Cherry on Top, page 13
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks,” she said, not wanting to scold him, but knowing it kind of came out that way.
“I know,” he said and bowed his head for a second. “Work has been kicking my ass. I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven. I’m just so happy to see your face.” It was true. She was close to Kendra. Loved her. But Evan was like a brother and a best friend all rolled into one. They’d clicked immediately, both of them knowing they’d be friends for life. No idea why or how, just that it was.
“Hey, Mikey,” he said and gently grabbed one of her toes, gave it a little wiggle. “How’s your day going?” Something else she loved about him—he always, always said hello to Michaela. She probably couldn’t hear him. Likely had zero idea about it or concern if he didn’t say hi, but he always did. He never treated her like she was just a body lying there in the room.
“You here to pick up Kendra?” she asked, glancing at her watch and then widening her eyes. It was later than she thought, and she had to get home to feed Nugget.
“Yes, ma’am, but I wanted to come and see my two favorite sisters.” He took a seat. “And I wanted to see how things were going. A little bird told me you’ve been seeing somebody pretty seriously. True?”
He was hurt she hadn’t talked to him about it. She could see it on his face. And honestly? She felt guilty about that.
“It’s happened so fast, though,” she said, and it was the truth. Something she tried not to think about for fear of sending herself into a panic. “Like, crazy fast.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if it’s right, you know?” He seemed to study her face, to look into her eyes as if trying to find something. “Is it right?”
“I mean…” She nibbled on the inside of her cheek. “I’m afraid to say.”
“Don’t wanna jinx it.”
“Exactly.”
“Fair enough. But you’re smiling pretty big and you seem lighter. So I’m gonna guess that it’s feeling right.” He held up a hand. “You don’t have to say it.”
“You get me.” And he did. It was part of why they got along so well. She rarely had to explain herself to him.
“I like seeing you like this.” He waved a finger up and down in front of her. “Looks good on you.”
“What does?” How was she acting any different?
“The smile. The spring in your step.”
Her smile grew wider. She could feel it. And she knew that Cherry had altered her demeanor a bit, but she’d had no idea it was visible to other people.
“Like I said,” Evan told her, “looks good on you.” Her face warmed. “So does the blush,” he added with a wink.
She covered her face with her hands and blushed some more.
Chapter Fourteen
It always amused Ellis when something like a regular, perfectly normal Wednesday was intensely busy at the diner. There was rarely any rhyme or reason to it. It just was, and it happened every so often.
Kitty was running around at double her usual speed, pro that she was. Cal was flipping eggs and pancakes and mixing biscuit dough like his life depended on it. The two other waitresses didn’t stop moving, and Ellis stayed out front to help, wiping tables, filling water glasses, getting people seated. She didn’t mind at all because if she was out front, she was able to steal looks and send winks to the hot redhead at the corner table who’d glance at her over the rim of her sexy glasses whenever she got the chance.
“You two are ridiculous,” Kitty whispered at her behind the counter as she scooped pie onto plates. “All flirty and having eye sex with each other.”
Ellis burst out laughing. “Excuse me?”
“And also, you’re adorable and I’m jealous.”
“That I’m not eye-sexing you?” Ellis winked.
Kitty barked a laugh. “Maybe twenty years ago, honey.” Then she bumped her with a hip and left to deliver her pie, and Ellis had to give props to the customer, because who didn’t want pie for breakfast?
As usual, things started to clear out a little after nine, nine thirty, until there were only Cherry and four other regulars left. The two retired gentlemen who met every Wednesday for coffee and gossip. The bearded guy with his AirPods in and the strawberry-blond woman that always had a book. She had today’s propped up enough to see, the new Nora Roberts.
“Hi,” Ellis said as she warmed up Cherry’s coffee, then plopped into a seat across from her. “I’m the manager here, and I was hoping to get some feedback from you on your experience today.”
Cherry slid her glasses off her face—something Ellis was shocked to find an undeniably sexy maneuver—set them down, then propped her chin in her hands, making a big show of choosing her words. “Well, I’m not gonna lie. The food is terrific. Those biscuits?” She gave a little full-body shudder. “To die for. The service is great, always. But today? My favorite thing today was the eye candy.”
“Eye candy, you say?” Ellis cocked her head to one side.
“Yes, that sexy blond chick that flitted around pretending to wipe tables, but who was actually just out here to flirt with me? You know who I mean?”
“Hmm. Sounds vaguely familiar.”
“Definite eye candy, that one. And very much appreciated. Made my morning much more pleasant. If you could pass that along to management, I’d be grateful.”
“I’ll be sure to send that directly to the owner,” Ellis said and knew she was sporting a goofy grin.
“She should get a raise.”
“I’ll bring that up, too.”
“And make many, many more appearances.”
“Noted.” It was Ellis’s turn to prop her chin in her hand, and they sat that way, and it was something about them she was beginning to love—that they could just look at each other without words, and it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable. She wasn’t always great with silence. Maybe that was from all the time spent with her nonverbal sister, but she always felt like she needed to fill in the silences with her own voice, even when she didn’t have anything to say. With Cherry? She didn’t feel that. With Cherry, the silence was companionable. Easy. Plus, she liked to just look at her.
“Are you busy Friday night?” Cherry asked quietly, after they’d gazed at each other for a long moment.
Ellis shook her head slowly. “Nope.”
“Would you go on a date with me?”
“Yup.”
“Well, that was easy.” Cherry’s laugh was soft. Pretty. She picked up her coffee and took a sip.
“I’d go anywhere with you.” The words were out before Ellis could think about them, filter them, catch them. Surprisingly, though, she didn’t panic. She pressed her lips together, but then gave a small shrug. After all, it was true. And it didn’t seem to surprise Cherry at all. She just kept smiling that smile.
“Same,” she said.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?” Ellis asked after a moment of delicious eye contact that made her seriously consider dragging Cherry by the hand to the back room of the diner and kissing her face off.
“You do not.” And with that, Cherry began packing up her things. “I will pick you up at six thirty on Friday. Yeah?”
“Sounds great. I can’t wait.” And she couldn’t.
“Good.” Laptop in its case, purse closed, money on the table, Cherry stood and shouldered her bags. Then warm fingers grasped Ellis’s chin, and Cherry kissed her softly on the mouth.
Ellis watched her walk away, lips tingling. Cherry went out the door with a little wave, and she tried to recall if she’d ever had a woman kiss her in public like that. Not that she wasn’t out. She totally was. But there was something freeing about that kiss. Something natural. Something wonderful.
With a sigh that bordered on dreamy, she picked up Cherry’s dishes and headed back to the kitchen.
“Well, that was adorable and sweet,” Kitty said.
“I have a date on Friday,” was her reply, and she could feel the lovesick grin taking over her face.
“Oh, nice. Where?” Kitty wet a rag in the sink under the counter and began wiping up the remnants of breakfast from the people who’d sat there earlier.
“I have no idea.”
The rag stopped. Kitty looked at her, eyes wide. “A surprise date? Okay, that’s romantic.”
Ellis let go of a big sigh.
Kitty studied Ellis with her dark eyes for a beat before asking, “What’s that face for?”
“I think we went backward.”
Back to wiping, Kitty said, “Because you did the nasty right away.”
She gritted her teeth and made a face. “Yeah…”
“So what?”
Blinking. So what? Lots of blinking.
Kitty glanced at her, then stopped wiping again and focused her gaze on Ellis. “Are there rules I don’t know about? Something that says you can’t have sex first and get to know each other later?”
Her shoes were very interesting all of a sudden. “I mean, no, I guess not. It just seems like…” She looked back up. “We’re going about it wrong?” She said it like a question because that’s what it was.
“Says who?”
“I don’t know!” She gave a little foot stomp that made Kitty smile.
“Just breathe, baby. That’s all you have to do. Okay? Just breathe. And let a beautiful woman take you on a date. And if you feel like it after that?” Kitty lowered her voice to a whisper. “Take her to bed. Again.”
Ellis pursed her lips and slowly nodded as she pointed a finger at Kitty. “I’m rather fond of this idea. Good suggestion.” Then she broke into a laugh.
“Hey, I only have your best interests at heart, you know.”
* * *
The early May day had been beautiful, but by the time Cherry picked up Ellis at her apartment, the clouds had rolled in and the sky had turned the slate gray of old ductwork. But it didn’t matter because Ellis was in the passenger seat, and she looked absolutely edible in ripped jeans and a gray short-sleeved sweater. Her blond hair was down and held a gentle curl, and she smelled like peaches. Fresh, juicy, ripe—
“Now can you tell me where we’re going?” Ellis asked, gazing out the window, but her hand on Cherry’s thigh. And that hand was warm. No. Hot. So very hot. Driving became slightly more difficult with that hand there.
“I don’t have to because we’re here.” Cherry slid the car into a parking spot and killed the engine.
Ellis was looking at the storefront of Vineyard. “I’ve heard of this place. It’s a wine bar, yes?”
Cherry nodded.
“But it says closed for a private event.” Ellis pointed at the chalkboard propped out front.
“Yup. We’re part of that. It’s a tasting.”
And that’s when Ellis’s clear blue eyes lit up, and a smile blossomed wide across her face, both of which sent a flurry of flutters into the lower parts of Cherry’s body. “I’ve never been to a tasting before.” Her excitement was obvious, and Cherry silently gave herself a point, then remembered that it was actually Shea’s point.
“Never? Well, good. And this’ll be a fun one. Come on.”
They got out of the car and headed into Vineyard, a small and super classy little space that Cherry always promised to visit more often and always forgot about. It was dimly lit and made of a lot of wood—walls, tables, floor. The bar was marble in swirls of black and white, and the tables were set up in a horseshoe with seats on the outside and a small head table at the opening. Each spot held a small plate and five empty wine glasses, as well as glasses of water and silver buckets spaced every three seats. Dump buckets, Cherry thought. There were also lists and tiny golf pencils for making notes. Four people were already seated.
Inside the door stood a cute brunette in a ponytail, her energy contagious before she even said anything. “Hi there,” she said. “I’m Bridget. You have reservations?”
Cherry gave her their names and they were directed to sit wherever they wanted. She looked to Ellis, who didn’t miss a beat and walked directly to where the horseshoe curved.
“This way, we can see the presenter, and we can people-watch the others without looking like we are,” Ellis said in a whisper.
“I’m glad you have your priorities straight,” Cherry whispered back as they sat.
“We have plates, so this must be a pairing kind of thing.” Ellis picked up the paper and her eyes went wide. “No way,” she said. And could she be cuter? She grinned like a kid and very nearly bounced in her seat. “Girl Scout cookies? This is a wine and Girl Scout cookie tasting?”
“It is.” Jackpot. She owed Shea for this idea.
“Oh my God, I’m so excited.” The last word was a tiny squeal. Yeah, she owed Shea big-time.
She arranged the glasses and used the portrait setting to take a couple cool shots before the wine or cookies came, and she planned to take several more throughout the evening.
Once all the seats were filled, a smiling blond woman stood at the small table. “I’m so happy you’re all here. My name is Lindsay, and I manage this place. Who’s in the mood for cookies and wine?”
For the next hour, they tried different Girl Scout cookies with different wines. All the pairings worked, some more successfully than others.
“Thin Mints are my favorites,” Ellis told her as she munched. “But I don’t think of mint as going very well with wine.”
“No, but chocolate does.” She swirled the semidry red in her glass, took a small bite of the cookie, then sipped. “Oh my God. So good.” Ellis was watching her, eyes slightly hooded, lips parted, and everything south of Cherry’s belly tightened, her brain sending her flashes of the two of them in bed. She felt her face heat up. Then she swallowed, cleared her throat, and had to force her eyes away.
“That was fun,” Ellis said quietly, then sipped her wine with a bite of cookie and chewed, her face all mischievous grin.
All Cherry could do was shake her head and continue to blush like a schoolgirl. What was this woman doing to her?
That’s how the evening went. Nibbling, sipping, making sexy eyes at each other. By the time they reached the fifth and final pairing, Cherry’s underwear was uncomfortably damp, and she was so turned-on, she worried anybody who gave her a glance would know instantly.
The last pairing was Lemonades and a sparkling white.
“Okay,” Lindsay instructed, “just like you’ve been doing, take a small bite of the cookie, then a sip of the sparkling, and let them sit together in your mouth for a second or two. This one’s my favorite.”
To say Cherry enjoyed looking at Ellis, watching her, observing her reactions and facial expressions, was a major understatement. She pulled out her phone and took a couple shots as Ellis followed Lindsay’s instructions. She sipped the wine, and her eyes went wide, hilariously so. Cherry laughed in response and snapped several photos. “That good, huh?”
“Oh my God.” Ellis picked up Cherry’s cookie and handed to her. “Here. Do it. It’s…I can’t even. It’s amazing.”
If Cherry hadn’t planned on partaking anyway, Ellis’s face would’ve convinced her. Easily. It was a strange realization, that. In that moment it became clear that Ellis could probably convince her to do just about anything. Had anybody in her life held that kind of power over her?
She took a bite of the cookie, tangy and citrusy, then sipped from her flute. The sparkling was fizzy and dry and holy Moses, the combination hit her immediately. Like a slap, but in a good way. Like a sudden party in her mouth. She felt her eyes go wide, and she looked at Ellis, who was grinning.
“See? Told you. Amazing, right?”
She nodded, and when she looked around the wine bar, everybody was having a similar reaction.
“Saved the best for last, didn’t I?” Lindsay said to them, her smile knowing and very satisfied. “My fave.” She clapped her hands together once. “Okay, that concludes the tasting. Thank you so much for coming, and feel free to hang out, order yourself a full glass. All the wines you tasted are available for purchase by the bottle.” She held her arm out to the side toward the bar where a very attractive brunette stood next to Bridget from the door, both waiting. “Either Bridget or my lovely wife, Piper, will be happy to help you out.”
Cherry blinked. Vineyard was run by a same-sex couple?
“How cool is that?” Ellis asked, reading her thoughts. “I mean, now we have to buy some wine.”
Cherry nodded. “So, I’m not ready to go yet. Want to order a couple glasses?”
“If it means more time to sit here with you? Absolutely.”
Their gazes held and that was another thing new to Cherry—perfectly comfortable eye contact. Looking into Ellis’s eyes felt normal. Natural. Perfect.
“I’ll get this,” Ellis said after a long moment. “What do you want?”
As soon as she headed to the bar, Cherry rearranged dishware, glasses, any cookies that were left, and took a few more shots. She’d have a good bank of photos to choose from for posting tomorrow.
She watched the bar, watched Ellis chatting with the man standing next to her who was also ordering glasses of wine. She had such an easy sort of grace, an aura of sorts around her that just drew people in, as evidenced by the woman on the other side of her who joined in the conversation until the three of them were laughing and talking like old friends. That’s who Ellis was, Cherry was beginning to realize. The one people gravitated to. The one everybody wanted to be friends with. And she, Cherry, was the one who was lucky enough to take her home.
Yeah. Falling for Ellis was a distinct possibility.
In fact, it was already happening.
