Page 67 of September
“Well, I’ll never do that again,” Gwen stated, looking at Juliet. “You’ll keep me in this coffee, right?”
She lifted the glass she’d been given back to her lips.
Juliet smiled and replied, “Yes. Now, let’s go listen to Michael as he tells you all the things they look for before the coffee can be sent out.”
Gwen was shown a card that the team used to ensure the coffee met the company’s quality standards, and she watched as Michael took a few more sips of his own coffee, considered it for a second, and then checked off everything on the card, signing his name at the bottom. This batch was ready to go. He was explaining what he was doing as he went, and Gwen followed along, taking sips when he sipped. Her jealousy at bay now, she was having fun, but although both delightful, the hot coffee in combination with the heated touch from Juliet’s hand on her back again, under her shirt, had Gwen wishing they were outside in the fresh air.
“Michael, this was amazing,” she said. “Thank you for showing me.”
“No problem. Glad you could make it. We’ll keep your batch cooling for you here, and you or Juliet can pick it up in a few days. It can finish its process before you drink it.”
“Thank you,” she said, shaking his hand.
On their way out, Gwen was handed a bag of the fresh autumn blend for her to have while her own espresso blend cooled, and then she and Juliet walked outside.
“So?” Juliet asked her when they were outside. “Was it worth the hat?”
“Are you kidding me? That was awesome. Plus, now we both smell like coffee.”
Juliet laughed and asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Starving, actually,” she replied.
“Want to grab food before our night is over?”
“It’s only eight,” Gwen noted. “Were you planning on dropping me off at eight?”
“No, I justonlyplanned this since it was so last-minute,” Juliet said. “I’m thinking something light and fun for dinner. Is that okay?”
“Well, you wouldn’t let me wear my nice dress, and I’m in a hat now, so I think we have to go light and fun because dark and fancy won’t let me in.”
“But you look very cute in my hat,” Juliet said, stopping to push the hat down a little on Gwen’s head. “Like, really cute.” She smiled at her.
“We’re going someplace where they make us wear a bib to eat our seafood,” Gwen suggested.
“Lead the way,” Juliet said while laughing.
“Just get us to the highway, and I’ll tell you where to go.”
CHAPTER 19
“Icannot believe you had them sing their stupid birthday song to me. It’s not my birthday,” she said as they walked out of the seafood restaurant Gwen had suggested.
“The look on your face when they brought out the cake with a sparkler in it and started singing…” Gwen pointed out, laughing harder than Juliet had ever heard her laugh. “I got the whole thing on video, thank God. Now, I’ll needallof your social media accounts so that I can tag you.”
“Oh, no way,” she replied, taking Gwen’s free hand, the one thatwasn’tstill holding on to her phone. “No!” she added and laughed as Gwen pressed play on the video. “Not again. You’ve already watched it twice.”
“Three times. I watched it again when you went to the bathroom.”
“You’re the worst,” Juliet said as she continued laughing. “I’ll have to find a way to get you back.”
“I don’t think you can. This was the absolute best. No prank can top your total confusion mixed with fear and then embarrassment. Seriously, I’m tempted to print out a still shot from this and frame it. I’ll just put it up on the wall behind my TV so that I can look at it all the time and laugh, and when people come over to hang out and ask why I have this weird photo hanging up, I’ll tell them the story and show them the video.”
Gwen was still laughing, so Juliet took the phone out of her hand and tucked it into the pocket of her own jeans before she turned Gwen toward herself and cupped her cheek.
“Shut up,” she said seriously but softly.
She leaned in for a kiss, and when their lips connected, Gwen’s hands moved to her waist and pulled Juliet in. Juliet wrapped her own around Gwen’s neck and slid into her hair, but she nearly knocked off the borrowed hat that Gwen was still wearing, so she lowered her hands back to Gwen’s neck as their lips danced together for the first time. She moaned a little when Gwen’s tongue slipped into her mouth and deepened the kiss.
