Page 22 of South of The Skyway

“Thanks again, ma’am. I appreciate your time.”

“Ma’am?” She barked a laugh. “After all our chatting, do I seem like ama’amto you? It’s Clem, handsome, just Clem.”

The laugh was involuntary, and I stifled it when I could. “Alright,Clem. Where can a man get a good cup of black tea around here?”

I could have told her pigs ran the moon, and her face might have been less sardonic. She scoffed, “Your eyes work alright, Rhyett?” She pointed across the bustling street to a sprawling shopfront painted black, bearing a gold sign that said The Cracked Corset.The subheading read:a literary cafe.“Beginning to worry about you, son.”

“Ahh, I was just too excited about meeting you to look around much.”

“Sure you were.” She gave a husky laugh, looking all too pleased with her ribbing.

“Have a good day, Clem.”

“You too, kid.”

I turned to stroll towards the nearest crosswalk when my future landlord hollered my name. Turning back as she opened the cherry-red door to her little coupe, I quirked my head. Offered a smile.

“Stay alert down here. You’re not in Kansas anymore, kid.”

When she received my nod and smile, Clementine-Clem-climbed into her sporty little car and had the engine purring before I even got to the nearest light. A sixty-something woman looking out for a thirty-five-year-old man. That was oddly heartwarming.

The concept of wandering into a literary cafe named after women’s lingerie wasn’t particularly up my alley. But as I peered into the window, I spotted mile-long legs and a denim-clad ass partially concealed by a sheet of shiny blonde hair. For a big city, this little stretch of coast was feeling ironically intimate.

Chuckling, I opened the door and wandered inside, struggling to pay attention to anything else with Brexley so casually draped over the bar top. In my defense, this was the angle I’d gotten to touch her in, and fuck if I wouldn’t beg for a repeat.

I’d never been one for romance, always down for quick and dirty. Always enjoyed company and connection while it lasted and was the first to move on before anyone could get their hopes up. But fuck, this was different. Everything about this girl was different. I forced my eyes away from the endless, lean legs and perky ass to check out the shop.

Espresso machines hissed, billowing steam out into the space as patrons chattered. A pretty little lady with long dark hair was contentedly flipping a silky strand between her fingers with a stack of paperbacks piled precariously on the table before her. Bookshelves were artistically mounted directly into the exposed brick walls and lined with color-coded spines. Pinks and purples, reds and blues, grays and blacks. There were floral arrangements everywhere, mini vases on every table.

Another step forward, and I could glance through the open archway to the second room. There was no sign of the cafe, but overflowing shelves filled every available wall space. Greenery cascaded down from hanging plants, dotted with splashes of color. A pink neon sign flashedgood vibes only.Smiling, I turned back to Brexley to find she had company behind the bar. Curvy and freckled, the brunette hesitated when she spotted me approaching the woman laying across the counter.

When she jerked her chin my way, I got the distinct impression that customers of the male variety were far and few between inside the floral-heavy shop.

Turning, Brexley didn’t bother to hide her surprise when those baby blues landed on me. Damn, she was younger than I thought she was. How hadn’t I noticed that in the park this morning? Had I truly been that smitten? Maybe it was just the lighting, but the noticeable absence of makeup and girlish doe eyes made me question whether I’d still been sober the first time I saw her. Nerves bristled, but I couldn’t deny the attraction pulling me toward her.

“Well, hello,” I said as my cheeks ached with the smile stretching them. “Happy to see me?”

She gaped for a moment before catching herself and finding her feet. “What are you—youarestalkingme?”

“I mean, could you blame me?”

“Yes,” she balked. “Yes, I could.”

“Fortunately for us both, I’m just here for a pick-me-up, beautiful.”

“Twenty coffee shops in a ten-mile radius, you just so happen to wander into mine?” Feet now firmly planted, she turned to face me as her companion quirked her head, leaning against the bar as the coffee maker made happy percolating noises.

“Fate must’ve thought you might need a nudge. Haven’t been thinking about me, have ya’ Ace?”

Her narrowed eyes confirmed more than denied my suspicion. I laughed, jerking my chin at the menu mounted above the coffee counter.

“What’s good?”

“I’m a little biased, don’t you think?”

“This is your place?”

She sucked down a breath, face relaxing a bit as she assessed me before the tension fled her shoulders. “Yeah. Mine and Noel’s.”

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