The Hot New Bartender in Town (Welcome to Kiss County #3)

Chapter 5

5

TISH

I stir on the bed, my limbs silently screaming at me as I slowly drift into consciousness. It has been a while since someone’s stretched me out this way and that, and I feel myself smiling wide before I even open my eyes.

I open them in a dark and cold room. An apartment. Riley’s apartment beneath Sparks Pub.

I pull the blanket further over me, the bed still warm. Expecting Riley to be lying beside, I slowly turn my head to look behind me on the bed.

“Meow.”

“Ah!” I lurch, face-to-face with the black cat. I breathe a laugh, scolding myself. “Good morning, Jake,” I say.

He doesn’t reply.

Noticing that Riley is nowhere to be seen, I blink as my eyes adjust to the darkness. No windows down here. What time is it even?

“Where’s Riley?” I ask Jake.

“Meow.”

“Right,” I reply with a nod. “Well, thank you.”

I sit up on the bed, keeping the sheet clenched against my chilled breasts. Memories spark as I glance around, my body recalling what we did on the couch. And on the table. And on the bed.

“Riley?” I ask.

No answer.

I chew my cheek, debating whether to go back to sleep or... leave.

“Shit,” I say, finally awake enough to remember something other than screaming orgasms.

Like the fact that I have to work today.

I scan the room for my handbag, quickly spotting it on the floor by the couch. I scoot off the bed, cursing as my bare feet touch the cold floor. Taking the bedsheet with me, I shuffle over to grab my handbag, finding my cell phone inside.

“Nine,” I say with relief. My shift isn’t until eleven. “Thank the maker.”

If I’m late again, Bruno’s gonna... well, he’ll probably just snort. Big dude’s a big softy on the inside.

The door opens. A beam of light breaks the darkness and I flinch, my phone nearly slipping from my hands. I drop the bedsheet, using both hands to catch the phone safely before it cracks against the floor.

“Tish?” Riley asks, flicking on the light.

I freeze in the middle of his room; the bedsheet pooled at my ankles, my phone clenched between my palms. “Uh-huh,” I murmur.

He pauses in the kitchenette, a to-go tray with two coffees in one hand and a paper bag in the other. “Whatcha doing?” he asks, looking me over curiously.

“Nothing. Just...” I hold up my hands. “Checking the time.”

“Naked?”

I look down, my cheeks burning. “So it would seem.”

“Not that I’m complaining,” he adds with a smirk as he steps forward and sets the objects down on the kitchen table.

“I just woke up,” I explain as I approach the table with the sheet wrapped around me again. “You were gone.”

“Yeah, sorry,” he says. “You, uh... looked really peaceful, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

“That’s okay,” I say, smiling at the sweet gesture.

“And it’s always fun to sneak out and grab breakfast before the girl wakes up.” He holds up a coffee. “I figured a latte was a safe bet.”

“The safest,” I say, happy to take it. “Thank you.” I embrace it between my palms, my cold fingers tingling from the warmth. “What’s in the bag?”

“Bagels.”

“I like bagels.”

“Me, too. To tell you the truth, being right across the street from a coffee shop was one of the main reasons I rented this place.”

“Proximity to work helped, too, I bet.”

As he opens the bag, Cat Jake leaps up onto the table, his tail high and curled. “Does he like bagels, too?” I joke.

“He likes the cream cheese,” Riley says as he reaches out to scratch him behind the ear. “Don’t you, buddy?”

Jake rubs his head against Riley’s palm, purring softly.

I smile. Gotta love a guy who loves animals. “Speaking of work...” I say.

“You have to leave?”

“Soon,” I say with a nod. “But there’s always time for coffee and...”

I notice the way his gaze drifts toward my mouth, and I pause.

“Bagels?” he finishes as he oh-so-slightly leans into my personal space.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “Coffee and...”

He kisses me. His hand comes to rest on my cheek, his fingers warm and wonderful. “Sorry,” he says, licking his lips as he tilts back. “You just looked really cute.”

I blush. “Thanks.”

As Riley looks at me again, he bites his lip hesitantly. “Listen, Tish. I, uh...”

And just like that, my stomach drops.

“What?” I ask.

I…

I was hoping you’d be gone by the time I got back?

I have a girlfriend?

Or, the worst of all...

“I don’t know about you,” he says, clearly stalling, “but...”

Aw, hell.

If he says I’ll call you, I’m gonna rage.

“What?” I ask.

Riley smiles. “I want to see you again.”

“Oh,” I say, my heart leaping. “Well, I’m usually at Sparks every weekend. Whenever Jake fires up the karaoke machine, anyway. Upstairs Jake, I mean.”

“I didn’t mean on karaoke night.”

I hold my breath. “Yeah?”

He nods. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Tonight? Uh...” Suddenly, I can’t even remember my middle name, let alone my schedule. “I’m free. I think.”

“You think?”

“I work at Bruno’s until five, and then... I’m free.”

“Good. I’m off tonight, too, so... how about we get a drink?” he asks.

I smile so wide I’m sure I look like a deranged clown, but I don’t care. “Sure,” I say. “A drink would be nice.”

“It’s a date,” Riley says. He glances down, his smile curling on one side. “Looks good on you.”

I look at the sheet still wrapped around me. “Your sheet?”

“Uh-huh,” he says, smugly taking a sip from his coffee.

I chuckle. “Shut up. I’ll get dressed.”

“Or...” He reaches out, playfully grabbing the sheet and tugging at it. I keep it clenched against me, letting him pull me toward him instead. “You can leave it on and we could?—”

I kiss him this time, tasting the playful seduction on his lips. He leans into it and we both carefully set our coffees down on the table before he pushes me onto it as well.

“How soon is work?” he asks.

I grin. “Not that soon.”

“Excellent.”

Riley drops to his knees by the table, his head disappearing beneath my sheet.

“Meow,” Jake says from the shadows across the room.

Yeah, buddy.

I’m purring, too.