Ricky had come by the shop earlier in the day and I didn't look at the itemized invoice; I just paid him. He did an excellent job cleaning the concrete area and the pool water was crystal clear. He even scrubbed down the chairs and put out the umbrella, which I definitely appreciated. I guess Ernie thought I was having kids over. But the one appealing thing about the swan was that it was big enough for us both to float on at the same time. And that gave me some good ideas.
Kissing and feeling up every inch of Aggie was as far as I would let myself go the night before. Sure I wanted more. But I had faith that in time, I would get everything I wanted from her.
I needed a shower and planned to jack off thinking about her cute little button nose and scratched cheek. Then I had to sleep. It would be a super early morning at the shop with several large orders waiting for me in the fridge that I needed to butcher. I’d buckle down and do it. It wasn’t the first time I had overbooked myself and the extra money would be nice.
THE NEXT MORNING, I did just as I intended. I was at the shop before the coffeehouse across the street opened and I was eagerly awaiting their morning brew. I made sure to have extra aprons on hand because I was going to be cutting all day once the shop was open. So I’d be changing aprons and gloves a lot coming from the back to the front several times.
Customers didn’t enjoy seeing bloody aprons.
When 7 a.m. finally rolled around, I crossed the street to get a coffee with an extra shot of espresso. I went ahead and grabbed Chuck a catpurrccino too. She was good company in the early mornings when everything was still quiet.
I wanted to text Aggie and tell her good morning, tell her I thought about her as I was falling asleep. Tell her she hadn’t left my thoughts since I saw her for the first time the day before. But I didn’t want to wake her.
I got a good amount of work done before the shop opened at 9 a.m., and with any luck, I would get everything I planned to accomplish done before closing time.
Maybe Aggie would have dinner with me? I’d message her later to ask.
The shop phone rang, and I was surprised to hear from my contact in Florida who owned a seafood company that made weekly drives north to drop off fresh fish. They knew I didn’t normally keep seafood, but they also knew, based on the calendar, that the town fair was coming up soon and that’s when I usually ordered.
“Yes, Sasha. Please put me on the schedule. And I wouldn’t mind getting a few things on your next trip this way. I know that’s early...”
Aggie mentioned she liked grilling out, so I wanted to get some scallops and fresh shrimp to make kebabs. I had a feeling she would like that.
Just as I was hanging up with Sasha, my cell phone buzzed.
Good morning, handsome. The message said.
Oh, she was a happy girl this morning.
Mornin’ Cutie. Sleep well? I couldn’t resist.
Bed was kinda empty, but yes. Oh, my darling girl, it will not be for long.
What are you up to today? I was genuinely curious and wanted to get an idea of what she had planned before asking about dinner.
A little shopping trip to Walmart. Need a shower curtain. Thought I might swing by and say hi to Chuck. Her response made me laugh. I was glad I was in the shop alone or a customer would’ve looked twice.
Chuck regularly enjoys people stopping by to say hello. It wasn’t a lie either.
I also need to fill my freezer with some...meat...
Fuck. Me.
You, Cutie, know the way to a man’s heart.
I was looking forward to her visit and that motivated me to finish up the cuts I had going on in the back.
When the bell on the door rang, Chuck rushed out to greet Aggie, and after sliding my messy apron off, I came out front as well.
Man, she cleaned up nicely. I realized I had only seen her in yoga pants, torn ones yesterday morning, at that, and the shorts and T-shirt she had on when I arrived at her apartment. The flowing yellow sundress with teal flowers made her hair appear brighter and the golden specks in her eyes more prominent.
“I’m here to see my meat man,” she said and winked at me, putting her hand on her hip and turning her flirt game up to 100.
“Oh, Cutie, I’m definitely your meat man.” If she was gonna dish it, she was gonna take it. The dress she was wearing brushed just below her knee, concealing her skinned knees. If you didn’t know to look, you wouldn’t have noticed, but I did and knew it didn’t feel good. The palms of her hands weren’t noticeable if you weren’t looking either.
But that cheek.
That cute little cut up cheek. Looked like she got into a fight with a bear or at the very least an aggressive cat. Chuck could have done damage equivalent to that if provoked.
I had to refrain from going over and petting her.
“How ya feeling today? You look lovely,” I told her and saw a little blush rise in her cheeks. Clearly, this woman has never been paid a good compliment. I leaned across the counter and enjoyed the view as she looked around the shop.
“Sore. Thank you for asking, by the way.”
Chuck was rubbing up against her legs and I realized I had never been more jealous of my cat.
“Want a tour?” I asked, trying to keep my composure.
“Absolutely!” she said, and I took the liberty of locking the door and put up the ‘return in 15 minutes’ sign.
Chapter Fifteen
Aggie
I might have dressed up a little too much for a trip to a local department store, but the sundress was comfortable, and I wanted to look cute for Drake.
I had already seen the kitchen/work area at the back of the butcher shop, but I was curious to see inside the large freezer. It seemed as if Drake was running a one-man show, so him closing up for a few minutes made sense...it’s not like Chuck could help a customer if someone came in.
He gently took my hand and we walked back to the area I was familiar with.
“You know this place from yesterday,” he said, “And as you can see, I am in the middle of working. So please don’t touch anything.”
He wasn’t wrong. There was meat, from what I assumed was a pig, in different areas, and his bins were out to separate the waste, which was different from yesterday.
We turned the corner to a small office which was very tidy and maybe not what I expected from a butcher. Not that I really knew what to expect from a butcher... And then Drake opened a large door leading to a cold room.
Hooks and chains held meat from different animals in different areas of the room and I could tell it was cold, obviously, but it didn’t feel like a freezer. It just felt like a fridge.
“I can control the temperature in here with the thermostat on the wall in my office,” he explained. “If I need it to be a freezer, I can adjust it even colder than this.”
“This would be a nice place to come chill out after a workout,” I said.
“And I’d be lying if I said I’ve never done that...”
We turned around and went back through the kitchen, off to the other side where he had a large storage room which I assumed was for packing and storing inventory. Two very large deep freezers were on one wall and Drake explained that’s where he kept larger orders for customers to pick up. He said many customers requested some meat to already be frozen before they received it. He and I both could’ve fit in one of those freezers with room to spare. That’s how big they were.