He blushed, and I joined him by the counter to get a better look at it. There were some burnt spots at one end, but otherwise, the gears and conveyors looked shiny.
“Hopefully just temporarily,” he said, a little wistfully. “It’s the Zing Machine. Do you remember I told you about it?”
I smiled and grabbed a mint from a tray. “It makes the Zing Pop with a specialized mold.”
“Yeah, exactly,” he said, brightening back up. “It was tossed out, though. Some company bought the building and didn’t have any need for it, I guess.” He shrugged. “I paid some guys to haul it here, but now I can’t figure out what to do. I guess I’ll pay someone again to move it into my garage? I can park on the street, although I’ll have to move my car every morning.” He leaned forward on the counter, then turned back to me. “Sorry! What were you saying about Georgia?”
I thumbed the wrapper off the mint, then popped it in my mouth. “I heard the city still hadn’t made contact. I figured I would take care of it myself and put you and Georgia directly in touch with my assistant.” I held up my phone. “She’s expecting the call.”
Xavier came out from behind the counter, joining me in the shop. He had on a pair of cotton candy shorts that lightly hugged his curves and his thighs, then cuffed above his knees. They were stylish, almost bold, yet still perfect for the shop. He made his way across to the front as we talked, then flipped the sign. “Closing time,” he said, turning to face me again as he flicked the lock on the door.
Not that I had looked that up before I came.
In business and in everything else, timing was what really mattered.
“I think Georgia has gone home already,” he said, crossing back to me. “She usually retires early on Thursdays.” He laid his hand on the machine, squaring his body with mine. “You’ll probably want to talk to Jacqueline, though, who also isn’t around.”
I sighed. “You’d think this would be a simpler task to complete. Could I get Jacqueline’s contact from you? I’ll send it to my assistant now.”
Xavier nodded, then came back to the counter. He leaned across it to grab a small address book on a shelf, and I took advantage of the view, letting my eyes savor the curves of his backside. When he turned back around, he had the book open to the right page.
I flashed a quick photo with my phone and forwarded it on my assistant. It gave me a familiar sense of satisfaction, knowing she would handle the job immediately and that I could trust it was done.
“What do your customers think of the new addition?” I asked, gesturing to the machine. “Maybe it could draw some candy fans in?”
Xavier shook his head. “Some people miss the Zing Pop. The recipe called for real lemon, which made a big difference. But the exciting part was watching the machine go, kicking out lollipops that got shipped all over the state.” He ran his hand through his short hair, ruffling it a little. “Mainly, I’ve just had people complaining that the licorice is hard to reach now.”
Standing so close together and with no one around, my desire kept building. It started warm and deep in my gut, but as his tongue darted across his bottom lip, it was growing stronger.
“Does tomorrow still work for you?” I asked, reminding myself that I still needed to go slow. I was there on city business, ostensibly, and until I really understood Xavier, I couldn’t risk what I really wanted to do with him, anyway.
No matter how much he looked like he needed me to do it.
“Tomorrow works,” he answered. “Nothing too fancy, though, okay? I’ll feel self-conscious if you splurge on a pricey meal. Especially not after you literally threw a gala for our first date. I’m not used to as much excitement as you are.”
I laughed. “It’s really not like that,” I said. “Trust me, I spent literally my entire day answering emails and reading graphs today. There’s nothing glamorous about staring at a screen.”
“I actually got to enjoy a quiet day,” he said. “It’s the lull before Halloween season starts to pick up. It gave me lots of time to wonder what the hell I’m going to do about this machine blocking my licorice.”
I chuckled and sucked in a deep breath. “Yeah, you’ve got yourself in some trouble,” I said. But somehow, the words came out sounding far more intense than I intended.
They sounded filthy.
He blinked at me and met my eyes. His pupils were clear and white, and somehow, I knew that he heard it, too.
“Yeah,” he said. “Trouble.”
The desire in my gut kept growing. My chest warmed, and my cock felt thick in my trousers.
Maybe Patricia had sensed something about me that I wasn’t ready to admit yet. Maybe, in some strange way, she had known what I wanted. Or if not what I wanted, she had at least sensed how strong my hunger was. Weeks of work had taken their toll, and without the release I usually found in the discreet, kinky clubs of Manhattan, I was likely to bubble over if I didn’t get what I craved soon enough.
And I really couldn’t deny it. What I craved was standing right in front of me.
I leaned back on the counter. “A lot of college seems like a blur now, but I do think I remember the last time I saw you.”
His eyes got wider, and his lips pulled back, exposing his teeth and the pink flick of his tongue. “The last time you saw me?”
I rubbed my thumb across my knuckle, same as I always would before a big presentation or sales pitch. “Truth or dare in the dorms. Do you remember?”
