I’ve barely moved my head to my right, and the damn ground below me sways slightly when the vision that is my mystery woman comes into sight. She’s tucked away in one of the overstuffed brown leather chairs in the back corner, hair up in a high ponytail, face naturally fresh with barely an ounce of makeup,and with her casual jeans and T-shirt look, this woman is a wonder.
I know she said she’s from the East Coast, but I can’t imagine a woman as divine as her could be from anywhere other than the heavens above. I’m not a religious man, but I’m thanking the big guy upstairs for putting this heavenly creature in my path.
“Miles! What are you doing over there?”
Becks’ voice gets my attention, and I force myself to tear my eyes away from the angel in the corner and to the face behind the counter looking at me in a way that sayswhat the hell is wrong with you.
Looks like I took two steps in the door and stopped in place and have been standing here staring at the new girl in town like a stalker. Luckily, she has earbuds in, and she didn’t hear my name called, and I’m able to reach the counter without being detected.
“Hey, Becks, how’s it going?”
Becks is family. My girl, Amelia, was a bit of a surprise to her parents, and Rebecca, or Becks as we all call her, her big sister, was almost ten when she was born. She may not have been an official part ofThe Crew,but she was a big sister to us all. She’s the stable one—married, two kids, running her own business and still taking care of anyone who needs her. Don’t even get me started on her famous cheesecake. She’s kind of like a superhero to all of us. Not onlycanshe do it all but shedoes.
“I’m good. Not distracted like some other people who think it’s good for business to stand still with his giant body blocking the doorway so nobody else can get in.” Her head nods in the direction of the blond beauty in the corner.
“Can you blame me? I mean, look at her, Becks. Have you ever seen anything like her before?”
Becks is five foot three if she’s lucky, so she has to hop up a little to lift herself up on to the counter to lean forward and place her hand on my forehead.
“Dude, what are you doing?”
“Checking to make sure you aren’t ailing from a fever of some sort.” Her hand moves to my cheek. “You feel fine. Strange. Does this mean an alien has taken over your body?” She pretends to look all over my face. “Miles, are you in there?” She drops back down to her feet.
“Smart-ass isn’t becoming on you, Becks.”
“Sorry, I’ve just never seen you so taken by a woman before.”
“I know, it’s crazy, but the moment I saw her at the bar the other night, she had me out of my head.”
“No shit?” she whispers, looking as though she’s seen a ghost or something.
“Don’t be so shocked. Just because I get laid often doesn’t mean there isn’t still a heart beating in this extremely toned chest.”
“You are ridiculous. You want your usual?” she asks, exasperated.
All it takes is one of my egotistical comments to right the world again and have her focused back on why I’m really here.
Caffeine.
All I get is a black coffee so it only takes a minute for my cup to be poured, but I use every second of that time to watch her, and it’s the most entertaining minute of my life.
Mystery woman has her laptop fittingly on her lap and is so engrossed in what she’s reading she doesn’t seem to realize she’s destroying the straw in her iced coffee with the way she’s gnawing on it. A few seconds later, she releases the straw and takes a sip. This simple action has me getting a semi right here in the morning light with a crowd around me.
Damn, this woman.
She lifts her cup to take another drink, but something on the screen has her smiling and silently giggling. Once the giggle stops, she brings the straw close to her lips that are now sitting slightly parted and her lower lip is screaming for me to bite it.Finally, her chewed within an inch of its life straw makes it between her perfect pink lips.
Victory!
“Here’s your coffee, dummy.”
“What?”
“If she notices you staring at her, you’re just gonna creep her out. Take it down a notch, psycho.”
“You’re right. I’m goin’ in.”
“Not at all what I meant. Oh, the poor girl.”