The Shop on Main(28)

Owen finally pulled his lips away. His wonderful, warm, kissable lips. He sat back up, leaned against the tree, and settled her by his side. He draped his arm around her shoulder.

She waited for her breathing to get back to normal and her thoughts to settle out of their whirlwind of emotions. So many thoughts. How good it felt to lean against him. How she could feel his heartbeat where she had her arm placed across his chest. What a great kisser he was.

Then her thoughts spun to the fact she barely knew the man, he lived states away, and what the heck was she doing? She struggled to turn those thoughts off and get back to thinking about his kiss.

“I could kiss you for hours, but I guess that won’t get our picnic finished, will it?” His voice was low, sexy, and rumbled across his chest where she rested her head.

“Finished picnics are over-rated.”

Owen laughed. “I wouldn’t know. But here, let’s eat. Your friend went to all the trouble to make our dinner.”

Bella reluctantly pulled away and sat up. She sat crossed legged with her legs tucked under her skirt. “I’ll try to eat without choking this time.”

“That would be nice.” He smiled at her.

“You want some of the pie? Becky Lee makes the best pie.”

Owen nodded, and she cut him a piece of pie then handed it to him, sorry their hands didn’t touch. He took a bite. She was entranced by the fork, watching it scoop up a bite of pie and move up to his lips.

There she was. Back to his lips again. She deliberately looked away, taking in the view of the clearing, watching some birds dart around from branch to branch.

“Izzy?”

“Yes?” She turned back to look at him.

“Think I can kiss you again when we finish the picnic?”

“I think that’d be okay.” A smile teased the corners of her mouth.

“So that’s the official way to end a picnic?”

“I think we could definitely make it a new rule of picnics.”

Owen set his empty plate down and leaned towards her. “Just one more kiss.”

With that, she was lost in his kisses once again. Far away from her life and responsibilities. Just enjoying Owen, enjoying herself and happy in the moment.

~ * ~

Bella was still reeling from Owen’s goodnight kiss. He’d given her a take-your-breath-away kiss before starting to get out of her car when they got back the Sweet Tea. He'd opened the passenger door, then leaned over one more time with another long kiss that had made her feel drunk with desire. She could still feel the fire of his kisses as she walked up the stairs to her apartment.

She laughed when she walked in the door to her apartment. The phone was ringing, and she was sure it was Becky Lee.

“Hi Bec.”

“How’d you know it was me?” Becky Lee’s laugh came across the phone lines.

“I knew you couldn’t wait to hear the details. I bet you’ve been calling every fifteen minutes.”

“Every five. So, how was it?”

“It was nice.” Bella dropped her purse on the table, and slipped off her sandals.

“Nice? That’s what I’m going to get? Nice?”

“Really nice.”

“Come on, Izz. I reckon you can give a girl a bit more to work on.”

“He’s a good kisser.”

“Ah, that’s my girl. So, he kissed you.” Becky Lee paused. “So, was it weird to kiss someone besides Rick after all these years? You okay?”

“I thought it would be strange, but it wasn’t, not really. I guess it’s been a bazillion years since I’ve kissed someone besides Rick. Well, there you have it. A milestone. Now I don’t have to worry that I’ve forgotten how to kiss.”

If she had forgotten, Owen had sure shown her how it was done. Over and over again.

“So, how much longer is he going to be around town?”

“I don’t know. The only thing I know, from talk around town, is he’s somehow connected to the Landrys. Maybe a friend of theirs? He was there at their BBQ last week. We didn’t really talk about it. We haven’t really talked about our jobs or anything. I’m not even sure what he does for a living. See, I’m so out of the dating game, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to talk about. Besides, it was nice to not talk about the shop or my lease problems, just to forget about them for a night.”

“You should search him out on the internet. See what you can find out.”

Bella stifled a yawn. “Maybe I will. Tomorrow, though. I’m fixin’ to get up early. I have a new display I want to set up at the shop.”

“Okay. Sleep well, Izz.”

“Night, Becky Lee.”

Bella turned out the lights and crossed into her bedroom in the darkness. She flopped down on her bed, fully clothed, and stared into the darkness. She wasn’t certain what she was getting herself into with Owen, but one thing was for sure… she wanted to see where things were headed. She wanted to go out with him again. And she sure as all get out wanted him to kiss her again.