Page 5 of Innocent
What is he getting at?
“I’ve got it handled,” I grunt, holding my hand out as the printer feeds me a crooked image.Fuck.Now I’ve got to reprint this damn thing again. I slide another sheet into the front and press the large blinking button as I stare out the side window of the shop. Thankfully, Maddox gets the point and leaves the room.
There isn’t much to see outside except the brick wall from Mullet’s bar, but the natural light centers me as I focus on the detail of the bricks. Each one of them is distinct to itself and holds the history of Rugged Mountain. Every line, every crack, every widening pore has seen the growing pains of a small mountain town. They’ve heard secrets and memorized stolen kisses. They hold tears and heartache. They remember love and growth. These bricks and all their details are the backbone of our town. They’re the reason we’ve been here for three generations.
“So where are you going to get the fifteen grand?” Maddox flips the shop sign to open and turns up the radio, peeking his head into the print room before heading behind the counter to organize a box of nose rings that just came in. “Last weekend you were bitching about the six grand you had to spend on a new water heater.”
I stare down at my phone and see LochNessCock has bid me up again. “Looks like eighteen grand now.”
Maddox’s eyes bulge. “Eighteen grand to sleep with some stranger? What the hell? Talk some sense into her, get her to take down the listing. What if you can’t outbid this guy? Who the hell knows what she’s messing with? And if you do win, where are you going to come up with eighteen grand?”
“Twenty,” I say, hitting the button to bid. I can’t let this fucker win.
Maddox laughs. “So, does that black market shop have a section for body parts? Maybe you could sell a few limbs.”
“Probably wouldn’t go for a fraction of what I need,” I refute, turning toward the front door as the bell chimes. Janie steps inside with a tight grin and a quick nod of the head. She’s nervous about something. Maybe she can see that Mr. Claus is me.
God. I should’ve been more creative. Mr. Claus wouldn’t be buying the virginity of a twenty-four-year-old online. Maybe she’s upset because that asshole LocknessCock is contacting her privately. I see there’s a place for direct messages.
Fuck. I need to ask her.
She tucks the hem of her little pink dress beneath her round ass and sits in front of the desktop, dialing in on the screen. Something has happened.
I lock eyes with Maddox and nod back toward Janie, hoping he’ll take the reins, but he only holds up his hands and grins before making his way to the storage room in the back of the shop.
Fuck me.
With my hand on my beard, I stride toward her and start talking, hoping the words come to me as I go. “Everything okay this morning, Janie? You’re looking a little tired.”
Her cheeks turn pink, and her hand runs down the back of her hair. “Do I?I guess I was up late last night. Then I had the library this morning and,” she sighs, “it’s been a weird day.” She’s talking, but she’s focused on the computer, clicking and scrolling with wide eyes before finally looking toward me. “How was your night?”
I contemplate telling her that I spent the night bidding on her virginity, and that I’d do anything to make sure she was safe and smiling, but I’m not sure she’d appreciate the sentiment.
“Worked on my truck last night.”
She cocks her head to the side and smiles. “The Ford? You still have that?”
“It was my dad’s. Can’t figure a time when I’ll ever get rid of it. Hell, I just got the thing running again.”
Janie hums. “I remember you used to work on that thing all the time. Do you still have the same seats as you did back then? I remember helping you pull out the old ones.”
I remember that day too. It’s one that sticks in my head. Mark was inside taking a call from his girlfriend, and Janie stayed outside to give them some space. The seat I was pulling got stuck on the rails, and I needed another set of hands. Janie grabbed the opposite side of the seat and helped me lift it off the bar, but I couldn’t focus on anything but her. The way her hair fell down over her shoulder, the way her breasts crept up from the low scoop neck of her sundress, the way the sun fell on her pale skin like a halo of an angel standing in front of me. She lost her bracelet on that day too. An important one that had been handed down on her dad’s side of the family with pink gold roses. I’ve always felt bad about that and looked for it for what felt like an eternity. I’ve thought of that moment we shared, hundreds of times over the past few years.
“Same seats,” I finally say. “You’ll have to come take a ride now that I’ve finally got the thing running again.”
Fuck.Did I really just say that? I turn away and busy myself with the box of nose rings Maddox left on the counter. “Someday, I mean, maybe with some of your friends. Or a boyfriend. I could let you two borrow it for a date.” The thought makes me sick, but the words sound better out loud than the alternative of her and I alone for a long ride together in a truck I’ve imagined laying my filthy hands on her in too many times to count.
“Yeah.” She pauses. “Of course. Thanks for the offer.” There’s disappointment in her tone, but I can’t figure why.
“Or maybe you don’t want a ride in the old truck at all. I’m sure it’s pretty lame for someone your age, anyway. It’s just a—”
“That’s not it.” She gnaws at the side of her cheek like she’s holding something back. “The way you rebuilt that truck always,” she pauses, then shrugs, “it always amazed me. I’ve thought of it a lot over the years, actually.”
Shit.I try not to let her words go to my head, but before I can stop them, they’re there, poisoning the last bits of reasoning I have left.
“Really? What about it had you amazed?” I ask sarcastically as though rebuilding the truck isn’t that big a deal, but I’m anxious to hear her response.
She shuffles her feet beneath the counter and stares up at me with big blue eyes that take me right back to that day, four years ago when the sun gifted her a halo. “You looked so strong and capable. So smart to know where to oil and place each bolt.” Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “I’d love to go for a ride with you. What about tonight, after we get out of here? It’ll be late, but we could go look for aliens up on the ridge like we used to.” She laughs. “Remember all the stories we used to tell up there?”