Page 26 of Feverburn

I held him a little longer and kissed him a little hungrier while saying goodbye. I looked over my shoulder at the tree line only to see him standing there with his husky, like some brooding hunter. And for the second morning in a row, I had to run away from the temptation to fuck this mountain man in the woods.

Kaylee greeted me with a sweet smile as I walked into Silver Springs a little late. I decided not to tell her about Carson. We were both scrambling to get everything ready to open the shop. Plus, her stance on him seemed skeptical, so I wasn’t eager to share anything. It was all so fresh and new. I had to protect myself and myprivacy.

Plus, my focus needed to be on work, not Carson’s dizzying kisses. Silver Springs was agambleI needed towin. No man wouldfuck up my life again.

I walked up to the bar, where the baristas reviewed the menu in a huddled group. I had laminated graphics andcheatsheets on how to make each drink. It helped new hires at Rise-N-Grind, so I figured I’d try it here. Seeing them reviewing my materials registered howexcitedI was. It was happening! We were opening in a matter of days.

“Hey, Rosie!”Azalea greeted me. She was the first person hired. Kaylee met her at Pine Mart the night she crashed, and they quickly became friends. Azalea had a friendly girl-next-door vibe, very much like Sandra Bullock. She was tall, with long limbs and a pink glow frequenting her cheeks. It was decided she would bounce between the coffee shop in the morning and the crystal shop in the afternoons.

"Hey, Zay!" I turned to the other women,“Good morning, everyone! What questions do you have for me?”I asked with a smile.

“Will we be carrying oat milk?”Poe asked.

A blue sea glasscharmnecklace rolled across her clavicle. Her hair was intightlocs coiled in a bun. She had dyed them a beautiful shade of teal that looked vibrant against her dark brown skin. She was working on finishing her psychology degree at a local college and needed a flexible schedule. Maxine was her professor and told her all about us.

“I’m glad you asked because oat milk is a hit or miss. We’re going to do a trial run with almond milk first. If we get enough orders with the almond, we’ll try oat.”

She nodded.“Sounds like a good plan.”

“And you mentioned the dress code is pretty relaxed?”Dani asked.

Her hair hung in a smooth, shiny black curtain that swished above her shoulders with every movement of her head. Her crisp matte black lip color against her warm russet complexion made her pout lookperfect. She had worked at a diner before and was learning to be a lash tech.

“We want you to dress to express whatever that means to you. We're cool as long as your tits and bits are covered.”

“Loveit.”Dani grinned with a nod, swishing her hair in the process.

Andrea stared at the menu, her large, expressive brown eyes contrasting her light skin.“Let me get this right. A latte has less foam than a cappuccino. And a latte can be iced or hot, but a cappuccino can only be made as a hot drink?”

She always looked concerned, which made me want to hug her. Her septum was pierced, and she’d wiggle it by scrunching her upper lip, which I found adorable. Andrea was in addiction recovery and needed a steady schedule to work on her program. Kaylee and I werehappyto look past her patchy job history if it gave her a fresh start. We were all about new beginnings around here.

“Exactly. I’ve seen things go south when people try to correct the customer with our barista lingo. It sounds like you get it, Andrea. What would you recommend if they want a hot drink with no foam but some flavor?”

She gazed up at the menu with a creased forehead.“Like a mocha?”

“Exactly!”I said, causing her to eject a relieved breath.

“I like how this place doesn’t feelpretentious,”Azalea said, leaning against the counter.

“Thanks for saying that. Nothing is worse than coffee snobs. We’re giving the drinks funny names to lighten the mood, like God’s Favorite for black coffee. Meet Your Maker has the most caffeine. MorningSex is our version of an Americano because it’snastybut gets you going for the day.”They all snickered at that.

“Mindreader?”Andrea asked.

“Named after Kaylee, she loves caramel iced coffee.”I smiled, thinking about how cute she was. “My favorite is Bog Witch. It’s a toasted marshmallow cold brew with sweet cream.”

“Is Manwhore34 seriously the wifi password?”Poe interjected.

“Yep, ‘bout that.” I looked at the sign above ourmassivemenu on the wall. I expertly chalked it in a cutesy yet legible scroll.“Yo, Kaylee!”I bellowed playfully.

She scurried out from her side of the shop, clutching a laptop.“Yes, mylove?”

“Is now a good time to explain our story?”

In their interviews, we explained that the premise was a shop run by witchy women—a haven for magical misfits and caffeine addicts. We had lots of free events planned and cheeky little jokes, like a cowbell they could ring if a creeper hit on them. But we hadn’t explained our origin story.

Kaylee wiggled hergoldeneyebrows.“Sure, I’dloveto!”

I clasp my hands together,“So I’d never air mydirtylaundry like this, but Kaylee and I are petty.”

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