Page 2 of Loathe at First Sight

“Alright.” The woman tucks her card back into her wallet. “Do you have an ATM?”

“Back in the corner.”

“Great.”

“But it doesn’t work.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” the woman snaps. “How the hell am I supposed to pay for gas?”

Gina points to the sign again without saying a word.

“Nobody carries cash anymore.”

“Maybe you don’t. But plenty of other people do.”

“Like who? People who don’t embrace modern technology?”

Gina points to the line that is getting longer by the minute. “All the people behind you who I am sure know how to read a simple sign.”

“How am I supposed to pay for things?”

Gina shrugs her shoulders. “Not my problem. If you can’t pay, why don’t you get out of line for someone who can?”

The way the woman stands with one hand on her hip tells me she’s ready to go toe-to-toe with Gina. Maybe that’s not the best idea, though. I know for a fact that Gina has been robbed before and now carries a loaded shotgun underneath the counter she stands behind.

They stare at each other in a silent battle of wits, each of them with their arms now crossed over their chests.

Wanting to step in and try to diffuse this situation, I walk to the counter and set a hundred on the counter. “Here, Gina. I’ve got it. Just put whatever is left on pump two.”

The woman looks from me to the bill I just laid down. Her eyes narrow in on me as she stops Gina from taking the money.

“What are you doing?” She asks. “You don’t even know me.”

“No, but I know that you’re holding up the line here, and I think at this point, all of us would be happy if you just got your gas and left.”

“Look, it’s not my fault that this place still lives in the dark ages. Turning people away for not having cash is insane.”

Man, this woman is something else. I’m trying to help, and she still wants to stand here and argue. She turns her body toward me, telling me she’s ready to move this fight to me instead of just Gina.

Two can play that game.

“Well, princess, it may sound insane to you, but it doesn’t mean they are going to change their way of doing things. No matter how much of a fit you throw.”

I watch her jaw clench and know that I’ve hit a nerve. Now that I can get a better look at her, I see how attractive she really is—although her acting like this knocks her down a few pegs on the hotness scale.

I think that she’s getting ready to start yelling—or throwing punches—but instead, she drags her sunglasses down over her eyes and picks up her keys off the counter.

“You know what?” She scoffs. “I don’t have time for this. You can take your handout and shove it up your ass.”

With that, she storms out, and I take her place at the counter.

“Gina, you okay?” I ask.

She waves her hand as if wiping it all away. “Oh, Jack, that’s not my first rude customer, and I’m sure as hell it won’t be my last. Don’t worry about it.”

While Gina rings me up, I look out the window and watch Miss Cranky get into her car. Back in the day, I would have taken one look at her and immediately tried to get her to come home with me—bad personality or not. And in my former life, I’m sure that she would’ve come willingly. Women like her seemed to flock to me.

But now? Now, things are different. I stay as far away from women like that as I can. You couldn’t pay me to date a fancy city girl again.

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