Rayvn
She’d done the worst possible thing she could and invited Shane inside. It seemed harsh to turn him away and tell him to call a cab and wait outside, especially after he paid for her dinner and drove her home in her car. He’d only had that pint to be sure he could drive her back. She’d had more than a couple of drinks and was definitely feeling the aftershocks since she didn’t normally drink.
He stood there, a few feet behind her, tall and awkward and far too broad in the entranceway of her condo. She’d never had a man in her condo before. After the divorce, she’d looked for a place that she could just call hers.
She wanted to hate having him there, but she didn’t. I don’t hate it at all.
Shane glanced around, offered a polite smile and reached into the back pocket of his jeans. He produced his phone. When he held it out in front of him, Rayvn nearly panicked.
“What are you doing?” She tried to keep the apprehension out of her tone, but she was sure he heard it. He looked up questioningly.
“Calling a cab. You know, to- uh- get my car.”
“Right.” She hated that when she nodded, it felt like it was in slow motion. She cursed the four gin and tonics she’d had. She thought she’d be okay with food, but her head was swimming. “Well… maybe you can wait. I should at least offer you a cup of coffee. To say thanks.”
“Rayvn… I-”
“I just baked muffins this morning. Before work. I don’t know why I did since I can’t eat all of them by myself, I just, thought it would be nice, you know, to have a treat. I found this recipe and thought I would try it. I was craving a muffin, but I don’t like the ones from the store-” she realized she was babbling on so she cut herself off.
Shane shifted first to one foot then to the other. “Really, I- should-”
“Stay for a muffin and a cup of coffee? That’s what I thought you’d say. Do you like it black or with cream?”
“Uh- black with sugar actually.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have pegged you for the type that drinks sugar in anything.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” He cast another look at his phone before he slowly tucked it away in the back pocket of his jeans. He kicked his shoes off next and followed her in.
Rayvn had never been so aware of anything in her life as she was of Shane walking around behind her. Her heart did a little skip hop in her chest and she felt jumpy. Her breathing wasn’t right. It was raspy and all over the place.
She tried to calm down by forcing herself to pay attention as she brewed up a pot of coffee. Unfortunately, she worked on auto-pilot, having done it so many times before. Without her asking him to, Shane pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Her condo wasn’t exactly open concept. It was older and outdated. She’d done the best she could to hide that with a fresh coat of grey paint and by furnishing it with all sorts of beautiful antiques.
It had been a fun task, probably the only thing she’d actually enjoyed about having to look for a new place, buy it and move into it. Then again, she’d always enjoyed antique hunting. The circumstances surrounding her purchases didn’t really dampen her joy in finding great pieces.
The table and chairs were quarter sawn oak with black leather seats. It was in excellent condition. All she had to do was oil it and it brought the wood right back to life.
“This is nice.” Shane ran his hand over the tabletop. “I like the wood.”
“That’s how it naturally looks, the grain, when it’s cut. That’s what I like most about antiques. They don’t really make things like this anymore. Nothing is quality or built to last.”
“I know. People just design shit to break. It’s annoying as hell.”
“That’s what I tell customers when they come in. Some people complain about the cost of antiques, but then I tell them to shop around. New places aren’t any cheaper and the furniture is particle board half the time. It’s not built to survive more than a few years. A lot of the stuff I find is over a hundred years old and half the time it still looks like the day it was made.”
“I never really liked antiques,” Shane admitted. “Until I met you.”
“You don’t have to like them,” Rayvn assured him. She watched the slow drip as the coffee began trickling into the glass pot below. “I know that everyone has their own style. You don’t have to worry about offending me.”
“I think I’ve done enough of that. Offending you. I’d really like not to do it again. And I really do like the table. I guess I didn’t really ever think about this kind of stuff. I always just imagined antiques to be moldy old clothes and gross chairs that came from dank basements.”
“Don’t get me wrong, some of the stuff can be pretty gross where it comes from. I’ve done a couple picks at old barns and god… until I get the stuff cleaned up. It’s nasty. We’re a throw-away society so a lot of times things just get forgotten. They get left there for decades and no one thinks about them until someone passes away and a shed or a barn or an attic gets cleaned out.”
“It would be pretty cool- finding that stuff, or at least seeing it. I think finding old car parts or old tractor stuff would be neat. I’ve seen a few cool things that guys have done with car grills and seats.”
“I found an old wagon once. The kind that horses used to pull. We have a shop truck and a trailer that I bought a few years ago just for doing picks. It was impossible and really not cost efficient trying to get stuff home without it. I had to go out and rent a flat deck trailer to get that thing home, but it was worth every single second of the hardship.”
Shane shot her a look. The disbelief on his face was entirely too evident. “Somehow I can’t imagine you driving a truck and trailer.”
“Why not?” She scoffed. “Oh… because I’m a woman?”
“No- not that- I just- you’re just- so pretty…”
“What does that have to do with anything?” She moved her hands to her hips, but her smile never faltered. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t really offended. “You’re lucky I’m used to people not believing me. Sometimes when I’m driving, I look over and people in other vehicles are just staring at me. The truck is twenty-four feet long and the trailer is another twenty or so. It’s big. I guess people don’t expect to see a woman driving it. I don’t know why not. Women drive big trucks all the time now.”
“It’s because of what I said… you’re- uh- you’re so pretty.”
“If I was a hag, would it be better?”
Shane choked. “I don’t know,” he rasped.
Rayvn poured their two mugs of coffee. She added cream to hers and sugar to Shane’s. She didn’t know how much, so she put in a heaping spoonful. She figured he’d ask for more if it was too bitter. She put the container of muffins on the table as well.
Shane popped the lid as soon as she set it down. He inhaled deeply. “That smells like carrot cake.”
“Close. They’re actually carrot pumpkin, but it uses a lot of the same spices as carrot cake.”
She’d barely sat down before Shane set the muffin paper aside. He sighed in satisfaction. “These are really good. I mean, really good. Maybe you should become a chef or something.”
“Not a chance. I’m not a very good cook. Baking is one thing. Cooking is another.”
“Are you one of those people that cook meat to the point of it turning into leather just to be sure it’s done?”
“Yup. That’s me.”
“Bakery then?”
“I like what I do, but if I ever consider a career change, maybe a bakery would be nice. I would love to bake for someone else though. Running things, yourself isn’t always the best. It’s a lot of work. Sometimes it’s absolutely exhausting.”
The minutes ticked by in silence. Shane had two more muffins. She had one. They sipped their coffee.
I actually don’t want this to end. I don’t want him to leave. It was strange, finding that she wished the moment could last forever when she’d been so sure that first time they’d met that she never wanted to see Shane again. I might have missed out. She tried very hard not to concentrate on what she might have missed out on.
“Do you want another cup of coffee?” She spoke too quickly, jumbling the words together, betraying how flustered she suddenly was.
“That would be nice. Although I might not sleep tonight.”
“It never does that to me. I could drink eight cups and still sleep like a baby.”
Rayvn got up and took their cups to the counter. Her hand closed over the coffee pot. A shadow loomed over her and she nearly jumped as Shane’s hand closed over hers. She hadn’t even heard him get up. She trembled at the contact and a surge of heat ripped up her arm and spread violently, warming the rest of her body unbearably.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said thickly right next to her ear. His breath tickled the tender skin at the back of her neck and the shivers were back big time.
“About- about what?” She said breathlessly.
“About the coffee. I don’t want a second cup.”
She turned slowly and faltered backward. “Water then? Milk? Juice?”
“No.” He shook his head and his eyes burned straight into her, betraying him, letting her see just how deep his desire ran. The shivers turned into full on shakes. She gripped the counter to keep from falling over. “I want you.”