Page 3 of Crave Me

“Evan,” I interrupt, mentally kicking myself for morphing into a fourteen year old boy the moment my eyes locked on this woman.

“Okay, Evan,” she says. “Penny, please show Evan the latest members of the Ford family.”

“Of course, this way, sir,” Penny answers with a grin.

I reluctantly follow behind Penny. But as we reach a black Explorer my gaze trails back to Wren. She and Oscar have moved away from the showroom and closer to the rear offices. Yet it does little to muffle their exchange.

“What the fuck was that?” Oscar snaps.

My spine stiffens. I storm forward, ready to demand he apologize for using such foul language in the presence of a lady.

“You being a raging asshole,” Wren replies.

I’ll admit, her response gives me pause. And she doesn’t stop there. “Look, I know you have to compensate for your less than average-sized dick. But that doesn’t give you the right to mistreat Penny or pounce on every client she approaches. That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“Um, perhaps a truck will be more to your needs,” Penny says, motioning to the opposite side of the dealership and away from the heated conversation.

I don’t typically involve myself in affairs that don’t concern me, nor do I interact with women who speak in such a manner. But it’s not simply Wren’s colorful vocabulary that captivates me, it’s her strength and desire to defend her small friend.

“Where the fuck did you hear that?” Oscar responds. “I don’t have a small dick.”

Of all his possible retorts, this is the one he chooses?

“Suze,” Wren calls over her shoulder in the direction of the finance counter. “What was it you said about that night you went out with Oscar?”

The woman behind the counter scowls and holds up her pinky. Wren smirks. “Looks to me like you should have called her back.” She pats his shoulder. “My condolences to your man parts.”

She starts to walk away, stopping when she realizes I witnessed their encounter. Instead of making a quick escape or pretending I didn’t hear them, she walks toward me with her head raised. “Sorry about that, Mr. Jonah?”

“Evan,” I clarify as she reaches me.

Her smile stirs one of my own. “Evan,” she repeats, lifting a hand toward her friend. “I see Penny is taking good care of you.”

“Um, maybe you can take over,” Penny says. She edges away, aware how taken I am with Wren.

Wren tilts her head. “I don’t want to step all over your pitch,” she says.

“You’re not,” she responds. “I’ll take the next one. Honest.”

Wren waits for Penny to leave before turning to face me. She considers me a moment, but then motions back to the Explorer. “This is the latest model in Ford luxury,” she begins. “Comfortable, secure, capable of meeting all your commuting needs, and packed with plenty of toys.”

I follow her as she leads me around the vehicle. The ease of her speech and relaxed posture demonstrate a confident woman who knows her job well. I question her about the vehicle’s basics first: mileage, warranty, and safety features, before testing her intelligence further. She doesn’t disappoint, explaining everything in detail down to the engine’s construction, adding to my growing attraction.

“Would you like to take her for a ride?” she asks. She punches my arm affectionately, the motion only briefly luring my attention away from her delicate features. “This way you can see how smoothly she handles the road and ask, ‘Wren, how did I ever survive without a Ford?’”

“I’d like that,” I answer, my deep voice quieting. This woman who appears more elite model than sales representative knows exactly what she’s doing. “Very much.”

“Good,” she says, pointing at me. “You’ll wonder how you ever got along without her.”

As I watch her walk away, I start to wonder that myself.

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