“Hold on. Back it up a bit.” She studies me, her eyebrows knit together. “What guy? Do I know him? Did he go to high school with us? Wait, he’s from your job, right?” She continues on, asking one question after the next and not waiting for me to answer any of them.
“You mouth is moving too fast for my brain cells to keep up,” I say and shrug, because honestly, she’s asked so many questions that I’ve forgotten them all. “How about asking them one at a time?”
She laughs and nudges my shoulder. “Shut up. All right, all right, okay. First question. What’s his name?”
“Can we please skip that one?” I plead, keeping Savage’s name out of the mix.
She rolls her eyes. “Why?”
“Because you probably don’t know him,” I explain, then add, “Not personally.” I’m sure she knows of him. After all, her cabin is the second closest to his, after ours.
“Sheesh. Okay we can loop back to that one. You want me to figure this out myself, don’t you? Because I’m sure I can. Hell, I’m in the mood for a little mental stimulation.” Smiling, she laces her fingers together and fake cracks her knuckles. “All right! I’m ready to play this game. I bet I can figure out who you’re talking about in no time. Let’s see… I know everyone from our high school graduating class, so… is he older or younger than you?” I open my mouth to answer, but she continues with, “No, I already know the answer. He has to be older, since you said it was kinda work related… am I right so far?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“Score for the Megster! Okay next… he’s a local, right?”
“Yes… wait. Uh, let’s say officially, yes.”
“Hold up, that’s a strange way to answer. Does he live in town?”
“No, but…” Shit. If I answer that question, I’m positive she’ll know exactly who it is.
She gives me a puzzled look. “He’s a local, but he doesn’t live in town? Are you saying he’s a past local, in that he grew up in town but doesn’t anymore? Or what exactly are you saying?”
“He’s a current official local,” I tell her, stressing the word official. This mountain is officially part of the town, even though we refer to the people in the built-up area down the mountain as ‘in town.’ But making that distinction will give it away.
Meg is a smart cookie. People who don’t know her misjudge her because of her drop dead gorgeous looks, but she is highly intelligent. I can almost see the wheels turning as she processes my nuanced explanation. Then her eyes widen.
“I know who it is and girl, you need to back away quick!” she shouts, wrapping one arm around my shoulder.
“Shhhh, your parents are like right inside.”
“They’re out front gardening and shit. And they don’t give a crap about our girl talk. So, it’s Sexy Old Yeller, right?”
“Who?”
“You know, Cave Dude Up The Hill? Big Backwoodser? Cracker John-Boy? Hermit the Crab? Mr. Mountain Man? Big Bad Mountain John? Sexy Savage?”
I duck my head down, resting my forehead in my palm, slightly embarrassed for Savage. “Oh my gosh, Meg. You have all those names for the guy?”
“Can’t you remember that field trip back in junior high? We did that nature hike with Mr. Feldman up along the other side of this ridge, the trail that passes right by his cabin but from the other side?”
“Our Art teacher?”
“Yeah, you were there. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Mr. Mountain Man was outside, dusting out a bigass animal fur that he hung from his clothesline or something. Then, remember Bobby-Dean started the name calling under his breath so Mr. Feldman wouldn’t hear?”
I have zero recollection of that trip, so I shake my head. “Nope. I don’t remember that. Maybe I was sick or something.”
“Yes! You were with us. It was the only field trip we did in junior high. Come on, try to think. The school bus drove us to that clearing beside Dixie Pass. We hiked from there, all around the ridge.”
“Yeah, no. I must not have been there.”
“Hmmm. I’m positive you were there, but that’s beside the point. I’m right, aren’t I? That it’s him you’re talking about?” She waits for me to answer. I give her a slight nod. Shit. She figured that out way too fast. “Wow… John Reid? John ‘Savage’ Reid? Our freaking neighbor up the mountain? Girl have you lost your damn mind?”
“I don’t know. I find him kinda cute,” I say, downplaying how insanely attracted I am to him.
“Well duh. Look at him. He’s tall and broad and muscular, with all that grizzly gruff beard, and that broody look to go with is rough, crusty attitude. Of course, he’s fucking hot. But that doesn’t mean he’s a candidate for dating.”
“I figured that part out.”
“Plus, he’s old!”
“No, he’s not. He’s just around thirty-ish,” I tell her.
“Okay so that’s old. Too old for us… way too old for you, Jane.” She pulls back from me and stares at me from my head to my toes. “And way too big for those slim hips of yours. That man’s huge. His dick has gotta be massive. If you let him fuck you, he’ll break your lady parts,” she adds with a giggle.
“Shut up.”
“And shit, your dad’s tight with him. No, Jane. You and that guy? Just no.”
“Yeah, I sorta figured that out when he kicked me out of his place last night,” I confess.
“What? You were at his place? Hold on, you’ve been holding out on me?”
“No, I really haven’t. I happened across him on Friday because of something going on at work, then I bumped into him yesterday morning, then Dad made him dinner and I took the food up to him…and he kicked me out.” I don’t mention the part about the fact that we sort of almost kissed for a split second. Meg’s already going nuts with the information I’ve given her. Anything more will throw her into overdrive.
“How exactly did he kick you out?”
“He told me to leave.” I say flatly, not wanting to rehash how angry or ashamed I felt last night.
Still studying me, she tilts her head to one side and taps against her temple thoughtfully. “Did he accept the food?”
I nod. “Well, sure. He’s friends with Dad.”
“Did he let you in at all?”
“I kinda let myself in,” I admit.
“I can’t even believe all of this,” she mutters. “All this has been happening right under my nose? You’re one brave, sneaky bitch.”
I run my hands through my hair then shake my head forcefully. “I wasn’t sneaking around. It happened all of a sudden. That all went down yesterday.”
“Okay let me see if I’m hearing this right. You noticed him at work on Friday. Then you met him at your cabin yesterday, presumably because he and your Dad had some sort of dealings. Then you saw him again last night, went inside his cabin, and he told you to leave. Is that what happened?”
“Yes.”
“What were you wearing?”
“My yellow sundress. The one with the stretchy tube top material at the top and the flared fabric below.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t rip it off of you and swallow you whole,” she jokes.
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Maybe not. Well, don’t take it personally. Everybody knows he doesn’t like people much.”
I find myself nodding a few times. “True.”
She quiets down for a few moments, seeming deep in thought. I for one am relieved that she pressed the pause button on her interrogation. Leaning against the backrest, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Telling her wasn’t as bad as I thought. Actually, I feel a lot better now that I’ve gotten it off my chest. He rejected me. So what? It’s probably for the best. It means I don’t have to sneak around behind Dad’s back or put us both into an untenable situation at work.
I open my eyes to find Meg staring again.
“What?” I ask.
“You like him.”
“Doesn’t matter if I do. He’s not that into me,” I sa
y lightly. “It’s for the best.”
“For all you know he just asked you to leave to protect you… you know? I mean, your dad’s his boss. And they’re friends. I don’t think Cave Dude talks to anyone else on this entire mountain. He sure doesn’t have any friends in town either. Your dad is it. Makes sense that he wouldn’t risk fucking that up, even if he is into you.”
“True. You’re right.” My shoulders slump and I rest my head on her shoulder. “I finally find someone I like… someone who gets my motor running, you know? And he’s not into me.” I didn’t expect to say anything that sounds so weak and vulnerable, but relief washes over me when I do. I needed to get that off my chest too. Thank fuck for Meg’s probing and pushing me to open up.
“Oh, darling.” She pats my head softly. “I’m sure he’s into you. He’s just not the right guy for you, that’s all. Wait until your ass gets to college. That ass will be prime real estate for the frat boys. You can get your freak on starting this fall.”
“Yeah.”
“Or maybe sooner! Hey, want to take a weekend road trip with me in a few weeks?”
“Where to?”
“College.”
“Which one?” I ask, my eyes wide and she nods. Meg’s really smart, and she’s a die-hard planner. She was accepted for a full scholarship at University of Berkeley in California. But for years, she has been planning to do a masters, then a doctorate degree close to home if she gets in.
“It’s not far. You should come. There’s an open house and I want to have a clear idea of what it’ll be like.”
“That’s some early-ass planning, Meg.”
“You know I’m anal as fuck when it comes to my career. Are you gonna come with me?”
She keeps nodding to coax me to say yes, but I shake my head vehemently. “I really can’t.”
“Why not?”
“The closest university is a three-hour drive. Even if we leave on Friday evening, I’ll only have a day and a half to hang out with you. Will I even be hanging out? I can already picture you flitting from one professor’s office to another, or taking a campus tour while I do what?”
She grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me into her side. “While you do what besties do. Be there for me, you know? For moral support. And the best part is we can dress up all sexy college girl style with a dash of slutty, and join in on the frat house parties on Friday and Saturday nights. Come on! You’ll have a blast. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I don’t know, Meg…” I mutter, but I’m so close to saying yes. Her case is strong. A break from my summer job, my parents, and my sexy, emotionally unavailable neighbor would probably do me good.
“You’ll be over that gruff old Billy goat before the weekend is up. I’ll see to it. Just say yes, doll.”
“Um…”
“Road trip…road trip…road trip,” she chants, and in no time, I’m chanting along with her.
“Okay yes! I’m in!” I shout, giggling.
I hope she’s right.
But there’s still the question of how in the hell I’ll be able to survive three weeks until then, with Savage and me crossing paths at work for this upcoming recruitment, and being just a stone’s throw away from our cabin, possibly hanging with my Dad.
There’s no way out for me now.
7
Savage
I slide my elbows off the training room table. Taking a breath, I lean back in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the trailer our company uses for classroom style training or meetings. My hands rest on my thighs, my lips pressed together as I wait for the mining crew staff meeting to start. The other guys sit or stand around the room, chatting. A couple of the newer, younger miners stand at the large window that looks out toward the parking lot. We’re waiting for Ben to arrive.
Someone near the window whistles a catcall and gets everyone’s attention over some woman walking through the parking lot. It’s a fixed window, so no one outside can hear him, even if he wanted them to. I glance out the window through a gap between their bodies and start to pay attention when I make out who they’re talking about.
Jane.
To these newer guys, she’s Jane the new HR summer intern, but those of us who’ve been working here for some time, we know better. To us, she’s Ben’s daughter. The boss’s daughter.
“You got a death wish?” Franklin, one of the older guys, asks the kid. “That’s the boss man’s daughter.”
“The HR intern?” the first kid at the window asks, his voice thick as he snaps to attention, showing his surprise.
I never took the time to get to know this last round of newbies who started working here about four months ago. From overheard conversations, I think these three are Josh, Cory and Bryan, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure. Keeping to myself is my default setting. If I need to work with them or deal with them in any way, that’s when I’d find out their names. But right now, I wish I had memorized this one’s fucking name.
I’m not quick on my feet, conversation-wise. Years of keeping to myself has resulted in my being a bit gun-shy in that department. This is why before I can open my mouth or mentally form a sentence, Franklin gets off his chair and steps over to them, eyebrows bunched together as he nods his confirmation. “Yeah. If you like your job, it’s best if you get a handle on who’s who around here.”
“Shit. I didn’t know,” he answers.
“That’s probably why she turned you down when you asked her out for a drink,” his friend about his age says between annoying fucking laughter.
“Yeah probably…”
His friend punches him on the arm. “Either that, or she hates your ugly face.”
“Fuck off, dickhead… She’s a fine piece of ass, though.”
“Course, she is. I’d tap that,” the kid’s friend adds, laughing. “Any day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
My jaw clenches and my hands ball up into fists at that last comment about Jane. I have the strong urge to go up to both these little pencil neck kids and punch them square in the mouth for talking about her this way, but force myself to let it go. At least for a second.
“Shut your fucking mouths, both of you.” Franklin grabs both kids by the back of their necks, holding onto them with a firm grip. I figured he’d react like that, considering he has teenage daughters of his own, both of whom are a couple years younger than Jane. “Are the two of you tag-teaming idiots stupid or something? The boss man will be here any second and you gonna talk about his daughter like that? I almost wish he could hear your stupid asses so he can clobber you himself.”
“Get off me, man,” the first kid says. “I get it, all right? No more talk about the sweet-looking piece of ass in HR. Got it.”
“I hope you fucking do.” Franklin releases their necks and storms over to the other side of the room, taking a seat as far from them as possible, probably holding back just as much as I am.
I relax a bit, relieved that I didn’t have to lift a finger to school this kid. Still, I want to tell him to stay the hell away from her. Not that I have any right to Jane. I don’t. I’m the one who forced her to leave my place before she all but gave herself to me.
Shit.
I thought I was doing the right thing, but turning away a woman like her is by far the biggest mistake I’ve made in a while. She wanted me, not that little fucker at the window. And I told her to get out.
Fuck. I clear my throat and try to swallow the lump of regret forming there.
Ben walks into the room a few minutes later with a stack of papers under his arm, and all the talking in the room stops dead. That was a close call. I remember exactly why making Jane leave was the right thing to do that evening. Sure, I fucking want her. My dick craves her something awful.
But I can’t betray Ben.
I just won’t.
“All right, men. Let’s get started.” Ben passes the stack of papers to one of the guys sitting in the front row. “Take one and pass the rest over,” he instructs him, then hang
s his orange safety vest on a hook by the door. He moves to the front of the room and stands between the two rows of tables. “Thanks for showing up. I was asked to bring you all together for a quick announcement about a new set of management positions coming up in a few weeks.”
I tune him out once I learn the meeting is about a manager level job. I’m not interested. He mentions there’ll be three vacancies, depending on how the union consutlations go. Three positions, one position, I don’t care if it’s a hundred new jobs. Management is not for me. This type of work has inherent dangers at every turn. Safety isn’t guaranteed, and accidents aren’t all avoidable. I don’t want the headache of dealing with staff or to be responsible for training and watching out for the new mining workers that come on board every so often. That burden is one I’m not ready to take on. For now, I’m happy coming to work five days a week, giving my everything to a physical job, then leaving it all behind when I clock out.
Once Ben finishes his announcement, he takes questions from the staff. There are a hell of a lot of questions, all of which I ignore, but I do notice something. All through his announcement and the question and answer period, he keeps glancing at the exit, and then his eyes dart to the clock on the other wall like he’s waiting for something. Or someone. I shift my focus to what’s outside the window, the parking lot outside. No one is out there at the moment. Jane isn’t either. She’s long gone by now, probably back at her desk in the trailer next to this one.
Just as the questions start to become fewer and farther between, the trailer door opens, letting in the sound of feminine shoes on the metal steps outside. Angie from HR comes inside, and when I see Jane following behind, I freeze. Their heels click on their way to the front of the room, and the chatter goes silent. All the questions stop dead. Franklin is in my line of sight. He turns and sends a threatening look to the two young staff who were just cajoling about her. After that, I don’t see or hear anything from anyone in the room.
Except for Jane.
She enters sheepishly and stands beside Angie, who’s in the middle now, with Ben on her other side. Yellow must be her favorite color because under her white short-sleeve blazer is a yellow camisole, tucked into her black knee length skirt. All my attention is drawn to her tits, reminding me of how they rubbed against my chest when she fell on top of me, and when I had her up against the kitchen wall.
Mountain Man's Virgin Page 5