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“You suppose? Girl, everyone saw how you were staring at his arms like you had Dr. 90210 X-ray vision. Your sexy ass ain’t deceiving anyone.” He turned back to his computer, and then, back to me. “By the way, if you’ve got any of that, you’d help a boy out, right?”
I could not restrain my laughter. “Sure. I’d just have to refill my prescriptions.”
He could not help his grin either. It was so wide I could not help but notice its wideness and the other facial entities that encompassed it. His oval, blue eyes. His straight nose. His flushed cheeks. Maybe he wasn’t that bad. I wanted to ask how he got the job, but I did not want to push it. And probably with his first impression, being loquacious and all, I bet he was going to tell me about it really soon. So, I wouldn’t have to wait. And just then, he asked, “So, where are you from, sexy ass Evelyn?”
And like that, we were in with the small talk. I do not know whether to tell him the full story; about how I had dropped out of college, because I had gotten pregnant, and how I didn’t go back later after I had the baby and only finished my degree a while back from a community college in… “Tallahassee.”
“Oh, we’ve got a Northern Florida girl. That explains the accent.” He smirked. “But it is sort of wish-washy now, you know right?”
“Oh, really?” I got what he meant. Mother and I moved a lot before Dad just packed his bags and left one morning. He was in the military so yeah. We still don’t know why he left till now. We also don’t even know if he’s dead. It’s like he just disappeared off the face of the earth, leaving no traces. It made me mad, anytime I thought about it. Even with the constant teasing, the bickering, the taunting: I was just that little girl, Evelyn, whose dad left because he couldn’t stand her. Forgive me if I don’t want to remember that part of my life.
“Girl, you sound like you are coming here with a lot of baggage.” His words were sad, but his face, lit up like a Christmas tree, pronounced otherwise. “And I am in for the drama.” That explained his excitement. I would try to give him the benefit of the doubt and try to be the least dramatic I can be. Suddenly, a wave of gloom seeps through my bones and sends flusters throughout my body. This job may not be all I expected it to be. It would be me and Ryan and Luca working all day, every day, alone in this huge building with ton of empty room and dust, too. It would entail us holding meetings and rallies and seminars with town folk, and parties and fundraisers. What could go wrong? What drama could possibly ensue? To be honest, I’d try to be as drama-free as I can be, because I cannot deal being the center of attention, and although it isn’t the worst thing on earth that could befall anyone, I do not have the best history with it, and so, I think it would do me incredible harm. I turn to face my desk and I realize I have absolutely nothing to do today. And, just then, my phone rings. And an image of my mother beams from my phone.
“Hey, Ryan,” I call out to him before picking. “How could I locate my apartment?”
“Apartment?” He scoffed theatrically. “Honey, this isn’t New York. You get a sizeable house you can comfortably dance naked in. Just follow the directions on the e-mail. It is pretty straightforward.”
Sure. Straightforward.The same directions that almost led me to another town entirely. But, I did not make my thoughts obvious. I returned the smile and thanked him, then I grabbed my bag and picked the call as I strutted out of the office noiselessly. How about that for a first day.
“Hello, mum… Yes. Yes. You were so right. He is hot, and this job is everything I needed.” We chittered and cackled for hours and hours.
ChapterFour
Driving around the neighborhood, while on a call with my mother, and while trying to spot my apartment or house, was no little task at all. At a point I had to get down to ask around. But no one, for some reason, knew exactly where I was headed. Maybe they were still judging what I wore, the cherry of my lipstick, the height and tightness of my skirt, but I did not care. On my quest to find my way myself, I had bumped into a fire hydrant and tripped over a sidewalk, and the sole of my flats was threatening to come off. My hair was also in a mess, the kind of mess where you were not show what to do about it anymore; whether you were going to leave it up, or let its raggedy ass flow down to your back. It frustrated the hell out of me, but that was where I was at now.
So, moving around, I just started looking for inscriptions, scouring for which one matched the one in my hand. Sometimes, I wished I was not so terrible with directions. Maybe I would not get so lost often. I knew I was going to work for much longer, but that changed on spur of moment as a yellow Porsche nearly hit me while I crossed the streets.
“Fucker!” I yelled, the veins on my neck bulging in an outrageous monstrosity. I was so tensed and here, this douchebag was speeding, aimlessly, just because he had a good-enough, nice vehicle. You know what, I was just not in the mood. And like I had not had enough of his nonsense, here he was reversing. Don’t ask. I just knew it had to be a man.
“Hey,” he said, rather slyly, his car windows sliding down. “Sorry about that earlier. Can I give you a ride?” I took a cursory look at him. His high cheekbones. His parched, red lips. His aquiline nose. His undercut chin. I didn’t care for all of that. And who… who on earth drove with their sunglasses on?
“I have a car.”
“Okay, that is cool, but why are you walking? Are you lost? I could show you around.” He was being too nice for some reason. Or maybe that was his own way of saying ‘I am sorry for almost hitting you and dragging your body across the paved streets.’ Seriously, even though he looked like my type— a beckoning brunette, and sounded like my type— a domineering egomaniac, I just was not in the mood for lost.
“I’m just not in the mood.”
“Not in the mood?” He kept trailing me with his car. Luckily, the roads were empty so he could indeed do that even much longer, and it was barely two. “Come on. Didn’t I say I was sorry?”
“Actually, you did not.”Gosh, look how quickly he got me caught in his banters. I really don’t want to be starting something this early.
“Alright then. Can I show you around to prove how sorry I am?”
“So you will just work your way around actually saying the word?”
He smirked. “What word?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I just started walking.
Before I knew it, he was behind me, but not in his car; on his feet. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He paused in front of me and stretched out his hand. “And, I’m Holden. Holden Grant.”Of course, the douchebag had an asshole name.
I didn’t take his hand though. I just kept walking, staring ahead like he didn’t matter. Because, even without having to think about it, I knew he didn’t. “Cool.”
“So, where are you headed? You know I promised to help you out, right?”
“And did I say I needed help?”
“Well, a guy knows when a damsel is in distress.”
