Chapter Two
The apartment is pitch dark and silent when something pulls me from sleep. Sitting up in bed, I glance at the clock. Four a.m. Hmm, maybe I was dreaming. A slight clicking noise sounds from the living room. I’ve always been a light sleeper so that must be what woke me, but I have no idea what it is. I’ve lived here long enough to know the normal nighttime sounds of the water heater banging, the furnace kicking on, the air in the pipes.
Without turning on a light, I creep into the living room. I’ve locked the front door, but as I’m staring at it, the handle begins to turn. It stops, then turns again, back and forth.
What the hell? Ice drips down my spine, and I feel like I’m in one of those cheesy horror movies where the girl always does something stupid like opening the door or calling out “Who’s there?”
As quietly as I can, I creep to the door and peer out the peephole. All I can see is a dark figure, definitely a man, standing on my step. There’s no way I’m turning on the porch light to get a better look. Instead, I run and grab my phone.
The nine-one-one operator answers quickly. “Please send the police to 207 Violet Circle. A man is trying to get in my apartment.”
“Are your doors and windows locked?”
Shit. Are my windows locked? Cold fear washes over me as I try to remember. “The doors are. I think the windows are.”
I’m standing in the hall when I see the back door handle turn. Same as the front. Back and forth a few times before it stops. “He’s at my back door now.”
“A car is less than a minute away. Stay on the phone with me.”
I can hear him walking around the outside of my apartment, back to the front. I feel safer when I know where he is, so I return to the living room after blindly grabbing for a knife I left on the counter.
I hear the pop of the seal on the living room window as he gets it open. “Get the fuck out of here or I’ll cut your balls off!” I scream.
Before he can react, a spotlight illuminates the room and relief floods through me at the sound of the officer’s voice.
“Freeze! Get down!”
I rush to the window and look out in time to see an officer tackle the guy as he tries to run.
“Ma’am, ma’am?”
I realize the dispatcher is still trying to talk to me. “Yes, I’m here. The officer tackled him. He’s sitting on the ground handcuffed.”
“I’m going to let you hang up now. Please stay inside until the officer asks you to come out.”
“I will. Thank you.”
My mind is at ease, but my body hasn’t quite caught up, judging by the way my heart is trying to leap from my chest. I jump when there’s a knock on the door, but it’s just the officer.
“Can you step outside, please?” he asks.
Wrapping my arms around my middle, I follow him out into the cool night air where a group of guys sit in a pickup truck. Apparently, they’re his friends. The guy who scared the shit out of me doesn’t appear to be a day over eighteen.
He stares up at me with wide terrified eyes. “She told me to come on in! So I wouldn’t wake her mother!”
The officer gives him a stern look and tells him to shut up before turning to me. “Do you know him?”
“No, I’ve never seen him before, and I sure as hell didn’t invite him over. He tried to get in my front and back door. He would’ve been through the window if you hadn’t showed up.”
“He claims he spoke with you on a dating app and you told him to come on in so as not to disturb your mother.”
“Disturbing my mother would be hard considering she’s buried out in Jother Cemetery.”
“So you didn’t speak to him.”
“No.”
At this point, the boy looks ready to break into tears. “You did! You gave me your address. 205 Violet Circle!”
“Yeah, well, I’m in 207.”
The realization of what he’s done crashes over him. “I-I got the wrong apartment. I’m sorry!”
The officer turns to him and starts chewing him out. “You’re damn lucky she didn’t have a gun or we could be scooping you off of her floor.”
After scolding him and his friends, he asks me if I want to press charges. The boy’s eyes are pleading with me to have mercy. He may have scared the shit out of me, but it was just a mistake. I don’t want to get him locked up for being stupid.
“No, it was a mistake, I guess.”
The officer nods and his lips tilt up in a grin. “What were you going to do with that? Butter him to death?”
The knife I grabbed from the counter is still clutched in my hand. A fucking butter knife. “I panicked and grabbed the closest thing,” I reply with a giggle.
The officer laughs. “I’m going to search them all before I release them, but you shouldn’t have any more problems tonight. Don’t hesitate to call if you do.”
“Thank you.”
I toss the butter knife inside on my coffee table, then turn my porch light on and sit outside to watch while the officer searches the young men. Neal, the single dad from across the street, walks over and joins me.
“Are you okay, Cass? Did something happen?”
“Everything is okay. Some stupid kids got the wrong apartment. He’s going to let them go.”
“Not all of them, I guess,” Neal points out as another officer arrives. The guy who tried to break in and one of his friends are handcuffed.
The officer hands the other a bag of weed and what looks like a pipe or some other paraphernalia to the arresting officer. “That’s on them. I didn’t press charges.”
Neal stays until they all leave and the sky is starting to lighten. “There are no young women living next door!” I blurt.
“What?”
“He told the cop that a woman told him to come on in so he wouldn’t wake her mom. The only woman living next door is Lola, and she’s sixty years old and disabled. Her son lives with her.”
“Yeah, that quiet kid, what’s his name?”
“Jasper.”
Yawning, I shake my head. “He said 205. I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter. I doubt they’ll be back.”
Neal gets to his feet. “Still, you need to lock your windows and doors at night. And if you ever have another problem, you call me, hear?”
“I will. Thanks. I’m going to go back to bed.”
“Me too. My daughter will be up early.”
“Thanks for checking on me.”
“Anytime,” he says and walks away.
* * * *
Wyatt is waiting for me when I arrive at Scarlet Toys for my first shift. Instead of the suit he wore the day before, he’s dressed in a polo shirt and a pair of dark slacks. It doesn’t matter what he wears, he could be dressed in feety pajamas and a sombrero and any woman would be eager to strip him.
After we get all the tax paperwork out of the way, we head to the sales floor to start unpacking the boxes. Wyatt pulls a pink, slinky, baby doll nightie from a box and tosses it to me.
“Where should I put it?” I ask.
“It’s your uniform.”
Shocked, I’m not even sure what to say. There’s no fucking way I’m wearing this in public. After a few seconds, his deep laughter fills the room. “Relax, I’m kidding. You should see your face.”
Tossing the nightie aside, I mumble, “You are a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.”
His gaze lands on me and one side of his mouth lifts in a sexy, crooked grin. “I’m a pretty good judge of who can take a joke.”
“Remember that when I get revenge.”
Laughing, he scoots a box over to me and hands me a printed layout of the store and where the items are to be displayed. I’m happy to know he isn’t one of the stuffy, asshole bosses I usually get stuck with. It’ll be nice to have a relaxed, fun work environment. And having his sexy ass to look at and drool over is a definite plus as well.
The back door opens and we’re joined by Jani and by the older lady who was working at the diner yesterday. He didn’t waste any time hiring help.
“Good, everyone’s here,” he says, getting to his feet and brushing the cardboard dust from his pants. “This is Cassidy West,” he says, gesturing to me. “She’s the general manager so you’ll be working under her once we open.”
“And who will she be…under?” Jani asks with a mischievous smile.
Ignoring her obvious innuendo, Wyatt smiles. “I’m the owner, so she’ll bring any problems or concerns to me. I understand you and Cassidy know each other, and this is Martha.”
Martha gives us a quick wave as he continues, “The last of our little team will be joining us soon, when his church lets out.”
I don’t know if it’s the mention that the last employee is male or that he’s coming from church to work at a sex toy store that makes me laugh, but it appears to be contagious as Jani and Martha follow suit.
“Okay, Cass, you can get started, and Jani and Martha, come with me.”
After studying the diagram, I decide to start with the wall of vibrators. I drag over a few boxes and locate a step stool so I can reach the top hooks.
Good god, I never realized there were so many kinds of vibrators. Aside from the normal rubber, metal, and plastic, there are a ton of novelty designs.
I can’t help but snort at the sight of some of them as I hang the rows of packages. Who in the world would want a Squido? In case you haven’t had the pleasure of discovering this little gem, it’s a rubber, white, squid shaped dildo, complete with tentacles.
That may be a bit strange, but the whale penis dildo is just plain scary looking. It’s more like a stiff plastic spike. Ouch.
I’ve filled up a couple of rows when Wyatt, Jani, and Martha return. The older man I told about our apartment’s maintenance position follows them in. I expected he’d run the second he found out what the business was. I guess there are more open-minded people in town than I thought.
“You can help Cass on the vibrator wall,” Wyatt directs as Martha begins arranging lingerie on racks and Jani starts unloading DVD’s on the other side of the room.
“Hi, I’m Clarence,” the man introduces himself with a warm smile. He looks like he’s in his fifties with salt and pepper hair and a short, graying beard.
“Cass,” I reply, shaking his hand. I give him the printout that Wyatt gave me, and he nods, getting to work beside me.
Wyatt is moving a ladder around the room, messing with wires under the ceiling tiles. An hour passes in companionable silence as we all focus on the work. I’m sliding a dolphin shaped vibe on the rack when I feel a tap on my leg and look down into bright eyes.
“Sorry, I need to get in here for a moment,” Wyatt says.
He could get in whatever he wants. Shit, I’m even willing to try anal and I’ve always avoided that.
“Sure.” I move my step stool aside so he can put the ladder beside it.
He climbs up and starts messing with the wiring, and I return to stocking just a foot or so below him, which gives me a great view of his ass, right by my face.
I can’t resist looking back at Jani, who grins and holds up her hands, squeezing an invisible set of ass cheeks in the air. Martha also notices, and my giggles escape when she bends over and pretends to slap her ass. This poor guy is being ogled by his employees, except for Clarence, who is focused on stocking an inflatable cushion with a dildo attached in the center.
I turn back to my work, but not for long. Wyatt’s foot slides and he slips down a rung, his hand instinctively going to my shoulder to brace himself. It keeps him from falling, but my stool tips and I fall flat on my back into a box of vibrators. And not the soft, rubbery ones.
“I’m so sorry!” he exclaims, jumping from the ladder and rushing to me. Clarence does the same. I’m okay, but the breath has been knocked out of me, so all I can make is a pitiful braying noise like a donkey. So attractive.
Wyatt grabs my hands and lifts my arms above my head. His voice is calm and reassuring. “You’re okay. Don’t fight it. Just let it come back.”
I’m finally able to get a gasp of air and the next breath is easier. If you’ve never had the wind knocked from you before, I don’t recommend it.
“I’m okay,” I assure them. “But something hard is sticking me in the back.”
They help me out of the smashed box and Clarence grabs the object that was poking me. “Good thing it hit your back,” he jokes, holding up a large plastic ear of corn, complete with individual kernels. “You could’ve been impaled on a cornbrator.”
“Who the hell wants to be fucked by an ear of corn?” I complain.
“Gives a whole new meaning to the term cornhole,” Martha laughs.
“Wait until we get to the dino dicks,” Wyatt replies, still looking concerned. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”
“I’m fine, really.” I’m sure I’ll end up with a few bruises, but it’s no big deal.
Wyatt sighs and runs a hand through his dark, wavy hair. “I could use a coffee. Let’s take a break.”
Martha volunteers to run to the coffee shop down the road, and Wyatt hands her a credit card to get everyone a drink.
The day goes by faster than I expect and at eight o’clock, Wyatt sends Martha, Jani, and Clarence home. It appears they’ll be working from noon until eight while we pull longer hours.
Jani winks at me on her way out the door and calls, “Don’t do anything I’ve already done!”
Thankfully, Wyatt is out of earshot. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about being left alone with a man who will definitely feature in my dreams and fantasies whether I want him to or not.
He’s my boss, and I need this job so I can’t sleep with him. At least that’s what I tell myself. Besides, the guy is pretty far out of my league. I mean, I’m no uggo, but he’s gorgeous and successful. He probably has some beauty queen girlfriend somewhere.
It doesn’t matter anyway since he spends the rest of the shift doing paperwork in the back while I put away stock. We finally call it a night around ten and Wyatt insists on walking me to my car. It’s a sweet gesture, but the thought makes me laugh. If he only knew what neighborhood I live in and what I dealt with last night.
I’m dead tired when I get home. I’m not used to working long hours and my back is sore from my fall. After a long, hot bath, my bed is screaming my name. I have to be up early to get my hair trimmed before work so it’s definitely time to call it a night. First, I check to make sure all my windows and doors are locked since I don’t want a repeat of the night before, although I don’t think it’s likely. I saw the terror on those boys’ faces.
* * * *
“Well, you know the word is getting around about it,” Ms. Larkin says in a faux whisper, like the whole beauty shop can’t hear her.
I really hate coming here, but it’s the only decent place in town that doesn’t leave my hair looking like it’s been chewed off by goats. It’s always so damn gossipy. I pretty much block everything out, but her next words draw my attention.
“Those boys were going to show him what happens when you try that sick stuff here, but they got the wrong house and ended up getting picked up for weed. Can you imagine? They didn’t even investigate!”
“What were they going to do?” another lady asks as she waits with a head full of foils.
“Kick his perverted ass up and down the street! Imagine, pretending to be a woman then luring in men so they find you naked! What did he expect to happen?”
“Oh Lord, how did they find out it was a man and not a woman?”
Ms. Larkin purses her lips, clearly pleased by her captive audience. “Minnie’s boy fell for it. He answered some ad and traded messages with the guy. He told him he was a lonely woman looking for some fun, even posted a fake picture. Told him to climb through the back window so he wouldn’t wake his mother. Well, he fell for it and when he showed up and climbed in, a young guy was waiting for him, naked as the day he was born!”
The ladies all gasp. I can’t believe what I’m hearing as all the dots are being connected. They’re talking about my neighbor, Jasper. That’s why the dude was trying to get in my place. They intended to drag him out and jump him.
I don’t care that Jasper is gay, but I don’t need him running a damn ad, then telling people to climb in the window when people are getting the wrong apartment. And I have to agree with the gossiping old biddy on one thing; what did he expect would happen when the guy arrives to find the opposite of what he’s looking for?
This is not good. I have no idea what to do about it, though. Do I confront Jasper, let him know I inadvertently saved his ass? That if they hadn’t gotten the wrong apartment, he’d have been beaten to a pulp? I have to at least make sure he isn’t still running the ad. Our apartments are connected. It wouldn’t be hard for a guy to get the wrong window again.
“What do you think?” Sara, my stylist, asks, handing me a mirror so I can see the back.
“Looks great. Thank you.” I pay her and head straight back home.
After arguing with myself for a few minutes, I march next door and knock on the door. Jasper’s little red car is parked in its spot, so I know he’s home, but he doesn’t answer.
“Fine,” I grumble to myself. I tried to do it the respectful way, but now I’m pissed.
I grab a piece of paper and write a note.
Jasper,
I tried knocking as I’m sure you know, but you won’t answer so you leave me with this option. Please take down whatever ad you’re running or at least tell the guys to knock on your door, not come on in or climb through a window. I’m sure you saw what happened last night, but in case you aren’t aware, those boys were here to jump you for misleading them on the state of your genitalia. Instead, they tried to get through my window. So knock that shit off before someone gets hurt.
Cassidy
I close the note in his screen door before hopping in my car and heading to work. Now that he knows how close he came to getting jumped, I doubt I’ll have any more problems. Seriously, though, it seems like all the weird stuff happens to me.
The next week is uneventful both at home and at work. We get the store squared away quicker than anticipated and Wyatt shows us his appreciation in the form of pizza. Friday evening, Jani, Martha, and Clarence are hanging the last few signs and displays while I work on the first week’s schedule. It’s not that difficult. Jani, Martha, and Clarence have written down what hours they’d prefer and none are too limiting. The only gap I notice is during the late night hours, and since I’d prefer to keep the late shift, I’m happy about it.
Jani is open to any shift, and Martha would prefer to work early or midday. Like me, Clarence would rather sleep in and close, except on Saturday nights when he has church the next morning. After a few minutes of shuffling things around I’ve managed to give everyone what they want and provide sufficient hours. As the GM, I don’t have to clock in or out. I just have to be here whenever I’m needed to keep things running smoothly.
Wyatt enters with two huge pizzas. His face brightens with a smile that never fails to make me picture him naked, and he announces, “I thought we could all use a little reward for a job well done.”
A general cheer goes up and a few minutes later we’re all seated on the carpeted floor eating pizza. “Is everyone ready for our grand opening tomorrow?”
“I’m ready to see if anyone will actually show up,” Martha replies, voicing the same fear I have.
We have a sign that reads “Parking in Rear” posted out front. If that isn’t the funniest shit to post in front of an adult shop, then I don’t know what is. Anyway, the idea is to allow customers to park where they can’t be seen from the street in the hopes that they’ll be more likely to come in and shop.
“The grand opening ad will run in tomorrow morning’s paper in town and in some of the surrounding towns as well. People will show up. Curiosity will draw them in,” Wyatt assures us.
Jani crosses her legs and leans back on her palms. “Speaking of curiosity, boss, I have a few questions.”
Oh no. There is no telling what will come out of this woman’s mouth. I called dibs, but she also knows I have no intention of fucking around with my boss no matter how much I want to lick him. Or wrap my hands around that hair and pull it while he…
“Go on,” Wyatt replies. Damn, there I go again, just fantasizing about him in front of everyone.
“You don’t wear a ring so I assume you aren’t married. Girlfriend?”
Yep. Straight to the point.
Wyatt laughs and shakes his head. “Not currently, no. I work a lot which forces me to move a lot.”
“Awesome answer.”
The corner of his mouth twitches as he regards her. “I also don’t get involved with employees.”
“Ugh!” Jani falls to her back and lets out a dramatic moan. “Why must I need this job?”
Everyone laughs, and Martha swats her on the leg. “Don’t you have a man?”
“Not one I wouldn’t totally throw out on his ass.” She sits up. “Are you married, Martha?”
“For thirty years,” she announces proudly before turning to me. “Cass, any beau’s at the moment?”
“Nope, can’t say there are. I did have a guy try to get in my window last week, but sadly, he had the wrong house.” I’m no virgin, but the truth is I’ve never had a real relationship. “Clarence?” I ask, shifting the focus to him.
“Not married, but I have a boyfriend.”
There’s one I didn’t see coming.
He turns to Wyatt and asks a question I had wondered about but didn’t want to ask. “By the way, do we get some kind of employee discount?”
We all burst into laughter, and Martha snorts. “Right? No fair paying full price for your butt plugs.”
“Martha!” I swat her arm. “Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he uses butt plugs.”
“What?” She shrugs. “What’s wrong with butt plugs? I have three!”
After we hear that hilarious—if not slightly disturbing—information, Wyatt speaks up. “Yes, you get a twenty percent discount on everything.”
Jani laughs and gets to her feet. “There you go, Martha. You can stock up.”
“Don’t think I won’t, missy.”
The absurdity of someone who uses the word missy and can also talk butt plugs and vibrators cracks me up.
We spend the next few minutes getting to know each other a little better before Wyatt calls it a night. “We’ve got a long, exciting day tomorrow.”