Page 4 of Cookie

Ryan

I wasn’t sure what it was about Charlie that drew me to him.

Maybe it was the fact he was a huge muscular man that was confident, but also very shy.

Or maybe it was that he’d watched me eat every day for weeks before he finally worked up the courage to speak to me.

Either way, I was intrigued. He was easy to talk to, and very good-looking.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Avery had said when I’d told her what I’d done.

“If you want something you gotta go for it,” I’d said and hoped she believed me, because I had no clue what I was doing.

Before working at the bookstore, I typically kept to myself and would never have put myself out there with a stranger.

But I found I liked how it made me feel.

It was exciting, and I really was looking forward to going to dinner with him even if it was just the café down the street.

When Avery left and I put the closed sign up for the day, my stomach rolled with nerves and my earlier confidence fled.

What if we have nothing to talk about? Or if he’s really a horrible person that I don’t like at all?

I shoved all my nerves down and hurried upstairs to the small apartment I’d been staying in.

At first, I didn’t like the idea of living above where I’d be working, but now found I loved it.

I decided not to shower and just freshened up before changing my clothes and hurrying back down the stairs.

I was standing at the counter sorting the mail when there was a knock at the door.

There stood Charlie, looking even more nervous than he had earlier.

I grinned at him before walking over and letting him in.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes, I was just looking at the mail.” I set it down and walked closer to him.

He’d just showered, which made his dark hair look nearly black.

It was cut short and close on the sides and combed back neatly on the top making his blue eyes stand out even more than they had earlier, and I found it hard to look away.

He did finally turn away breaking the spell he had me under, and we walked toward the door.

“Oh, are those the same cookies you gave me earlier?” he asked when he noticed the basket near the counter.

“Yes, Avery had the idea to put them closer to the counter and I thought we could have some kind of combo deal like a book and a cookie.”

“It was really good.” He stood with his hands in his pockets looking at the display with a sweet smile on his face.

He really was cute, and once again I had to force myself not to stare.

He turned to meet my eyes, and I lunged at him.

My chin hit his cheek, and our foreheads hit as we both went in for a kiss that neither of us seemed able to control.

He gripped both my arms and held me back. “I am so sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be sorry, kiss me,” I whispered. He leaned in and our lips met.

His were warm and soft, and the fact he was holding me back made me want to throw myself even closer to him.

He wrapped his strong arms around me and finally pulled me against his chest as his tongue swiped at my lips.

I opened my mouth, and our kiss went from new and innocent to hot and needy as he slid his hand down and gripped my ass.

“What is it about you that I can’t resist,” he breathed out against my cheek.

“Must be the cookies,” I said, still delirious from the way he held me so close I could feel his cheek lift in a smile.

“Must be,” he whispered before kissing me again.

“I guess we should go eat dinner,” I said, not really wanting to go eat dinner at all.

“Or we could stay here and get to know each other better.” He grinned before waggling his eyebrows, making me laugh.

“How about we go get something to eat, then we come back here for dessert?”

“I like how you think,” he said before kissing me once again. He was big and strong, and so gentle it made my heart hurt with want. He took my hand and led me to the door then waited while I locked it.

“So, what kind of food does this place have?” I asked as we walked down the street. Most of the businesses were closed but there was still a good crowd of people downtown for dinner or a drink at one of the bars.

“They have a little bit of everything, don’t worry, it’s all good.”

“I trust you,” I said, and for some reason I did. “What time did you get off work?”

“Right after I saw you. My dad said I was driving them all crazy and made me leave.”

“What? The shop looked busy when I was there.”

“Oh, it was, but I’ve wanted to ask you out since I noticed you a while back, and I guess my nerves were a little too much for them.” He ducked his head and looked away, but I tugged on his hand to get him to look at me.

“I’m really glad you asked me out,” I said and meant it.