Number Three
Amber
I reached the food shelter just in time to suit up and start serving. While I was there, Kevin came in. He was an older man that seemed to be down on his luck finding a job. He came in almost every night, along with his buddy, Mark. Each of them had a smile for me, and we chatted a little bit on topics from politics, how the world was changing, to what kinds of dogs I liked.
They were easy. They were nice and needed food. I was happy to serve them.
When the soup kitchen edged to a close, I started to notice I didn't feel well. A hot, prickly feeling throughout my body let me know I was getting sick. I almost never got sick, at least not that I could remember.
I got to my car and looked at my phone, realizing I still had no messages, either from Seth or Aaron.
***
When I went to work at the library the next morning, I still felt kind of hot, like my blood was boiling, and I needed to get out and do something.
At first break, Lane was cold to me, which was new. Frankie and Jan gave me curious looks. I'm sure they wondered about my lunch date. It was only one guy. Well, at least as far as they knew, and neither man had called me or bothered to text.
After a long day of work, I went home to get ready for our girl’s night out and considered what I should wear. I wanted a change for some reason, to look different than the clean lines and polished style I usually went for. I wanted to get laid, but that wasn’t going to happen with where we planned to go tonight.
Glancing through my wardrobe, I groaned. Other than work clothes, I only owned old blue jeans and modest wear. Nothing I was aiming for. I finally pulled out a black T-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans, along with some scissors. Lifting the pants up to my waist for measurement, I cut them into shorts, not too short, but short enough to show off my legs.
After that, I studied my black shirt. Laying it across the bed, I cut some slits in the back of it before stripping off the bottom hem and gathering up the back to turn it into a tank top with a braided edge. I stripped off the sleeves, then adjusted and cut the collar to a more appealing style.
When I finished, I threw it all on and stepped back to check myself out in the mirror. I admired the dangerous style of my new outfit, but my blaringly white legs caused me to laugh. The tank top was a little baggie, but still good. I resembled a punk rocker teen more than a grown-up, but I didn’t care. I looked edgy.
I decided to leave early from my house to pick up some new lipstick and makeup, wanting a change. Grabbing my stuff, I went out of my room past the empty bedrooms and into the front area where Mrs. James read a book in her chair.
She glanced over at me, her eyes widening as she noticed my outfit. “What in the world are you wearing?”
I blushed, pausing a step as I shifted from foot to foot. “I wanted a change, and you know how it is, just girl’s night. It's not like I’m going in to pick up guys. Just hanging out.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to explain myself. Maybe so she wouldn’t worry about me bringing strange men back to her house.
She nodded. “So you're trying something new?” She questioned, unsure of my state of dress.
“It seems so. We’ll just call it my rebellious stage since I don't know how my teenage years went.”
She gave a chuckle and waved a hand at me. “Aw, child. Don't worry, we all have those days. Go out, and have fun. Remember to call me when you're on your way home.”
“About that..." I hedged. “I think I'm going to crash at Maria’s house tonight. We’re planning on doing something tomorrow morning.”
“Okay then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Just check in every once in awhile. Let us know you’re still okay.”
“Sure!” I put my feet into motion toward the door.
The Jameses were very nice, very protective, and I couldn’t blame them. I didn't want to end up in the same situation they found me in.
On the drive to the store, I thought I felt the tingles again. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared so I ignored it and went and swung by the drug store for my new lip gloss before continuing on to pick up Maria.
I pulled up to her house, honking the horn, and she flounced out of the house wearing a hot pink shirt, skinny blue jeans, and tennis shoes that were easily interchangeable for our night of bowling. That's what we did for girl’s night. It was a stress reliever and pretty much the only thing to do around there, and we were good at it. Since I didn't drink, we didn't go to bars, although we did hang out at Pete’s Bar every now and then. I only went there because he carried my special drink and was the only one willing to serve it to me.
Maria opened up the door and slipped into the passenger seat of my car, giving me a wide smile.
She shut the door and put on her seatbelt. “Hey, you ready for tonight?”
“Yep.” I navigated the car toward the bowling alley we frequented.
She glanced over what I wore, from my cut up top down to the shorts, which had risen up since I sat down to reveal more of my blaringly white legs. “Woman, what did you do to your wardrobe?”
I frowned, now unsure if I should have gone out like this. “Think it's a little much?”
“Hot,” she said. “You finally do something worthwhile, and you’re wasting it to go to a bowling alley.” She tisked, shaking her head. “We should have gone to the club tonight.”
I snorted. “When have I ever gone to the club with you?”
Maria rolled her eyes. “Like, never. You need to get out more. To have fun.”
“I know, I know,” I said in a patronizing voice, taking on her sex oozing tone. “Look young, stay young. Flaunt it while you have it. Don't let a good thing pass you by. Or, or,” I spoke louder before she could jump in. “If a guy's package is bigger than an eight-ounce steak, honey, you never pass it up.”
My friend gave me a look as she flipped open my visor to use the mirror, swiping on some mascara. “Girl, do you want me to give you more? Because I can give you more rules. We could do this.”
I chuckled. “No more rules.”
“Good, because here's the deal. If we go bowling and it royally sucks, then we're going out dancing. You got it? We’re just going to leave and go to a club. Because you look hot.”
I glanced at her as she put her mascara away before shifting my attention back to the road. “You don’t even have dancing shoes. You're wearing tennis shoes for bowling.”
“I do, too.” She grabbed her bag off the car floor and lifted it up. “Right in here. Don’t leave home without them. I'm always prepared.”
I gave up. “All right, fine. If bowling sucks, like you said, we’ll go dancing at a club.”
She squealed. “We should just skip bowling and go dancing. I mean, come on, it's not like any of the others will care. We should do that. We should totally do that.” She nodded as if deciding for the two of us.
I shook my head. “No, I like bowling.”
Maria pouted. “But we go bowling all the time. How about this, you get one game. One game, and if we’re bored after that, we leave to go to a club. Deal?”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Deal.”
“Good.”
“Unless there’s a hottie there—”
“Which will never happen,” she interrupted me.
“Well, with how my luck’s been…” I shrugged. “They just seem to show up.”
Maria put out a hand as her eyebrows shot upward. “Whoa, whoa, wait. There’s been another one, and you didn’t tell me?”
I spared her a shameful glance. “Maybe?”
“Ooo, woman, you’re in deep. Tell me what happened.”
“He came into the library. He actually wanted a book I was reading that I had stashed away.”
“No way, girl. Is he like an old guy? Or a geek? A geek that’s maybe tall and rich?”
“No, he’s an army man. Anyway, he wanted to have lunch, and I’d just had my break. He offered to bring me food. So, I let him. Especially since he let me pick. I chose my favorite place.”
That had her leaning towards me and whispering, “No way, he went to Pete's?”
“Yep.” I nodded, popping the P. “He went to Pete's.”
Maria sat back in her seat and pouted. “How come you're getting all the good ones? Why can’t I find me a man like that?”
I laughed and spared her a glance. “Maybe if you worked out at the gym with me?”
Her lips twisted, and she waved her hand. “Oh, shush.”
I turned back to the road and continued, “Or maybe read a book?”
“Shoot, none of that.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Don't even go there.”
“Then maybe you would find a guy like I have,” I finished with a grin.
“You're doing just fine with what you're doing. And I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing.”
I raised a brow at her. “What is it that you're doing?”
“Waiting. Some guy is going to swoop me up, and he’s going to be it for me.” She batted her thick eyelashes at me. “Until then, I’m going to have some fun.”
I laughed. “Like the bowling alley.”
“Mm-hm, and clubbing.”
***
We were halfway through our first game when the tingling sensation returned once again, and my eyes shot to the bowling alley door just as a man who had to be seven feet tall walked inside. He had brown hair, and when his gaze shot to mine, he had the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen. His lips curled up into a smile, and he gave me a nod as if he knew exactly who I was. What we both felt.
Jannie pushed my shoulder as she whispered, “Look at him.”
“Did you see that?” another one uttered.
My friends turned to me. “He winked at you, Amber.”
I turned to face them, blushing. “Yeah.”
I could feel the connection like a tether line between the two of us. My body heated as I tried not to stare at him. Watch him.
We went back to our game, and as it went on, my mouth became dry. I excused myself, walked over to the concession counter, and grabbed a bottle of water. Even then, I sensed him watching me.
Before I could pay for my drink, he came up behind me, laying a bill on the counter. “I can get that.”
I turned my body and found his close to mine. As he reached for my water bottle, I glanced up into his deep blue eyes.
“Hey, babe,” he whispered. “You here with your girls?”
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “Yeah.”
He maneuvered us to the side and lifted his hand to brush a stray strand of hair away, tucking it behind my ear. Then, his fingertips dropped, tracing across my cheek until they got to the tip of my chin. Sparks of electricity went through me like lightning. His fingertips left my chin and met my bare shoulder, again trailing downward as he studied the blue and purple sparks leaving a trail of crackles in their wake. He captured my fingertips.
I leaned in and smelled him. It was that spicy scent of fresh ground curry with a tinge of peppers that had my mouth watering. He was flaming hot with all sorts of temptation.
His lips brushed my ear. “You know what this is, right?”
I nodded.
He leaned back to stare down at me. “I need the words, babe.”
I sank into him as his arm curled around my waist. “I understand.”
He brought me in closer. “I’ll never hurt you.”
Again, I nodded, remembering what Aaron said before. I felt it all over my body, and a whimper escaped. What was going on with me?
His head dipped, and his lips met my ear once more. “You finish your game, you find me.” His hand caressed down my back and stopped at the rise of my ass. “I'll take care of you.”
He kissed my earlobe, eased away, then grabbed his change before turning around and going back to his place at the bar.
I exhaled as a tremor ran through my body. I didn't know his name. He didn't know mine. But I definitely knew I was going home with him tonight.
Guy number three.