34. Stella

Chapter Thirty-Four

STELLA

A few weeks later

Casey cast a dimpled smile as she handed over my coffee. “Here you go,” she said in a singsong voice.

“How many customers’ favorites do you have memorized now?” I teased as I took a swallow of my coffee, letting out a satisfied sigh when I lowered the cup. “This is perfect, just strong enough and not bitter.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I guess I memorize favorites for anyone who comes in more than once or twice a week and usually gets the same thing. I don’t really try, it becomes ahabit.” She reached up, tightening her ponytail, her auburn hair swinging as she released it.

“You mentioned before Alaska was on your bucket list. What do you think of it?” I asked.

“I love it so far. It feels a little cliché because lots of people say they want to come to Alaska, but I’m so glad I came. It’s hard to describe how amazing it is.”

“Cliché or not, Alaska is beautiful,” I pointed out. “Do you think you’ll stay?”

Casey’s hazel eyes widened as she eyed me thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” she finally said after a long pause. “I really love it. I think the answer is yes, but—” She paused. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, you’ll figure it out,” I said, just as Tish arrived with Phoebe.

“Hey!” Tish gave me a quick side hug.

“Hi, ladies,” Casey said. “The usual for both of you?”

“Yes, please,” Tish began, before correcting, “Add an extra shot of espresso to mine. I’m exhausted.” Her gaze shifted to Casey. “My son is almost two years old. He has a cold and he’s sleeping horribly. As a result, no one else is sleeping either.”

Maisie arrived at the tail end of this comment, offering a sympathetic glance. “I love my kids, but I will never miss when they’re sick. It’s like an entire household project. You can’t avoid it.”

“And, they swap germs like a competitive sport,” Phoebe offered with a sympathetic glance.

“I like my sleep, but it’ll be worth losing it if I have kids, right?” I teased.

“I advise only having kids if you definitely want kids,” Tish interjected. “My baby wasn’t planned, but I thought about it long and hard. It’s not easy.”

“I work in family law,” I interjected. “There are so many people who have kids when they didn’t really want them. They liked the idea, but not the reality. They do keep lawyers in business, but it’s so sad sometimes.”

“Totally makes sense.” Casey’s ponytail swung as she nodded along.

“You need to come to card night,” Maisie announced.

After a moment, Casey pointed toward herself. “Are you talking about me?”

“Yes!” Maisie said enthusiastically. “It’s on Friday at my place this time. The kids are spending the night with Beck’s mom and I told him he wasn’t allowed to come home until after ten.”

“You should go,” I encouraged Casey when she looked uncertain.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Tish smiled over at her. “Please. Stella and I are still pretty new to town –”

Phoebe cut in, “You’ve been here almost two years now.”

Tish rolled her eyes. “You grew up here, Phoebe.”

Phoebe nodded agreeably. “True.”

“I promise, it’ll be fun,” I encouraged Casey. “If you want, I’ll pick you up. Just let me know where.”

“I ended up with this job because I’m renting an apartment from Janet.” She gestured to the side. “In the building next door.”

“Oh, right. Janet rents those apartments upstairs,” Tish said.

“Speaking of that, do you know if the one across the hall is still available?” Maisie asked.

Casey nodded as she slid several drinks across the counter and began ringing everyone up. “Yeah, Janet said a couple moved out. Now, it’s empty. I’m sure it’s nice. My place is adorable and it’s furnished, for the win!” She lifted one fist in the air in a mini-cheer.

“I’ll pick you up, say around…?” I glanced to Maisie.

“Six,” Maisie said firmly.

“Awesome! Everyone seems really nice here,” Casey replied.

“Most everyone is,” Janet said, hearing Casey’s comment as she came through the swinging half-door that led to the kitchen. “And, you should hang out with these girls. They’re all nice and they’ll take care of you. Watch out though, if you have something against firefighters, they’re probably gonna end up setting you up with one,” she teased.

Casey’s eyes widened. “I don’t need to be set up with anyone,” she said, firmly enough that I assumed there was a story there.

“But firefighters are great,” she added. “They save people and put out fires.”

The group gradually filtered apart as we all headed back to wherever we were going. I had a few meetings this morning and planned to buckle down and study for the bar exam this afternoon. My scheduled exam date was looming in the future, and I was beyond nervous. I knew I could pass, but I was worried my anxiety would get the best of me.

I kept meaning to study in the evenings, but I often lingered with Hudson. I never expected to enjoy spending time with someone the way I did with him. There was an ease to being with him I’d never experienced with anyone else.

That night, we had another relaxing evening, eating leftover pizza and lounging in front of the TV. Biscuit and Butter snuggled together when we went to bed.

Hudson, as was his habit, gave me another shockingly good orgasm later. But I slipped up. I let my heart do the talking instead of my head. I rolled over, my chin resting on the back of my hand on his chest.

“Wow,” he rasped. “You spoil me.”

Like a complete fool, I went and said, “I could say the same for you. I think I love you.”

The second the words were out of my mouth. I knew they were a mistake. A huge mistake.

Hudson’s eyes went wide. He played it cool, but I could literally feel him withdrawing in increments, even though he didn’t move.

He cleared his throat. “You’re amazing,” he replied.

Because that’s exactly what someone wants to hear when they just said the L word.

We fell asleep together, but when I woke up, he was already gone.

There was nothing unusual about that, except he didn’t wake me up to say goodbye. I told myself it was nothing.