Where We Begin by B. Avery

Author:B. Avery [Avery, B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

What surprised him most was how little anything changed now that they'd made love. Carmine continued to come to work five minutes late each day, cleaning and running the shop with her usual efficiency. She took tea with him, told him about the books she read, brought him food, and teased him out of his dark moods. It was just like before, only now he was allowed to stare at her without worrying she'd catch him at it. He could kiss the soft lips he'd only dreamed about before. Smith had never been happier in his life.

They were very, very careful not to get caught. Even when they were on their own, kisses were for after hours and behind locked doors. Even so, Smith felt like the words 'I'm shagging Carmine Mayberry' were emblazoned on his forehead. He stared too often and too long, tensed up when she got close as he reminded himself not to touch, and gravitated toward her whenever they were in the same room like a planet in orbit around its sun. He was insanely, blindingly obvious, and not a soul noticed.

Even the councilor stopped popping by at irregular intervals, and maybe she'd just been wanting to browse, but he'd felt like he was being silently interrogated. The pleasure of having Carmine for his own had been tempered by his fear of losing her, but that fear was starting to look more like paranoia. It wasn't until he was walking home one night, leaning heavily on Carmine that he realized just how self-involved the people of Bartley were. They were walking to his house wrapped around each other in the dusky gloom, and no one was paying any attention to Mr. Smith and his shop assistant.

In truth, there was nothing at all untoward about their plans for once. His back had been throbbing all day, the shifting weather patterns playing hell with it, and he'd gritted his teeth and soldiered through it, until Carmine had thrown up her hands in disgust and kicked him out of his own store. “You've been growling like a hungry bear for four hours. Go home. I'll lock up.”

It was a testament to how bad he felt that he hadn't even argued with her, just gathered his dignity, and walked away. Before he could catch himself, he managed to trip over a fallen object. His ankle pounded, throbbing with pain as he pulled himself up.

She caught him around the waist and wedged herself against his side, offering herself as support. He clung to her, too grateful to be embarrassed by his body's weakness. He would be later, but for now Carmine was holding him, her hair soft against his cheek, and the burning pain was almost bearable.

“Poor baby...” she murmured, her voice rich with sympathy and not a trace of pity, and he nodded, rubbing his cheek against her curls. “Come on,” she said at last, shifting her grip on him so her arm was around his waist and he could hold on to her shoulder.

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