"Babe, hurry up you're gonna be late!" She yelled, pouring out the coffee into two cups for both of them.
"Damn, it's already quarter after? Rayna and I are supposed to meet before the artist comes in, which means I should have left ten minutes ago." He said, pulling on his jacket as he ran into the kitchen. "There better not be any damn traffic." He made a move for the coffee mug until Juliette pulled it away.
"You forget your socks."
Looking down at his bare feet, he groaned, moving back towards the bedroom. "You're gonna have to put that in a travel mug for me, I'll take it to go!" His voice traveled as he ran back to the bedroom.
"You know," She called out, opening the top cabinet where she knew the mug was, "You really should set your alarm earlier, then you can avoid all this in the morning." She stood on her tip-toes,, trying to reach for travel mug in sight. Reaching her fingers out, she stretched as far as she could, still not reaching it.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth pressing from behind her, reaching over her body and grabbing the mug for her.
"Pretty sure it had nothing to do with the alarm and everything to do with someone keeping me up all night." She felt his breath on her neck and chills ran down her spine like a hot heat, pooling right in her gut.
"Avery Barkley, what are you implying?" She turned her body, pressing her lower half against his. She saw his eyes glaze over a little so she shifted her body up, giving him friction that she knew he was enjoying. "If you're complaining…"
She was cut off by the swift motion of his hands gripping her upper thighs, hoisting her up on the granite countertop. The quickness of his movements made her shiver in excitement and arousal. Opening the ties of her robe, he spread kisses around her collarbone moving further down to her breasts.
With every further movement downward, she could feel her breathing getting more rapid and her legs instinctively opening wider to accommodate him closer. He knew exactly what to do to turn her on at all times of the day.
After almost a year of dating officially, Avery had finally moved his stuff into her house. He had held on to his own apartment for quite a while, until they both finally came to the realization that he hadn't seen the inside of his apartment in months. Coming home yesterday and seeing him put away his stuff in her drawers was like an out of body experience. Just a few years ago, the thought of any man coming in and making a home in her house would have freaked her out. But seeing him put away his clothes, making his presence permanent in her life made her heart flutter.
And when her eyes filled with tears seeing his stupid t-shirts in her drawer, he knew exactly why. He always knew exactly what was going on in her head.
Not to mention he was damn good in bed. She thought she had been around the neighborhood and seen it all, but it was all different with Avery.
He already had her losing control, as she wrapped his legs around his, trying to get as much contact as she could. Her need for him had her body humming.
"God Avery, stop teasing me." She let out breathlessly, opening her legs even wider. He trailed his mouth back up to her neck, as she laced her fingers in his hair, pulling his head closer.
"You sure?" She could feel him smirk against her neck.
"Yes." Her voice was laced with lust, even she could hear it. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for what was coming next.
"Alright then." He let his hands trail down the length of her body, stopping at the belt of her robe, tying it back up.
She opened her eyes incredulously. "Seriously?"
He had taken a few steps back and had that damn smirk on his face, like he was holding back a laugh. "What? You said to stop teasing."
She was deadpan. "You are the absolute worst."
"You didn't seem to think so just a few seconds ago."
"Screw you."
"Don't you wish?" His smirk only grew wider, as he poured the coffee into the travel mug, still not breaking eye contact with her. Here she was, horny as hell, and he was teasing her.
"You know what the sad thing is? I'm so turned on right now that even you pouring that coffee is making me hot."
He burst out laughing, putting down the coffee and stepping in between her legs again, kissing her nose. "My irresistible charm huh?"
She pouted. "Your ego seriously needs a reality check."
"I think its fine." He sighed. "But in all seriousness, I actually have to go. I was already late before we started this and now I'm really late."
She slammed her head lightly against the cabinets behind her. "Can't you just tell Rayna you got into a car accident or something?"
"Yeah, probably not appropriate. You do remember her accident right?"
She closed her eyes again, groaning. "Trust me, I'm not thinking about freaking Rayna James right now. " The heat between her legs hadn't disappeared in the slightest, damn Avery to hell. "I guess I'll just have to take care of myself this morning instead."
She saw him grip the mug a little tighter. She had him at that mental image.
She untied her robe, letting him see her again. "You know, I don't have to meet with Glenn until 10. So I have plenty of time." She ran her hands up and down her thighs slowly, as she saw his gaze fixated on her. "But you're right, you are going to be late. So go on, have a nice day!" She tilted her head, giving him the brightest smile, while internally laughing. She knew she was torturing him, and she loved it.
Now it was his turn to groan. "You are so much better at this than I am, you know that right?"
She licked her lips slowly. "I pretty much invented the art of teasing, so serves you right for leaving me high and dry."
He spread out her robe farther, letting it drop from her shoulders completely. "I think I can go a half hour late. It's not that important of a client." His hands grazed over her shoulders, his eyes fixated on her body.
She threw her head back and laughed straight from her gut. "That wasn't even hard convincing Avery. Toughen up."
"You know I can't say no to you." His gaze moved towards her eyes intently. "I love you."
Hearing him say that never ceased to make her stomach flip. She let her hand slide up his face, stroking his cheek gently. "I love you too. And that's why you should go to work." She jumped off the counter, tying up her robe.
"Are you sure?" He looked like a dog denied his treats.
"I'm sure babe. Go be the best producer Highway 65 has ever seen."
He sighed. "Let me just grab my keys and then I'll run out."
As he walked away, she realized that she still had a stupid smile plastered on her face. Sometimes she couldn't help it around him.
In the distance, a doorbell rang and shook her out of her train of thought. "I got it!" she yelled, tying up her robe fast. Maybe Glenn decided to come over earlier than she thought? Had she gotten the times mixed up?
She ran to the door, tying her robe a little tighter in a knot. "Glenn, I thought we were meeting at 10."
"I'm not Glenn." The deep vibrato rang out.
Her heart dropped as she looked at the face standing outside the door. She blinked a couple times, making sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "You're right, you aren't Glenn."
It was Sean Butler. Standing outside her door.
"Sean." She had a tight smile as she moved in for a brief hug. "What a surprise!"
He smiled back at her in the way that used to make her heart beat a little faster. And it still sort of did. She squashed the feeling of the warmth of his hug, letting her eyes graze over his body. "I was in town, and I thought I'd chance the possibility that you'd be home."
"Yep I am." She crossed her arms, eyeing the single rose in his hand pointedly.
"Sorry, I figured I couldn't go empty-handed and I thought this would be safe." He extended the flower to her.
Grabbing it tentatively, she looked at it instead of looking at him. It was a yellow rose, her favorite.
"Is that Glenn?" She heard Avery walk up and stop behind her.
"Why does everyone keep thinking I'm Glenn?" Sean replied, laughing tightly. He outstretched his hand towards Avery. "Sean Butler, nice to meet you."
She saw Avery eye the outstretched hand warily, before grabbing it. "Avery Barkley, same to you."
A painful silence filled the atmosphere, where both men were sizing each other up. She rolled her eyes. Jesus Christ, men were so stupid. She cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "Sean, my manager is coming over soon, so I'm going to have to get ready."
"Of course." Sean said, blushing a little. "I was wondering if you were free for lunch today. I'm in town for the month on break, and I wanted to catch up with you." He turned to Avery. "If it's alright with you of course."
Avery chuckled. "Juliette doesn't need my permission." He turned to her. "Now I'm really late, so I hate to do this but I have to run. I'll see you tonight." He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger a bit before turning to Sean. "Nice meeting you, I apologize but I've gotta run."
"No need to apologize, hopefully this isn't the last time we meet." Sean replied with a short wave, moving out of the way for Avery to get through the door towards his car. They both watched his car leave the driveway before Sean continued. "So, lunch today?"
She sighed, cutting the pleasantries. "Sean, we didn't exactly end on the best terms. Why are you doing this?" Why now? A million questions ran through her head. Questions she wasn't sure she wanted answers to.
He tilted his head. "That's exactly why I am here. We have a lot to talk about, and a lot I have to apologize for." His eyes shone earnestly, and she remembered the intense love she had felt for him not that long ago, even if it felt like a lifetime ago. "Please, it would mean a lot to me if you would just have one meal with me, so we can really talk."
She bit her lip. "Fine. Pick me up at 1." What could one lunch hurt?