A knock at the door catches my attention. I look and find Mrs. Reed standing there, a bright smile on her face.
“We’re closed.” I sip my coffee and scald my tongue.
“Open up.”
“I can’t. Closed by the health department.”
“I know that, dummy. Now open the door before I call your mother.” She raps her knuckles on the glass.
I’m a grown man, but the threat of calling my mother gets me on my feet. I unlock the door and open it for her. She strides in and pulls some folded papers out of her leopard-print bag.
“Take these. One goes on the wall in a conspicuous area. The other goes in your records.” She flips on the lights, and my hangover screams at me. “Now get this place hopping. I expect a box of divinity and half a dozen candy apples by the time I’m out of class. Even more grandkids are arriving this afternoon.”
I unfold the papers and stumble over the words and the official city insignia. “It’s a restaurant license.”
“Sure is. Olive got it for you this morning, first thing. Paid the fee and everything. You’re all set.”
“But it’s Saturday.” I shake my head.
“When you’re the mayor’s wife, you always have a few favors to call in. Just so happens I like you, and my family loves everything you make here. So, it was worth it.” She waves her hand at the counter. “Now get to it. Christmas treats aren’t going to make themselves.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I hold the door for her as she walks out. Looking up, I find Olive standing in her front window, her hands clasped beneath her chin.
I drop the papers, dash past Mrs. Reed, skid across the icy street, and burst into the studio. All the students turn to stare at me.
Olive takes a tentative step toward me. “I’m so sorry about the—”
I pull her into my arms and kiss the ever-living shit out of her. With her in my arms, everything feels right. She’s the one. I pick her up and carry her to the back of the studio.
Candace winks as I walk past. “I’ll teach the class. You two work out your differences.” She hops up onto the platform. “All right, let’s get this dog facing downward!”
I keep walking and close the hall door behind us.
“My office is on the left.” She wraps her arms around my neck. “And I’m sorry, again. So sorry.”
I turn left into her office and kick the door shut behind us. Sitting on her love seat, I cradle her in my lap and kiss her, the taste of her lips soothing all the hurt from the previous day.
I pull back and cup her face with my hands. “You saved my shop.”
She shrugs. “I kind of saved it from me, I guess.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes water. “I’m so sorry about—”
“Shh.” I still her apology with a kiss. “You’re forgiven. I’m sorry about the things I said last night. They weren’t true. You’re everything.”
“Really?” Her eyes glisten with tears.
“Really.” I kiss her again, darting my tongue into her mouth. My cock thickens against her ass, and she makes an “oh” sound when she shifts and rubs against it.
“I want more with you, okay? I know you think it’s sudden and that we don’t know each other well enough, but I’ve wanted more with you since we were seventeen.” I rub my thumbs along her smooth cheeks. “I’ve never been more certain about anything.”
She draws her eyebrows together.
My heart chills. “Too much, too soon?”
“No.” She kisses me, and love explodes inside my heart. “You’re my just right.”
I run my hands down her back, pressing her closer. I can’t get enough.
“Can I tell you something?” I kiss to her neck and lick up to her ear. She trembles and her breath comes out in a soft pant.
“Y-yes.” She clutches my shirt.
I nibble at her earlobe and slide my hands down to her waist and under her shirt. “I’ve had a fantasy about you.”
“Yeah?” She drops her head back, and I kiss to her collarbone. “Like what?”
“Well.” I slide my hand down to the waistband of her yoga pants. “It involves these.”
“My pants?”
I press my fingers lower and ease them into her panties. She’s wet, and I circle her clit slowly with my index finger. “Do you happen to have a spare set?”
Olive
“A spare set?” I moan as he flicks his finger across my clit. “Yes.”
“Perfect.” He presses two fingers inside me.
“Hank.” I sigh as he pulls down the cup of my sports bra and captures a nipple in his mouth. “What are you going to do to my pants?”