back room, but as far as the front goes, the inspector recommended this side for any adjustments. It has the customer restroom as well.”
Nodding, I turn slowly to the right side. I can’t explain it, considering both sides look nearly identical, but in my head I saw my set up on this half.
“If you want to take a look around, I have to run out and meet Julie with this check for the landlord. I’ll be back in about ten-ish minutes, but if you leave first just press the lock on the keypad.”
Beck’s hand finds my back again. “Sounds good. I’m sure we’ll still be here, but we’ll text if not.”
Reagan’s eyes narrow in on the contact then she immediately bites her lip. Yep, I’m definitely going to be getting a call from Lucie tonight. “Have fun looking around,” she chimes before heading out the door.
Beck steps around me to open up the glass door. “Let’s start in here, tell me what you’re thinking.”
With Reagan, I contained it, but with Beck…I don’t hesitate. I walk in and start letting all my thoughts out.
“This place is gorgeous. I could see the desk and waiting area there by the windows. I’ll definitely get different curtains for the window—these gray ones are horrendous.” Spinning around, I walk a few steps back into the room. “Possibly some to break up the room a bit for some more privacy or maybe we could get at least one private room built in for certain piercings and tattoos.”
“You could easily get some room dividers too. Do you think you could get some other artists in here too?” Beck asks.
At this point, my brain is running ninety miles an hour and there’s no stopping it. I didn’t anticipate being this excited over an empty space, but here we are.
“Yeah, I think for sure we could. Eventually maybe two to three chairs along this wall and possibly a room right here for piercings. Oh, and along the glass wall I could have a little snack and water cart. I could get one of those old gumball machines and have like random mini designs in them. And on the glass itself I’m sure Emma could do something really cool, and—” Spinning back around the space, I stop when I see the way Beck’s smiling at me.
“You’re practically glowing, Jen. Please keep going.”
I could probably bounce back into that mode, but with the look he just gave me I feel like my body is sobering up from a high. I don’t let a lot of people see this super excited side. Until the girls here the only other person who saw that was my family, but somehow Beck just seems to fit right into those categories.
With a deep breath, I don’t go back into my ideas but I’m not done talking about it, and I’m not mad that Beck’s here to be the one to listen. “I think I want to do this, Beck.”
He chuckles softly, taking a few small steps to me. “You think? Oh, come on, Jenni-cakes, you know you want this.”
