Page 51 of Love Potion

He takes a small step back, chewing on his bottom lip. “I’m a little less scared now.”

“Good.”

“We should get going.”

“Yeah.” As we walk on, I offer my hand. Jerryn looks at it, then up at my face, then, smiling, he takes my hand. This works for me. I’m so done chasing after people and experiences that inevitably fall flat. I’m focusing on the one person I’ve always wanted, and whatever our relationship looks like is good enough for me.

After grabbing our coffee and pastries, we walk across the street to the park and sit on a bench to eat. It’s a cool morning, as fall is quickly approaching, but it’s my favorite season. Winter is coming, and that means lots of cuddles.

Jerryn’s talking about his favorite tree in the park, and how he can’t wait to see the leaves change, and I’m eating up every word, his soft smile, the joyful lilt in his voice. He’s right—getting the chance to love him, openly love him, feels like a dream. If it is, I hope I never wake up.

After a while he looks at his watch. “We should go.”

I nod, taking his empty cup and napkins from him. “We should.”

I take our trash to the bin and toss it in, while Jerryn hovers behind me. When I turn to face him, he has his thinking face on.

“What’s going on, Jerr?”

“Uh, just wondering if we should tell the guys.”

I nod, grabbing his hand. “Did you decide?”

He shakes his head. “What do you think?”

“I’d love to. They’re our closest friends and they’d be really happy for us. Plus, I just want to brag on you.”

He chuckles, dragging a hand through his hair. “Maybe I want to brag on you too.”

“I’m good with that.” I step closer, brushing my nose against his cheek. “Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

“What you want matters too.”

“I know.”

Jerryn blows out a breath and straightens his shoulders. “I think we can tell them, but maybe not, like, a big announcement. Just as it comes up.”

“That works.”

“Okay.”

He takes my hand again and we finish our walk to Moby’s. When we enter, the bar is quiet, the chairs still stacked on tables, but there’s a light on and low voices coming from the hallway. I’m sure it’s Lowen and Oakley. Lowen is usually the first one here to make sure all the schedules and behind-the-scenes stuff is set up.

Before we get too far, the front door opens and Indy walks in, his arm draped around Salem. Right behind them are Ridley and Wren. The chef kisses his man’s cheek before waving and heading to the kitchen. Kit will be in shortly, after he finishes walking Stewart to the university.

Lowen and Oakley join us. Oakley greets us and tells Lowen he loves him before he heads out to go cover his projects.

“I’m glad you’re all here.” Lowen frowns. “Oh. Kit’s not.”

“He’ll be here in a few,” Indy says. “Is something up?”

“Nothing major,” Lowen says. “But we got an email that the university is hosting a job fair for students looking for part-time hours while they work towards their degree. We were specifically invited to attend.”

“Which means we should revisit our scheduling,” Ridley says.

“Exactly.” Lowen nods. “We all know how crazy it’s about to get. If last year is any indication, we’ll be run into the ground by summer break. We should really consider hiring some additional servers.”

“And an extra bartender,” Salem says. “Florian and Jax could use some relief too. At least an additional barback.”

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