Johnny is five years old. How do I know? Well he loves to come in and tell me all about his day. Whether it’s at school, on the weekend, or how he did at his tee ball game. I hear about it, usually laughing and giggling with Johnny while he’s talking a million miles an hour.
I may be only twenty years old, but I know if I ever have children, I’m hopeful they’ll be as sweet and kind as Johnny is. Of course, first I’d have to find a man. Maybe I’d have to not be a virgin either. I chuckle at my own thought and that’s when Dylan notices me.
He stops me dead in my tracks. Our gaze never wavers. His jacket is gone. He has a long-sleeved dress shirt on, but he has the sleeves folded back to his forearms. The buttons that were once buttoned all the way to his throat are now open. The whole look works for him. Add in the five-o clock shadow he has going on, and his hair, that I can tell is tousled from running his hands through it multiple times today, and it’s enough to melt me into a puddle. He has everything going for him.
“Hi Johnny,” I say, with a smile on my face.
“Hi, Miss Candy. Guess what?” he asks.
“What’s that?” I reply to him as I come from around the counter. I go down to a sitting position, my leggings helping to keep things sucked in, but also allow me to move freely throughout the day. I threw on a “Hocus Pocus” shirt today and put my hair up in a ponytail.
Once I’m sitting down in “crisscross apple-sauce” pose, Johnny does the same and he tells me all about his day.
“I did really good writing my name, the best in a long time. Didn’t I, Daddy?” he may be sitting down but his arms are moving all around him as he talks.
“You sure did, Bud. I couldn’t be any prouder,” Dylan says as he squats down beside us. I can see the muscles in his thighs and as much as I want to let my gaze linger, I don’t. I quickly avert my eyes back to Johnny and listen to him tell me about the rest of his day.
3
Dylan
Fuck, this woman is perfect. The way she listens to Johnny like she doesn’t have a business to run and how she has no problem sitting on her shop floor and giving him her full attention. Shit, she doesn’t even care if she gets dirty. She’s that amazing. Her caramel colored hair is tied up high, allowing me to see the curve of her neck. A neck I want to rain kisses down till I get to the hollow of her throat. I want to mark her. Yeah, I’d mark her until I can get my ring on her finger and show the world that she’s mine.
Her green eyes sparkle as she interacts with Johnny. I keep my eyes on her the whole time. We glance at each other from time to time. She doesn’t even know how gorgeous she is when she tucks that errant piece of hair behind her ear, or how she flutters her long eyelashes when she notices I’m watching her.
Her smile has got to be one of her best qualities and fuck, do I know she has some amazing ones. It lights up her whole face. I stand up when I hear the bell ring above the door, letting us know someone is walking in.
“Come on Johnny. Candy has another customer. Let’s go see what’s new in stock while she helps them,” I tell him, as I hold my hand out for her and Johnny both. My hand engulfs hers, and it’s so much smaller than mine.
“Thank you, Dylan. Give me just a few minutes, Johnny, and you can finish telling me your story. Mrs. Johnson is just picking up her order, it won’t take me too long,” she says. I watch the sway of her hips as she walks away. She’s it for me, now I just need to execute my plan.
I walk around with Johnny as he oohs and ahhs over the new treats Candy has put out, “Look Johnny. There’s even candied apples.”
“Can I have one and a cupcake, Dad?” I look at him and it’s hard to believe he’s my brother’s child. He looks so much like I did at his age, from the way he’s built, lanky, and on the shorter side. Always having a hard time keeping his breeches up, to his facial expressions, and all the way to the coloring of his hair.
“You can, but you know the rules: if you have something now, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to have more,” I tell him, as he looks up at me with hopeful eyes.