Work For It

by Ashley Bostock

  “Much cuter. But you can’t make an amazing dinner with Lucky Charms,” he said.

  She put a hand to her hip. “Sure you can. Ask me. Been doing it.”

  Dylan shook his head. “Uh-no. Not anymore, sweetheart. Once I bring some logs in, I’ll make you dinner.”

  I’ll make you dinner. He was trouble indeed. When was the last time a man made her dinner? And why was she making a big deal about that? Enough. Alone, she happily sat in front of her computer. Wow. Electricity. It was suddenly like a novelty to have, and she wasn’t sure what she should do first. Internet? Estes Park news? Write? Check her email? Probably the local news. In fact, the TV would be more interesting than reading her emails right now.

  She found the remote and turned the news on.

  “A record snowfall of sixty-three inches has fallen and crews are still working on getting electricity to more than a hundred and seventy homes in the area. Officials are requesting residents stay indoors and do not attempt to get on the roads.”

  Nope. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. She ignored the newscaster and fired up her computer. So daunting. Had her mother tried to contact her? Probably. Someone like her mom didn’t relinquish her authority overnight, let alone her drive to control Lina’s life.

  She reluctantly opened her email. Time to get it over with. And there it was. There they were. Four emails from her mother. Three emails from a writing prompt blog she’d subscribed to one of the first days she’d gotten to the condo.

  Her mom’s first email, dated seven days ago. Lina. I need you back at work. I’m willing to give you a raise.

  Second email. Lina. I hope you aren’t dead. Your job is hard to fill on short notice. No more overtime. Think about it.

  Third email. How could you do this to me? I would have thought I raised you better than this. After all I’ve done for you and this is how you treat me?

  Fourth email. I hope you’re happy with yourself. Oscar is taking matters into his own hands on finding your replacement. Do you know how that makes me look? Think of all the lives you’re screwing with by acting so childish. So selfish!

  A small piece of Lina’s heart crumbled as she thought about the people she worked for. Not with. For. The mother that had never been not pregnant for the past seven years upon meeting her boyfriend. The way he refused to approve contraception. The number of times he’d raped her because the mother had tried to say no – not wanting to become pregnant again. Unable to speak English, the mother hadn’t fully understood the resources available to her.

  Last Lina knew, she’d helped the young mother seek shelter and counseling for her and her five children. She was five months’ pregnant.

  While Lina’s job wasn’t for the faint of heart, she’d enjoyed connecting with women who hadn’t ever felt or been as empowered as herself and getting them into a position that they could begin to feel that way. To take control of their lives and make it better.

  She hated how her selfish mother’s email made her feel bad about the clients she’d left in the lurch. Her mother was right, and it gutted Lina to acknowledge that fact. Lina straightened her spine. For once in her life, she needed to take control and take her life back into her own hands. She needed to start living.

  The smell of bacon made her tummy growl, and she envisioned the sex on a stick in there hovering over the frying pan. Damn. Speaking of starting to live…if she really meant that, she’d go in there and seduce Dylan like it was no one’s business. Was she crazy for not giving into their attraction by convincing herself that he was more than she wanted to deal with? Did she really want to be left alone inside Pine Lake? Especially now that she’d gotten a taste of his easygoing attitude. A taste of him. He wasn’t all that bad. He was doing a great job with the fire. And he was cooking for her. A major bonus. She appreciated that more than he knew.

  The feeling of his dominant lips moving against hers felt like a blanket over her skin. The grip of his hands across her butt cheeks left an imprint she could still feel. She thought of her friend Bailey from college. Bailey always lived life, always went after what she wanted with no regrets.

  Yes, Lina was certifiable for not jumping head first into Dylan’s plans to make her come six ways to Sunday..

  Never one to risk her heart, she was too afraid of how she would feel when the two weeks were over. They’d go back to living their separate lives. Back to not knowing one another. Could she live with that? No. How did she convince her heart that undoubtedly great sex-somethings would only be for less than two weeks and nothing more? No feelings. She didn’t think she could.

  An incoming email pinged, forcing her to quit thinking about Dylan. Another job she’d applied for in Florida. Yes, that day she’d applied to four different places in Florida and one in Maine—she’d been on a warpath of finding a job the farthest away from Arizona—but so far, no one was looking to hire, including this most recent email.

  I could always go back to Phoenix. No thanks. While she was trying hard to forget the old, ball-busting, take-no-prisoner Lina, she needed some of that girl. How was she going to move forward if she was hiding in a shell? She needed to dredge up the take-charge part of old Lina and channel some of that into the new Lina.

  Florida wouldn’t have been so bad. She’d never been to Florida. She’d seen plenty of pictures of turquoise waters and white sands to know it looked like paradise. She bet she wouldn’t complain if she found herself beneath an umbrella sipping on a fruity drink that was sporting a cherry and its own mini umbrella.

  “Alright. It’s ready.”

  She turned to the sound of Dylan’s voice and her heart stuttered as he strolled into the dining room carrying a plate in each hand. He gave her a wide smile, tripping her up about her earlier thoughts.

  “Smells delicious. What did you make?” Her question was answered as he set her plate in front of her.

  “Cheeseburgers topped with bacon, avocado, jalapeno and tomatoes. I assumed you like hot stuff since you’re the one that bought the jalapenos.”

  She let out a happy laugh. “I love hot stuff. This is wonderful. Do you know how long it’s been since someone has cooked for me? This is fantastic.”

  The corner of Dylan’s mouth turned up into a lopsided grin. “It’s just a burger. Besides, it was self-serving.”

  “Just say, thanks for the compliment, Lina.” She smiled.

  Dylan sat down, looking sheepish. “Thanks for the compliment. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy when a woman isn’t afraid to eat.”

  She took a big juicy bite of her burger. The mixture of spices he’d used along with the toppings made it gourmet. She chewed thoughtfully. “Do you date a lot of women that are afraid to eat?”

  Something unreadable passed over his face. “You wouldn’t believe.”

  “Well, as you can tell, I’m not the healthiest eater, but I do love to eat and nothing and no one is going to make me second guess that.” Lina knew she was lucky that she didn’t have to calorie count. She also knew that her luck may run out at some point. She bit into her burger, savoring the juiciness.

  “That’s good. You have a nice body.”

  Her eyes met Dylan’s over the table. They stared at each other for far more seconds than was necessary. A low, desperate yearning pitted against her belly. He was comfortable, yet uncomfortable all in the same breath. The kind of uncomfortable that made her want things that she had no business wanting.

  “The burger is fabulous,” she said a little too breathlessly. And if he kept making meals like this, she was going to be a goner.

  “Thanks for the compliment, Dylan.” He smirked, throwing her words back at her at not addressing his compliment of her nice body.

  “Thanks for the compliment.” She wasn’t used to men of Dylan’s caliber, eyeing her like she was going to be his next meal. Honestly, she almost felt like he was feeding her lines. How could a man with a body like his be attracted to her body? It didn’t jive with what she’d built up in her mind as the
norm and had her feeling a little unsure. Her body was…not terrible. She wasn’t one of those skinny girls with no meat, that was for sure. She had plenty of meat to cushion her bones. Her hips had some dips from extra padding. Yeah, she wasn’t all smooth lines and firm contours.

  “Snowed like five feet. Did you hear that in the kitchen?” Lina asked.

  “Just another reason to be grateful I got here when I did. We’re lucky we got electricity back. The condo’s freezing.”

  “There are still a lot of homes without power. The city is hoping they’ll be able to get it restored before too long. They’re worried about elderly people. It’d be fun to have a snow-mobile right about now,” Lina said. “You know, maybe they take them out and check on the elderly people that way.”

  “Probably. That happens often around here. Anywhere, I imagine. Except Arizona, I guess. There you must have elderly dying from heat. Here, it’s generally bad storms like this one. And you pretty much read my thoughts exactly, a snowmobile would be superb. In my selfish case, just to take a fun-ass ride.” He finished his burger and stood with his plate. “Would you like another one?”

  Lina shook her head, her mouth full with her last bite.

  “Suit yourself, woman. I’m having one more. Did you connect with your family already?”

  She jerked her head up. “You mean when I turned my computer on? Just my mother trying to make me feel bad. An email from a place in Florida that I applied to.”

  “Did they offer you an interview?” he asked from the kitchen.

  “No. It was a regret letter.”

  He sat down at the table. “Would you have really moved if they’d offered you a job? Have you ever been to Florida?”

  “No. Never been there. I’m ready for something different. I have to get away from my old life and in order to do that, I have to get away from Phoenix and from my mother,” Lina said.

  “I admire you for that, you know?” Dylan said.

  She lifted her hands, gesturing she didn’t understand. “Admire me for what? Walking out on all those women that were depending on me?” God, saying that out loud sent waves of nausea through her stomach. How could she have not thought of them? Well, she’d thought of them when she made the split decision to leave. But it was easier to think of herself and keep moving forward instead of looking back. At some point, she had to cut out everything—all thoughts—in order to propel herself forward. Just keep swimming.

  She watched Dylan finish his second burger, trying to push those thoughts aside.

  “I admire you for having enough guts to judge when enough was enough. For standing up for yourself and being courageous enough to take matters into your own hands.”

  She searched his eyes looking for truth. She saw admiration and something else that she couldn’t quite identify. What wasn’t he telling her? Lina lifted a shoulder. “Isn’t that what you did too? Why you’re here? Cause you’re tired of everyone else telling you what to do? You’re just as bold as I am, Dylan. We’ve got the same issues going on.”

  He leaned back scrubbing his hand over his face. “Maybe. I just haven’t figured out the enough is enough part.”

  “Maybe we can help each other, right?” she said. “I’ve told you my problems and you’ve yet to tell me any of yours.”

  Dylan stood from the table, busying himself with their dinner plates. “Not a whole lot to tell. I came up here for peace and quiet. Seems like I’m never alone. Can never breathe. I had to get away from it all. Same as you. Only I have to go back at some point. There’s no starting new for me like there is for you. When my two weeks are up, I’ll be going back to the same shit.”

  The plates clattered in the sink making Lina jump a little. Touchy. She realized she was lucky. She could start fresh in a new place, new job and new friends. New mom? Wishful thinking but right now that would be nice if that were an option.

  With Dylan owning his own gym, he didn’t have much of a choice. That was his livelihood. He couldn’t just quit and find a new job. Go somewhere different for a month and start a new life. She was grateful she could do that.

  “I don’t understand what’s troubling you? You own a gym, so does that mean you’re there all the time? Is it your employees bothering you or the members? Why don’t you get a break?”

  He didn’t answer her right away but gestured for her to follow him into the living room. She followed him, her gaze immediately going to the large window. The snow was no longer swirling around.

  Dylan stretched out in the recliner, still not addressing her questions. She opened her mouth to ask him again but the sudden pounding on the door made her nerves jump into her throat.

  Dylan sat up. “Who would that be?”

  “I have no idea. I’ll go see.”

  “I’ll go with you. In this kind of weather who knows who could be trying to get inside.”

  Lina raised her eyebrows and gave him a pointed look.

  His eyes brightened, and a slow grin spread across his face. “Come on, sweetheart.”

  She went to the door, trying to throw off the way she felt when Dylan looked at her that way. Lina flung open the door and came face to face with her nosy neighbor. At least, she was certain it was the nosy neighbor. Large black snow boots stuck out from beneath a pair of red snowboarding pants. The visitor wore a matching red jacket that looked heavy enough to knock her over should the wind blow more. The older woman wore a mask over her face and her bright blue eyes were the only thing that Lina recognized.

  “Martha! What brings you out here in this weather?” Lina asked surprised.

  “I saw you had company. I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Martha. Who are you?” Martha thrust a hand toward Dylan, who stood slightly behind Lina.

  “Dylan,” he said.

  “Well, I’d say it’s a good thing you have your boyfriend here what with the weather and all. Supposed to get into the negative twenties tonight.”

  “I heard that on the news,” Lina said.

  “Just make sure you’ve got plenty of firewood and food. That’s all I’ve got to say. Damn people come up here wanting to be stranded. Thinking it will be fun to be able to go back from wherever they came from and brag to their friends how they got stranded in a snow storm. How romantic and exciting it was to stay cooped up in the house, unable to shovel themselves out. Damn people.” Martha shook her head and opened her mouth to say more. “That’s all we need is to waste the time of America’s Finest or Bravest on some wacky tourists that don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.”

  Lina felt Dylan’s fingers poke into her back against her ribs. She turned her head, wondering if he too was getting lost in Martha’s rant about naive tourists. He tilted his head a tiny bit, his brows rose on his forehead. Get her out of here. Lina was sure that was the look he was giving her.

  Lina cleared her throat. “Yes, Martha. If it weren’t for you coming to warn me, I would have unintentionally been in the same mess. I’m so glad you stopped by. Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything you wanted besides to meet my roommate?”

  Martha squinted her eyes and cocked her head like she was trying to get a better look at Dylan. Lina went to move out of the way, but Dylan’s large hands gripped her hips keeping her in place.

  Oh, she liked that feeling.

  “Not a thing. If you two find yourselves in need of anything, give me a holler. I’m in Elk Ridge. Are there any snow shoes in there? That’s gonna be your best bet if you have ‘em. Unless you have a snowmobile tucked somewhere, which I doubt you do. You seem wet behind the ears still but your boy here, well, he might know a little more than you do.”

  Lina tried hard not to let an eye roll eek out. “Great. Thanks, Martha. We do have snow shoes but if we end up needing anything, we’ll be sure to reach out.”

  With the door open, the chill was starting to seep into Lina’s body. At least her front half. Her back half was in such close proximity to Dylan’s that his body heat was warming her quite ad
equately. As was his hands that hadn’t moved from her hips.

  Lina began to close the door on Martha, but the woman spoke again, stopping Lina halfway through. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

  “No, I doubt it. I came from Phoenix.”

  “Not you. Him.”

  Lina peered over her shoulder at Dylan. His eyes were squinted together as if he was sizing Martha up—taking the opportunity to conjure up a past meeting between them—and then his eyes got wide. “Yes! You were outside shoveling your sidewalk when I pulled my truck in the other day. I knew you looked familiar.”

  Martha nodded. “That must be it. Well, you two take good care of yourselves. You look out for the young one here. Don’t let her go meandering outside alone. She’d damn well get herself lost. I bet you don’t even have all the right gear to go outside, do you?”

  What? Lina wasn’t that dumb. Just as she was ready to open her mouth and tell her nosy neighbor exactly what she thought, Dylan’s hand came up to Lina’s shoulder, giving her a light squeeze.

  “My Lina here is pretty smart. She wouldn’t do anything like that. Would you, babe?” Dylan’s breath tickled her ear.

  She shivered. Babe? His Lina?

  “Lina may not be from around here, but she can look after herself. Thank you though, Martha, for reminding us of the hazards that come with…blizzarding.” Dylan helped Lina shut the door softly on Martha’s confused face.

  Before Lina could step back into his embrace and fully grasp what just happened, Dylan stepped away from her. Cool air hit all the spots that he had been keeping warm. She turned toward him, wondering why he said such nice things to their nosy neighbor. It wasn’t like Martha was wrong about what she was saying. No, she didn’t need to be so brazen about it like Lina had no common sense. But come on, Lina wasn’t cut out for this kind of weather. Before now, Lina had never owned a jacket fit for the snow, let alone snow boots or gloves. She was lucky she managed to get proper clothes before the weather hit.