Chapter Seven
Lucy
The air was becoming crisper, carrying the aroma of apples with every passing day. It was what I loved about the state of Washington. The spring bloomed with lovely flowers that filled my yard with colors and beautiful scents. I’d throw open the windows and risk getting everything covered in pollen just to have those smells permeate my home.
Fall was no different. I’d leave my windows open at night and wake up to the fresh scent of ripened apples, and it would make my mouth water. Every week, I’d go out and pick a few wild apples and fresh press them into juice so I could make my homemade apple cider. But every once in a while, I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to make an apple pie.
Angie and I flopped down in the back kitchen with Fred while he divvied out some food. Lunch rush had been brutal, but at least this time, the customers were less picky. I was wiping sweat off my brow, and Angie was fanning her underarms with the oscillating fan Fred kept with him. As she moved with the movement of the fan, Fred complained about her fat tits blocking the air.
“Hey. My fat tits get me laid, all right? Quit your yappin’.”
“Speaking of laid, honey, I had the best encounter last night,” Fred said.
“Oh, really? Do tell. Let some of us live our slutty lives through you,” I said.
“Big dick and eight pack is all I got to say ‘bout that. His little bitty he had with him enjoyed watchin’, too. She looked mighty fine fingering that little pussy of hers while I sucked her man off.”
“You have the best stories,” Angie said, giggling.
“Now, what’s all this nonsense ‘bout you living your sex life through us? Angie here still ain’t convinced you to start dating?” Fred asked.
“I’m just not ready yet. You guys know that.”
“Yeah, Fred. Get off her back. She’s been through some shit.”
“Honey, we all been through shit. Sex helps us get through that shit.”
“Can it, Fred,” Angie said.
“No, he’s fine.”
“Wait. He’s fine? When did this happen?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I just can’t get upset when people are right. I mean, it’s been three years. Would David have wanted me to be this miserable still?”
“Or sexless? Come on; you told me all them stories. He’d want you gettin’ some dick,” Fred said.
“You’re insane,” I said with a smile.
“Look. We all know David didn’t like comin’ in here with my expert food and shit, but we all loved him. And we all miss him. And he loved you with a passion, baby. But it’s time for you to find a new passion. One that eats pussy well, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“He loved you guys, too,” I said.
“Fred!”
“What, Kevin?”
“You done inventory, yet? One of the customers left a complaint about being out of decaf coffee and green beans. What the hell’s up with that?”
“Fucking customers and their picky bullshit. I’m going, Kevin. Right now. To work when I should be eating.”
“You can eat after you work. Let those girls enjoy their staff meal without your gross sex stories,” Kevin said.
“Now you’re just being insulting,” Fred said.
Angie and I smiled in amusement while we watched Fred stomp off to do inventory, but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. I’d dug myself a hole Angie had sat herself right into, and I knew the question that was coming before she even opened her mouth.
“You met someone, didn’t you?” she asked.
“He’s actually my new neighbor,” I said.
“Oh, God. You got a hot new neighbor. Tell me he’s single.”
“Yep. Has the cutest little daughter, too.”
“You hit the jackpot. A hot new neighbor who’s good with kids? I can feel my ovaries churning behind my stomach fat.”
“What happened to you and the skinny dude with the big dick?” I asked.
“Same story, different guy. The other one didn’t like licking the downstairs area.”
“Ew. No, thanks,” I said.
“Exactly! So, what’s this hot new single dad neighbor like?”
“Well, his name’s Jason, and he’s got these mesmerizing blue eyes. He’s new in town, works up at—”
“—the mechanic shop in the middle of town?” Angie asked.
“Yeah. How did you know? Have you met him already?” She seemed a bit surprised that Jason was my new neighbor, but then she slid her plate close to mine and got next to my ear. She was bound to deliver a blow of bad news that would wreck the fantasy running through my head every time I took a shower.
“He’s a bit different,” she said.
“Different how?” I asked.
“His life just isn’t all there, I guess. I don’t know; he’s always kind of distant. Jokes around with Mike a lot.”
“Who’s Mike?” I asked.
“For a girl who’s lived here for most of her life, you really need to keep up. Mike’s the playboy that works down at the mechanic shop. The one that’s always hitting on the moms?”
“Nope. Nothing,” I said.
“Anyway, from what I hear, Jason’s a bit of bad news. Like Mike, in a way. Except with a daughter.”
“Well, how bad can he be? I mean, he’s got a daughter who adores him. He can’t be that bad, right?” I asked.
“A man who comes into town and already has rumors circulating around him is never good news, Lucy. Seriously. Mike’s already been bragging about his sexual prowess with other women.”
“Why? Does Mike have personal experience?” I smirked. Angie giggled a bit before she took a massive bite of her burger and then quickly turned the conversation back to whatever she’d heard about Jason.
“It’s honestly shocking to me that you’ve already heard rumors. I mean, he’s new. Really new. What kind of rumors could he possibly have?” I asked.
“Well, my cousin’s friend’s friend told me he’s a hardcore womanizer. Apparently, wherever he came from, women called him Max because he’s slept with a maximum amount of women.”
“Oh, my gosh. You’re serious,” I said, giggling. “You can’t possibly think—”
“I’m just telling you what a good friend told me,” she said.
“Who heard it from her cousin’s friend. Really, that’s not newsworthy reliability, is it? I mean, do other people call him this?”
“Nope, he calls himself that,” she said.
“Well, good thing he introduced himself as Jason.”
“Lucy, this is serious. He’s bad news. He’s only gonna break your heart if you go after him.”
“Well, my heart’s already been broken enough for one lifetime. I’m sure some guy fucking and leaving won’t do me any more harm than life’s already dealt me,” I said.
“Fuckin’ and leaving’s the best kind,” Fred said. “What’d I miss?”
“Apparently my neighbor’s name is actually Max because he’s slept with a maximum amount of women,” I said.
“Holy shit, your neighbor’s that new mechanic?” Fred asked.
“Seriously. Did everyone know about him before I did?”
“Yes,” Angie and Fred said simultaneously.
“Look, he’s a single father whose wife left him, I think. I saw him with his daughter. He’s got a massive soft spot, and it’s probably a side of him many don’t see.”
“Maybe his wife left him for sleeping around,” Angie said.
“Or maybe his dick was too big, and she couldn’t handle it, so she turned to pussy instead just to free him up for me,” Fred said.
“You are relentless,” I said.
“Did he flirt with you the first time he met you? Or have you only dreamed of him from afar?” Angie asked.
“No, I haven’t. I introduced myself. And he might have flirted. A little. But nothing bad.”
“My Go—Lucy. Seriously. I get that people are pushing you to date and get laid and all this, but don’t do it with the first guy who comes around. Jason’s bad news, I’m telling you.”
“Look. Even if she did leave him for sleeping around, no good mother would leave their daughter with a bad man. So Jason’s got a good spot in him somewhere. Just because a guy likes to sleep around doesn’t make him a bad guy.”
“Oh, but bad guys are the best,” Fred said.
“Do you need a twenty-minute break to go to the bathroom?” I asked him.
“Nah. Gotta eat and get my strength up first. And honey, I’d need at least thirty.”
“Well, you’re obviously attracted to him. So, sleep with him,” Angie said.
“I like that advice,” Fred said.
“Wait. You just sat here and tried to convince me that my hot-ass, muscly, sweaty neighbor is a womanizing prick, and now you’re telling me to sleep with him?”
“Yep. It might even be a good thing, because if you start something with him and know it’s doomed, then it’ll help you get back in the saddle without any of the emotional ties to this dude.”
“Oh, emotionless sex. Girl, get it while you can. Emotions complicate everything,” Fred said.
“So, you want me to go screw my neighbor knowing he won’t care about anything else besides making me scream so I can stick my toe back into the world of men and try to find myself something?”
“And get pictures,” Angie said. “We all want pictures.”
“Besides it being an insane plan, I’m not that kind of person. I can’t just have sex with someone and not care about it. I’ve never been that way.”
“We’re not saying don’t care about the sex. Just don’t care about him,” she said.
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yep,” Fred said.
I dug into my lukewarm food while Angie and Fred continued to talk. I had five minutes to eat before I had to get back to work, and my mind had been preoccupied with Jason for this entire conversation. I couldn’t stop remembering the beads of sweat trailing along his neck or how much his daughter seemed absolutely taken by him. I couldn’t forget how his white-washed jeans hugged his tight ass or the feeling I got when I chanced to look at it. The curls of his hair still beckoned to my fingertips, even as the image flooded my mind. By the time Kevin’s voice ripped me from my trance, my nipples had become hardened nubs underneath my bra.
“Lucy! We got guests.”
I looked down at my plate and took one more bite of my potatoes before I shoved the plate to the side. I grabbed a sip of my soda before I wiped my hands on my apron, and all the while, Angie and Fred smirked at one another.
“Food not good?” Fred asked.
“Get over yourself,” I said with a snicker.
“Remember what I told you,” Angie said.
“You didn’t tell me shit.”
“Fuck him without any of the emotions. Get your pistons greased a bit before you throw your heart back into the game.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“Lucy,” Kevin said.
I went out to seat the booth of four and promptly took their drink orders. It was a mother with her two children, and a man who I assumed was her husband. The kids were ripping up napkins, and the mother was trying to calm them down, and I watched as the husband reached over and took the mother’s hand. For a split second, while the children were running around and creating havoc with the salt and pepper shakers, the man smiled at his wife, and she let out a sigh of relief. Just one look from him seemed to settle her entire being, and that’s when he lifted out of his seat and gave his wife a small kiss.
While I held the drink on my tray, he looked at me, and I couldn’t help but notice his eyes were the same blue as Jason’s.
Fuck, I had it bad.