Page 33

Carson

T he sweet, calming scent of lavender lingers heavily in the air as I yank the last dandelion from the pathway to the front door. I spent the morning watering and weeding the garden beds in the back yard.

Having a garden is probably one of the most relaxing things I’ve ever done. There are a few vegetables about ready to harvest, but I’ll wait until this evening when I get home and am ready to use them.

“Hey!” a sweet voice calls from behind me.

I glance over my shoulder and spot Wren’s bouncing blonde ponytail swaying as she walks closer, the crunch of gravel growing louder with every step.

“Hey. What are you up to?”

“Decided I needed to take some more photos.” She holds up a camera. “Found this at a yard sale the other day and figured I’d take it for a spin.”

She quickly raises the camera in front of her and snaps a picture. My scowl only makes the smile on her face spread wider.

“I take it photography is a hobby you enjoyed?” I ask, standing and dusting the dirt off my knees.

“Yeah.” She nods. “I’ve found quite a few things I enjoy doin’ now, actually.” She bites her lip as she runs her thumb across the camera’s viewfinder.

Do not fucking ask her to elaborate on that.

“Wanna walk with me?” She points a thumb over her shoulder with a questioning lift of her brow.

I shake my head. “Not this time. I have a ton of shit goin’ on inside that I need to finish up and then head over to the diner.”

I’ve been open for two weeks now. The flow of traffic hasn’t slowed down, but my lack of adequate staff has made it a stressful time.

Since I was able to hire another cook, I took this morning off to get some things done around the house before the new furniture is delivered.

Wren nods and smiles. “Alright. I’ll see you later then.” She starts to walk away just as I remember that I have something inside the house for her.

“Hey—wait a sec.”

I quickly jog into the house and return with the bright red bag in hand. When I step outside, I find Wren lounging on the porch swing now, happily swaying back and forth.

“Oh! Thanks. What are these for?” she asks, ripping the corner of the bag and pouring some of the colorful candies into her palm.

“Some kid was sellin’ shit outside the store last night. I had a couple bucks in my pocket, so I grabbed these. You know I don’t have much of a sweet tooth…not like you.”

She smiles as she chews the hard clumps of sugar. “Thank you.”

A few more fall into her open hand, and she tosses them back.

I shake my head. “I’ll never understand how you eat that shit so early in the mornin’.”

“Because they’re sunshine in a bag, Carse.” She hums in delight, crunching happily. “Here. Try one. You look like you could use a little sunshine, grump-o.” She plucks a red Skittle from the bag. “Here, you can have my favorite.”

“They all taste the same.”

I begrudgingly take it, pop the hard-shelled candy into my mouth, and chew.

Yup. Still just as sickeningly sweet as I remember.

“What?!” Her eyes bug out at me like I’ve grown a third eye in the middle of my forehead. “You’re jokin’ right?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“Okay, sit.” She pats the seat beside her. “We’re gonna try somethin’.”

With a huff, I drop down next to her on the porch swing, relieved to take a break from working out in the heat.

“Now, close your eyes and open your mouth.”

I eye her with a raised brow.

“Just do it!” she demands with a laugh.

Like an obedient fucking dog, I do as I’m told.

“Now tell me what you taste.”

A hard candy lands on my tongue, and I chew. “Sugar.”

She laughs, and the bag crinkles as I assume she’s grabbing another.

“You gotta suck on it first. Really take your time with it. Don’t just go for the prize right away.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to suppress a laugh, not wanting her to catch on to where my mind just went.

Wren snorts. I crack one eye open and find her practically bursting. Her face is flushed, eyes glossy with held-in laughter.

Then she breaks—full cackle.

“Don’t say anything,” she warns, holding up a finger as she tries to catch her breath.

I shut my eyes again, smirking.

“Okay,” she says, giggling. “What about now? And remember…you’ve gotta suck.”

Another candy hits my tongue. I make a show of slowly sliding it between my teeth before biting down. “Still sugar,” I say with a grin as I open my eyes. “But getting sweeter.”

Her jaw drops. “What?! You didn’t taste any difference?” Her eyes are wide and filled with disbelief.

“Nope.” I shake my head. “Now it’s my turn to try somethin’.”

I take the bag from her hand, our fingers brushing. “Close your eyes and open your mouth.”

She swallows and immediately complies. My first instinct is to whisper what a good fucking girl she is. But I knock that idea out of my head before I do something stupid, like give her the praise I know she loves so much.

I shake a piece of candy into my hand and place it on her tongue. Her lips close, and she starts to suck—then chew. My eyes stay locked on her mouth, on the curve of her pink lips wrapped around something I gave her.

“What color was that?” I ask.

Her closed eyes scrunch tighter as she focuses on the flavor in her mouth. “Umm...” A soft laugh escapes her. “… Yellow ?”

“Open again.”

This time, her lips wrap around my fingertip. Her tongue brushes my skin as she takes the candy from me, and my jaw clenches so tight I’m afraid I’ll crack a tooth.

“Sorry,” she says slyly, chewing slowly, like she knows exactly what she’s doing.

I don’t respond. I can’t.

Because all I can see is her from the other night—naked, breathless, undone beneath me.

It took every ounce of restraint I had not to bury myself in her. I’d told her that wouldn’t happen between us—but that hadn’t stopped my body from wanting her.

The selfish part of me almost convinced myself that I could—at the very least—give her another orgasm. However, with an insane amount of willpower, I managed to leave her house before I did anything fucking stupid that I couldn’t undo.

I drove myself straight home and punished my hand in the cold shower, replaying the sound of her moan, the feel of her skin, envisioning her perfect ass as the water skated down my back.

“ Mmm ,” she moans, causing my already hardening dick to twitch. “That’s definitely red. No question.”

Her eyes pop open. “Was I right?”

“Fifty percent. Here. One more.”

The smile she shoots my way is hard not to stare at. Thankfully, her eyes snap shut again, and her mouth opens for me.

I place another candy between her lips, slower this time.

I watch her mouth, the way she sucks, how she tilts her head, how her lashes fan across her cheeks.

Her soft, eager expression makes something inside of me ache.

I need to redirect my thoughts and refocus on the present.

The last thing I want is to make things awkward for her again.

When we were at the lake a couple of weeks ago, I hated how distant she was from me. You could cut the tension between us with a knife. When I finally got her alone, I jokingly offered to show her my ass to even the score. That made her laugh—the sweetest fucking sound I’ve ever heard in my life.

“Hmm…maybe this is harder than I thought,” she admits with a chuckle as she chews the new piece. “But there is no doubt that red is superior and doesn’t taste anything like the others,” she concludes as her eyes open again.

“We’ll agree to disagree. It all tastes like sugar.”

Shaking her head, she folds the bag over and shoves it into her shorts pocket with a dramatic sigh. The sweet floral scent of her shampoo wafts toward me on the gentle breeze.

Fuck. Why does she always smells so damn good?

“So, how’s the diner? Still don’t need any help?” She playfully raises a brow.

I scowl at her. “Nope. I’m good.”

“See?” She pats my leg. “I knew it’d all work out and that you’d get it up and runnin’ again in no time. You’ve always been a hard worker.”

Her compliment does something stupid to my confidence. Sure, other people comment on my work ethic, saying I work too much or telling me I’m a hard worker, and yadda yadda. But praise from Wren means something entirely different. Her opinion is one of the few I actually care about.

“Yeah. One of the girls didn’t come back, so I don’t have as many staff members as I’d like. But,” I shrug one shoulder, “we’re makin’ it work. The only real trouble is that the girls waitressing the tables suck ass.”

“That’s probably a bit harsh,” she chuckles.

“Trust me. It’s not.”

I’m perfectly aware that I’m an asshole and probably not the greatest person to work for, but how hard is it to write down a couple of things, grab the order, take it over, and then check on the customers a few times throughout their meal?

The girls I hired are fresh out of high school and were looking for summer jobs.

I thought I was being a nice guy when I ignored my better judgment and brought them on board.

But all they seem to care about is taking selfies and scrolling through their damn phones while customers wave them down.

After a brief pause, Wren turns in her seat to face me. “Well, I can come in and teach them some things. I have a lot of experience, and I always enjoyed waitressing.”

“No one enjoys that.”

“I did.”

I shoot a disbelieving look her way, convinced that she’s only saying this so I’ll ask her for help and avoid feeling guilty about it.

“People person,” she says, pointing to herself with a grin. “Remember?”

Although Wren and I have always had our personality differences, that is the one that stands out the most. She has always loved people and enjoyed talking with them—even the ones who didn’t deserve it. I suppose it makes sense that she loved that job.

“Tink, I can’t ask you?—”

“Carson,” she interrupts, voice firm. “I’ve stood back long enough and let you do this on your own because you insisted. But that’s enough.” Her piercing baby blue eyes stay locked on mine. “Besides… I wasn’t really askin’. I am gonna help you.”

“Wren… You can’t always jump in and help everyone. We’ve been over this.”

“It’s not everyone … It’s you . I’m doin’ it because I want to, not because I feel like I have to. Because we’re… friends .”

She places a warm hand on my arm. “And I care about you.”

The word friend stings. But I know it’s a title I imposed on myself many years ago and have always refused to give up, no matter how badly I’ve wanted to.

I’ve kept it for her benefit.

The fierce look in her eyes tells me her foot is planted firmly on this, and I’d be crazy to try to argue anymore about it.

Taking a deep breath, I let out a sigh and wonder what in the hell I’m doing. Being with her even more will be torturous for me. But it’s a torture that I don’t seem to mind.

“Fine.”