Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
"I wanted to say goodbye before I left," she said.
"Just goodbye?"
She bites at her lip, giving me a little grin that drives me wild. "I don't know. They've redone the bar since I came last. You could..." Her voice goes low with suggestion. "Show me the back… I heard there’s a game room now or something?" One of her friends calls her name. "Just a second," she says back, her eyes hot on mine.
"It's this way." I play it cool on my way out from behind the bar. I know Steve is working on an expansion, but honestly I just wanted a job to keep me busy and to get back into the swing of things. I tell her, leading the way, "It’s different from how I remember it, but it's nice."
The narrow hall in the back pushes us close together, and Aubrey leans into it a little, her elbow brushing mine.
"Supply closet." I point at one of the doors. "And then back here is where the pool table will go I think, and a little more space for storage."
The space is barren, drywalled and the ceiling is all beams and HVAC systems. “It’s not much to look at but it will be nice I think.”
I flick the light switch but they don’t turn on. “Not quite ready yet,” I comment and then glance behind me, knowing full well the bar is waiting with the faded chatter just barely slipping through.
"Oh." Aubrey steps closer, her lips pursed, looking at the space. She makes a slow turn, her eyes traveling over everything, not moving away an inch. "You're right. It is nice."
"You're nice."
"You're not too bad yourself."
She tilts her face up, just a little, and I take that as a sign that I should kiss her. There's no holding back, now that we're alone in this shadowy back room, nobody watching.
My hands go to her face like we were never apart. Aubrey's eyes flutter closed, and then my mouth is on hers.
Bree's lips are just how I always thought they would be. Soft and sweet, tasting like the last cocktails I made. She dives right into the kiss, her hands going around my neck, and I back her carefully against the wall. Those soft curves. The feel of her. I can't think of anything else.
Somebody moans… not one of us and it’s someone in the office.
My brow rises as the both of us look up and to the doorway.
The sound echoes out of a nearby background, and Aubrey puts her hand to her mouth and laughs. "Oh my god. We weren't the only ones with this idea."
A smile widens on my face as I look down at her. I brush her hair away from her face, unable to stop myself from laughing, too. "Well, it was a good idea I think. Come on. We'll go out this way."
Aubrey takes her phone out as soon as we step outside behind the bar, looking a little rumpled and sweet. "My friends are looking for me."
"You better go find them."
She sways slightly and I wonder what she’s thinking.
“I’m glad you came out tonight Bree,” I tell her and she grins like there’s some secret only she knows. “Even more glad you wanted to see the backroom,” I joke, running my hand through my hair.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip and she nods before saying, “Same. I’m so glad I got to see you. Maybe I’ll see you again?”
“Damn right you will,” I tell her and then glance back to the bar, knowing it’s waiting on me.
She smiles although her eyes hold so many questions, and I'll be damned if my heart doesn't skip a beat. "How about one more good night kiss?"
I lean down and kiss her, softer than before, and she laughs into it. The sound fills me with something like heat, something like joy, and I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself, no matter how right this feels.
Aubrey pulls back, the wind rustling her hair. "God, that was--that was nice. I have to go."
She whirls away, leaving me behind, and I lean against the back wall of the bar with a smirk spreading across my face.
This time, it doesn't seem so permanent to let her walk away.
Aubrey glances back at me just before she turns the corner and gives me a little wave. Then she's gone.
There goes my dream girl, giving me a memory and a view of her I'll hold onto forever.
AUBREY
With my eyes heavy and a slight hangover, I wake up slowly, images from my dreams hanging on until the last possible second. Bennet Thompson was the star of all of them. I can't remember exactly what we were supposed to be doing in the dream, but I can remember what we did instead.
I remember the heat of his hands on my body and his mouth capturing mine and how perfect it was to be so close to him, like we were always meant to kiss like that.