Molly
I think he wants to control me.
My life is comfortable, predictable and boring….
Until,
That guy next door walks into my café
..
He says he is new in the town.
And I wonder if he is experienced with…..women.
Those hard abs under that crisp shirt make me wonder how HARD I could make him.
Those Greek God like looks make me want to surrender.
And that voice…
My world turns upside down.
As he whispers my name.
But how can I do this?
Should I let go of the fears from my past and try and venture into the unfamiliar future that awaits me?
Should I let this guy control my desires….and my life?
1
Molly
I laughed as I unlocked the door to the shop, giving my best friend Noel a sharp look. “I can’t believe you told him that. You were on a date and he was being decent. We don’t have a lot of men in this little town, so why run off the ones that are here?”
“I will not have some man ordering for me at a restaurant. I’m capable of making a proper decision for myself.” She leaned down to slide the muffins she’d made into the display case carefully, tossing her red ponytail over her shoulder.
This was our coffee shop, called Mountain Brew. Being that we lived in Mountain Home, it certainly wasn’t original but it fit the theme of our little home. We were surrounded by mountains after all and a lot of our customers made a living from those beautiful peaks. I thought the shop was cute with tables and couches sprinkled around the bright, spacious room. I had the idea of adding some bookshelves and taking in donated used books from people in town to give customers something to do when they were here. There were a lot of poor people living around here that didn’t even have books to begin with, so we could provide that. Noel had agreed to the idea, but I knew that she wasn’t thrilled with it.
I ran the front, and she did all the baking with my assistance. We got up early to be here, darkness settling around the cafe as we danced and sang in the kitchen. We drank too much coffee and laughed while we worked, making me so proud to have done this with Noel.
I went to college at the University of Idaho and got a degree in Literature, so the books were all me. Noel was more business minded and did all the paperwork and numbers for our shop and I filled in the blanks. I picked out the unmatched, used furniture for the room and decorated the walls with a lot of old pictures of the town. I also had some colorful prints to match the vibrant purple walls and cleaned up the old fireplace in the corner. It was cold here a lot of the time and we needed it, and the old brick mantel attracted a lot of attention. It was a beautiful place.
I smiled as Mike walked in. He was always our first customer and grabbed a coffee and a Danish before he went fishing. Mike was a retired hotel owner that opened fifty years ago and because of that, was very successful. He kept it up even to this day, and it did well while he fished several times a week and just enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us. “Good morning,” I told him as I straightened my dark ponytail, watching him walk to the front where Noel was finishing with the case.
“Good morning, my ladies.” He always greeted us with those words and I grinned at Noel as she reached for a coffee mug.
“The usual today?” She asked him as he pulled out his wallet. She got his coffee poured and grabbed his Danish while I turned on the sign that told everybody we were open for the day. I found a radio station that was light and fun and headed back behind the counter to get organized while Mike settled in the corner table with a newspaper. Noel went back to start making some sandwiches for the lunch menu and check on the soup that she started earlier today while I watched the front.
There were enough customers to keep us busy, and I loved seeing them every day. I felt like I was part of the highlight of their day as they came in to greet me like they hadn’t seen me for weeks. There were a few older folks that came in, some freelance writers that worked at our tables and just some readers like myself. I watched the writers, wondering if I should do something like that myself since I did have a degree in Literature.
I also had some things to write about. I had some things to release; issues that were going to ruin me if I allowed it.
Noel had saved me from hitting rock bottom after college when she suggested that I move back to her home town with her and open a coffee shop. Noel liked that small town life despite having a blast in college where there was a lot to do and wanted to return. We’d lived together in the dorm and become close friends quickly, so I agreed. I didn’t want to go back home to my parents in Malad City but also didn’t have any other plans. I was too broken to want to move forward with my life. I agreed, and she told me that I could stay with her at her parent’s ranch house and open something in the empty building with her.
I looked at Noel as she came out for a fresh cup of coffee, smiling at her as she looked at me. She was twenty-three and a natural redhead with bright blue eyes, thin and pale. Those looks had all the attention of the local men and she’d started dating a little once we were established in the cafe. She was a little too much for most of them so far and I just laughed and watched from a distance.