Page 28 of Triplets for the Russian Boss

Bonnie

Kostin pulls the mustang over beside a shoddy corner store that probably only has off brand tampons, but I’m not actually here for those. My idea involves making Kostin wait in the car.

I open the door to the mustang as Kostin goes for his seatbelt. “Better for you to stay here,” I say, as I step out.

He raises an eyebrow.

“We don’t know each other well enough for you to be all up in my business, Kostin. Could you just let me have a second of privacy, to do what I need to do?”

“I wasn’t going to go in with you,” he replies. “I was about to smoke a cigar.”

“Oh,” I say, losing my fake attitude immediately. “Would you like me to get you anything while I’m there?”

“A new lighter would be nice,” he says, pulling his old blue one out and shaking it. “I think this one is almost finished.”

“Anything you want, boss,” I say with a wink.

The door closes with a satisfying thud, and I stride out into the hot Texas air. Behind me, I can feel Kostin’s eyes on my ass through the window. Kostin gave me a small pair of white shorts that belonged to his old “assistant”. I don’t think about who she may have been to him because it brings up feelings of jealousy.

Again, I have no business getting wrapped up in that man again. Jealousy is not something I’m going to entertain. He can fuck any bitch he wants, as long as it isn’t me.

The bell to the corner store rings with an almost deafening tone, as I enter, alerting the scruffy cashier to shuffle back behind the counter, even though I haven’t grabbed anything yet. I can feel his eyes on me, watching as I quickly head to the back of the shop. I don’t need anything there, but I feel more comfortable to be out of his line of sight. It also means that Kostin can’t see me from the parking lot.

I look around, praying that there will be a cheap phone, preloaded with a SIM card, so that I can call Kate again. She won’t like that I’ve been away for so long already, but I told her it might be a few days until I’m in contact again.

I can only see sodas and energy drinks in the coolers lining the back of the store, so I open one of the suctioned doors and grab a black can to drink on the way to California. If we’re not taking a plane, like last time, then it’s going to be a long ride.

It’s fifteen hours from the west side of Texas to the south of California. I know that because I did a car trip straight across the bottom half of the United States when I was young and free. We drank, we smoked, and we generally didn’t give a shit about tomorrow.

Look where it got me.

I head to the front of the store, scanning the aisles as I go for anything that might be useful. I’ve already eaten, and I’m sure Kostin isn’t going to drive the entire way without stopping for lunch. I don’t really need anything, aside from the tampons I said I was coming in for. Kostin would never trust me if I forgot them. He’d know I was lying.

So, I grab a cheap box from the bottom shelf before arriving at the cashier. It’s only when I place my stuff on the counter that I see the old plastic phones hanging on the smoke-stained wall, behind the cashier’s head.

“Hey, could I get one of those phones?” I ask, pointing past him.

He frowns. “We don’t have phones,” he grumbles.

“But you do, right there,” I say, jabbing my finger out.

He sighs, turning his head. He grabs a phone from behind him, scanning the barcode on the back of the box without even asking if it was the one that I wanted. People are so rude.

“Does it come with a SIM card?” I ask.

He looks up at me. “It does.”

“Is it charged? Like, do I need to put minutes on it or what?” I ask.

“You’d have to charge it.”

“Can I do that here?” I ask, annoyed by his choppy answers. I don’t expect the best service in a place like this, but this guy is determined to do the bare minimum.

“How much do you want?”

“How much what?”

“How many hours, honey, come on. Don’t keep me here all day,” he grumbles, quickly growing impatient - even though he’s the one dragging this out.

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