Page 5 of Courageous Yearnings

“We’ve met… and I knew it wasn’t memorable for you back then either. I did the financing paperwork for you when you bought your truck, Mr. Cortes and I was hoping to see you again someday,” she explained. “But never expected any of this.”

“What’s… this?” he asked bluntly.

“That you are just like every other man – and I was so wrong. You are nothing special. I thought this auction might be my chance to finally create a blip on your radar only to realize that it’s broken. You will never notice me except for the three minutes it takes to finish in bed.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold up,” Lance interrupted pointedly, feeling his face redden as he looked around, lowering his voice and hissing at her. “It’s not three minutes, you know. It’s at least an hour, I swear. Who told you that I only last three minutes? That’s a bunch of vicious lies and gossip from ex-girlfriends, I promise.”

“Oh my gosh,” she chuckled in dismay. “Do you even hear yourself?”

Then, to his utter surprise,

Blythe tossed up her hands in the air, turned, and started to walk away.

“Have a great life, Mr. Cortes… and heaven help the woman that does fall for your disgusting pickup lines. You are certainly not what I hoped for nor imagined.”

“You neither, lady!” he hollered after her… and then cursed angrily under his breath, knowing deep down inside that he’d just told a whopper of a lie. He looked up at the sky and whispered ‘Sorry’.

He then watched the sexiest creature in the universe climb into a very aggressive-looking Jeep before driving off. The last ten minutes were going to stick with him painfully for a long time because he was interested. A lot. However, those demands to go on a bunch of dates?

He just wasn’t ready for a commitment.

She obviously was.

Nope. Not gonna happen, he groaned silently and slumped his shoulders.

2

BLYTHE

A year later…

It still stung, and Blythe had to be a masochist deep down in her heart to continue to torture herself mentally after all this time. Loading up the screens on her computer, she punched in the next VIN number and began typing the customer’s name into the credit application.

“You just sit there and look pretty,” she hissed at the heart-shaped frame on her desk that held one of the photograph. Like a blooming idiot, she’d bought two copies of that infamous calendar. That calendar haunted her, making her life a nightmare because everyone who’d purchased one recognized her - and him. A few autographs, a few questions, several comments from other employees asking just how much her ‘date’ cost… yet she couldn’t let that photo go.

There was a look in his eyes, a yearning in his knowing smile, and she couldn’t even begin to count the number of times she’d allowed herself to fantasize about what could have happened. Regret was a heck of a thing… and she never imagined that she would ever regret having a strong backbone, morals, and ethics.

“You ready, Killer…” her boss asked, walking past her open office doorway and giving her a thumbs-up. “I’ll bring ‘em back to you if you are ready to get in the ‘ring’ with a big, fat T.K.O. for the team. Remember, if we hit our numbers, we’re all going for steak when we close out the month.”

“I remember.”

“Smile, take a deep breath, sharpen those claws, and go for the jugular, Blythe. You’ve got this…”

You are a slime bucket and the reason I drive a used car, she thought, plastering on a saccharine smile on her face as she gave him a thumbs-up. I’d rather pay a tech on the side and buy the parts myself than give this dumpster fire of a workplace another dollar. If you didn’t pay the bills so well, I’d quit!

“I’m soooo ready, boss,” she replied in a falsetto voice and shoved those feelings deep down inside. Her paycheck covered the bills, paid for her car, and helped build a little nest egg in case she finally cracked under the pressure.

One of these days… she smiled and gave him a thumbs-up again as he clapped enthusiastically, walking down the hallway to get her next victim. It was only seconds later that she heard her boss, Jack.

“Let me introduce you to the real lifesaver here at the dealership, Blythe. She does all the magic, makes things happen, and has saved all of our necks at one time or another. Blythe, you take good care of these folks, hon…”

Smiling easily, she extended her hand and shook theirs, waving her hand at the chairs.

“Smart choice,” she began, practically pressing the play button in her mind as she launched into her well-rehearsed script. “I was eyeing that beauty on the showroom floor myself, as my car is giving up the ghost – and it’s such a bargain! I mean, can you believe that it comes with free maintenance for three years?”

“It does?”

“Oh yes,” she agreed. “Now, let me tell you about another little-known secret. Have you ever heard of GAP? It sure saved me one time…” and internally sighed, feeling more despondent than ever.

---