Holly
“I need a new job,” my best friend, Noreen, complains from her seat on my couch in the living room. “The yarn store is getting a little boring.”
“What?!” I exclaim from my spot on the other side of the same couch. I roll my eyes while giggling. “But you love working at the yarn store! You were making yarn animals when we were barely out of the cradle!”
“I know, I know,” Noreen murmurs ruefully, sighing in exasperation. “It’s just that there are no hot guys that come into yarn stores. It’s just women who are obsessed with knitting and crocheting, and most of them are sixty-five at that.”
She reaches forward and grabs a handful of popcorn from the bowl in between us and stuffs it in her mouth while looking back at the TV screen.
I laugh and shake my head at her. “Noreen, you love knitting and crocheting, and you get along great with the sixty-five year old grannies. That’s why you were Employee of the Month last month.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Yes, but knitting and crocheting are just hobbies of mine,” she argues. “I didn’t know it was going to become a profession. Plus, there are only three employees at the store, so me getting Employee of the Month doesn’t really mean anything.”
I merely giggle.
“It’s okay, girlfriend. Don’t pretend. You love working there and you were ecstatic to be named Employee of the Month. I know it.”
My best friend chuckles a bit herself. “You’re right. I guess Yarn-A-Wheel is good most days. I can’t complain. Besides, we’re lucky to turn our passions into actual jobs. You love to read, and that’s why you’re a librarian.”
I smile. Noreen isn’t wrong at all. I love being a librarian at the local public library. I have a degree in English from Colorado State and I was going to become a writer, but I fell into becoming a librarian, and it’s really rewarding. I get to gush about all of the amazing books I read to anyone and everyone who will listen, and they’ll actually take my thoughts and opinions into consideration. It’s hard to find someone who cares about literature the same way I do, but the library has been a personal Heaven for me.
“I guess you’re right,” I say, and my friend’s brown eyes light up with victory. She uncrosses her arms and does a small fist pump.
“I know I am,” she says and gives me a wink.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes again. I tend to do that a lot when I’m with Noreen because ever since we met our freshmen year at Colorado State, we’ve been glued to one another. I find myself constantly rolling my eyes at her witty comments and sarcastic remarks. One time, I rolled my eyes so hard that I was afraid they’d gotten stuck staring at my brain.
But Noreen is always a pleasure to have around. She was so sweet and thoughtful while I was grieving after Lenny passed away. She baked me so many desserts and yummy casseroles that I gained more than a few pounds. I still haven’t lost that extra weight, but Noreen says it looks great on me and I believe her. She’s brutally honest, so I know she’s telling the truth. My friend has no filter, but that’s why I love her.
“What did you do yesterday?” Noreen asks while we watch a movie on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. The rain outside pounds against the windows, loud and angry like ocean waves. Thunder rumbles above us and I sink deeper into the couch, enjoying the stormy weather.
I shrug my shoulders. “I met up with Greta and Cave to talk about getting Lenny’s Lights off the ground. It’s pretty cool that Cave is starting a foundation in memory of his son, and I admire him for it.”
Her eyes widen when she hears Cave’s name and she reaches for the remote, turning the television off completely. I furrow my brow and give her an odd look, but say nothing since she’s staring at me with wide eyes.
“Cave is in town?” she asks incredulously, leaning closer to me with each word.
“Yeah,” I reply casually. “I thought I told you that already.”
She scoffs. “You most certainly did not, you big traitor.”
I laugh. “I’m sorry, Noreen. I’ll be sure to tell him you said hi the next time I see him.”
She practically pants.
“Yeah, and can you tell him I want to have his children, while you’re at it?”
I giggle again, even though I shouldn’t. Back in college, Lenny, Noreen, and I were all best friends, so she’s met Lenny’s dad a few times. Noreen’s been obsessed with my father-in-law and his good looks ever since then, even though it’s totally inappropriate.
“Oh, yes. I’ll be sure to include that,” I joke.
“You better,” she murmurs, shaking her head. “That man is so freaking hot. I’d let him lather me with peanut butter and slowly lick it off. Mmmm!”
The thought of Cave doing something sexual with Noreen makes my blood boil and my stomach turn with jealousy. If she only knew about my thoughts with Cave, but I couldn’t possibly tell her seeing that we’re basically related. Instead, I cover by making a joke.
“Would it be smooth or creamy peanut butter?”
Noreen acts like she’s thinking about it, tucking a curl behind one ear.
“Creamy, definitely,” she dreams out loud. “He’d be so good with his tongue, ooooh!” Then she turns to look at me with a sly smile. “Did you know your father in law was on the cover of Dallas Magazine recently, by the way? They did an interview with the top ten most eligible bachelors in Dallas and he’s one of them.”
Damn, I think to myself. Top ten? I’d say number one.
“You really read those magazines, Noreen?” I ask in a wry tone, taking a handful of popcorn and nibbling on a piece.
Noreen giggles like a silly schoolgirl and nods her head emphatically. “Yes, I do! Colorado Springs is such a small town, Holly. There are no cute guys here, let alone guys that look like Cave Pierce. Dallas is where all the hot, sexy men live. I want to move there. Maybe Yarn-A-Wheel will open up a satellite store in Texas. Why not? There have to be crafters there.”
I smile. “I guess you’re right, but there are some cute guys here. Come on, give Colorado Springs a chance.”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “Oh, really? When was the last time you went on a date, Holly?”
My shoulders drop slightly. The truth is that I haven’t been on a date since before Lenny and I got together and that was back in college. Ever since my husband died, I just haven’t had any desire to be with another man. Even if Lenny wasn’t my one true love, it just doesn’t feel right. I’d be betraying his memory, even if Lenny’s been in the ground for two years now.
“Holly,” Noreen starts, reaching forward and gently grazing my hand. “It’s been years since he passed away. It’s okay to go out and date. You’re still young and attractive. Do you feel guilty or something?”
I shrug my shoulders. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
Noreen nods.
“Yes, but it’s okay to move on,” she encourages. “Lenny would want you to be happy. I know you guys didn’t have the most satisfying marriage, but he would want the best for you. Remember, I knew him too. We go back as friends, and Lenny wouldn’t want you to shrivel up and die.”
I nod.
“I know, it’s just that … well, it seems like it’s still too soon.”
Noreen shoots me a glance.
“It’s been two years. You were only married for about that long.”
“I know, it’s just that …”
I trail off and we’re silent for a moment. Noreen knows about his depression, but she was a good friend. She never tuned him out, and was always trying to help in her own way.
“Hey,” she blurts out, ending the silence abruptly. “What about Cave?”
I furrow my brows and scrunch my nose in confusion. “What about him?”
“You should date him.”
My eyes widen at her suggestion, but my pulse begins to race at the thought of Cave and I together, kissing and making love like a normal couple does. I squirm in my seat as my body gets hot from these dirty thoughts. I bolt upright on the couch. “What are you talking about, Noreen? Are you crazy? He’s my father-in-law. We’re related!”
She shakes her head.
“Not anymore, girlfriend. I know it sounds taboo, but he’s your ex-father in law. He used to be related to you, but not anymore. So why shouldn’t you date him? You’re single. He’s single. Your marriage to Lenny was barely even a marriage, anyway. I say you go for it.”
Noreen knows about our lack of physical intimacy, but I can’t go there.
“No way,” I blurt. “That’s just too wild for me.”
But now, my friend is on a roll.
“No, this is exactly what you need, Holly,” she says in an excited voice. “You need some wild in your life. I’m not saying that you have to get married or anything. You don’t even have to have a long-term relationship because he lives in Dallas. But you need something, and obviously, Cave isn’t a virgin, so I’m pretty sure he can help you out in that department.”
She gives me a wink and I flush a deep red.
“That’s so inappropriate, Noreen. Oh my god, he has no idea that his son and I never did it. What father wants to know that? Besides, even if I wanted to, I doubt he would go for a girl like me.”
My friend sits forward.
“A girl like you?” she questions, gripping both of my hands. “You’re beautiful, Holly. Absolutely gorgeous. You have killer curves that make for a bodacious bod. You have a charming smile and an amazing heart. Don’t ever think you’re not special, Holly. Cave would be lucky to have someone like you.”
I smile at her and open my mouth to express my gratitude for her endearing speech, but she beats me to it and adds, “Plus, he definitely likes you.”
What? My heart begins racing.
“Why do you say that?” I ask in as normal of a voice that I can muster. Seeing Cave yesterday brought back so many feelings that I stifled while I was with Lenny. My father in law is ungodly gorgeous, and when I saw him at the restaurant, my center began to throb with need and lust. It was so wrong, sitting across from the diner while lusting after the man, but it is what it is.
Meanwhile, Noreen continues.
“He always looks at you in a weird way,” she explains. “Like you’re his prey and he’s the predator.”
I blush and my cheeks turn bright red, burning with internal embarrassment. Oh my god. If only Noreen knew what I did with his picture the other night. How I touched myself while imagining his strong hands all over me. How I practically started humping the picture frame, but stopped myself because Greta and Lenny were in the photograph too. God, it would be scandalous, and yet I feel so happy knowing that someone else has noticed my filthy father in law’s irresistible attraction to me.