Summer At The Store

Come In With The Rain

It was late in the afternoon when Mrs. Kavinsky came into the store holding fabric swatches and a large coffee in hand. "Hey guys!" she smiled brightly at Peter and Lara Jean who were standing behind the counter.

"Hi Mrs. Kavinsky. How did it go at the Barrett's? Did they go for the two couches or the sectional?" Lara Jean had gone on another design appointment with her earlier in the week. She loved taking notes and getting to see how it all worked. The thought of making someone's house a home delighted her to no end.

"Two sofas. Thank god. It will make the room so much more functional, but now they don't want color so I picked out these," she held the samples in her hands. "to show them when I go over this weekend."

Lara Jean looked at them. "I like the creme with gold running through it. It would make that mirror in the hallway pop."

"That's my favorite too." She smiled proudly. "But now with my appointment with them, I can't go pick up the dining chairs for the Tuckers, which throws my whole week off." She sighed and thought for a minute and turned back to Peter and Lara Jean. "Would you guys be able to go pick it up?"

Lara Jean looked up at Peter. In the week since the trip to the springs, they reached a new level of comfort around each other. They laughed and danced around the store while dusting. They texted each other constantly when they weren't in the same room. They had even gone out for after work for milkshakes twice this week. Nothing had been outright romantic, but a subtle tension had been building slowly that reminded both of them of when they were fake dating.

Peter shrugged. "Where would we be going?"

"It's about a 4-hour trip down to a furniture manufacturer in North Carolina." She said. "You've been before but I never like you going alone. You two can keep each other company."

Lara Jean looked at him for reassurance. He cocked his head at her. "I'm down if you are."

"Why not?" she smiled. "It'll be fun." She watched Peter's face light up. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She had tried to not think about her growing feelings for him, but her body couldn't deny how she felt. In her head, she knew she was still technically with John Ambrose. Her & John Ambrose had talked after she got back from the springs. They both said that they were taking time to think about their relationship, but did that mean that they were broken up or just figuring things out? Being with Peter made it much easier to forget about John all together.

"We'll have a good time." He beamed at her. "Can I request baked goods for the way down?"

"Only if you're super nice to me." She joked back.

"Is Peter not being super nice to you?" Mrs. Kavinsky asked giving her son the side eye.

"He's the sweetest. I'm just messing with you." Lara Jean looked at him with a squished face. Peter and LJ stared at each other with wide smiles across their faces. She swore her heart was beating so loud that you could hear it from across the room. "Saturday will be fun."

He artfully turned into the Covey's driveway on Saturday morning. He stepped out of the car nervously. The ground was covered in rain from the drizzle this morning. Her adjusted his hair quickly in the side mirror of his mom's minivan. He turned to the front door and saw Lara Jean exiting her home. "How did you know I was here?" He cheekily asked.

She stood still for a moment with a pensive look plastered across her face. "I don't know how to say that I was waiting at the window for you and not sound stupid." He smiled smugly and touched the temples of his forehead. He loved her so much. She could never sound stupid to him.

"Ready to go?" He motioned back to the van.

She shook head and follow him. Peter held the door open for her. She felt her heart swell again. She threw her backpack on the ground in front of her and took a seat. She turned to him as she entered the car and saw two coffees sitting in the cup holders of the center console. "Did you get me coffee?"