by Sindee Lynn
Connie couldn't help it. She just couldn't keep the joy she felt over being the cause of his returned good spirits from shining through in her own smile.
“I just hate to see anyone stranded, and you seem like a nice enough guy,” she said, hunching her shoulders.
He laughed.
“That’s a new one. I don’t think I’ve ever been called nice before.”
Mischief shined clearly in his gaze.
Not knowing how to respond, she pulled a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and rang it up for his pump.
“Ten dollars should get you where you need to be,” she said, hoping to remind herself he was on his way to a date.
His being nice to her meant nothing. He was just a natural flirt. Then, why did it feel as if he were really looking at her while he was standing there? Why did it seem as if the heat of his gaze was trying to drill a hole straight to her soul? Why were her insides churning?
“Thank you. I don’t even know your name,” he asked, still smiling at her.
“It’s Connie. Connie Banks,” she said, trying to put a lid on the crazy thoughts rolling through her head.
“Hi, Connie, I’m Kenny Jamison,” he said, extending his hand across the counter.
Indecision made her hesitate before taking his large hand. The moment she did, she wished she hadn't. The electricity running from his palm to hers was instantaneous. She quickly pulled her hand out of his grasp and ran it down the side of her jeans, but it didn’t help. Her fingers still tingled from where they’d touched his. She glanced up at him and wondered if he’d felt it too.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Connie Banks,” he was saying as he pulled his hand back slowly. “If you tell me when you work again, I’ll come back to repay you.”
Think, Connie, quick, her body screamed. He’s coming back. You will see him again.
“Um, it’s okay, really. There’s no need to pay me back.”
Her insides yelled and screamed, questioning her actions. But she paid them no attention.
“Think of it as my good deed for the day. It’ll get me one step closer to heaven,” she continued.
His eyebrow rose in question, so she pasted a smile on her face that she hoped would add some credibility to her words. Besides, she had taken the job more for something to do than out of a need for money. As long as she remained in college and kept her grade point average up, her parents saw she had money in her bank account. Roger was a friend of her parents, so she’d naturally gone to him to see if he needed help. No, she didn’t need him to come back and repay her.
“Are you sure? I mean I do have money. I just can’t get to it,” he said, pointing towards the back where the ATM machine sat.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Really. You’d better go. You don’t want to keep your date waiting,” Connie said, hoping to jog his memory he had a woman waiting for him and to remind herself of his unavailable status.
She noticed he paused in what he was about to say.
“I’m going to repay you for your kindness. I’ll think of something, Connie Banks, you just wait,” he said before leaving the store.
“Yeah, sure you will,” she said, glancing down at the hand that had touched his.
Chapter 4
Monday afternoon found Kenny at his desk. He gazed out the large picture window behind him. There were things that required his attention. They were sprawled across his desk. But thoughts of a curvaceous woman with large brown eyes consumed him. As they had all weekend long.
He’d gone back to the gas station on Saturday evening. He had tried to convince himself it was merely to repay a debt. After all, he had always hated to be indebted to anyone. Deep down, he recognized it for what it was – curiosity. He had wanted to see if it had been his stressful day that had caused him to react so strongly to one Connie Banks. Upon entering the convenience store, he had looked around expectantly for her. Instead of her large brown eyes, he’d found himself staring into the rather dazed gaze of Tim, the regular weekend guy who covered the evening shift. Kenny had tried to tell himself it wasn’t disappointment over not seeing her he was feeling, but it was just because he couldn't repay his debt. The statement had sounded like a lie then, and it still sounded like one now.
He didn’t know what it was about her that had her plaguing his thoughts. He didn’t need to remind himself all the many ways she was not his type. The list was endless. From her youthful appearance to her full-figured size and all things in between. But no matter how many times he’d repeatedly reminded himself, his thoughts had always come back to her expressive brown eyes, her heartwarming smile, not to mention those more than a handful breasts. Desperate to try anything to alleviate himself of the unwanted thoughts, he had called up one of his old standbys for a date on Saturday night. He’d arrogantly believed all he needed was to be distracted by a beautiful woman. Maybe even have a little spontaneous sex. But his plan hadn't worked the way he had thought it would. The whole night he had sat wondering what he’d ever found attractive about the woman sitting across from him. When they’d returned to her house after dinner, she’d invited him in for a night cap. For a moment, he had considered taking her up on her offer just to prove to himself she was what he wanted. This was the type of woman who should have control over his thoughts. But in the end, he had declined and gone home.
For the rest of the weekend he had tried everything to keep himself preoccupied from thoughts of Connie. But nothing had helped. His thoughts kept wandering back to her time and time again. How old was she? Did she have a boyfriend or a man in her life? Did she live in the neighborhood? Countless questions and no way to obtain the answers.
Pushing himself from his chair to pace his office, Kenny wasn’t surprised when an image of her came to mind. Long hair flowing across her shoulders. The hardened imprint of her nipples pushed against the material of her t-shirt as she’d stood there, an irritated expression in her large brown eyes. Even the constant frown between her brows hadn't been enough to squelch his body’s reaction to her on Friday night. His dick pushed against the zipper of his slacks. Or today apparently.
“Dammit,” He grumbled walking back to his desk and buzzing his secretary.
Ten minutes later, he sat staring at the number on the pad in front of him, contemplating what he was about to do. Never had a woman held his interest this long without his following through, and he wondered over his hesitation. Kenny was honest enough with himself to admit if Connie were the typical woman he gravitated towards, he would have stayed as long as needed to obtain her number on Friday night. But she wasn’t and therefore he hadn’t. Instead he had walked out under the misguided impression he was just out of sorts. A good night’s sleep would clear his head, and then things would be back to normal. A grunt left his parted lips. He saw how well that had worked.
“Okay, so what now?” He questioned aloud. “What does all of this mean?”
Hell if he knew. Never before had he found himself this confused by his reaction to a woman. There was no denying she intrigued him. He wouldn't dare insult himself by claiming otherwise. So why was he hesitating in moving forward with finding her again? Was it her size? Her choice of careers? Her age? All three? The thought brought him up short. There was no way he could possibly be that shallow. He refused to believe it. He’d never intentionally discriminated against a particular group of women. He’d just always been attracted by a woman whose career goals and lifestyles matched his. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t believe women of size matched that description he’d just never been attracted to one before. He paused. Women of size? Was that the politically correct wording these days?
“Okay, I have two choices here. I can either call Roger to see if I can get some information about Connie or I can sit here and continue to examine myself and find all my many flaws.”
Talk about a no brainer. Forcing the nerves he suddenly felt down, he reached for the phone.
“Roger’s Gas-n-More,” someone answered on the other end.
/>
“Is Roger in?”
“Speaking, how may I help you?”
“Hey, buddy, it’s Kenny Jamison. How’s it going?”
He’d known Roger for almost seven years, since moving to Newport Estates, the well-established and upscale community he resided in. Roger and his wife, Maureen, lived with their three children a few houses from him. He’d been over to their home for a few barbeques on those rare occasions when Roger had taken a day off. He counted him as one of his friends. He hoped that friendship would serve him well now.
“Hey, Kenny. I hope you're not calling about the credit card problems from this weekend,” he said.
Kenny could imagine he’d had tons of calls about it. His heart went out to him, but being the only gas station in their prominent neighborhood came with a lot of responsibility. The larger convenience mart combos had been trying to get their foot in the door for years now, but because Roger was a part of the community, their association had always voted against bringing another one in.
“Yeah, kind of. It’s really about the new girl working on Friday night,” he began.
“Constance? I hope she wasn’t rude or anything. She can be a bit much to take sometimes, but she’s really a good kid. Her parents are friends of mine and Maureen’s ya know. I still don’t know why she wanted the job. Can’t be because she needs the money. Her parents are more than a little well off,” he said, a strained laugh sounding through the phone.
Kenny rolled his eyes in the back of his head. He’d discovered early in his friendship with Roger he had a tendency to babble when he was nervous. He couldn't imagine people had complained about Connie. He could still recall the smile she had given the man she’d been waiting on while he had been fighting with the ATM machine. His stomach had tightened in disbelief as he’d seen the man obviously flirting with her and her answering reaction to his lame line and wolfish grin. Hadn't she noticed his eyes had been glued to her chest?
“No, as a matter of fact, she did me a huge favor, and I’m trying to repay her. As you know there was the problem with the credit cards, and then the ATM machine ran out of money, and I didn’t have any cash on me. Connie was kind enough to loan me ten bucks for gas, and I’m trying to get it back to her. I don’t want her to think I’m the type of guy who doesn’t repay his debts,” he said, hoping none of the anxiousness he was feeling showed in his voice.
“Well, that sure was nice of her. Hmm, well, she only works nights over the weekend. She goes to college during the week days, studying English or journalism, if I recall correctly. She’s a pretty good student, too, from what her parents say.”
Kenny was barely able to stifle the groan of frustration rising at the back of his throat. There was no way he would be able to get anything accomplished being distracted like this.
“She’s not coming in for anything before then?”
“Nope ‘fraid not. She’s scheduled for Friday night to come in at nine until three. Heck, she wasn’t supposed to start until this weekend and only came in this past Friday to help me out.”
Well, that explained why she hadn’t been in on Saturday when he had gone to the store.
“I don’t suppose you’d be able to give me her address. If she lives in the neighborhood, I could maybe drop it by her place. If she’s not there, I could leave it with her parents or something. Hell, I remember what it was like when I was in school. Every little bit helps.”
Was that desperation in his voice? Of course not. Kenny Jamison was not a desperate man. He could get anyone he wanted. And it just so happened what he wanted right now was the curvaceous gas station attendant from Friday night.
“Her parents moved awhile back to Arizona. Her mother had some health issues, and they said the drier climate would help. If I’m not mistaken, Constance lives with some roommates in the neighborhood now,” Roger said.
So she did live in the neighborhood.
“Okay, well, maybe I could leave it with one of them then.”
“I don’t know, Kenny,” Roger replied, uncertainty in his voice.
Kenny’s jaw clenched in frustration. He was so close there was no way he could stop now. Later, he would examine the whys, but for now and his future sanity, he knew he needed to find her. To see her again.
“Aw, come on, Rog, you know me. It’s not like I’m some kind of stalker or anything. I just want to give her the money she loaned me,” he said, using his most persuasive voice. “You remember you asked me to take a look at your portfolio and see if you were maximizing your money? Well, I don’t normally conduct business at a barbeque, but I did it because you're a friend.”
“I know and I really appreciate it. Your recommendations are making sure Maureen and I will be able to send the kids to good colleges,” Roger said.
“Well, now I’m asking for your help. Okay, let’s forget about the address. Why not give me her number, and she can decide if she wants me to have her address.”
Come on, Roger. I feel you wavering.
“Okay, I guess I can do that. Besides she is a student and might need the money,” Roger said, echoing Kenny’s words from earlier.
The sound of rustling papers came across the line.
“Okay, ready.”
“Thanks, Roger. You know if you get those damned pumps fixed, we won’t have these kinds of issues,” Kenny said before saying good-bye.
Long moments passed. The number on the pad in front of him seemed to stare at him. Taunting him. He shook his head not believing the lengths he’d just gone through to get it. Oh, who was he kidding? He hadn't felt this interested in a woman in forever. And there was no use trying to convince himself otherwise. No matter what spin he put on it, there was something about the woman that intrigued him, and he wanted to find out what it was. No matter her size, her age or career choice.
Chapter 5
Connie ripped the paper out of her notebook in disgust, effectively hiding all her childish scribbling. She had been sitting at her kitchen table for over an hour and hadn't come up with one viable idea for her English paper. It wasn’t like she had loads of time to complete it. It was due next week when finals began, but all she’d been able to think about was him. His chest. His smile. His eyes. No matter how often she had told herself thinking of him was useless her thoughts continued to stray in his direction. Everything about Kenny Jamison had said out of her league. From the top of his slightly curly, dark brown head to the bottom of his expensive shoes. And if that weren’t enough, did she really need to remind herself he had been running late for a date? That implied loud and clear he was seeing somebody or multiple somebodies. Connie was sure a guy who looked as good as he did wouldn't be able to make due with just one woman. Now there was an extremely depressing thought. One that should have brought her back down to reality. But as Connie sat with her elbows on the kitchen table with her chin braced in her hand, she realized not even the possibility of his being taken by another woman was enough to stop her childish meanderings of Kenny Jamison. Her memories of the way he had looked at her on Friday night had only fueled her imagination. Despite attempts to convince herself the intensity of his gaze that had fallen upon her time and time again meant nothing, he had still taken up more of her thoughts since Friday than she wanted to admit. Even reminding herself repeatedly that guys like Kenny flirted without conscious effort did no good. Knowing it was probably second nature for him to caress a woman’s curves with just a look didn’t stop the fluttering in her stomach as she recalled how his gaze had lingered on her breasts.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Connie got up from the table to pour herself another cup of coffee. This was getting her nowhere. The amount of time spent thinking of him made her feel ridiculous, but she couldn’t seem to help it. Men like Kenny had always been her weakness, and she had the scars to prove it. Despite her age, she had been through enough heartache and tears to know there were certain kinds of guys she needed to stay away from. They were just too dangerous for her peace of mind. Not to ment
ion her already poor excuse for self-esteem. Kenny was a living, breathing, poster child for that kind of man.
Over the years, she had learned the painful lesson of what happened when you allowed how a guy looked to affect your better judgment. When you allowed his smile to make you forget he never took you out in public. How when he touched your hand it made you forget his eyes followed every other girl around when she walked. When her hand began to shake at the unwanted memories, Connie placed her coffee cup on the counter and closed her eyes against the pain. It took a few minutes, but finally she was able to push them back behind the door where she kept them in her head. She picked her cup up once more and walked back to the table determined to put anymore thoughts of Kenny Jamison behind her. She had a paper due that was half of her final grade, and she needed to focus. Besides, she reminded herself yet again, it wasn’t as if she’d ever see him again.
Ring... Ring....
A deep sigh left her as she checked the caller id. She didn’t recognize the number and was tempted not to answer it. It probably wasn’t for her anyway, and she really needed to get her paper done.
“Hello,” she answered.
Oh, well, what was one more distraction? There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“Hello,” she called again.
She definitely didn’t have time for telemarketers. Then she heard a clearing of a throat.
“Sorry. Hi, may I speak to Connie.”
The deep voice on the other end sounded familiar. Her eyes widened as a crazy thought raced across her mind. It couldn't be.
“Speaking.”
Connie held her breath as she waited for the caller to identify himself.