Autumn,No shit? They actually did it? The coffee truck girls opened the shop? How is it?- EliIt was maybe the first letter I had ever received from him that hadn't had a sort of disconnect, a coolness, that showed actual excitement about something.
But there was no way to describe how amazing She's Bean Around was. It was the kind of place - and coffee! - one had to see to truly appreciate. With my caffeine addiction, I had been to many a coffeeshop in my day, all to varying degrees of corporate or indie. None had even come close to the flair Jazzy and Gala gave their shop.
So, aside from describing the decor that I warned was often changing, that was what I told him - that it needed to be one of his first stops when he got out. That the salted caramel hot coffee was the stuff caffeine addicts wet dreams were made of.
His response had been more of a typical one for him, telling me simply that he would keep that in mind.
After that, there was nothing for almost six months, until I had a Coop Christmas card to send.
I had actually even looked into sending him a package, believing that everyone should get a little something for Christmas, but the rules had been vague, but strict at the same time, leaving me too confused to make a decision. So I just stuck with the card.Autumn,How the fuck'd you keep reindeer horns on him for long enough to take a picture?
Also, who the hell are you sending an entire box of finger vibes to for Christmas?- EliMy eyes went huge as I scrambled to my fridge to get the Christmas card, you know, the Christmas card I sent out to literally everyone I knew. And, yep, sure enough, I had a supply box of multi-colored finger vibrators sitting off in a corner. They actually were a Christmas promotion for the store. I had a loyalty card for frequent customers. And the top twenty of them got a free gift at Christmas and Valentine's Day. I had brought them home to package up so I didn't have to stay late at the store.
And there they were.
In my Christmas card picture.
Granted, they were off to the back and barely in focus, but there nonetheless.
Oh well.
Anyone who knew me knew - whether they liked it or not - that I owned a sex toy store. They would just chalk it up to me being quirky like that. Or as proof of my descent into the fires of hell. You know, whichever.
I looked back down at the note, at his somewhat slanted, but small and neat writing.
And there wasn't, there absolutely was not a fluttering sensation in my sex at seeing the words finger vibes from him.
Nope.
Because that would be nuts.
No matter how long a dry spell I had been in.
I had written back something witty, brushing the subject away, knowing if I said anything suggestive, that it would get tossed out and he would never receive it. I mean, not that I was thinking of saying anything suggestive.
Fine.
I thought about it.
I thought of about fifteen suggestive things to say.
Then needed a goddamn session with my own finger vibe after.
But then... that had been it.
Suddenly, I didn't get another letter.
And I had no reason to write him, so I didn't, not wanting to seem like I was being pushy or whatever.
That was December.
This was April.
And, apparently, I still looked at my mail hopefully every day if my sister's response was anything to go by.
"Just bills," I said as I moved into the kitchen, dropping them on the small island with the special, shiny, white quartz countertop I had finally saved enough money for over the winter.
The apartment had been a special project over the past year. I guess I had always seen it as a transition for me when I moved in, figuring it was a stepping stone to a townhouse or just a house someday, something that I owned with a yard and some equity. As such, I hadn't been overly concerned with fixing up the apartment. But, it seemed, I was likely in it for the long haul, and I had even started to be completely okay with that.
But if I was staying, it needed work.
So I set to it.
I had the carpets ripped up, and laid wood flooring. I skimmed the walls, then painted them a soothing light sage color. I ripped out all the old kitchen cabinets that were straight out of the seventies, and replaced them with nice, clean white ones. The apartment didn't get a lot of natural light, so I tried to keep everything inside it as bright as possible.
The couch my sister was sitting on was a light cream color and still on a payment plan as were the two accent chairs, end tables, coffee table, and the cream and green carpet beneath them.