Page 19 of July (New Orleans #7)

“T hank you for doing this,” Jill said.

“No problem. Like I said, Logan was working anyway, and I don’t have seven jobs anymore. No school during the summer, either, so I don’t mind.”

“I don’t know how long we’ll be. I’ll try not to be too late.”

“Jill, go. Just have fun. It’s your first date. Juni and I will be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Just don’t stay at her place without maybe letting me know so I can have Logan bring me stuff.”

“What? No, I’m not staying over. It’s our first date.

We joked about that earlier, but I don’t want that.

I mean, yes, I do want that. I really want that, honestly.

” Jill shook her head. “Rory, when she saw powdered sugar on my mouth, she did that thing with her thumb where she wiped it away, and let’s just say her thumb ended up in my mouth, and I had to…

take care of something when I got home.”

Rory laughed as she sat on the end of the guest bed.

“You had to…” she whispered because Juni was across the hall.

Jill nodded and said, “I have self-control, and I think I would’ve been able to get through the night, but she’s just so… That one movement had me so turned on that when Juni and I got back here, I told her I needed a few minutes to myself.”

“Wait. Where did you do it?” Rory looked around and stood up instantly. “In here? And you let me sit on the bed?”

“Where else?” Jill asked. “I can’t do it in my nice apartment I’ve worked so hard for because Juni’s room is here.”

“Gross, Jill,” Rory said.

“What? It was quick.”

Rory laughed and said, “You look nice.”

“It’s not too much?”

“No,” Rory replied, shaking her head.

Jill had changed out of her jeans and shirt from before and put on a pale-yellow circle skirt and high-neck sleeveless black top. She paired that with black ballet flats in case they decided to walk somewhere after dinner.

“It’s silly, right? I want to dress up for her.”

“It’s not silly. It’s sweet.” Rory smiled. “Now, go, or you will be late picking her up.”

Jill grabbed the black clutch that fit her keys, wallet, lipstick, phone, and not much else and headed across the hall, where she spotted Juni on the floor, coloring.

“Hey, I’m heading out. Behave for Rory, please.”

“Okay,” Juni replied without looking up at her. “Jill?”

“Yeah?”

Juni did look up then and asked, “Can I call Mom tomorrow?”

Jill slumped against the doorframe and said, “We’ll see, okay?”

“Okay,” Juni replied.

“Hey, what are you working on here?” Rory, thankfully, asked Juni as she walked by Jill and into the room, probably trying to distract the kid from the question without a good answer.

Jill mouthed a thank-you to her and headed down the hall to the kitchen, where she grabbed the cheesecake she’d promised Willa to bring.

Then, she was on the road, going back and forth in her mind on whether or not she should be doing this.

Not the dating Willa part; she knew she should be doing that.

It was more that she wasn’t sure she should be doing it now .

Juni’s question reverberated in her mind the entire drive, and Jill didn’t know what to do because, most likely, their mother wouldn’t answer, and Juni would want to leave a voicemail.

That part on its own was fine. It would be the part after, where she’d ask why their mother wasn’t returning her message or calling them back, that would be difficult to explain, and Jill wasn’t sure she knew how to tell a ten-year-old kid that their mother couldn’t be their mother anymore.

She felt selfish for going out on a date when Juni had no idea what was going on and needed her to be around, but she seemed fine with Rory being there, and Rory was a professional.

Hell, Rory was better at this than Jill was and might even be more helpful to Juni because of it.

When Jill arrived at the not-so-nice-looking apartment complex, she got out of the car, made sure to double-check that it was locked, and proceeded to look around the entire walk up to the building Willa had told her was hers.

She was nervous as she read the names on the buzzer to the left of the glass doors and pressed the button for Willa Mailor.

“Hi,” Willa’s voice came through.

“Cheesecake delivery,” Jill replied.

“I didn’t order any cheesecake,” Willa teased. “Just a hot date.”

Jill laughed and said, “The date is carrying the cheesecake.”

“I said hot date,” Willa noted.

“I’m wearing a skirt,” Jill offered.

Willa laughed and replied, “Get up here.”

There was a buzz followed by a clicking sound, and the doors released.

Jill pulled one of them open, saw the stairs to the right, and took them up to Willa’s floor.

Then, following the numbers on the doors, she reached Willa’s apartment and took a deep breath before knocking.

The door opened quickly as if Willa had been there waiting, which she probably had, and Willa looked her up and down.

Jill about died when Willa licked her lips.

“You cannot look at me like that if we’re leaving this apartment for dinner,” she said.

“You weren’t lying about the skirt.”

“No. Is it too much?”

“What? No,” Willa replied. She then met Jill’s eyes with her own and added, “You look beautiful.”

“But not hot?”

“Oh, very hot,” Willa said with a definitive nod. “Like, incredibly hot. Should I tell you that I’m picturing my hands under that skirt, or is that too much for a first date?”

“You are killing me. Take this damn cheesecake,” Jill said and handed her the clear plastic container. “You look great, by the way.”

“I went a little more casual than you. Should I change?”

“You should not change,” Jill stated as she caught Willa’s ass when she turned to place the cheesecake on the kitchen table. “Did they sew you into those jeans?”

“What?” Willa laughed and turned around.

“They’re perfect on you.”

“They’re just jeans.”

“You like me in this skirt.”

“I do.”

“Is it just a skirt?”

“Not the way you wear it,” Willa noted.

“Same with those jeans,” Jill replied.

“I’ll take your word for it. Come in.”

Willa motioned for her to walk into the apartment.

Jill closed the door behind her and watched Willa walk into her kitchen. When she returned, she had two forks and a plate. She placed them on the table and moved back a little.

“I’d give you the tour, but this is it. Well, there’s my bedroom and a bathroom, but they’re not very nice, and I have a feeling if I show you my bedroom, we might stay in there awhile.”

“You’re standing really far away,” Jill noted. “I feel like you were closer to me when we weren’t actually on a date.”

“I’m nervous,” Willa replied and clasped her hands together in front of herself.

“Me too,” Jill admitted. “But I feel like we should maybe be a little closer together at some point in the night.”

“I agree. Sit,” Willa said. “We can start there.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” she replied and gave a mock salute.

“That was really cute,” Willa said with a little laugh.

They both sat down, and Jill watched as Willa plated the cheesecake and handed her a fork, pushing the plastic container to the side.

“So, this is closer,” Willa said.

“A little,” Jill replied, scooting her chair closer still.

Then, she took Willa’s hand, which was under the table, into her own and moved them to her thigh, leaving them there as she took the first bite.

“Better?” Willa asked.

“Definitely,” she replied.

“So, dinner?” Willa asked after she took a small bite of the cheesecake.

“I know a guy.”

“What?”

“Well, Mel knows a guy, really. I got us a reservation for a good place, but not, like, super fancy or anything.”

“Then, I should change. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Relax. It’s not Commander’s Palace or anything, and there’s no dress code.

I just wanted to do a nice thing for our first date.

Dating a tour guide in this city does have some perks.

NOLA Guides is practically the oldest tour company around.

Mel will inherit it soon, and it’s a whole thing, but the current owner is a staple in this community, and people will do practically anything for her.

Because Mel has continued the tradition, and she’s been successful so far, people are doing the same for her and for me a little, too, because they know she and I run the place.

” Jill took another bite, chewed for a second, and added, “We bring people to certain hotels that we know are good and recommend restaurants and museums like where you work, and they sometimes help us out when we need reservations or offer a discount here and there. It doesn’t amount to much in the money department, but it’s a lot to us because it means they care.

The business owners in New Orleans care about the local community and the tourists who keep them in business, and they say thanks when they can. ”

“That’s really cool,” Willa replied, taking another bite. “How did you end up doing this for a living?”

“Well, I wanted out of the house at eighteen and thought I knew that I wanted to work in marketing. I went to school and got the degree but didn’t really find a specialty or anything that I wanted to pursue, and I ended up finding NOLA Guides.

Mel and I have worked together ever since.

For a while, it was just the two of us, the owner, and some part-timers who left all the time, but the owner has stepped back pretty much fully now, and Mel runs the show.

She’s thinking about expanding to another office.

I’ll run the one in the Quarter, and Enid, one of my friends, might end up running the other.

Rory works with us, too, while she’s in grad school.

Honestly, it’s just a really fun job. I get to be outside, walking around, bragging about the city, eating great food, talking to cool people, telling stories, and I make decent tips this time of year. ”

“So, you ended up in marketing, after all?”

“Huh?” Jill asked.

“You’re marketing New Orleans,” Willa pointed out.