Page 7 of Sexploitation
Elias
My body is still buzzingwith excitement from seeing Parker as I walk into my bar hours later. She continued to play aloof and uninterested the rest of the day, but there was no missing the way her entire body reacted each time I got close.
“Here you go, Krista.” I offer my bar manager one of the cups in my hands. “I bought one of those fancy coffees you like.”
“Wow... thanks, Boss Man.” She takes it, her head tilting as she studies me. “Are my eyes deceiving me, or is that a smile on your face?”
“Fuck off. I smile all the time.”
“Not that kind of smile.” She steps out from behind the bar, continuing to eye me with an intrusive stare. “What’s put you in such a chipper mood this evening? Wait... did you finally get laid?”
Getting laid is not my issue. I’ve slept with several women over the last year, each encounter less fulfilling than the last. None of those women made me feel alive the way Parker does. And yes, I’m aching with need to be inside her. But this isn’t merely about needing to get my dick wet.
“Is that really an appropriate question to ask your boss?”
Krista isn’t the slightest bit deterred by my stern tone, following right behind me as I head toward my office. “A normal boss? Probably not. You? Absolutely.”
I place my coffee on my desk and turn to face her. “You’re feeling a little too comfortable.”
“Whatever...” She sighs, brushing off my comment with a wave of her hand. “I’ve been working with Grumpy Bear for years now. I’m entitled to know what turned that frown upside down.”
It’s hard not to crack a smile at that. “Remind me, why haven’t I fired you yet?”
Krista has been with me from the beginning, since I first opened the White Rabbit. And she was there for me when Molly died, helping me hold all the pieces of my life together. I owe her a lot. Dealing with me couldn’t have been easy. I stayed pissed off and sad for the first year. The second year, I was just numb. Then I met Parker, and it was like my heart started beating again. Like I was finally ready to really start living again.
“Because you love me. Because you’d drown without me. Because I’m eye candy with a perfect set of tits and the reason this place stays packed every night.”
She’s not wrong there. Krista’s hourglass frame and stunning features are a big part of why I hired her in the first place. It may not have been the best reason to hire someone, but it was smart. A lot of our regulars keep coming back because of Krista. But she’s proved to be so much more thaneye candy. I couldn’t run this place without her.
“You’re also a pain in my ass.”
“You know...” she starts, plopping down on the couch, “it really is okay if that smile was brought on by a woman. That’s what Molly wanted for you. If anything, she’s probably pissed it’s taken you this long.”
Time works differently when you’re grieving. Days feel like seconds, months more like hours. That first year was a blur. I was in constant motion, trying to keep my head above water. Then it was as if I blinked, and another year had gone by.
I sit in my desk chair, digging through papers for our purchase order. “Three years is not a long time.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t feel that way. But you’re approaching sixty, old man.” She giggles as I shoot her a warning glare over my shoulder. “All I’m saying is, time is not on your side. And Grace needs a woman in her life.”
I scoff. “She has enough women in her life. You, Tonya, and Rosie provide plenty of feminine love and shit.”
My sister, Rosie, has been a godsend through all this. And Grace’s sitter, Tonya, is so good with her. But they’re not her mother. And they can’t be there for her the way a mother could. Rosie has her own family to take care of. And Tonya will be graduating from college, moving on to the next phase in her life. As for Krista... her hands are pretty much full helping me run the bar.
“That’s not the same, though, and you know it.” She pauses as if waiting for me to agree, but I merely grunt. “Fine. If there isn’t a woman, what has you so... smiley?”
I twirl around in my chair, crossing my arms. “Maybe I’m just in a good mood. Or I was untilsomeonestarted in on me.”
She flips me off with a roll of her eyes as I dig my vibrating phone out of my back pocket. A victorious grin spreads across my face when I see a text message from Parker on the screen. I knew she’d reach out but fully expected it to take at least a day or two for her to fold.
Next Wednesday. 7pm. I’ll meet you at the bar.
This is her way of taking back some of the control after giving in so quickly. Maybe I should give it to her, let her have this win. But I won’t. Not this time. If we put this off for another week, she could change her mind.
This Saturday. 5pm. I’ll pick you up.
I would bet money she’s cussing me out right about now. She’s so used to being the one with all the power. That was clear from the moment we met. She hates that I’m challenging her, but it intrigues her at the same time. This is what she needs, someone willing to push back instead of always rolling over for her.
Fine. Saturday. 6pm. The bar.