by West, Dahlia
She smiled and leaned into him. “You just want Sunday lunch.”
“Mmmm. And Thursday dessert. And maybe one other night, you know, if you’re feeling bad about me being forced to eat cat food due to my lack of culinary skills.”
She snorted. “That’s ridiculous, Chris. Ramen noodles are much cheaper than cat food. And besides, you probably have a garage full of MRE’s. Chow down on those if you get hungry. I promise the Zombie Apocalypse is still a few years away. You have time to re-stock.”
Chris laughed and put his arm around her neck, with his other hand he messed up her hair. “You have way too much regular sass!” She squealed and ducked out of his hold. “I need those MRE’s in case of a nuclear war.”
“Or Zombies.”
“Or Zombies,” he amended.
“So you do have them.”
“No comment.” She giggled. He rolled his eyes. “Okay, yes, but more for bad winter storms and long power outages. Both of which are not unheard of this far north. And that’s only after the chips and beer run out. Because, trust me, you don’t eat MRE’s unless it’s Armageddon.”
“Hmm. I think I’m in trouble if any of those things happen. No peach pie, no chocolate cake, no cookies. If I’m lucky, I’d remember to fill up the bathtub with water. But then I would forget what it’s for and bathe in it.”
“Jesus.”
“Hey, I’m a girl. We take baths very seriously! I could live without cookies and cake and pie, but I need bubbles, Mister!”
“Women.”
“Some people go to Church, I take baths. It’s a holy experience.”
“That only happens once a week? That explains the smell.”
“Hey!”
“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anything. You brought it up!” he argued, grinning.
“I bathe more than once a week!”
“I know. I pay your water bill.” She stiffened and leaned away from him. “Shit,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean anything, Hayley.”
“Chris-”
“Cook for me,” he demanded.
She hesitated. “What?”
“Cook for me. That way it’ll even out. You make dinner when you’re not working and Sunday lunch, and I mow the lawn and pay the water and utilities.” She frowned at him. “I really don’t have the time, Hayley. I’m busy all day at the shop and I’m tired when I come home. I know you’re on your feet all day, too, but truth be told you work a few less hours than a I do in a day and it would be nice if I could come home to a hot meal instead of cold pizza or spaghetti I have to make myself.
“I’ll keep the fridge stocked, you make whatever you want. You’re good at this and I am really bad at it. Please. I miss food, Hayley. Actually, that’s not true. You can’t miss what you never had. My mom wasn’t much in the kitchen. Or anyplace else. She took off when I was 10. Then I joined the army and you can imagine what their food is like. The closest I’ve been to real food is restaurants and what Tex dishes out when he’s in the mood.”
“Are you trying to play on my sympathy?” she asked.
“Totally. Is it working?”
“Totally.”
“Thank God,” he replied.
“Dinner,” she repeated. “And Sunday lunch. Yeah, I can do that. Small price to pay for tub time.”
“You can use my tub,” he offered.
“Um-”
“Before you answer…”
*****************************
Shooter opened the door to the master bathroom and turned on the light.
“Holy Shit!” Slick practically shouted as she gawked at the garden tub.
He grinned at her. “Yeah. The people who had the place before me put it in. It’s pretty damn girly but it’s brand new and I’ve been up to my neck in other shit and I just don’t have the time or the inclination to rip it out right now. And the shower, as you can see, is separate so-”
“So I don’t have to scrub out your nasty man-scum to use it!” she finished gleefully.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “It’s manly man-scum, woman. It’s not nasty.”
She grabbed his wrist and held up his hand. There was still a bit of grease under his nails. Faint, but visible. “Man-scum. And it’s cute, the whole mechanic thing, but not so much when you’re talking about personal hygiene.”
Shooter stumbled over ‘cute’ but let it go. “I’ll give you the key to my place and you can do whatever it is you need to do.”
She turned to look at him. “You’re not worried I’ll rob you?”
“Nope.”
“What if I go through all your stuff?”
“I don’t have anything to hide and I don’t have that much stuff. But-” he said holding up a finger, “there’s a .44 in the nightstand drawer. Do not touch it unless I’m with you.”
She paled. “I- I was joking. I would never look through your stuff.”
He nodded. “Okay. Well, there’s a baseball bat underneath the couch if you need to unleash your sass on the mailman.”
“Mr. Tibbs? He’s, like, 90!”
“Yeah, but he’s shady. I never liked him. He’s always sticking the former owner’s mail in my box. What is that? He knows they don’t live here.”
“I can’t believe you think I’d hit a 90 year old man with a bat.”
“Better you than me. What do you weigh? 100 pounds? The most you could do is knock some sense into him.”
She moved past him out the bathroom and into the hall. “You’re so weird.”
“I’m not weird! I take the US Postal service very seriously! I’m an American! I didn’t serve three tours to get someone else’s mail!”
“Weirdo.”
“Do not sass me, woman!”
Chapter 16
Several weeks had gone by and the stifling June heat had Hayley in Chris’ bathtub almost every night she cooked dinner for him. He couldn’t have predicted that the sight of her girly soaps and bottles of bubble bath lined up along the edge of his tub would actually make him happy, but it did. The house felt more like a home when it was filled with the smells of whatever recipe Hayley was trying and the sounds of her absent-mindedly humming country songs in the tub. He had to say he really enjoyed having her around. A little too much, unfortunately.
A few times she’d emerged from the bathroom with her hair a little too wet, falling down around her shoulders and dampening her t-shirt. A t-shirt with no bra. And that’s when things had gotten a little more uncomfortable for him. His playful flirting was one thing when they saw each other only sporadically, but brushing up against her in the close quarters of the kitchen every time he wanted to snag a beer from the fridge was starting to wear on him.
She was comfortable around him now. Seemingly oblivious to the air of tension that occasionally appeared. Chris liked having her around, liked having her comfortable, and was pretty sure he’d screw up a good thing if he attempted to act on his growing desires. The last week he’d spent less and less time at home when he knew she’d be there. He’d told her things were busy at work, getting ready for the huge bike rally in Sturgis in two months. Tonight he’d told her not to bother with dinner because he’d be at the garage late. Now he was staring at a stack of invoices on his desk and realizing he’d probably rather be with Hayley, aching dick and all, than trying to sort out a parts order.
He heard the sound of tires crunching gravel in the lot out front and pushed back from his chair to investigate. At the side door, he recognized the small two-door coupe parking under the street lamp at the east corner. Part of him was relieved and part of him tried in vain to ignore the disappointment.
Deanna got out, her heels digging determinedly into the stone. Her blond hair was loose and her jeans were tight and Chris wasn’t going to deny himself an opportunity to get himself back under control.
“All work and no play makes Shooter a dull boy,” Deanna said, grinning as she sauntered up to the building. “I saw the lights on.”
Chris p
ushed off the door frame he’d been leaning against and held the door open for her.
*********************
Mid-June had Hayley scrambling to make more barbecue for another one of Tex’s parties. Hayley had chosen pulled pork this time and had loaded Chris up like a pack mule to fill up the the truck. She’d spent so much time on the barbecue that the potato salad had gone unfinished. She stuffed the ingredients into the picnic basket and decided to make it at the party.
Her pork won out against Tex’s chili, and he was less good-natured about the loss this time since chili was obviously Holy Water with beans in it according to Texans. Hayley ignored him and set about cutting potatoes at one of the buffet tables. Tex’s barbeques were legendary things with bikers, coeds, and everyone in between showing up throughout the day. Hayley ignored the women in jean shorts and bikini tops, some of whom were drunk, all of whom were hitting on eligible men.
She knew she looked out of place in her t-shirt and jeans, but hoped people would assume it was because she was preparing dishes. Out of the corner of Hayley’s eye she spotted the blond, Chris’ blonde, breaking off from the pack and heading toward her. Hayley didn’t know what the taller, prettier, more self-assured woman could possibly want with her, but since the blond was now between Hayley and the back door leading into the house, it appeared Hayley was trapped into finding out.
“Quite the little chef,” the blond declared.
Hayley glanced up and then back at the potato she was slicing. “Just a potato,” she replied.
“Oh, I hear you’re over at Shooter’s place almost every night. Making him dinner.”
Hayley paused with the knife. “He asked me to,” she said, and kept chopping.
“Well, are you cooking for him tonight? Or can I serve him dessert again?”
“What?” Hayley asking, finally tearing her attention away from the chopping.
“Tuesday night. A few weeks ago. I mean you probably noticed that he came home late. He was with me.”
Not knowing what else to do, Hayley picked up the knife and resumed chopping. “Okay,” she said quietly.
“It’s too bad I can’t cook like you,” the blond sighed. “Then I’d have him all to myself. Then again, I’m sure you can’t fuck like me. So I guess we’re destined to share. Don’t worry, I’ll suck my pussy juice off of his cock before I send him home to the little woman.”
“Hey! What the fuck is your problem bitch?” Easy yelled from behind Hayley.
Hayley’s knife slipped and slid into her thumb. “Damn it!” she hissed, dropping the knife and backing away from the table.
“We were just chatting,” the blond replied, all wide eyed innocence.
“Get the fuck out of here. Now,” Easy ordered.
Hayley spun away from the table and headed straight into the house, passing by Chris who was sitting on the deck with Tex. He glanced up, saw her retreat, and got up to follow her.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Hayley muttered. “Just cut my thumb.”
“Let me see,” he said and reached for her hand.
She jerked away from him. “Just leave it alone!” she snapped and ran inside. She located the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. She praised herself for holding out all the way across the yard and into the house and then cried softly into Tex’s guest towels.
************************
“What the hell is going on?” Chris asked Easy, who for some reason was giving him the stink eye. Both men were standing inside Tex’s kitchen with Tex watching silently in case the seething anger radiating off Easy manifested into something physical.
“I’ll tell you what happened. Your skank whore got all up in Hayley’s face!” Easy shouted.
Chris stared at Easy. “What?”
“That fucking blond cunt! She told Hayley she was ‘borrowing’ you again tonight. And then she said some other nasty shit that I won’t repeat for Hayley’s sake. Tell me you’re not fucking that dirty bitch.”
Chris rubbed his hand over his face. “It’s not serious.”
“Well, that shit needs to stop. Immediately! She. got. in. Hayley’s. face. And she wasn’t just bitchy, she was cruel. You need to be a little more selective about who you stick your dick in and who you bring around Hayley.”
Chris bristled. “I didn’t invite her here! She heard about it and showed up!”
“Then you keep your bitch on a shorter leash! Borrow one from Tex if you don’t have one!” Easy stalked off to the bathroom after Hayley.
Chris leaned against the counter and groaned. Tex grinned. “If you need to teach your plaything a lesson in manners, I can lend you-”
Chris raised his hand. “Don’t even.”
Tex leaned against the counter on his side of the kitchen and frowned. “Seriously, though. I get it. I do. You need to take the edge off with someone. I understand. But the kid’s right. You can’t just hump anyone who comes along and not control that shit. It cannot bleed into what you’ve got going on with Hayley.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Mark. I can sleep with other women.”
“I know that. I think Hayley knows that. But there’s a difference between knowing you’re seeing someone and whatever that blond said that’s got Easy so pissed off he’s about to chew through my bathroom door to protect Hayley from it. Women are venomous creatures, Chris. They know how to push each other’s buttons and they’ll do it without remorse. That blond sized up Hayley in about a minute. A younger girl, insecure, low self esteem, uneasy about her appearance, and repressing her sexuality so badly you’d need a floodlight and a jackhammer to uncover it.”
Chris scoffed. “Hayley’s not that bad.”
Tex scowled. “Around other women she is. Especially aggressive, confident women. She always steps out of their way. Hayley’s rape didn’t just make her vulnerable to men, but to women, too. The blond’s a shark and got a sick thrill from putting Hayley in her place even though Hayley’s place is pretty obvious because she put herself there and chooses to stay there. There was no need for the blond to piss all over her to mark her territory, but she did it anyway.
“Jimmy’s right. You need to be more careful about who you’re taking the edge off with and don’t let them near Hayley if you can’t bring them to heel. You’ve got ten minutes to get the blond out of my place. But I’m telling you now, if she pitches a fit and causes a scene, I’ll lead her out on her hands and knees wearing a fucking dog collar. If she’s gonna act like a bitch, then she can dress like one, and get a much needed lesson in humility.” With that, Tex turned and headed out the backyard.
***********************
“Let’s go.” Chris took Deanna by the elbow and steered her around the side of the house.
“Okay, baby,” she said, purring. “My place or yours?”
“You are going to your place,” Chris bit out. “And you’re gonna stay there. For good.”
Deanna stopped and tried to yank her arm back. “Wait a minute.”
Chris turned and got into her face. “You don’t ever open your mouth to Hayley. Ever. Why would you do that?”
Deanna laughed. “Relax. I was just talking to her.”
“Just talking? That’s how she ended up cutting herself? Because you were just talking to her?”
“Look, I can’t help it if she’s clumsy. It was just friendly conversation. She seemed okay to me.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “You were trying to stake a claim on me, but, bitch, I’m not available.”
Deanna ran her hand over his chest. “You were plenty available Tuesday night.”
“Get this straight,” he growled. “You were a hole to use. That’s it.”
“Two holes,” she corrected, smiling up at him. “Tell me she gives it to you as good as I can.”
“Deanna, she is not your concern. And from now on neither am I. You come to my house or Tex’s, or any of my guys, I will have you arrested.”
“Mmmm,�
�� she purred. “Think Caleb will use his cuffs on me?”
“This is not a joke, Deanna. We are finished. In fact, we never started, so it should be easy for you to wrap your head around. You come sniffing around again and there will be consequences.”
“Awww,” she teased. “What are you gonna do? Hit me?”
“You are seriously making me consider it. And that’s saying something.”
