FOREVER VALENTINE
This is for the
Valentine's Day Story Contest 2023
.
It's also a bit of slow burn, but they get there eventually. I hope you enjoy it, and also hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
©2023 Smuttyandfun All Rights Reserved.
OLIVIA
I was having such a good time laughing my ass off at our local dive bar. Nothing I liked better than enjoying a night out kicking back with my friends. Especially as Randi regaled us with another one of her wild stories about her kooky family. Which always had me counting my lucky stars about my own fairly normal clan.
Just imagining her grandma chasing a bill collector up the street with a broom, shouting obscenities after him so loud that the neighbors all came out to watch, had the four of us bursting into hysterics. Picturing the poor guy running as fast as he could from a tiny, old woman threatening him with a whooping, had me laughing so hard, I think I might have snorted some beer out of my nose.
Especially once Randi went on to tell us that her grandmother actually didn't owe anyone any money. But when he came banging on her door and she told him that he had the wrong house and to go away, and then he had the nerve to go around to the back door and start banging again, he pushed her too far and she reached for her broom. Which turned out to be a pretty bad move, considering the way she chased him.
Wondering if anyone else had noticed how crazy we were behaving, I took a look around as I reached for a napkin to wipe my face.
And that was when our eyes met.
Holy Hannah, talk about a dream man. He had my imagination running wild, already picturing what the two of us could get up to.
The way he was eyeing me with that naughty smirk, I just couldn't look away.
The guy looked like he could be a cover model for some kind of outdoorsy magazine. He really had that sexy 'Jack of the Woods' thing going on.
Those silvery-blue eyes teasingly smiling into mine, put me in mind of a wolf on the prowl, sending shivers straight up my back. Such crazy thick dark hair too, that I could already imagine sliding my fingers through as he kissed me senseless with those luscious lips.
Ooh, now he had me wondering if he was furry all over. I've got to confess, I've got a thing for men with body hair, the bushier the better. And this guy sure looked like he'd fit the bill, tall, dark and ruggedly handsome with a perfect hint of dark, sexy beard scruff lining his jaw.
Not that I was looking for anyone, mind you. After that last fiasco, I decided I was done with dating, and swore I'd never step back into the dating pool till I was at least fifty. After learning that the man I thought I loved, and was seriously considering spending my life with, had been secretly hooking up with not just one, but two of my former best friends, my self-esteem just couldn't take anymore blows.
I had to give 'Hot Stuff' credit though, he didn't relent, and kept his teasing bedroom eyes trained on mine, along with a very suggestive hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
'Nope,' I said to myself, 'never gonna happen.' Hottie could look somewhere else for a hookup. Giving my head a shake, I reached for my beer, and turned my attention back to my friends. No way was I going to succumb and fall for that sultry look in his eyes. I wasn't even a teensy bit interested. Even if he did look hot enough to melt my panties from clear across the bar.
Slyly grinning, my friend Julie, picked up on the looks passing between us, and gave me an elbow. "Hey, I think you've got an admirer, Livy. Tall, dark and gorgeous over there, hasn't taken his eyes off you since we first sat down."
"Well, he can look all he wants, but I'm not interested."
She turned and looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you kidding me? You don't even know him. How do you know he's not
Mr. Right,
just waiting to sweep you off your feet
?
"
"Yeah, remember I thought Chad was the one, too. And we all know how that turned out."
"Well, if I were you, before you leave, I'd slip him my number."
"Never gonna happen," I said, refusing to even look his way. Though I had to admit I was kind of curious to see if he was still looking.
The four of us talked and laughed together for another hour. Till I finally looked at my watch and realized it was time to head home. Otherwise, I'd never get up on time to get everything ready for the morning coffee rush, and the lunch crowd after that.
Though I enjoyed running my own business, I often wished I could have even just a week to myself to go off somewhere and relax.
Maybe, one day, I thought with a sigh, but obviously not today.
**
It was a little after noon, and I'd just thanked Jimmy the delivery guy for dropping off a fresh bag of rolls from the bakery, and waved him off at the back door. After I'd put them in the basket on the counter, I thought I'd better do a quick inventory of my sandwich fixings to see what I needed to order, before things started getting busy.
I was poking my head in the fridge, taking notes of whatever was running low, when I heard the bell ring over the door.
I turned around, and I think my eyes popped at the same moment my mouth fell open.
"Hey," he said, with that same teasing glint in his silver-blue eyes. Though he didn't mention that we'd seen each other before, at least from a distance, I could tell he recognized me from the little glimmer of amusement sparkling in his eyes.
"Oh, hi," I responded, wondering how he could look even hotter than I remembered.
Flashing a hint of a smile, he pulled a list out of the pocket of his leather jacket. "I'm picking up some lunch for my crew," he informed me.
Not quite sure if I was ready to form words, since my mouth had gone bone dry, I mutely pointed up at the blackboard on the side wall over one of the tables. Once I'd managed to clear my throat, and swallow, I told him, "We've got three kinds of soups today, and homemade pizza and lasagna. Or I could make any kind of sandwich you'd like, hot or cold."
Looking down at his list, I could see he looked a little confused. "The thing is, I've got one lady that wants, I think she said something vegetarian, or maybe vegan, I'm not even sure which. Do you if they're the same thing?" Then he lifted his gaze, pinning me with those wolfish eyes.
"No, not quite," I said, with a little smile, while resisting the urge to fan myself, he was getting me so overheated, it was silly. "We do offer options for both, though."
"Do you have any kind of vegetarian pizza?"
I pointed at the two big party-sized pizzas in the showcase. "The one on the right is fully loaded with pepperoni, ham, sausage, onion, olives and roasted red peppers. The other one is just fresh tomato, onion, olives and cheese."
"Is the cheese on the veggie one, like cheese from a cow?" he asked, I guess wondering if it was vegan.
Since no one had ever asked me that before, I kind of laughed as I explained, "It's actually buffalo mozzarella. So, it wouldn't qualify as vegan. But I could make a sandwich on a fresh crusty bun, with some veggies I grilled this morning. And I've got a pot of vegetable and wild rice soup simmering, that's also vegetarian."
"Hang on, just a sec, let me check." He pulled out his phone, keeping his eyes on mine. "Hey Kate, I'm at that little cafe you guys suggested. They've got a really nice-looking homemade pizza, but it's got buffalo cheese." He laughed. "No, not cheese from Buffalo, New York," he said, grinning at me. "Its cheese made from buffalo milk."
Finally, with a frustrated shake of his head, he handed me his phone, and I reached for a note pad and told his friend what we had, that I thought she might like.
"Okay, I've got your lady friend's order. Now what else can I get you?" I asked, handing him back his cell phone, after she'd thanked me.
He flashed a little smile. "Actually, Kate's not my lady friend. She's the designer that I've got working on my house with me."
When I just nodded, not sure what difference it made who she was, he shrugged and pointed at the showcase. "I think I'll take that whole pizza with meat, if that's okay. And maybe a couple of salads and a few different kinds of sandwiches, and some veggie soup. That'll probably be enough. Oh, and maybe throw in a couple of squares of lasagna. There's only four of us, aside from Kate. But I've got a feeling that we might be working through dinner, so they'll probably be hungry later."
I could feel him watching me as I put everything together.
When I looked up, I found myself staring straight into those bedroom eyes. I had to swallow pretty hard before I could point at the stand-up cooler against the wall and tell him, "You can help yourself to some drinks, while I finish these."
After he'd put a few drinks on the counter, his eyes lit up when glancing around, he noticed the sweets I had in the far end of the other showcase. "I guess I should grab a few cookies, too," he said with a pretty adorable boyish grin, giving me a show of his dimples.
Like he wasn't hot enough, he had to have dimples, too? Sheesh.
"I've also got some brownies in the oven that are ready to come out, if you'd like some of those."
"Sounds good," he said, still smiling into my eyes, before he dropped his gaze to my lips. "Because I do have a bit of a sweet tooth."
When I was cutting up the sandwiches, I had to watch myself with the knife, he had me so rattled.
After he'd paid me, and I went to hand him the change, he surprised me when he put it all in the tip jar.
He also reached for one of our cards and slipped it into his pocket, letting me know that he'd be back.
He'd ordered so much, I had to come around the counter to hand him everything. When we were practically standing toe to toe, I realized just how tall and broad shouldered he actually was; built just like a lumber jack. And the guy rocked a leather jacket, fitted jeans, and construction boots like no one I'd ever seen. No surprise, I could see a little tuft of dark curly hair peeking out at the neckline of his blue plaid shirt. So, I imagined he'd also be kind of furry, just the way I liked 'em.
"Here you go," I said with a little tremor in my voice, handing him the bags as my mind went off into a flight of fancy, imagining him whipping off his shirt for me - and maybe even his jeans.
