AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You owe them money or something?”
“Ben.” With a sigh and a silent curse I decide to level with him. “You know what they’re like. And I’m just not in the mood to be grabbed or propositioned or otherwise sexually harassed right now.”
I have no confidence the plea will make any difference to Ben but apparently he’s not made of stone after all. Something shifts in his expression and he nods.
“Wait in the stockroom. I’ll let you know when they’re gone.”
“Thanks.”
The stockroom is behind a gray door in the back of the store. There’s no window and immediately a sense of claustrophobia smacks me as the messy, disorganized shelves seem to close in. I look around in search of a back door but no such luck. A few seconds later the clink of the entrance bell and a flurry of ‘fuck’ words heralds the arrival of the McGill brothers. The door is thick and I don’t dare crack it open. The only thing worse than straight up running into the McGills would be if they caught me cowering back here. I hear the low murmur of Ben’s voice followed by an outburst of bawdy laughter. It occurs to me that I have no idea if Ben is actually a friend of theirs. I really don’t know Ben Beltran very well at all. He comes across as an arrogant, smirking jerk and crude rumors follow in his wake but Ben offers few clues about what goes on inside that absurdly good looking head of his. He might be pointing out my hidden location to the McGill brothers right now.
Just in case, I search for an object that might be used as a weapon. A wire rack filled with cheap wine bottles sits to my right. I seize one and grip the neck like a baseball bat, making a plan to knock it against the head of the first McGill brother that opens the door.
Footsteps approach. A knuckle raps on the door three times. My fingers tighten around the neck of the wine bottle.
The door is flung open and Ben Beltran scowls at me.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Defending myself.” I crane my neck in an attempt to peer around his shoulder. “Are they behind you?”
He backs up and crosses his arms. “No, they’re not fucking behind me. They left.”
I relax slightly and dare to take a step out of the stockroom. “I didn’t hear the bell.”
“I guess I should have told them to exit more forcefully.” His head tilts and he appraises me. “Was it seriously your plan to destroy the McGill brothers with a five dollar wine bottle?”
“I don’t know,” I grumble and set the wine on a nearby shelf. Either the shelf isn’t level or else I’m clumsier than I thought. The bottle wobbles for a hair raising second and then crashes to the floor. Glass shatters in a dark red puddle.
Ben stares at the puddle. “Good going.”
This could probably be more mortifying, although I don’t see how. “I’ll clean it up.”
Ben does not argue. “Mop and dust pan are in the corner back there. You might have seen them while you were hiding.”
He walks back to the front to reclaim his place behind the counter. I find the cleanup tools and wish the store was bigger so that I would be out of his line of sight. I can feel him watching me as I sweep up the largest shards of glass.
“I’m surprised the McGills left so easily.”
Ben takes his time about responding. I’ve noticed that about him, even in class. He often seems to weigh his words before allowing them to leave his mouth.
“I gave them some snacks to hasten their departure.”
“Are you allowed to do that?”
He sighs with obvious annoyance. “I paid the register back out of my own pocket.”
“Oh.” I bite my lower lip. I can’t even offer to pay him back right now. I have exactly two dollars in my pocket.
There is a small sink in the stockroom and luckily a faucet hose is attached so I’m able to fill the bucket after adding a capful of soap.
When I return to deal with the spill there is a customer at the counter. Her light brown hair is cut in an unkempt bob and she looks familiar. She’s probably around forty years old and while her buttery yellow leather coat looks expensive, her faded jeans and dirty white sneakers do not. Ben listens to whatever she is saying with a strange expression on his face. He glances outside and scowls at the sight of a man standing by the door and spitting on the ground. The woman says something in a low voice and Ben nods. She reaches out a hand with long pink fingernails and moves a piece of hair from his forehead but there’s nothing inappropriate about it. It’s more like the way a parent would touch her child.
I swish the wet mop across the floor and wait until the woman leaves before stating the obvious.
“So that’s your mom.”
Ben shoots me a look and then frowns. “Yeah.”
