by Safari Spell
“That sucks.”
I stared down at my hands in my lap and tried not to freak out. I could feel him moving beside me since our chairs were close. We almost touched twice as his elbow bobbed near mine, straightening the folded cuff. Our eyes locked when he stretched an arm back and draped it over the top of my chair. I did my best not to blush, but I couldn’t help it. If I sat back, his arm would be around me. I rested back into the cold metal and felt his arm, which immediately made me sweat through my shirt.
“Talor, did you know about Spencer breaking up with his girlfriend?” Kati asked.
I only cut my eyes at her, not wanting to turn away from Sage. I didn’t care to talk about Spencer’s relationships. Especially his and Rose’s, but Kati wasn’t letting it go.
“Yeah, I heard.”
“I just thought you’d be interested since she was your friend,” Kati said, her eyes baiting me with some sort of secret.
Growing tense, I shifted uneasily in the chair. Kati had this knowing look, like maybe Spencer told her what happened. I worried what version he told her. I cleared my throat, faking a smile.
“Yes, she is my friend. Obviously, Spencer cheats a lot. She was probably tired of it.”
We all looked at Spencer, who was whispering in the ear of one of the lifeguards. She flipped her hair and scrunched her shoulders to get closer to him with a giggle. Kati rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, but if she was ok with him cheating all the time before, why would they break up now? Who he cheated with probably had something to do with it, don’t you think?”
I didn’t respond, but the concentrated stares made me feel like I was being microwaved alive. A booming voice saved me from the awkward conversation. It was one of the EMTs – a stout man with a thick mustache and a rounded out middle.
“We’ll get started if that’s all right? That way we can get out of here in no time. Ok. My name’s Barry and this is Mike. Has anyone here never done a CPR class before?”
The two lifeguards sitting beside Spencer held up their hands. They must have been new hires. They were young. They were embarrassed to be the only newbies, so both of them yanked their hands out of the air and stuffed them under their arms. Barry smiled.
“Don’t worry, ladies. It looks like you’ve got plenty of old pros to help you out. Ok, first, let’s go ahead and – hold on,” Barry said, stopping for a moment to count heads, “get in partners. Someone might have two partners.”
Spencer thrust his fist in the air. Barry pointed at him.
“I think this gentleman here has graciously taken on the task. Everyone else, please couple up.”
My chest was in pandemonium trying to pretend I wasn’t looking at Sage. Just when he opened his mouth, Kati’s head rested on my shoulder and her fingers laced around my elbow.
“I know you’re gonna hate me for this, but be my partner. I’ll explain,” she said in a hushed tone.
“Kati,” I said, frowning.
She raised her brows and leaned around to look at Sage.
“Sorry, Sage. Girls only.”
Sage gave a polite nod and partnered up with an older front desk worker sitting across the room. Sighing, I watched him get up, leaving the chair beside me lonely and cold. Barry continued giving us directions, but it was like white noise. Furious, I whipped around to Kati. While she was easygoing and close in age, I had to be respectful. She was an authority figure…of sorts.
“Explain now,” I demanded.
She took me by the elbows as we both knelt to the floor. A CPR mannequin lay between us. She put a finger over her mouth to shush me.
“Wait. Do this first.”
Barry showed us how to count between breaths and apply the right kind of pressure depending on the victim. Since I’d done it a few times before, I breezed through the exercise, anxious for Kati’s explanation. When it was her turn to give chest compressions, she leaned far enough over the mannequin to talk to me, keeping her voice low.
“I kind of heard something about you and Spencer.”
“You heard something from Spencer?”
She wrinkled her nose and bit her lower lip.
“Spencer told me why he broke up with his girlfriend. Had a little to do with you?”
I swallowed hard. Spencer had run his mouth. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I never wanted that to get out – especially at work. I immediately had to know what he was telling people we did in the pool so I could do some serious damage control. I assessed the distance between him and Sage suddenly wary of them being close enough for a casual conversation about the pool party Spencer went to recently. I shot eye daggers at him, but he was too busy groping an inexperienced lifeguard to notice.
“Wow, Kati. Well, whatever he told you isn’t true.”
Kati gave a soft shrug.
“Fair enough. It didn’t really sound like something you’d do. He said you told him you would date him if he broke up with your friend, so he did. That part true?”
She stopped doing compressions while she waited for my answer. I changed positions on the floor and brushed the hair back that was falling in my face. The room felt stifling. Maybe it knew I was about to lie through my teeth and it was trying to crush me before I did.
“Kati, he was dating one of my best friends. Why would I do that? Come on,” I said, rolling my eyes.
I tried to make the possibility of me doing what I actually did totally absurd to her. It worked. She seemed to size me up for a moment before relaxing. I pretended to care about what we were doing while she decided who to believe. She cleared her throat.
“All right. Listen, just so you know, I like you and so I’m not judging you if that did happen. I’ve always known that he cared about you.”
I cocked a skeptical brow.
“Um, Spencer doesn’t care about anybody. He only cares about bodies and what he can get from them.”
“I’m not saying he’s the most mature guy around, but…what I am saying is that he really wants to be with you and I think maybe you want that, too.”
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry – wasn’t it just the other day you asked what I thought about Sage?”
“Well, yeah, but that was before I knew about all this. I think you guys would be cute, but Spencer…it’s actually affecting his work.”
I couldn’t believe Spencer’s boss was rooting for him. Everyone in this place was crazy about Spencer except for me, and that was getting weird. Even in the middle of an inappropriate conversation about my love life, I still couldn’t be honest. It felt like we had eavesdroppers all around us.
“I’m sorry, what? How is it affecting his work again?”
She glanced around the room.
“Preoccupied, frustrated, unfriendly.”
I figured it was time to shut the conversation down. I pushed my hands back on my hips, which forced my chest out. I had to stretch my cramped back. All the kneeling and bending over was hurting my muscles.
“Well, I like Sage. Spencer just has to deal with that like a grownup,” I replied, arching my neck as I rolled it back.
I caught a glimpse of Spencer’s face before I closed my eyes. There was insecurity in it for probably the first time in his life. By the time I opened my eyes and returned to my CPR position, he was paying attention to his partners.
“I think you like both of them and you need someone to tell you that’s ok. You’re young. You’re pretty. You’re single. Have options. Just don’t pit them against each other. I don’t like getting involved in the personal lives of my workers.”
I pointed back and forth between us.
“Um, yes, you do. What is this?”
“Hey now. I’m asking because I wanted to know the truth. There’s too much tension at the front and I need to know what’s going on.”
“Maybe it’s the alpha male competition. I don’t know. Or karma finally caught up with Spencer.”
She cr
inkled her nose.
“Huh? Alpha male competition?”
“Oh, never mind,” I said, groaning.
She wagged a finger at me.
“Sage and Spencer are my favorites. Don’t repeat that. I need this fixed. Sage is the most mature college dude I’ve ever met and the members just love Spencer to death. I can’t lose either of them.”
“It sounds like the problem is all Spencer to me, so get rid of him.”
Kati turned her gaze up at the window, thinking for a minute.
“I’m going to move Sage to the morning shift.”
I gave an exasperated sigh. Leaning closer, I felt like I could put a little more force behind my words without drawing too much attention.
“No, move Spencer to the morning shift! Cut his hours. We all know he doesn’t need the money. Maybe you should be scolding your favorite employees about acting like adults, not blaming me for their behavior.”
When Kati scowled at me, I realized that I wasn’t as quiet as I thought. The two couples closest to us had heard me. Spencer and Sage both seemed to sense the commotion from where they were, so they looked over. To my relief, no one said anything. Barry the EMT kept walking around, directing us through each exercise. Every now and then, the lifeguard twins would break the sound barrier over something Spencer said. Once we finished the next exercise, Kati leaned forward on her hand.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know, but none of this is my fault.”
A soft smile crept on her lips.
“Just pick one. If this gets physical and I have to fire somebody, you’re gone, too. Not kidding.”
The EMTs walked around and watched us all do the chest compressions next. I was going through the monotonous motions when it dawned on me that I already knew how to get even with Spencer. It was cruel, but he deserved it. I leaned forward to whisper where only Kati could hear me this time.
“Maybe you need to do a random drug test for your staff.”
Her eyes went wide before narrowing into fine slits.
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. She gave me a cold stare before glancing over at Sage and Spencer.
“Legally, I have to take what you’re saying seriously. But you know if you’re making this up to cause more trouble –”
“Why wouldn’t you trust me?”
“Because this is serious, Talor. Did you actually see someone using drugs?”
I sat back on my heels.
“Yes.”
“A certain someone?”
In that moment, I felt my blood run cold. Yes, I wanted him to lose his job and his scholarship, but I felt dirty holding the ace card to his downfall. As much as I disliked Spencer, I couldn’t make myself say his name. But I didn’t have to. Kati knew. Her face fell as she stared off.
“Did anyone else see it?”
“Maybe that’s really his problem at work.”
She smacked her hands on the ground beside her and pushed up with such force I swear she defied gravity.
“I hope you’re wrong.”
We caught eyes, but I didn’t say anything. I just bit down on my lip, trying to act sympathetic. She paused for a moment as she passed Spencer, who paid her little attention. When she left the room, she headed right into the Assistant Director’s office.
“Let’s take a five minute break, everybody,” Barry bellowed.
As everyone started filing out of the room to grab snacks, Spencer came over and sat on the floor across from me. He didn’t say anything, making it extra awkward. I recoiled as best I could.
“God, what do you want?”
“Why didn’t you send me a picture?”
“I’m not sending you a picture of me so you can –”
I gulped down the rest of the sentence. I wasn’t going to say that. He smirked, finding it humorous that I couldn’t suggest masturbation.
“So I can what?”
“Do…whatever you want to do with it.”
“What if I send you one of me so it’s fair?”
“Pass.”
He chuckled and pushed the mannequin away so he could get in my personal space.
“Let’s blow this off. We know all this stuff anyway. We could finish that very interesting conversation we started the other night. The one where we were pretty much naked.”
Even by Spencer’s standards, it was brazen. I wanted to back away, but my knees were twisted underneath me and he was leaning so close I would have to touch him. My words went up as a shield.
“You know this is sexual harassment.”
“It’s what?”
“You heard me.”
He dragged a hand down his face.
“Oh, right. Go ahead and pretend I’m a jerk. But don’t forget that what you’re doing to me is exactly what you judge me for. That makes us the same.”
He eased back as Kati came through the door with a disgruntled look on her face. I was quietly thankful for the interruption. I turned my face towards the window so I didn’t have to look at anyone. Spencer had me pegged. I was a tease, but I had never liked two guys at once, and I didn’t like it. It felt dirty. Kati motioned to Spencer.
“Kaden, gotta talk to you about something.”
Spencer gave me a cool once over before going with her. I hadn’t noticed Sage standing with Kati, too. My thoughts went to a panicky, weird place and I started to worry. What if Sage had something to hide? It never occurred to me. My thoughts were irrational. I knew that.
Still, as I watched them head to the Assistant Director’s office together, my lungs cinched a wretched knot in my chest. Everyone else came meandering back in to finish the class, totally oblivious. The lifeguard girls searched for Spencer, but they settled sadly for each other as partners when they saw he wasn’t coming back. I could only wonder what was going on behind those tightly drawn silver blinds.
6
Sage was on the phone as I came in to work the next day. I don’t even know if he saw me. I was just grateful he was still around. Spencer was nowhere to be found. At first it was exciting, but then I remembered why he wasn’t there. He had the day off because it was the night of the Victorian Gala. I didn’t plan the sabotage very well. He knew I was the one who got him tested, and now I would have to deal with him at the gala. Once my shift was over, I got ready in the nursery bathroom.
While tightening a corset Scarlett O’Hara would be proud of, I discovered I was somehow missing a heel. My red satin ball gown slipped over my curves without a fuss once the corset was tight enough to kill a lesser woman. After I fastened all the buttons I could and struggled enough with the rest, I called out to Larissa for help.
“Pleeeease…I can’t get the top buttons.”
While I waited for her to finish whatever she was doing, I took a good look at my silhouette. It was painful, but the corset was pleasing. Why didn’t women want to look this good on a daily basis? In a matter of seconds, my natural hourglass shape had gained superpowers. I couldn’t figure out why corsets ever went out of style – you know, minus the whole not being able to breathe or move thing. When Larissa still hadn’t come to my rescue, I discovered I could still screech in it.
“La-RI-ssa!”
Impatient, I stepped out of the bathroom. Larissa was standing just outside with her arms crossed in front and one judgmental eyebrow set high on her forehead. She did a sassy hand wave towards my hair.
“Miss Scarlett, I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout hookin’ no buttons! Honey, what’s going on with all this? Have some trouble with the curling iron?”
I looked back in the mirror. My hair was only halfway done. Lost in mourning over the extinction of daily corsets, I somehow forgot to do the rest of it. Like any true friend, Larissa took pity on me and ushered me back in the bathroom to finish my hair. She always treated me like the younger sister she never had. I didn’t mind that. She was the least judgmental of my friends and g
ained all my trust in only three months. Her only fault was laughing at me all the time, even when it was only at my expense. Still, her laugh was hearty and full – the contagious kind. Being trapped in a nursery for a five-hour shift would be hell with anyone else. But working with her was a good day, and that meant every day was good. In short, it was a perfect arrangement we had – professionally and personally. As she finished the last few corset hooks, a curious look came over her face.
“Who do you think is cuter: Spencer or Sage?”
“Sage.”
She did a funny smile.
“Really? Huh. Ok. You can date both of them, you know. Besides, I’ve seen you flirt with him. Heat, honey. Heat.”
I shook my head just in case my glare wasn’t clear enough.
“What is it with everyone and that guy? Is every woman here really that susceptible to an oil-based charm?”
Larissa chuckled.
“Girl, you really don’t like blondes, do you?”
“It isn’t because he’s blonde. He cheated on my friend Rose for a year, and he hooked up with at least two of the lifeguards this summer. They got fired and he didn’t. How did you not hear about that?”
Her jaw dropped.
“Shut up! He is so bad. Did your friend find out?”
“Of course she did. Do you really think Spencer would hide the fact that he was with two girls at one time and neither one was his girlfriend? Rose stayed with him, by the way. They just broke up. I almost brought her to a hypnotist. Or a wizard.”
Larissa looked oddly impressed as she sprayed hairspray on the curl that bounced out of the curling iron.
“So that’s it. You don’t want him to talk about what y’all do.”
I fought the urge to scream. He already talked and we didn’t even do anything. Larissa noticed my anger building into a rolling boil.
“Girl, if you don’t get that temper under control, your curls are going to flatten from the steam comin’ out the top of your head! Don’t you know I’m just messin’ with you? Calm down! I’m just sayin’, don’t you ever wonder why Sage can’t find his way back here and Spencer can? Spencer’s sexy little self is here every day flirtin’ with you. You should be flattered, that’s all.”