Tuesday arrives quicker than I would have liked it to.
I walk into the shelter, kind of surprised Jared wasn’t waiting for me this morning like he has been lately. I’m also a little concerned about the disappointment I feel over that.
“Morning, Glenda,” I say as I sign in.
“Oh, good morning, Dahlia.” She puts a box down that she was carrying. “Would you mind giving me a hand this morning instead of working in the kitchen? There’s a new girl who’s joining us for a little while to build some hours up for her college application, so Jared took her under his wing.” She smirks, shaking her head and causing her gray bob to bounce around. “Let’s hope he actually gets some work done.” She laughs.
My stomach somersaults at the news. “Oh, okay. Sure.” I force a smile and follow her into the storeroom where we spend the next hour reorganizing clothes, linen, and bringing in new donation bags to start sorting through.
“I’m going to hit the bathroom. Back in a minute,” I tell Glenda who just waves me off as she goes over her checklist.
Feeling curious, I can’t help myself and decide to walk by the kitchen. I don’t see any new girl, though. Then I hear it. A giggle as I spot Jared’s broad back. He moves to the side to reveal someone who looks like she’s barely eighteen, slender and athletic with a pixie styled haircut. Her hand brushes his arm, and she beams up at him as he says something to her. I don’t know what I feel more sickened over, watching them or the fact that I feel a little annoyed over seeing him with another girl in the first place. Girl. Right, because I’m a thirty-two-year-old woman with two children and a failing marriage. I shouldn’t give a shit, but, oh fuck it … I just do.
I turn to leave, continuing down the hall to the bathroom where I do my business, wash my hands, and stare at myself in the mirror for a moment. I don’t feel old. In fact, I’ve only seen a couple of random gray hairs on my head. But watching them, seeing the stark differences between me and her makes me feel ancient. I shake my head, telling myself to get over it. This is what I wanted, right? For him to move on and leave me alone. So why do I feel so annoyed about it?
I open the door, keeping my head low as I head back to the storeroom, but then a hand wraps around my bicep and tugs me into an old cleaning closet. I squeal, and Jared covers my mouth with his hand as he maneuvers me against a cold, cement wall and stands over me.
He removes his hand from my mouth, and I stare up at him with narrowed eyes.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-hiss.
He grins, his white teeth glowing in the dark room, and I stare at that slightly crooked front tooth until his hands travel up my arms to cup my cheeks. My eyes lift to his.
“Where’ve you been?” He frowns.
“In the storeroom with Glenda, seeing as you apparently don’t need any extra help in the kitchen today,” I snap then wince. Yikes.
He only smiles wider. “Blondie, is something wrong?”
I close my eyes and sigh. “No, I’m being stupid. Don’t worry about it.”
Leaning in farther, he brushes his lips over my cheek. “God, you always smell so damn good.”
“Jared,” I warn, trying to push him away. “Friends, remember?”
He groans. “Yeah, yeah. Can I take you out after we’re done here? Maybe another coffee?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He skims his finger across my exposed collarbone. “So stop thinking, Blondie. I’ll meet you out front.” He smiles again before opening the door and walking out without waiting for another response or even looking to see if the coast is clear. Of course, he wouldn’t. He’s not the one doing anything wrong here.
An hour later, I sign out and wave goodbye to Glenda before grabbing my purse and heading outside, thinking that I’ll just get in my car and leave before he can trick me into anything again. But as if he knew my plan, there he stands, half leaning against my car. He’s crossed his tattooed arms over his chest, and he’s wearing a pair of Ray-Bans with a devilish grin to match. Combine them with his low-slung dark denim jeans, white t-shirt, and slicked back dark brown hair, and he’s enough to make anyone’s heart start pounding faster than it should.
He straightens, walking over to me then directing me back through the lunchtime crowd with a hand at my lower back. I don’t ask where we’re going because I’m too busy trying to figure out what happened to my sense of self-control. I’m also trying desperately not to inhale his tobacco and clean linen scent. But it’s hard, especially with the warmth of his hand seeping through my black sundress.
After a few blocks, he finally stops in front of an old movie cinema.
“Time to hang out, friend.” He grabs my hand and leads me through the paint-chipped doors to the stale smelling interior. It’s dead quiet with no one around besides an old man behind the ticket booth who looks to be reading a weathered mystery novel as we approach him. “Hi,” I say as Jared scans the choices above on the worn-out board. The man holds up a knobby pointer finger, a silent request for us to wait a minute. I glance at Jared who bites his lip and widens his amused eyes at me.
“Sorry,” he finally mutters, putting the book down. “What can I get you?” He sounds tired but nice enough. Jared asks for two tickets to a new action movie that’s just come out, some popcorn, and sodas. We wait as he gets them, Jared looking around at all the vintage memorabilia in the theatre.
“I love coming here,” he randomly says.
I turn to face him. “Why’s that?”
He shrugs. “Didn’t have the best of times as a kid growing up on the streets, but me and my brother, we’d always sneak in here and hide out behind the seats. Some nights, we even slept here.”
Well, shit. I knew he was from a rough part of the city, but I’m starting to realize that there’s still so much I’ve yet to learn about him.
“Where were your parents?”
He smiles, but it’s not a nice one. “High, probably. We didn’t even have a house. They just carted us from place to place, to whichever of their smacked-out friends would take them in next.” He shakes his head. “Half the time, they didn’t even remember us. We had to find them until one day, we just stopped trying.”
“How old were you when you stopped trying to find them?”
“Twelve. We were thrown into the system soon after, and that was that.”
We grab our food and drink from the old man when he hollers at us, before returning to his perch and his book behind the counter. Once inside the musty old theatre, I sit down and tell myself to forget about it. Not to ask any more questions when it’ll likely only make things worse. But the burning curiosity gets the better of me.
“You have a brother?”
He nods, throwing a handful of popcorn inside his mouth and mumbling around it. “Yep.”
“Does he still live in the city?” Even in the dim lighting, I notice his eyes darkening. His chiseled, stubble coated jaw hardening a little.
“No. He’s in jail.”
I almost choke on my popcorn. “For what happened? With stealing cars?”
He nods again. “Enough about me. How’re things at home with …?”
I notice how he doesn’t say it. The word husband. But I answer anyway. “The same, I guess.” His eyes narrow on me and I turn to face the crackling screen as the movie begins. We watch in silence for a while then his arm is looping around my neck, and his hand is drawing soft circles on the bare skin of my arm. I should tell him to move it, to stop it, but I get lost in the feeling of being relaxed. His presence, despite not being the man I desperately want, is somehow soothing.
About halfway through the movie, I check the time on my phone, knowing I’ll have to leave soon to pick up the kids on time. “You want to stay? I’m going to have to go back to my car in a minute.” I shift in my seat to ask him.
He drags his eyes from the screen to me. “I’ll walk you.”
I give him a nod, grabbing my purse and drink as he rises from his seat. I follow him out of the aisle, and he waits, wrapping a hand around my waist before we start the walk down the steps of the abandoned theatre. Just as we near the bottom, I hear a moan come from the movie still playing above us. My eyes fly to the screen, seeing the male lead with a half-undressed woman as they make out heatedly. I swallow thickly, so aware of Jared’s looming presence and his touch as we round the corner that goose bumps rise on my arms and a wave of heat overtakes me.
He must sense it because he stops, pulling me into the alcove right behind the closed doors to the theatre. He grabs my drink, tossing it in the trash can behind him before he moves quicker than lightning for my lips. I gasp loudly as his tongue instantly invades my mouth and touches mine, the taste of him overwhelming me beyond reason. He picks me up; my legs wrap around his waist, and my dress gathers around my hips as his hand snakes its way inside my panties.
My head rolls back against the wall with a moan as his finger tests my wet entrance before sliding inside to his knuckle and twisting as his tongue and teeth travel over my chin and the underside of my jaw. My thighs quiver and my breathing picks up when he groans into my ear. “So fucking warm. You like that, Blondie?”
I whimper as he continues to fuck me with his finger, making my head spin faster and faster. Then he presses his thumb to my swollen clit. “Oh, my … yes,” I croak.
“Coming so soon? And I thought we were friends, babe.” He snickers then removes his hand, and I cry out from the loss. I was so close I could taste it. I growl, glaring at him. He just laughs, pecking my lips and dropping my shaky legs to the dingy carpeted floor.
Then my panties are gone, and he’s on his knees, lifting one of my legs over his shoulder and swiping his tongue over my folds as he parts me with it.
“Holy …” My eyes slam shut, and I bite my lip to stop from crying out again when his finger re-enters me while his tongue flicks softly over my clit.
“Come on my tongue, Blondie,” he demands.
And mere seconds later, I do. He grabs both my thighs to help hold me up as I throw my head back and get lost in the sensations sweeping over me from head to toe.
Placing a soft kiss on my mound, he rises and tugs my dress down. I grab his face, pulling his lips to mine and turning him into the wall. I’m rewarded with a groan as I rub my tongue against his, tasting myself on him. “Blondie.” He pulls away, breathing heavily. “While I want nothing more than to bend you over and fuck you so hard you’ll be feeling me for days … you gotta go.” His words conflict with the desperation bleeding from his green eyes. But he glances away, and I take a step back.
Right. My kids. Shit. I run a shaky hand through my hair and look around for my panties. Jared grabs my hand, tugging me out of the theatre. Great, I hope the wind doesn’t pick up, but a glance at the clock on the wall in the lobby tells me I don’t have time to waste worrying about my undergarments. We race out the doors into the early afternoon sunshine streaking through the city avenues and skyscrapers. I don’t let go of his hand. I don’t even think about the fact that anyone could see me because my brain is still half mush thanks to his talented mouth and fingers.
Once we reach my car, he opens my door for me when I unlock it. I hop inside as he leans in, his arms stretching over the roof as he puckers his lips playfully at me. I laugh, grabbing his chin to gently kiss his lips. As I move away, his arms leave the car, and his hands weave into my hair. Tilting my head back, he slowly devours my mouth with his.
He pulls away, and it takes me a second to open my eyes. Once I do, I see him smiling softly at me. He reaches in to start the ignition and tug my seat belt on. My heart flutters crazily in my chest as he skims a finger over my kiss-swollen lips before closing the door and gently patting the roof. Slumping back in my seat, I try to catch my breath and clear my head enough to be able to drive. I glance into the rearview mirror just in time to see Jared’s swaggering backside disappear into the crowd as he walks away.
What the hell is he doing to me?