Free Permanent Lines by Ashley Wilcox

don’t. But I had my limits. I wasn’t stupid. I owned the bar and had a good rep
     for it; I wasn’t going to ruin it getting drunk on the job. Once I thought I had enough,
     I would make sure I had a beer bottle next to me, and instead of chasing the shot
     with beer like it appeared, I spit the shot into the beer bottle instead. It was perfect—no
     one could tell and I didn’t get shitfaced.
    But back to Nova, though … for the first time in a long while, I didn’t want the day
     to end. I didn’t want to work. I wanted to spend more time with her. She was a cool
     chick, one that I liked hanging with and wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better.
     Though I wasn’t head over heals for her, we definitely had some chemistry. Even before
     we knew we were meeting each other, there was an attraction across that café.
    “Time to go be Mr. Bartender?” Nova asked, noticing my glance down to my watch.
    I tried to look nonchalant. I didn’t want her to think that I was watching the time,
     because it wasn’t that at all, but I looked at her with an unfortunate frown. “Just
     about,” I told her after emptying the last of my beer from the glass.
    She did the same to hers, lifting it up and pouring the half full glass down her throat.
     Nova was no softie with drinking. The more she had, the bigger the gulps were. She
     was a champ, if I were to be frank, and it turned out she wasn’t a rich bitchy snob
     at all. Two in the win column.
    “Well,” she stood from her stool, doing a little sway once she was up, “this was fun,
     Merrick.”
    I laughed at the obvious—she was more than half in the bag, and it was damn cute.
     I held onto her elbow to help her stand up straight. Our bodies were close—real close—closer
     than they’d been all day. I could feel her sweet breath on my face, a heady mix of
     mint gum and alcohol and woman. Both of our mouths grew into smiles as our bodies
     felt the obvious attraction. It was undeniable. I wanted to lean in and kiss her but
     didn’t wanted to be too forward. Last time I tried something with a girl, I ended
     up sending her home, but this was different, right? This was a sanctioned date, and
     dates end in kisses.
    “Ready when you are.” Her voice was almost a whisper as her eyes dipped from my lips
     back up to my eyes.
    Fuck it! My face inched forward, slowly, making sure she had ample time to refuse or back away
     from what she knew was coming, but she didn’t; in fact, she broke the distance, leaning
     forward and pressing her lips against mine. They were soft and almost had an innocence
     to them. I could tell a lot about someone just from how their lips felt against mine—if
     they were aggressive or tainted or anxious or naive—I could tell a lot. Nova’s showed
     innocence—no hidden secrets, no dark pasts—she was simple, honest, and pure.
    My right hand moved from her elbow to her lower back, bracing her body close to mine.
     I didn’t want to press my luck or take things any further than they had already gone.
     I knew Nova wasn’t a whore or someone looking for a quick lay; not that I would ever
     treat her like one, but I couldn’t help but notice how she responded, pushing in just
     as intensely, her hand sliding from my chest to the back of my head, holding me in
     place just as much as I was with her. The whole thing felt natural and not new … it
     felt good, both of us smiling before parting our lips.

 
     
     
    Her body felt so soft and warm, like it was an extension of mine. She lay next to
     me like we did this every night, like we’d known each other for forever. I glanced
     at her from the corner of my eye, watching a smile spread across her face as something
     funny happened on the television. I didn’t even know what we were watching, some kind
     of romantic comedy probably, I don’t even know. I was glued to her and only her.
    “Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked, barely dragging her eyes away