by Hope Ford
I totally resist rolling my eyes and hand her a piece of plain copy paper.
She writes him a note and hands it back to me. When I look at the piece of paper, I take note that she drew a heart around his name on the outside of the folded paper.
Real smooth, Sandrine.
I play with the idea of tossing the note into the waste basket, but my conscience won’t allow it, so I put it in his paperwork slot on the wall. Sure, it may have sunk to the bottom where it isn’t visible, but I’m not a wizard who can defy gravity.
At four-thirty I begin the stages of closing up the office for the day, the biggest step being cashing out the till so that the money can be taken and deposited at the bank.
When I cash out the till I’m confused because somehow, I’m five dollars short.
How did I mess this up?
I get out my wallet and put one of my own five-dollar bills into the deposit bag just as Shawn comes into the office. I haven’t seen him since he walked me home the night before last. He asked me out, but I told him the truth, that now wasn’t a good time, and even though I turned him down, he was still friendly and is smiling today.
“You have to pay Austin to work here?” he asks playfully.
“No, I must’ve miscounted someone’s cash. I was five bucks short. But I fixed it, so shhh,” I tell him, holding my finger to my lips. “Are you scheduling or picking up?”
Shawn shrugs. “I’m due for a tune-up. Got any openings for tomorrow?”
9
Austin
The pace at the shop has been brutal. It’s a busy shop, but not usually quite this busy. I had planned to take Laney out for lunch but we were so slammed that I would’ve skipped it altogether if she hadn’t brought me back a sandwich from the café when she returned from her shortened lunch break.
I planned to tell her that she can be finished for the day at four since she came in to work early and only took enough time for lunch to order the sandwiches and bring them back. I’d seen her taking quick bites from her own sandwich up at the front desk between customers.
The reminder alarm I set on my phone to take the deposit to the bank goes off and so I explain to Rod what I want him to do to finish up on the Ford Taurus. Then, as I turn to head to the office, I spot Shawn standing in the front office with a stupid fucking smile on his face.
I charge toward the front to tell Shawn to stop harassing Laney, but when I see her smiling and happily talking with him before I reach them I just can’t justify throwing Shawn out of the shop like I want to, even though I want to really bad.
With my fist clenched at my sides, I tell her, “Laney, you did great. I can help this customer since you’re over on time already.”
“No worries, Laney took great care of me,” Shawn says with that stupid smile still on his face. “See you tomorrow,” he says, looking at Laney.
I watch him leave and it takes everything I have to not tell him to leave and not worry about coming back.
“Bye,” Laney says to Shawn as he leaves and then turns her smile toward me. “I’m not in any rush to get home. Would you like me to make the deposit for you? Or I could stay here and run the desk while you’re gone.”
I feel better seeing that she is giving me her full attention even though Shawn is taking his sweet-ass time to get into his fucking car and he keeps looking back inside trying to get one last glance at Laney.
Like a jealous boyfriend, I move around and block his view. Fuck him. Laney’s still smiling at me, telling me she’s still as clueless as she was in high school when it comes to men hitting on her. “If customers flirt with you and harass you, please don’t feel like you have to put up with that for me. I don’t expect you to take anything off of anybody.”
She looks confused for a second and then says, “Okay,” dragging the word out like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “I’ll remember that. Don’t worry, everyone has been really nice.”
“Mm-hmm,” I grunt. I could say so much more, but I’m not going to. Like Hey you need to stay away from Shawn or I’m going to fuck him up. That’s what I want to say. But instead, I grunt. “Well, I’m glad. Mike is on his way up here to take over at the desk, and I’ll tell you the truth, I need to get a breath of air out of here.”
She shrugs her shoulders and starts getting her stuff together. “Well, all right, if you insist on turning down my help.”
“No, I never said that. In fact, I was hoping you’d come with me. We could take the bike.”
Her eyes light up and she chews on her lip, showing that she’s nervous and excited about the prospect.
I put my open palm over my chest. “I’ll behave myself. No wheelies, I promise.”
She laughs, pushing the deposit bag against my chest. “That’s what you said when I let you talk me into standing on the back of that BMX bike you got in ninth grade.”
The memories then start tumbling back, and I seize her hand with mine. “I’ve grown so much since then. Remember how responsible I was on the ATVs in eleventh grade?”
That heated charge rushes through me again, but this time I’m surprised to find that it’s reassuring to me when I find it’s still there between us.
As soon as she’s ready, I stick by her side the whole way to my bike. I’ve already pushed it back outside and I’m parked right next to her car.
I grab the helmet and put it over her head, strapping it on and avoiding looking into her eyes. As soon as I’m settled, she jumps on the back, and in the beginning, it feels like old times. Her dad at one time forbade her from riding my motorcycles with me. But eventually he gave in and as soon as that happened, I started acting right on a motorcycle, all responsible and shit, and she started going everywhere with me.
We make the deposit to the bank and then I take her on a ride through the town and up the mountain. I actually didn’t intend on making the ride as long as it is, but it’s too much fun hearing her squeal with excitement when I rev the engine or speed up. Her arms wrapped around me feel so good, like I’ve been missing them for my whole life. Her breasts are pressed tight against my back whenever I make a turn, and fuck, that’s making me hard as a fuckin’ rock.
It’s why I have to readjust her hands toward my chest when they begin to slide lower. I definitely don’t want her to find out that I’m attracted to her by her hand accidentally grazing against my hard cock. But man, I’m hard.
I speed up a little and her arms tighten around me. She’s pressed all against my back and when I take a turn, I put my hand on her thigh, gripping on to her. I know I’m not holding her on, but there’s some comfort of having my hands on her. We ride, just like that. Her arms around my torso, and my hand on her thigh all the way back to the shop. And the whole way there, I keep telling myself, Don’t fuck this up, Austin. She’s one of the best things you have in your life. Don’t fuck with your best friend.
And I almost have myself convinced until I drop her off at her car at the shop and she can’t stop smiling at me. That smile gives me a jolt right to my heart.
10
Laney
I was almost late for my second day on the job. I could barely sleep last night thinking about the bike ride with Austin. His souped-up Harley was something else, but the feel of his hard body against me brought thoughts to mind that I’ve spent years trying to repress. There are all kinds of things going through my head, but I don’t let any of them fully form. I refuse to let myself think it was anything more than two friends hanging out together. However, my head and heart seem like it’s a little too hard to get on the same page.
The day barely gets started and Shawn comes in to drop off his car. He hangs around a little while to catch up, but I don’t get much of a chance to talk to him since there are lots of customers coming through. It’s probably a good thing, too, because obviously there’s some animosity between him and Austin. It’s like I can feel Austin glaring our way the whole time Shawn’s in the front office with me.
Today is much
like yesterday, jam packed. However, Austin insisted that I take a full lunch so I do, but as soon as I walk into the diner, I realize my mistake. Blair is having lunch with some friends that I don’t recognize. I almost wave at her, trying to be friendly to Austin’s girlfriend, but the looks she keeps cutting toward me are enough to kill a person twice if looks could actually kill. I do my best to ignore the glares from her and her friends and stick it out, finishing my lunch in the restaurant, but never really tasting it. I know she probably feels like I ruined her date the other night, but that’s not really a reason to hate somebody.
When I return to the shop with food for Austin, I regret being stubborn and staying in the diner for lunch. Now my food isn’t sitting that well with me.
The rest of the day slows down a little, and I spend any free time between customers and any paperwork cleaning up the office.
I’m about to start shutting down and cashing out the till when Shawn comes in to pick up his car. I’m shaking my head and pulling two dollars out of my wallet just as he comes to the counter.
He must realize what I’m doing, because he says to me jokingly, “You don’t have to be good at math because you’re so pretty.”
Austin enters the office when Shawn made the joke and I can see that fighter switch flip to the on position just by the way Austin’s jaw sets and his head tilts slightly to the left as he looks at Shawn.
I laugh at Shawn’s joke even though I didn’t find the comment funny. If anything, I’m just wanting to calm the room down a little bit.
But Austin doesn’t let it go like I hoped he would. He positions himself between Shawn and me. “You’ve been panting around Laney like a dog in heat. But she’s not interested so get the fuck out of my shop.” He walks behind the counter to where I’m standing and grabs Shawn’s keys off the wall and tosses them to him.
I stand beside him, aghast that Austin is acting this way. How can he be this mad over a stupid comment?
To my surprise, Shawn gets equally furious. His face turns an ugly red and he yells at Austin, “Laney feels so bad for your joke of a business that she’s putting her own money into the register.”
And then I’m pissed off. Shawn just ruined any shot he ever may have had with me with that statement, not that I ever thought I’d actually go out with him. But the dumbass doesn’t stop there. He looks at me and then back at Austin menacingly. “I already could have had Laney bent over the counter begging for it if I’d wanted her.”
Austin is quick. Shawn barely gets the insult out before Austin jumps over the counter. Shawn is backing up, his eyes widening, but it’s too late to be sorry. Austin punches Shawn so hard he pushes the door open, falling onto the cement sidewalk out front.
Shawn is ten different kinds of stupid because he yells, “Keep your slutty, fat whore away from me” while he’s trying to peel himself off of the sidewalk.
I run after Austin when he goes out the door. I arrive just in time to see Austin dragging Shawn up onto his feet. “You wanna say that again, asshole?” Austin roars.
“Nope, this is over,” I say, getting between the two of them.
“Aw shit, I’m sorry Laney—” Shawn starts.
Austin’s arm snakes around my stomach and picks me up, swinging me out of the way. He punches Shawn right in the mouth, which is still open. “You don’t ever fuckin’ talk to her again,” Austin rages.
How he did it I don’t know, but Austin still has one arm around me and with the other one, he knocks Shawn to the ground again. I’m struggling to get free to stop this craziness, but Austin’s grip just tightens around me. I lift my foot and hit Austin with the heel of my shoe between his legs to get him to stop.
“Get out of here, Shawn. This is over,” I say as Austin puts me down and bends forward to recover. I may have knocked the breath out of him.
“I’ll sue you for this,” he says as he wiggles a loose tooth.
“I wouldn’t do that, Shawn,” I say, not about to let Austin get in trouble for standing up for me even though I didn’t need him to. “The things you said just before and during this argument are sexually degrading and I might realize you’ve been harassing me if I were to be called into court as a witness.”
Shawn curses as he walks away, and Austin’s red angry face doesn’t scare me for a second when I turn to face him.
11
Austin
“You kicked me in the fuckin’ nuts? What the hell?” I ask her as she pulls me along behind her back into the shop.
“Rod, take over at the desk,” Laney yells out, her voice sounding as though she’s furious.
What does she have to be angry about? I’m the one who got kicked in the jewels while trying to protect her.
She opens my office and leads me over to one of the chairs in front of my desk. I fall into it, my testicles still not fully recovered from the blow. “You kicked me!” I remind her when she gives me one of her scolding, teacherly looks. I still can’t understand what she’s mad about. She leaves the office but returns with a first aid kit in her hand and slams it down on the desk.
Mike and Owen are conveniently filling their cups at the water cooler next to my office trying to get a look inside, so I kick the door shut and close the blinds.
“Sit down, you maniac, you’re hurt,” Laney says as she opens up the first aid kit on my desk.
“Yeah, I am hurt. That’s what happens when you kick a man in the balls, Laney! Why did you do that?”
She pushes me back into the seat and takes my hand in hers, inspecting my bleeding knuckles. “Why did I do that? Why did you launch yourself at Shawn? He said something stupid. You think I can’t handle someone saying something stupid?”
“He was calling you stupid, and no one ever gets to talk to you like that. No one!”
“You should’ve let me handle it,” she yells back at me as she swabs the cuts with an alcohol wipe.
“Fuck!” I curse and try to pull my hand away. “I don’t give a shit about this cut. What the hell was he talking about? Have you been putting money into the register?”
She shakes her head, but I see the guilty flare in her eyes before she looks back down at my knuckles. “No, not like he said I was. I just messed up yesterday and again today somehow when I was ringing people up because my till came up short yesterday and today. I was off by five bucks yesterday and two today, it’s nothing. I’ll get it.”
“Fuck!” I say again as she wipes across another knuckle. “I don’t want you using your money to make up a short till! You don’t think I fuckin’ trust you?”
She wipes the alcohol wipe over my knuckles again with an angry expression on her face. “It was seven dollars, it’s not like I was emptying my wallet into the till. I just wanted to do a good job for you.”
I grit my teeth. “And I wanted to let that asshole know he wasn’t allowed around you anymore.”
She looks at me with disbelief. “That’s not up to you!”
I can’t help it. Seeing Shawn in the office had been enough to have me leaping over the desk. Forget about what came out of his mouth. There’s no way anyone is going to talk to her or about her like that, not ever. “He’s lucky I didn’t knock him the fuck out for looking at you like he was,” I say, standing up again, close to her.
She shakes her head and jerks my hand back to her. “I will kick you in the legs again if you do anything that stupid. What if he sues you? What if you lose your business? Over what? Over me and some idiot saying something dumb?” She isn’t backing away and the fire in her green eyes tells me she’s not about to back down. The raw emotion there and in her voice adds to the electricity filling the air between us.
Lust and anger make my voice hard. “So I’ll wear a cup. I’m not putting up with Shawn or any other asshole who comes in here and wants to treat you like a piece of ass.”
She narrows her gaze, looking up at me with passionate defiance. “You think I won’t rip that cup out of your pants? I won’t let you throw away—”
>
I kiss her then, cutting off what she was saying, and when she resists, trying to finish, I fist my hand in her hair and deepen the kiss.
The way her body vibrates against mine, the way her hands fist in the front of my jumpsuit makes my need to feel more of her almost uncontrollable. Her lips are demanding against mine as I grip her ass with my other hand and pull her body flush against mine.
My cock is hard and pressed against her belly. The thoughts I’ve had of this one moment, my mouth on hers, is nothing compared to the real thing. Our lips are together in a raw, needy way, and when she whimpers, cum seeps from my cock at the thought of her in my arms, in my bed, in my life.
Laney
My breasts ache and my nipples tighten as I arch against Austin’s hard chest. There’s so much adrenaline pumping through me that the only thing that seems to register are the feelings of passion and desire. How good his lips feel against mine and how wet I am with Austin’s hand following the seam of my ass toward the apex of my legs.
A whimper finds my ears as Austin’s hot tongue warms the sensitive skin at the curve of my neck. The sound came from me, I realize, and it’s a shock of reality like ice water pouring down my back.
I push against his chest, taking a step back.
He releases me, his blue eyes alert, clearing from the haze of whatever just came over us both.
This was a big mistake.
“I… I’ll make the deposit for you on my way home,” I stutter, totally out of my element. Austin, my best friend in the whole world, the most epic player, just kissed me. I kissed him too.
The look he’s giving me lets me know he’s still coming down from what we just did. He nods his head, but he looks as dazed as I feel, and it makes me wonder if he even heard what I said. He might have been about to say something, but I bolt from the office. I go to the bathroom first to fix my appearance. My lipstick is gone, but then again, I hadn’t reapplied it after lunch. My hair is messed up, and damn, I need to wear a padded bra so my peaked nipples aren’t so obvious.