Super Chick

by Amber R. Polk

  Taking the boxes, she left him a larger tip than he deserved and to her surprise, he smiled and thanked her. With a smile like that, Megan imagined if he wasn’t popular with the girls at school yet, he would be soon. She moved back to Lillie. “Ready?”

  Lillie handed her the coffee and stood. “Feel better now?”

  “Actually, yes, much better.” She smiled and led the way outside. They rushed into the van to get out of the wind. Once settled, Megan wrapped both hands around the cup to warm her hands. “I hope this cold weather blows over before the festival.”

  “Me, too. Where to now?”

  “Home, I guess. I need to clean the kitchen.” Megan sat back and wondered if Drew was already there. She wanted him to stay as far away as possible, but unless she packed up and left town, she would have to learn to deal with seeing him constantly.

  “You’re not going anywhere and neither is he. So you love him. You can’t let that keep you from the life you built for yourself.” Lillie pointed a finger at her. “Now, suck it up, buttercup, and move on. If it was meant to be, it will be.”

  “You’re right. I do have a good life here. A life I had to scrape to get and I’m not letting some jackass take that from me.” Feeling empowered, Megan took a sip of her coffee and let her muscles relax. She smiled toward Lillie. “You want to help with the kitchen?”

  “As wonderful as that sounds, I have appointments for a few massages so I can pay for my new place.”

  There it was again, a tinge of pain. It wasn’t like Lillie was leaving town, just her house. “Are you really staying?”

  “For now, yes. I’ll be staying until I feel the need to hit the road again.”

  “I’ve loved having you at the house. You know you can stay if you wanted,” Megan told her, meaning every word.

  “I know, but I need my own space and so do you. We’ll see each other all the time. Promise.”

  When they pulled up to the house, Lillie leaned over and gave Megan a much needed hug before they said their goodbyes and Megan went inside. She put the cheesecake away and opened the box of cookies, popping one into her mouth before getting to work on the disaster of a kitchen. After she did the dishes and cleaned the table, Megan heard the front door open. She looked up to find Drew closing the door, looking in the direction of the bedroom.

  “I’m in the kitchen.”

  “Why wasn’t the door locked?” he yelled from his spot just inside the door.

  She stopped. Had she not locked it? Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t feel the need to lock the door because she lived in the middle of nowhere close to a town full of good people. With everything that was going on, though, she knew better. It must have slipped her mind. “I’m sorry. Must have forgotten.”

  “Try to remember next time,” he said from the arch that separated the living room from the kitchen.

  Keeping her eyes on the floor, she started scrubbing again. Pick your battles, she thought, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone, but instead, he leaned against the door jamb, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “What do you want?” she asked without stopping.

  “I just want to tell you I’m sorry.”

  “For being an asshole in general or telling half the town that you fucked me after a week?” Luckily, Megan found a tough spot on the floor and scrubbed extra hard. She wished it was his face down there.

  “Look. This got out of hand. Megan, look at me.” She stopped and stared at him. “How would you react if I was the one who went invisible while I was inside you?”

  She threw the mop on the floor with a loud clatter and stomped past him. “I don’t want to talk anymore. You’re here for a reason and hopefully, she’ll be home soon and you’ll be gone.” Megan slammed the door to the bedroom, ending the conversation.

  Plopping herself on her bed, she stared at the ceiling, tears filling her eyes. Yes, stomping out of the kitchen like that had been childish, she knew, but she didn’t want to wait around to hear him call her a freak of nature. That, she couldn’t handle. Not from him. Not when she loved the idiot.

  Megan tossed her head back and forth on the pillow, wishing to put thoughts of him out of her head. Luckily, her backside began vibrating. She pulled her cell from her back pocket and didn’t recognize the number, but it was local so she answered it.

  It was the owner of The Black Sheep Bakery, Emily Campbell. She was absolutely delighted to fill her massive order, but it would cost at least five hundred dollars. That was a punch in the gut, but it was well worth taking the hit to not have to worry about it any longer. Maybe the city would reimburse her. Megan doubted it, but she would still try. At least her money would be helping the downtown renovation project. Plus, what didn’t sell at the cakewalk would come home with her and she could and would over-indulge until she was well over four hundred pounds.

  Sitting up, Megan looked through the wall and Drew was on his cell phone while sitting on the living room couch. It was so natural to see him on her furniture, she debated if she should toss it and buy a new one when this was over so she wouldn’t think about him every time she sat there.

  Needing something else to do that would keep her in the bedroom, Megan thought about her invisibility. What made her go invisible? Did it only happen when she had an orgasm that she didn’t give herself? If so, she wouldn’t have to worry about ever going invisible again. Realistically, she wanted to learn to control it. What if now that the power was unlocked or whatever, she started going invisible in public? That couldn’t happen. Plus, it could come in very handy someday and like it or not, it was part of who she was. There was no use in denying it.

  Standing in front of the mirror, Megan took a lesson from Lillie’s book and cleared her mind of everything around her, only seeing her reflection. She began visualizing her hands fading away, starting with her fingertips, up her fingers, and across her hand. When nothing happened, she closed her eyes and started again. A tingling sensation came over her, small at first, but grew in intensity. Opening her eyes, Megan discovered that she didn’t have arms. Her eyes widened.

  She did it.

  She could make herself go invisible.

  On command!

  Giggling with joy, she closed her eyes to continue when a knock came at the front door. Through the wall, she saw Drew’s parents standing on the porch, with his mother holding a casserole dish in her hands. Megan’s fascination swiftly turned to terror as she tried to make her arms and hands become visible. It didn’t work.

  Swinging open the bedroom door just as Drew was getting off the couch, she blurted out, “It’s your parents!”

  “Okay?” he asked, wondering why she was panicking. She stepped into the room so he could see her arms. Or not see her arms, as it was. “Shit.”

  “Yeah, shit. Shit, shit, shit! They brought food.”

  He ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Okay, calm down. Do you have gloves?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but don’t you think that’ll look a bit strange with me wearing gloves around the house?”

  “Got a better idea then?” He raised his brows, waiting.

  Damn him. She bit her bottom lip. “Just give me a few minutes.”

  She ran back to the bedroom and slammed the door. Frantically, she stood in front of the mirror trying to get her appendages to come back. When it didn’t work, she dove into her closet, scrambling to find something, anything, that would cover her hands. It didn’t take long to realize Drew’s option of gloves were her best option. Pulling out a basket of accessories, she grabbed a thin pair of winter gloves and slipped them on.

  Running to the bathroom, she tossed on an oversized bathrobe over her clothes. The sleeves were long enough to cover most of her hands by itself, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her wrists showing. Or not showing.

  After a much needed mental pep talk, Megan went to the living room. Drew and his parents were standing behind the couch and all heads turned to her.

&nbs
p; “Sorry to drop in unannounced. We just couldn’t sit at home doing nothing but waiting again,” Dorian explained, walking to her. “Are you feeling okay?”

  Megan looked over Dorian’s shoulder to a grinning Drew. “I’m just really cold today and trying to warm up.” She self-consciously tugged at the sleeves of the robe.

  Dorian placed the back of her hand against Megan’s forehead. “Well, you’re not running a fever. A little clammy maybe.” Megan was probably clammy because she had been running around like a mad woman and then added a thick robe and gloves to her already overheated body. “I hope you haven’t eaten yet. I brought my lasagna.”

  “No, we haven’t eaten yet.” Megan followed Drew’s mother to the dish which was placed in the middle of the table. “It smells delicious.” And it did. She moved to the cabinet and pulled out four dinner plates.

  Dorian helped Megan put the plates out then moved closer. “Men handle stress so differently than women. Those two have always watched sports. It calms them. Me, I cook when there’s nothing else I can do.”

  “I’m not a great cook, but I’m great at eating what everyone else cooks,” she chuckled. Megan couldn’t imagine the fear and anguish Dorian was going through. If it were her daughter, she would more than likely go insane until she was home, safe and sound.

  “Then we’ll make a great pair,” Dorian said with a weak smile. She turned and yelled for the men to come to the dining table. They were in their seats in seconds. Megan surmised their obedience was less about hunger and more that Dorian told them to come. Dorian might be a small, rounded woman, but she clearly was the head of the house. Drew’s dad might wear the pants, but she was the one who picked out the pants and told him when to put them on.

  Dorian plated the lasagna while Megan pulled a salad from the fridge to accompany the main course. Megan moved to the sink and took a sneak peek at her hands. They were beginning to have an opal look to them. That was a good thing. Maybe they would be back to normal before long and she could take off the ridiculous gloves.

  Megan filled the empty chair on Drew’s left. She would rather gnaw her own leg off and beat him with it than to sit next to him, but his family had enough problems at the moment than to deal with her and Drew’s drama. Drew held his hand out and she glared at him until Drew’s father held his hand out to her from the other side. Making sure her wrists were covered she took both men’s hands and bowed her head with Drew’s father blessed the meal.

  Okay, she hadn’t prayed over food since she lived with a pastor and his wife when she was around ten. Not that there was anything wrong with it; it was just a foreign concept to her. After the Amens were said, Drew’s dad was the first to speak.

  “Son, have you heard any news?” he asked, putting a napkin on his lap and holding his fork, waiting for Drew’s response.

  Megan took a bite and waited for Drew’s answer. “No, the FBI is still looking for the diamonds and if we don’t find them in time, they’re considering using dummy diamonds.”

  “The Feds are involved?” Megan asked. When did that happen? And why hadn’t he told her that already?

  “They have been since the beginning,” he said quietly, then turned to his parents. “They want names to go with the faces of these guys before we meet so they don’t get away after the trade off.”

  “Do you think they’ll really let her go?” Dorian asked, her voice cracking. Her hand moved over her chest and Megan’s heart broke for her.

  Drew reached to his side and squeezed his mom’s hand. “They’ll let her go, Ma. They’re not killers, just idiots.”

  “I swear, if they hurt my baby, I’ll kill them,” Dorian proclaimed with gritted teeth and a red face. Megan had no doubt in her mind Dorian would.

  “Ma, I swear, everything will be fine,” Drew reassured her, but the fear in Dorian’s eyes failed to dissipate.

  The rest of the meal was mostly quiet and shortly after they were finished, Drew’s parents left. Megan was alone with Drew once again. Her hands had gone back to normal probably ten minutes into the meal, giving her relief from not only hiding her secret, but being able to remove the gloves. She stood at the sink, hand washing the dishes instead of using the dishwasher since it tended to have a calming effect on her. It would have worked, too, if Drew hadn’t felt the need to dry and put the dishes away.

  “You don’t have to help.”

  “I know,” was all he said as he picked up a cup and dried it.

  When Megan thought her personal space was nonexistent, Drew reached over her back to put a plate away, resting a hand on her hip as he did. She tried to ignore it, but how could she ignore a firm, hot male pressed against her backside? It made her want to wiggle into him and lay her head back to give him access to all of her. Fortunately, she learned her lesson the night before.

  To stop herself from letting his super power overcome her, she washed the last dish and practically ran from the kitchen, straight to her room, and closed the door. She wasn’t tired so she set up the laptop on the bed and got comfortable.

  Megan did an online search of the jewelry store robbery in Oklahoma City and hit the jackpot. Believe it or not, they had the actual surveillance video of the robbery on four different websites.

  She watched as the three elderly men did a bang-up job of robbing the store. One was clearly the leader of the three stooges because he had more control in his actions and the other two looked to him for direction. He did his best to keep the other two from accidently shooting the gun. At one point, one of them even tripped over his own shoelaces. It was perfect footage for the world’s dumbest criminals. No wonder Drew was sure they didn’t intend to hurt Laura.

  Next, Megan looked up the man who died when Drew took him into custody. Calvin Ripley was pulled over for a broken tail light when he was discovered to be wanted for question in the robbery at Oklahoma City. Drew was the one to take him in and question him. Calvin died within the first hour of questioning, leaving his accomplices’ and the stolen diamonds’ whereabouts a mystery.

  There was a direct quote in the local paper from Drew, stating the suspect was beginning to talk when he collapsed and never got up again. The two men who had Laura must have read the quote and assumed Calvin told Drew where the diamonds were before he died. If the paper was correct, the diamonds were estimated at close to ten million dollars.

  That would be enough money to keep them motivated.

  Shutting down the laptop, Megan tentatively walked into the living room. Drew was on his cell so she waited patiently until he hung up. “What’s up?”

  She sat on her favorite chair and clapped her hands in front of her, trying not to look at his face. “I was just looking at the robbery online and when Calvin Ripley was arrested.”

  “And?” Drew asked, his jaw jumping.

  “Well, I found it odd that after the initial report about the death and the diamonds, the paper didn’t follow up.” Megan tapped her finger on her knee as Drew watched her. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn his eyes held the same hunger they did the night before. To keep from being disappointed, she kept her eyes on the coffee table.

  “So?”

  “So?” she asked, wondering why he didn’t see the oddness in it himself. “Don’t you think that a man who robbed a jewelry store for almost ten million dollars in diamonds and the fact that he was caught in town and then died here would get at least a month’s worth of front page coverage?” She tossed a hand in the air. “Heck, Billy Falkner had a full week’s run when he got drunk and ran his truck into the liquor store.”

  She waited for him to give his two cents and when he didn’t, she turned to him. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

  “Look, Megan, there’s nothing more I can say about it,” he said flatly.

  In an attempt to suppress the headache she could feel coming, she rubbed her temples. “All of this. Everything. You. None of it makes sense.”

  “Just stay out of it, Megan, and let the police do
their job,” he said in a deep voice meant as a warning.

  This time she looked him straight in the eyes and rose an eyebrow, daring him. She wished her eyes had laser vision so she could singe off his eyebrows.

  “I mean it. Stay out of it and let us handle it.” He jabbed his finger toward her.

  The look on Drew’s face would have scared most people and before spending a week with him, it would have scared her, too, but not now. No, Megan didn’t fear him, so she did the one thing she knew would piss him off. She leaned her head back and burst into laughter before standing and walking to her room, shutting the door behind her. As she watched him through the wall, he pulled out his cell phone and spoke in a hushed voice with his fingers on his forehead.

  Strange.

  She was beginning to wonder what role Drew played in all this. One way or another, she planned to find out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next day, Megan spent her time at the shop overstocking the floor in preparation of the extra traffic they would get from the festival. The upcoming event was the top selling weekend of the year and she hoped to triple her sales from the previous year. If she did, she would be able to start renovations on the upstairs apartment and rent it out for extra income.

  With a college being a town over there was always someone who wanted out of their parents’ house to find out what life was like on their own. Finding a tenant wouldn’t be a problem. Though, she would have to be picky on who she let rent from her or she would end up with a bigger mess than it currently was. Maybe she would get lucky and find a couple of female bookworms like she had been in college.

  Eying the clock, she wished she could will the ticking hands to move backward. Megan had made her date in an extreme show of independence and defiance which she now regretted. Not that there was anything wrong with Trevor. Much the opposite, in fact. It was more that she didn’t think she could handle him. He was a bad boy to the bone and she was, well, more like a boneless chicken. She didn’t know what it said about her, but she had hoped Drew would be there when Bad Boy Trevor came to pick her up. She partly wanted to show him that if he didn’t want her, he wasn’t the last man on earth.