Page 83 of September

“Will you make it for me?”

“Yes.”

“Will you add salt?”

Juliet laughed again and said, “Only if you want me to after you taste it.”

“If you do, don’t tell me. It’s weird,” Gwen replied. “I can’t really watch you, can I? Company secrets and all that.”

“Yeah… But if you want to get a second job, just work at one of the stores, and then you’d sit through my new-hire training.”

“Oh, that’s tempting. In the new-hire one, do you wear the polo?”

“Yes,” Juliet said with a smile. “Not for the whole time. Sometimes, we’re in a classroom.”

Gwen’s eyes went wide.

“Where did your mind just go?” Juliet asked.

“You. Classroom. Pencil skirt. Button-down shirt tucked in and unbuttoned a little at the top,” Gwen stated. “Maybe some black-rimmed glasses and your hair back.”

“That’s sexy librarian, not teacher.” Juliet laughed.

“It can be both. In my mind, it’s both.” Gwen seemed to be far away in her mind, picturing Juliet in that little ensemble.

Juliet shook her head at her a little and asked, “Will you take Carly out again for me? Do you mind? I need to finish this real quick, but she might need to go again.”

“No problem,” Gwen replied. “But when I come back, do you want to order food?”

“Sure.” She nodded. “Whatever you want.”

Gwen leaned over and kissed her before getting up, and Carly followed her out the door within a minute. With them gone, Juliet quickly closed her laptop and jumped up, forgetting entirely about the work that she needed to do. The class would be fine. And even if it wasn’t the first day, she would improve it on day two. She knew Carly didn’t need to go out again just yet. The terrier would enjoy the walk and the time with Gwen all the same, though, as she always did, and Juliet would get what she needed: Gwen out of the apartment for a few minutes.

Knowing she didn’t have much time, she rushed to her bedroom and rummaged through her closet. She had a pencil skirt that she wore to the office sometimes. She had a ton of button-down shirts. She didn’t have black-rimmed glasses, but shedidhave an old pair of fake reading glasses that she’d bought for a Halloween costume one year. Not wasting any time, she changed out of her sweats and into the ensemble, slipped into a pair of black heels, and then pulled her hair up into a clip to complete the look. It was ridiculous; she knew that. But this was what Gwen had been picturing earlier, and she’d been able to make it happen.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, Juliet realized it, though. She swallowed hard, knowing what this would mean. Putting on the clothes Gwen had clearly been fantasizing about would lead to them having sex. She had told Gwen last nightthat she didn’t want to rush anything just because she would be leaving on one of her trips, but they’d had amazing dates so far, and when she asked Gwen to come over just to hang out while she worked, Gwen had jumped at the chance, and they’d sat there together, just existing in the silence that hadn’t been awkward at all. Gwen was beautiful. She was smart and kind, and she made Juliet laugh. She was also sexy, and Juliet wanted her.

When she heard the door to the apartment open and Carly’s collar tags doing the jingle jangle thing they did when she ran around, Juliet knew she was ready.

“Okay. Calm down now,” Gwen said to the dog. “We’re home.” She laughed. “Where are you?” she asked Juliet.

“Hi, babe,” she said from her position in the open door of her bedroom.

Gwen turned, and her face showed a few things at once. Confusion was the primary one, at first, but that was slowly replaced by a headshake and then a lifted eyebrow, followed by intrigue, and lastly, there was heat in those brown eyes.

“What did you do?” Gwen asked.

“This was what you meant, right?”

Juliet unbuttoned the top two buttons.

“Holy fuck, Jules. You’re so hot.” Gwen moved to her as she continued to look up and down her body. “But you’re hot all the time. You don’t have to dress up for me.”

“I wanted to,” she said and wrapped her arms around Gwen’s neck. “I want to.”

Gwen swallowed and replied, “You said you wanted to wait.”

“I also said it could be today, tomorrow, or…”