Page 16 of Something New

“Mm…don’t tempt me now.” She laughs and bites into her messy sandwich.

“Shut up and don’t get sauce on the ticket!” I pick it up before it’s an unreadable mess. He sure does have nice handwriting. Clean and sharp. Usually, I can hardly make out what these things say. Noah James…cute cop with an even cuter smile.

“Why are you smiling? It’s a ticket, not a check. Your hard-earned money is coming out of your pocket, not going in.”

“I wasn’t smiling. I was admiring his penmanship.”

“Penmanship, you have got to be kidding me.” She laughs. “How good does this guy look?”

“Just eat your sandwich and leave me alone.” I sit down on the couch beside her where a stack of unopened, unpaid bills waits for me.

“No seriously. How fucking good did he look? Was he like G.I. Joe muscles bulging out of his tight blue uniform, mouth-watering pecks of popping steel, soak your panties wet? If that’s what it is then I can maybe see the smile 'cause you know I don’t do cops and they sure as hell don’t do me.”

“What you’re describing seems unreal and creepy. He looks nothing like that. He is hella fine though.”

“Well tell the rest of the story then cause this seems more than a run-of-the-mill red light ticket from an asshole cop.” She wipes her mouth, turning to me.

I debate telling her about meeting him in the store because it’s Shauna. Sometimes she has a way of making things seem a bit seedy, as innocent as they are she tends to over-exaggerate. Why not? Nothing wrong with admitting I’m attracted to this guy I probably won’t see again anyway.

“This morning was actually the second time I met him.”

“Really? Go on, I’m intrigued already.”

“I was at the store yesterday. I literally walked right into his chest. The steel is real. So real that it almost knocked me off my feet, if he hadn’t been quick enough to catch me. He’s Holden's brother.”

“Get out! Holden, Holden?”

“Yes. His brother’s a cop.”

“Wow. He’s hot. Haven’t gotten around to him yet. I’ll probably have to make an appointment.”

“I’m sure he can fit you in between lunch and a smoke break. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“When we were in high school he was like the hottest thing. And he didn’t even go to our school.”

“Probably because he spent most of his time in juvie, his reputation precedes him.”

“Shit, and now his brother’s a hot cop. Best of both worlds. Dirty and nice…one will get you all dirty and the other will clean you up and lick you down, yas.”

“No.” I shake my head trying to get rid of the sexy image before it plants itself. “No one is going to get dirty or lick anyone down.”

“You are no fun. You got to learn to live a little. Let your imagination run wild.”

“I don’t have time for a fantasy,” I whine. “As you can see I have a stack of bills in front of me, which I’m behind on. I’m afraid to open them. The mortgage is two months past due. If I don’t work up enough money to pay everything in about two to three months, the bank is going to start foreclosure proceedings. I can’t let that happen. This was my grandfather's house. He signed it over to me so they wouldn’t take it away from us when he went into assisted living. He wanted this house to stay in the family. I can’t be the one who loses it. If that happens, then he might as well have given it to Vanessa. Before the ink was dried a for sale sign would have been on the little grass we have out front.”

“Isn’t there anyone you can borrow from? One of those payday loans?

“Hell no. They’re as bad as a loan shark. Vanessa racked up like ten grand with those things, in Grandpa’s name. Ten turned into almost twenty thousand with the interest. You know how hard he had to work to pay it back after she disappeared for a whole year? I worked two after-school jobs to help him out. He didn’t want me to but I felt bad watching him work so hard for her fuck up, once again.”

“Sorry, but your mom is a bitch.”

“You’re not wrong.” It’s sad when you don’t even feel a tiny bit insulted when your mother is called out of her name. I’m not the least bit offended on her behalf.

“I don’t have much but if you need it, I could lend you a thousand from my savings. It’s not much judging by that stack of envelopes but getting money always makes me feel better. Especially when it’s not coming with someone's hands up my skirt.”

“I hear you. But no. I’ll try to get more over time at the store and do some more nights at the club, slapping hands from under my skirt.” I sigh, pushing the offending stack of envelopes on the floor, and replacing them with my legs.

“Lexi, if I had it, I would give it to you.” She places my feet on her legs and rubs the top.

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