Safe With Me, Special Edition

by Shaina Richmond

  "Oh, someone did." She shook her head. "But it got pretty bad and we had to call the cops. She must've left that part out. We should've banned him from coming back here but he's been a long time customer and the owner… well, anyway." She looked at Susie sitting with her back toward us, out of earshot, "I called Joan. So you like her, huh?"

  "What?" I looked at Susie, trying to make sure she hadn't heard us. She was too far away. "I can't believe you already know that. I shouldn't have told her." Damn it, Joan! Don’t you know how to keep a secret?

  "No, it's okay. I've known these girls for a long time. They’re like my little sisters. Joan didn't just give up your business. I had a break for a minute and seeing Susie reminded me I should call Joan. She was happy when I told her you were here together."

  "Yeah. Susie told me to pretend to be her boyfriend because of those guys over there in the corner. She didn't want to come here alone."

  "I don't blame her. But I think it's more than that. She didn't have to ask you to pretend to be her boyfriend. A friend could protect her just the same."

  "Maybe you're right. But I'm trying not to read so much into anything and get my hopes up."

  "You must really like her." She patted my back and smiled. "You're a sweet boy. I'll be praying for you. And I'll put in a good word for you on Friday night." Susie must have already gotten an answer to her text while I was in the bathroom. "I won't give away your secret, I swear. I've been praying that Susie would get with a nice guy and settle down. She's a good girl, you know? Despite what she tells people."

  "Thank you, Sherry. I really hope I can trust you."

  "Look, I'll tell you a secret as collateral." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Last year my mom needed chemo and she didn't have any insurance. My church got an anonymous donation to give to her to pay for the whole thing, plus extra. I'm not supposed to know this, but it was Susie. She still doesn't know I found out. I don't know why she doesn't want to take credit for it. But that's how she is."

  "Really? That's.... wow. I'm glad your mom is doing better. Is Susie rich or something?"

  "I gotta go, hon. People are waving me over. Praying for you!" She ran off to take an order.

  I had a lot to think about as I walked back to our booth. How can she afford to pay for someone's chemotherapy? It's not that she lives extravagantly. Her house was given to her. Her cars are old. But she basically told me earlier she didn't need a student loan. What am I supposed to think of all this?

  When I got back to the booth, Susie held her purse and sat at the edge of the booth. I picked up the take out box and extended my hand to help her up.

  "You need help?" I asked.

  "Uh huh." She reached for my hand and continued to hold it as we walked to the counter to pay.

  "I know you wanted to pay, but that would make me a really terrible boyfriend," I whispered in Susie's ear. We waited for Sherry to come back to the counter. I handed her some cash along with the receipt.

  "You two have a good night! It was nice to meet you, Tyler," Sherry said as she opened the cash register.

  "It was nice to meet you too, Sherry. Thanks for everything," I said.

  "Love you, Sherry. See you Friday,” Susie said.

  The night air was crisp. The light wind felt really good. I held Susie’s hand. My night of being her boyfriend had a few seconds left on the clock. As we walked to her car, I decided to see how far I could take it. The worst she could say was 'no.'

  I squeezed her hand. "You know, sweetie, it's customary for the boyfriend to drive. It's manly. I'm supposed to take care of you."

  "You just wanna drive the Mercedes." She reached into her purse for the keys. "Here you go."

  "Yes!" I unlocked her door first then ran around to the driver's side. I was thrilled. I had only driven a Mercedes a few times in the past, trying to diagnose their problems if Dad had one to repair at his shop. And since the area where we lived wasn't exactly affluent, I didn't get to drive many German made vehicles.

  It wasn't just the car that made me happy, though. It was the fact that she let me drive it at all. I felt protective of her ever since we arrived at the truck stop. As fiercely independent and strong as she was, she needed me that night.

  I backed out of the parking space and pulled out onto the road.

  "Wow, this car is really nice to drive," I said.

  "Yes. I love it," she said. "It's hard driving anything else after you get used to it."

  "Do you love it more than the Crown Vic?"

  "Mmm… I don't think so. I love them both in different ways but it's equal."

  "If your garage caught on fire and you only had enough time to save one, which would it be?" I turned to give her a quick glance.

  "Oh, that's a horrible question. Damn it, Tyler!" She balled up her first and lightly hit my thigh. "Don’t make me think about that."

  At least I knew she was capable of feeling love for something.

  "I'm so full," she said, groaning.

  "Really? You barely ate anything."

  "These pancakes are very dense. Did you see how much butter and syrup I used? I'll be on the treadmill tomorrow."

  "I'm full too. That was a big cheeseburger. I can barely move."

  "Hmmm... well, there goes our night I guess." She sounded disappointed.

  "Give it time sweetie…."

  She reached over and slowly ran her hand up my bicep to my shoulder. "You must work out all the time."

  "Not really. Only when I feel like it. Cyrus has some weights I use once in a while but not regularly. I guess I'm just built like this."

  "You must have so many women after you."

  "Yeah, right,” I said.

  "Come on, I know you do. Have you had a lot of girlfriends?"

  Why was she interested in this? I took it as a good sign.

  "I've had five or six. Especially in high school and then when I started college the first time. I haven't had much time for it since my dad died."

  "Yeah, women are trouble, aren't they?" She sounded like she knew exactly what I was talking about.

  "I don't know if 'trouble' is the word I would use. But they do require a lot of time and attention. I tend to attract the ones who are really shallow and act like I owe them something just for the privilege of being in their presence."

  "I know a lot of women like that. I can't stand the ones who are really bossy and disrespectful." She made a disgusted grunting sound. "A few weeks ago I was out shopping and this really whiny girl behind me in line was talking to her friend about how her boyfriend wanted to take her to the same place for Valentine's Day as he did for her birthday. And it was a really nice restaurant that I liked myself. She was upset with him and her friend went along with it. She said to make up for it he bought her a gift or something. She was trashing him like he was so mean and she was the poor victim."

  "Did you say anything?"

  She giggled. "Yes. I said 'I feel bad for him. You're not worth it.’ I don't know what got into me. They were standing behind me in line for a long time so she went on about him for like, ten minutes. I mean, really? So, I paid and picked up my bags and told her how I felt. She and her friend got really mad. Her friend said something like 'you're just jealous because you're fat.' I said, 'no, I'm angry because I've had to endure your moronic conversation for the last ten minutes. I'd rather be fat than have a spineless pussy for a boyfriend.'" And I walked away. They were just like 'whatever' and put their clothes on the counter to pay. The lady behind them in line told me she agreed with me. The cashier smiled."

  "I can't believe you did that!"

  "Me neither. I don't usually confront people. I just felt she needed to be taken down a peg. But hey, he could break up with her if he wanted. I think most guys put up with way too much crap. I mean, is she really that good? Or are you just afraid you're not going to get it anywhere else?" She sighed. "It makes me sad."

  "You don't seem like you'd be that way, Susie. It was fun being your boyfriend toni
ght."

  "Aw, thank you. I liked being your girlfriend too."

  I searched for the right words to say. I didn't want to scare her off, but I also wanted to somehow let her know that I'd be interested in being her real boyfriend all the time.

  "You know, you're really not fat,” I said.

  "Oh, yes I am. It's okay with me."

  "You're beautiful though. From head to toe."

  "Thank you. You're very flattering. But just so you know, 'fat' doesn't mean ugly to me. I think it's okay to be a little thick."

  "Well, I don't mind it one bit." I wanted to pull the car over and show her how much I loved her body.

  She ran her hands across my arm and shoulder again. "You're very sweet. Do you have any idea how much I'm attracted to you?"

  I swallowed.

  "Make sure you think about what you want during the ten hours I'll owe you for the tune up,” she said.

  Damn. I was only joking about increasing it from two hours. But I'll take it.

  "Do I have to cash it in all at once, or can I use a little at a time?" I asked.

  "Hmmm…" She paused for a few seconds. "What about two five-hour increments?"

  "Five hours?"

  "I'll make sure there's enough food in the house."

  We both laughed.

  "What about a five hour, a three hour, and a two hour?" I asked.

  "Hmmm… I can maybe swing that. Although, my preference would be 10 hours all at once."

  "Really? It should be my choice though, right?" I asked.

  "Absolutely. Yes,” she said. I could hear her breathing a little harder. "Do you have ideas about what you want yet?"

  "I have a few floating around in my head but I think I'd rather surprise you if that's okay. I'll give you fair warning if you need to make any special preparations." I loved that she was so into the idea. And that it was her idea to begin with.

  "That's perfectly fine with me," she said. "It would be nice to have a hint though... or maybe you could just brainstorm for me?"

  "You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

  "I'll try. It really turns me on to think about it, is all. Oh, and on a different note, I can't see you at all tomorrow night. I really do have to study for that marketing test on Friday. You probably do too."

  "Yes, unfortunately. That means you can't see me - at all?" I asked.

  "Tyler, I can't think about anything when I'm around you except.... getting you naked.... and.... " Her voice trailed off. "It's not so bad when we're in a group, like earlier today at the Cellar. But alone... no."

  "You're right. It's hard. Like, literally, I get hard around you instantly. It almost happened today with everyone around." I stopped to take a deep breath. "It happened yesterday at the coffee shop."

  "Oh really? But we were actually studying then."

  "Yes. And I learned a lot. But I was really distracted. You were so lovely sitting there.... you're lovely sitting here beside me right now. I wish I could have your body all to myself for weeks or months, or maybe years."

  I said more than I meant to say.

  "Tyler, I wish we take a month and go to a deserted island or somewhere and get this whole thing out of our systems once and for all. I want you so bad." She whined like she was in pain.

  "Did you read my mind?" Maybe that was her big secret. She's a fortune teller and she can predict winning lottery numbers, and that’s why she’s rich. "I had the same thought yesterday about getting you on a deserted island."

  "Really? Deserted island?"

  "Yes!" I looked at her for a second, my eyes wide with surprise.

  "Wow. I guess we really think alike," she said.

  Not alike enough, Otherwise I'd have a claim on you as your boyfriend.

  "Okay, it's 9:45. How much time does that give me before you kick me out tonight?" I asked.

  “Well, it's up to you, but you can sleep over if you want. You can take a shower at my house and stuff, but you might want to go home if you need a change of clothes. I can't help you with that."

  I was thrilled she'd suggested me sleeping over. I couldn’t wait find out what it was like to wake up beside her in the morning.

  I drove to her house quickly. We made out in her car in the garage before migrating to the bedroom. After another long round of passionate love making - as I liked to think of it - we talked and cuddled until we both fell asleep. We woke up the next morning at 7:30. Early enough to fuck in the shower - killing two birds with one stone, we joked - and to share the leftover pancakes from the night before. Nobody seemed to notice I was wearing the same clothes for two days. My roommates didn't even realize I had disappeared for the night.

  Waking up next to that beautiful woman was even better than I’d imagined. I held her for a long time before we made our way to the shower. I knew I was getting too attached but I decided she would be mine, somehow. Secret or no secret… her excuses were no match for my determination.

  Saturday felt like years away. I planned to pass the time by doing two things: studying for the marketing test, and figuring out how to get Susanna Lombardi to fall in love with me.

  Part 3

  Joan

  Saturday Morning, October 9, 2010

  My sister, Monica, and I said goodbye to Sherry and Susie after our first sleepover in months. My phone was in my hand, ready to dial as soon as I hopped inside Monica's car.

  "I need to tell you something.” I opened the door to the passenger side and slid in as fast as I could. It was a cold morning and I was mad at myself for not bringing my gloves.

  "What?" she asked.

  I waited for her to shut her door. "I have to call Tyler."

  "Tyler? Susie's Tyler?"

  "Yes. I’m trying to help him."

  Monica’s head turned slowly toward me. “You can’t be serious.”

  "Look, it’s not a big deal. He’s a nice guy and he could use some help. That’s all."

  "Shit! What’ve you been telling him?" She stared at me with her mouth open.

  And they say I’m the drama queen of the family. I resented the way she looked at me, like I was stupid or something. She always thought she was smarter than me. Don’t let her get to you...

  "By telling him how she is and he needs to play hard to get.” I smiled. I was very proud of myself for my work with Tyler. It showed in the way Susie talked about him at our sleepover. "So, if you'll excuse me, I have a limited amount of time before Sherry leaves and Susie calls him to come over. I need to tell him a few things from last night."

  "You can't do that!" She yelled at me as she pulled out onto the street. "What if she finds out? What kind of friend are you?"

  "I'm a great friend. Probably the best she's ever had. Look, how many times have we had this discussion? We all just want her to be happy. Even Mom and Dad talk about it. I'm not going to totally rat her out. I'm just trying to grease the wheels a little. If somebody had stepped in with a couple of these other guys she might‘ve finally settled down by now." I looked at Monica and saw her exhale, her expression softening. "Besides, I can't keep watching her go through life the way she does. Especially when there are girls like me who would practically kill to have a guy like Tyler.”

  Monica shrugged. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But seriously, what if she finds out? You don't know this Tyler guy. He might tell her everything."

  "That's the chance I have to take, I guess. He seems like an honest guy. Caleb had a high opinion of him,” I said.

  "Oh, and Caleb's opinion matters because....?"

  "Look, he didn’t say many good things about anybody but he went on and on about Tyler, about how he took care of his family for a few years after his dad died. Kinda gave me a soft spot for him.” I looked at my phone. It was 9:30 am. "I have to call him now."

  "Whatever. It’s your funeral.” Monica stared at the street in front of her as she drove.

  The phone rang once before he picked up. "Hey.”

  "Good morning, Tyler. She called yet?"


  "I just got a text message saying she'd call in the next hour."

  "Good. So you have time to talk?"

  "Yes. I just pulled up in front of that donut shop around the corner from my house. I'm gonna hang out here til she calls. You can meet me if you want."

  "Cool! You'll get to meet my sister Monica."

  Monica glared at me with an angry look. I snapped my fingers and pointed at the windshield.