The Next Season (novella) (12 page)

He walked the short distance between the Elliot's workshop and the café on the main street and smiled at the cars parked out front and the tables already filling up inside. It was unbelievably good to see that Hannah had finally found her niche. Locals and tourists alike were queuing up to taste Toby's wares. Shaun had become a lot more tolerant of the South American chef since Zoe had begun ruffling up his sheets after hours. Like him or not, Toby had an undeniable way with chocolate.

Shaun pushed open the door of the café and his eyes immediately zoomed in on Zoe, her lower lip caught between her teeth and her pen poised over her notepad as she took an order from a grey-haired couple in the corner. She laughed at something the elderly man said, her long ponytail swishing over her shoulder and her eyes sparkling. He stood there mesmerised, totally in awe of her beauty and recalling the way she laughed cheekily during sex.

‘Excuse me?' A voice behind Shaun alerted him to the fact he'd not moved from the doorway. Hannah didn't need him holding up the traffic, so he stepped inside and held the door open for the three women waiting to come inside.

‘Thank you,' they said in unison, smiling and batting their eyelids at him.

As the women searched for a table, Shaun headed straight for the counter.

Hannah looked up from where she'd been repositioning cakes in the display cabinet. ‘Hey there little brother.' She placed a hand on her stomach and sighed. ‘What can I get for you?' She looked totally shattered and she still had another few months until the baby arrived.

He frowned. ‘Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down or something for a few minutes?'

Before Hannah could reply, Zoe returned from taking orders, passed them through to the kitchen and then turned to look at Shaun, obviously having overheard his question. ‘I've been telling her that all morning. She said she felt a little dizzy when she got up.'

‘And did she tell Matt about this?'

Zoe rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘I'm pretty sure not.'

Hannah cleared her throat. ‘Excuse me, you two. I'm right here. No need to talk about me like I'm not. I'm not a child.'

‘Then be sensible,' Shaun scolded. ‘You've been working incredibly hard these last few weeks. Maybe you need a day off.'

Hannah snorted. ‘I haven't got a manager yet and Matt had to go to Perth for a couple of days on business.'

‘I can keep an eye on things here for a few hours,' Zoe suggested. ‘I've managed cafés before and I've got your number if anything goes wrong, which it won't. Why not just go home and lie down for a bit and see how you're feeling this afternoon?'

Hannah sighed and glanced wistfully out across her busy café.

‘We'll be fine,' Zoe insisted. ‘Go.'

‘Okay,' Hannah finally relented. ‘You promise you'll call me for anything?'

‘Promise.' She grinned.

‘I'll drive you home in your car and then walk back to work,' Shaun suggested, relief flooding him at the knowledge Hannah was going to take a break.

‘Don't be silly. I can drive.' Hannah picked up her bag from under the counter. ‘I'll just go tell Toby first.'

Hannah went into the kitchen, leaving Shaun and Zoe to make eyes at each other over the counter.

‘And what can I get for you?' Zoe asked in a faux-husky voice as she gestured to the counter.

‘What I really want will have to wait till later,' he said, leaning closer and then quickly pulling back as he remembered where they were.
No public displays of affection
. ‘But for now I'll take a slice of that fudge cake to go, thanks.'

‘Sure. Coming right up.'

As Zoe boxed up his order, Shaun watched Hannah through the kitchen pass-through, where she was talking to Toby. ‘Thanks for offering to help out. She's been pushing herself so hard lately. I hope she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew.'

‘No worries.' Zoe smiled as she passed over the box. ‘She'll be fine. She just needs to learn to delegate.'

Shaun brushed his thumb over Zoe's fingers deliberately in the exchange, muscles all over his body clenching as his brain registered the softness of her skin. Their eyes met, heat flared between them and she licked her lower lip as she retrieved her hand.

‘Tonight?' she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

‘I'll be waiting,' he promised, before turning and walking out the café.

Zoe watched Shaun go, allowing herself a moment to bask in the glow she felt whenever he visited. He only had to smile and her toes curled in her shoes. When he spoke—suggestions masked in seemingly innocuous words—her pelvic floor muscles thrummed in anticipation of what was to come.

Sex with Shaun in her teens had been innocently sweet. They'd both been learning about their bodies, working out how they fit together. And she'd thought they'd done pretty damn well, especially considering that most of the time their ‘bed' had been somewhere in the sandy dunes between Wildwood Point and Dunsborough. Back then they'd taken the opportunity whenever they could get it. None of her subsequent sexual partners had affected her quite so much, but she'd put that down to the whole first love thing.

There was something special about your first boyfriend, your first time. She'd given her virginity willingly to Shaun and never regretted it. But none of that accounted for the way the sparks were flying between them now. Over the past few years, if she thought about it, sex had become a bit of a chore, a Friday night routine you did to keep the guy happy when you were in a relationship. Until hooking up with Shaun again, Zoe couldn't recall the last time she'd been utterly desperate to get her knickers off.

At first she'd assumed it was the clandestine nature of their arrangement, but if anything her sexual appetite had increased since they'd made the decision to sleep together. Shaun barely had to touch her and she was ready and wet, desperate to have him inside her. They should buy shares in a condom company—they'd used more than their share these past few days.

Just thinking these thoughts now, she felt her breasts growing heavy and the need burning between her legs. If she hadn't just promised Shaun's sister she'd act all grown up and manage the café for the rest of the day, she'd likely have chased him out the door and
down the street. Instead, she had to be content to wait until late that night. Since Sandee had accosted her in the hallway that first night, Zoe had had to be cunning with her reasons for going out. A couple of times she'd even snuck out of the house like a teenager once Sandee had gone to bed. Early morning rendezvous with Shaun were easier because Sandee would never question her desire for a surf. She relished those times riding the waves with Shaun—just like the old days—and that morning they'd followed up with another kind of ride altogether.

It had been less than four hours since he'd taken her in the shower and yet already she was ready and smouldering for him again. But it wasn't just his body, she also yearned for his company.

‘Right, are you sure you're going to be okay?' Hannah's question jolted Zoe from her wanton thoughts and she blinked, realising she'd been caught daydreaming, rather than working.

‘Yes. Fine. Go, relax, have fun.' She made shooing motions towards the doorway.

Hannah laughed, turned to go and then stopped to look back at her. ‘Shall we look upon this as a trial?'

‘A what?' Zoe frowned a little, unsure what she meant.

A smile stretched across Hannah's face as she gestured to her belly. ‘You and Shaun are right. I'm going to have to slow down soon and I had planned on hiring a manager to run the place once the baby arrives. You've been such a fabulous help this week and your ideas for selling souvenirs and organising promo events are awesome. I was wondering if you'd consider the job.'

A lump swelled in Zoe's throat at Hannah's kind words and amazing offer. It was like being told she'd won the lottery without even having bought a ticket. The last few days she'd been distracted by Shaun and hadn't looked much beyond what she would do once she'd got herself back on her feet. But she loved Wildwood Point—she loved the people, she loved the ocean, she loved this job. She loved…
No.
She banished the thought. She and Shaun had an agreement, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to keep it anymore.

Hannah must have caught the uncertainty on her face. She reached out and placed her hand on Zoe's arm. ‘Look, I don't expect you to give me an answer right away. Take some time to think about it and get back to me when you're ready, okay?'

‘Thanks.' Zoe nodded. Good idea. Staying in Wildwood Point would be a huge step, and it would definitely complicate her fling with Shaun. He'd only agreed to their arrangement because she was a temporary resident in town, which meant that things wouldn't be awkward when whatever was between them came to its natural conclusion. And so far he hadn't given her any indication that he felt differently.

Her heart squeezed at the thought of an inevitable ending to the best experience of her life. She'd let fear make the decision to walk away years ago, saying she'd thought they were too young, but this time she might not even get that choice.

‘Oh and by the way,' Hannah said as she moved toward the door, ‘I did the pays last night so your first week's wage should be in your account.' With that announcement, she wiggled her fingers in a quick goodbye and went off to begin her designated rest time.

Zoe blinked. She had money in her bank account? Although it wouldn't be much, the notion lifted her spirits slightly. It was the first step to becoming independent again, to restarting her life. And then a thought struck her. She could now afford to pay for petrol for Shaun to drive her to Perth to collect her furniture from Jasper's place. She pictured Jasper coming home to an empty house and having to sit on milk crates after all her stuff was gone.
The image made her smile but it was the thought of spending a whole day in Shaun's company that really appealed.

If he were agreeable, they could make a day of it. They'd get up early, head to Perth and get her furniture, then stop at Cottesloe for a bit of lunch and a surf. Maybe if they spent some more time together outside the bedroom, he'd realise they had a lot more going for them than just sex. They were older now and she'd learnt that there was no place on earth better than Wildwood Point and no man as good as him.

But before her mind could run away with fantasies of a future that involved Shaun being entirely over Melissa and head over heels with her, Toby called to her through the hatch.

‘Order up,
bonita.
Table two.'

She spun around and grinned ridiculously at him as she picked up two chocolate lava cakes, which had rapidly become Chocolate Dreams' signature dish.

Ten

Shaun took Eeyore for his evening run, ate a bland dinner of frozen pie, chips and sauce and then sat through three episodes of
Sons of Anarchy
while he waited for Zoe's booty call. Generally this show kept him hooked but his mind kept drifting and his eyes kept checking the time on his phone as he anticipated her arrival. He wondered what the hell he'd done to fill the hours before she came along, but then pushed that thought aside, because the truth was that for the last couple of months he'd been doing a lot of sitting around, drinking too much piss and feeling sorry for himself.

Zoe had brought him alive again. And it wasn't just the sex. Simply the anticipation of her smile made him happy. Being with her gave him a reason to smile through the day.

Finally, at a quarter past ten, he heard her insistent knock on the front door. His lips twisted into a grin and he grabbed the remote and flicked off the TV before carefully stepping over Eeyore, who was sleeping like the dead at his feet. Some guard dog. Not that he was complaining, because tonight he wanted Zoe all to himself. Confident he was about to have mind-blowing sex, he swaggered down the hallway, his desire kicking up a notch as he noted her silhouette through the frosted glass.

Man, she was hot.

He yanked open the door and pulled her into his arms. ‘What took you so long?' he asked, before covering her mouth with his.

Kissing him back, she planted her hands on his butt cheeks as they manoeuvred themselves through the doorway and kicked the door shut behind them, blocking out the distant roar of the sea and the world. He liked her style. Not to mention her sexual appetite, which gave his a run for his money. He couldn't get enough of her.

‘I thought Sandee was never going to go to bed,' Zoe panted as she pulled back a second and stared into his eyes. ‘She wanted to chat.'

‘The universal problem with women,' he drawled, leaning close again and skidding his mouth along her jawline.

She whacked him playfully, but it didn't take long before the mood turned intense again. He spun them round and pushed her up against the hallway table, swiping off the letters and junk mail, which he hadn't yet bothered to look at. As his lips continued their trail down her neck, he put his hands on her legs, slipped them under her skirt and up her thighs. He heard her breath catch in her throat as he brushed a thumb over her panties.

Even through the cotton of her underwear he could tell she was hot and desperate for him. The knowledge rushed to his head like a drug and caused his already hard cock to throb against his jeans. As if in tune with his body, Zoe's hands went immediately for his zipper to free him. He assisted her mission and then went back to her panties, whipping them down her legs in a matter of seconds. Hitching her skirt up around her waist, he lifted Zoe onto the edge of the table and then pushed up inside her.

‘Fuck, you feel amazing,' he hissed, impossible to think about anything but this fact.

In response she uttered some kind of guttural noise, closed her legs around his waist and anchored her hands on his shoulders.