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Chapter 4
Clementine
Standing up afterward is more difficult than I'd thought it would be. I'm all shaky and out of breath and dizzy. In a good way.
Mike pulls on his jeans and then grabs us both bottles of water.
"Hydration is important after all that physical exercise," he tells me with a smile, those dimples shining through again. "Was it what you hoped?" he asks.
I nod, unscrewing the bottle cap. "It was more than what I hoped. I feel so..."
"Liberated? Free? Relaxed?" he asks.
"All of the above," I sigh dreamily. Finally, I am no longer a virgin, and this was no regular hookup. Mike clearly knows what he is doing. I'm guessing this is a frequent occurrence in this auto-shop. So, when his phone rings a few minutes later, and I glance down at it, seeing ‘LuLu’ pop up on the screen with emoji hearts before and after the name, I take the cue.
"Thanks, Mike. That was very fun and very unexpected." I reach for my skirt and pull it on.
"Leaving so soon?" he asks, reaching for his phone and reading the text as I dress. He smiles, quickly punching in a message before dropping the cell in his pocket.
"I should. I have a lot to do to prep for the school week."
"I get it," he says easily, not begging me to stay. "We both love our jobs, right?"
As I pull my purse onto my shoulder he adds, "Well then, let me grab that coolant and get your car fixed up."
A few minutes later he closes the hood of my car and says I'm good to go.
I swallow, suddenly feeling like things are wrapping up all too soon. Yet, in my heart I know this was just a casual hookup. People do this all the time, and now I am a part of that club. No need to get dramatic and ask for more.
"So, you think I could see you again?" he asks as he pulls open my car door.
"You'd like that?" I ask, biting my bottom lip. "Because honestly, I won't be offended if it's a one and done thing."
"One and done?" He scoffs, obviously annoyed at my words. "I don't operate that way, Clementine."
"No?" I twist my lips; not sure I believe him. He is smooth, charming, sexy, and has girls named LuLu texting him emoji kisses. I may have been a virgin before today, but I've never been an idiot.
And the last thing I need or want is to get hurt again. I'm through with that game.
He whistles low at my hesitation. "Damn, I thought we had fun together. Sure seemed like it when you were screaming my name and coming on my cock." He shakes his head with a sour expression. "But I don't want to twist your pretty little arm."
"It's not that, it's just...." I sigh thinking about my job application, the teaching positions I am hoping to secure, ones that could take me anywhere in the state. The last thing I want is to feel tied down to a player like Mike. "I'm not looking for anything permanent so..."
"I was asking for a date, not a wedding proposal."
My cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I know. I never implied that you were."
"Hey, just let me take you out next Friday. Grab a beer at the bar, maybe get some burgers...." He must see my face fall because he shakes his head quickly as if he knows all about me. "Oh, I see. Never mind."
"See what?"
"Is it that I'm not fancy enough for you? Because I'm not college educated I must be some backward hick a college girl couldn't deem worthy to date? Am I too rough around the edges for someone like you?"
Offended, I push back on his words. "Like me?"
"Yeah," he says softly. As if he is losing something he was hoping to have a little longer. "Someone so damn cute and perfect. Someone like you."
"I'm not perfect. I'm uptight and anxious and doubt myself all the time." I shake my head, wishing he could look inside my heart and see what I mean. "Maybe I'm put together on the outside, Mike, but inside I'm just a mess of a girl trying to put one foot in front of the other without tripping too many times. I'm a work in progress at best, a mess at worst. And when I hesitated about Friday, it wasn't because the idea sounded bad, it was just because next Friday doesn't work. I have a job interview in Spokane."
"Oh." He grimaces, realizing the fault lies with him. I hate myself for thinking it, but even his grimace is cute. "Sorry, Clementine. Guess that's my baggage. My ex was always ripping me a new one for not being highbrow. Meanwhile, she was a drunk, but…" He raises his hands in defeat. "That's the past, ya know? Moving on to bigger and brighter things. And for the record, you may think you're a mess, but who said messes weren't hot?"
