CHAPTER SIX: Rebecca
I could feel his eyes on my ass as I got on my tiptoes to put the glasses on the high shelf. It was purely for his benefit, because the glasses were usually just left out on the counter to dry.
I turned to face him. I squeezed my big boobs between my arms as I dried my hands on a towel. It was a silly thing to do, but there was something about this man that intrigued me. I didn’t even know his name, but his dark eyes seemed to peer into my very soul.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t been near a man without a bar separating us for years. Or maybe it was because the winters in Snowcap were horrid, and like squirrels gathering nuts for the winter, maybe I needed a good fuck to see me through the coming months.
I rolled my eyes at myself. He was probably married. And would be gone in a few minutes. I’d end this night like I ended most nights: alone with nothing but my dirty romance novels and my pulsating shower head to satisfy my needs.
When I came out of the kitchen, Carl was gone. The handsome stranger was sitting at the bar, still holding the coffee cup between his hands. The coffee was hours old, but he was drinking it like a trouper.
“Where’d Carl go?” I asked as I came around the bar to stand across from him. I made sure my back was straight so my boobs stuck out. I wasn’t a very good tease, because I hadn’t gotten much practice.
“He said he’d reached him limit and had to go,” he said, nodding at the window. The storm was starting to rage outside. The window was completely frosted over. It felt a little bit like being trapped in an ice palace.
I was not sad to see that Carl had gone home. I was thankful he would not be crashing on my couch for the night. I loved Carl like an old uncle, but he snored like a bear and smelled worse than one most of the time.
“Is there more coffee?” he asked, wiggling the cup at me.
If it was anyone else asking, I would have said no and told them to leave because I had to close. But the way the stranger was looking at me sent a little chill down my spine. I didn’t feel threatened. I knew what that felt like. No, it was more of a feeling of wonderment, of expectation, of uncertainty. I had never expected this handsome man to walk into my bar on the night of the first blizzard of the season. My brain was telling me to make him leave, but other parts of me, those parts not used as often or as recently as my brain, were begging for him to stay.
“There’s a little more, but it’s kind of burnt,” I said, picking up the pot from the warmer and swishing around what was left of the coffee. I filled his cup and set the pot on the bar.
“I’m Nick, by the way,” he said, extending his hand. I put my hand in his and his long fingers wrapped around mine.
“Rebecca,” I said with a smile. My hand lingered in his. Even though the bar was chilly, I felt a heat go through me as if a furnace had kicked on. My pilot light had been lit. The pipes were beginning to thaw. I pulled back my hand and bit my bottom lip.
He picked up the cup and glanced at the window. “I’m afraid I won’t get far in this storm,” he said. “Is there a motel nearby or a cabin I can rent for the night?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” I said. “This is a pretty desolate stretch of road.”
“Well then,” he said, taking a sip of the coffee and making a funny face at me. “I’d best be on my way.”
My lips wanted to tell him he could spend the night with me upstairs, but my brain kept getting in the way. Remember Charlie Feenie, it said. You threw yourself at him and it almost cost you your life. I took a deep breath as he slid off the stool. My mouth was ignoring my brain.
Say something, you idiot… Say anything… Invite him upstairs…
I said, “Just head back down the mountain and you should be fine.”
Shit. That was not what I wanted to say.
“What do I owe you?” he asked as he plucked his jacket off the peg and shoved his arms into it.
“The coffee is on the house,” I said, following him to the door. I laughed like a schoolgirl. “Most folks say I should pay them to drink it.”
He gave me the smile that made my knees shake again. This time, I knew for sure I wasn’t shaking from the cold. It was the stranger—Nick—that was doing this to me. With just a look he had my knees shaking and my panties damp.
“Thanks again, Rebecca,” he said. “Have a good night.”
“You, too,” I muttered, opening the door. “Be safe out there.”
He waited until I opened the door and then ducked his head and went out into the barrage of wind. The snow attacked him like a swarm of bees. I pushed the door nearly closed and watched him get into his car. He looked back and gave me a wave.
I closed the door and sighed.
It would be another night alone.
Just me and my shower massage.