Breaking Shaun

by E. M. Abel

  Smiling, I lifted my sunglasses onto my head before turning around and making my way through the back entrance of the shop. Dank and Dre followed behind me. It was loud inside from all the talking and squealing coming from the main floor. I walked down the hall and past my office when I saw Doug, one of the shop’s employees, watching the chaos from the hallway entrance.

  “You gonna work or just stand there all afternoon?” I asked, successfully scaring the shit out of him.

  “Oh. Yeah…I, um…I was just on my way to get more shirts.”

  Dank and Dre eyed him as he walked past them and toward the back.

  I saw Marcus in the middle of the room, posing for pictures and signing everything being thrown at him.

  Looking at Dank and Dre, I tilted my head toward the crowd. “Come on, help me out a second.”

  After pushing our way toward Marcus, I stopped when I got next to him. He looked relieved when he recognized me.

  “Okay, people!” I shouted to everyone hovering around him. “Get in line! If you’re not in line, you don’t get an autograph! Come on, move it, ladies. Get in line.”

  People quickly started forming a line in front of us, and when I went to look for something to separate the line from Marcus, I saw Dre and Dank approaching with a long table. After they set it down, things began to look more organized. I spotted Doug coming out of the stock room with stacks of T-shirts in his arms, and I yelled at him to bring them over. When he set them down on the table, I instructed him to get some Sharpies and a chair for Marcus.

  Before long, the line was flowing, and so was the cash. I would have to double all my orders just to restock the shelves.

  “Oh my God! You are, like, a million times hotter in person than on your posters,” some chick told Marcus as she and her friend made their way toward the table.

  He just smiled and took the poster she’d given to him to sign. Her eyes moved up to me, and she blatantly checked me out before looking at Marcus again.

  “Please tell me that one of you is single. Seriously, it should be illegal to look that good,” the girl said before running her hand through her blonde hair.

  Her friend seemed timid as she just giggled next to her.

  Marcus chuckled before responding, “Sorry, I’m taken, but Shaun here isn’t.” He jerked his thumb at me before smiling and signing the girl’s poster.

  Motherfucker.

  “Shaun, huh?”

  Her eyes came back to me, and the way she looked at my body made me feel dirty. She wasn’t bad-looking, but she reminded me of some of the horny construction workers I used to build houses with. I could just see her grabbing guys’ asses and telling them to shake it for her.

  “So, what do you say, Shaun? You looking for a good time?” she asked me before winking.

  “You make me uncomfortable,” I told her, crossing my arms over my chest.

  Marcus burst into laughter, but he quickly tried to hide it by covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “What?” the woman asked, looking down at Marcus and then back to me.

  “I mean, you seem like a nice chick and all, but I’m not just a piece of meat, you know? I have a brain.”

  Her friend started laughing, and I looked at her and smiled. She was actually cute in a sweet and innocent kind of way. It made me wonder what she was doing with that chick. Her friend would be corrupted in no time at all from hanging out with her.

  “Whatever.” The girl smiled and rolled her eyes.

  At least she could take a joke.

  “Thanks for coming out,” Marcus told her.

  She walked away, and someone else took her place.

  A few minutes later, Dank came to stand next to me as Marcus posed for a picture.

  “There is so much pussy in this room right now. I think my dick is getting hard just from all the estrogen in the air,” Dank said as his eyes scanned the women standing in line.

  I followed his gaze and took a few seconds to admire the view myself. I smiled as I got an idea.

  When the next group of girls approached the table, I handed T-shirts to the ones who wanted them. “Hey, have you girls met Dank yet? He’s a pro surfer, and he’s just here visiting from Cali.”

  The girls’ eyes got wide as they looked at Dank, and I saw his face light up with a smile when he realized what I was doing. Marcus peered over at me but kept quiet as he continued signing.

  “Wow! Hi! Can I get your autograph?” a blonde asked, handing her shirt to Dank.

  “Uh…sure.” He grabbed a Sharpie off the table.

  “Dank has never been to Virginia before. You girls know anything he might be able to get into tonight?” I asked them, trying to help lead Dank in the right direction.

  “Oh yeah, for sure,” the blonde said, giving Dank a coy smile and fluttering her eyelashes.

  Mission accomplished.

  I’d been to a few bars and filled out applications, but none of them had seemed to be hiring. I was downtown and decided to stop and get some dinner before continuing my search.

  As I walked down the sidewalk, I saw a big building with a huge neon sign that said, Red, over the double doors in front. I wasn’t quite sure, but it looked like a club, which meant it had a bar, so I decided to try it out. I pulled on the front doors, but as I’d suspected, they were locked. Cupping my hands in front of me, I pressed them against the glass and tried to peer inside.

  “Can I help you?” a deep voice asked from beside me.

  I let out a startled yelp and jumped back from the doors.

  “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.” I covered my heart with my hand.

  I turned to see a man in a suit. An incredibly sexy man in a suit. Good God.

  He chuckled and raised his hand as if to tell me he meant no harm. “I’m the owner. Can I help you with something?” he asked, motioning toward the building.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry,” I said as I reached into my purse for a copy of my résumé. “I’m new in town and just wanted to see if you were hiring any bartenders. I have about four years of experience,” I told him as I held the paper out for him to take.

  His blue eyes studied mine before he took it and looked it over. I found myself fidgeting as he read it. I felt like a kid in the principal’s office or something. It seemed weird, considering this guy looked to be about my age. He just seemed so composed and authoritative. It was a little unnerving.

  “Come back tomorrow around noon,” he said, handing the résumé back to me.

  “Don’t you want to keep it?” I asked before reaching out to take the piece of paper.

  “No, I read it already.”

  “Should I ask for someone specific tomorrow?”

  “When you come back, go to the back door right down this alley.” He pointed down the alley beside him. “Just knock, and someone will open it for you. Ask for Jay.”

  Before I could respond, he turned around and walked away. I stood there, staring at his back, as I wondered what had just happened.

  Did I get the job? Who was that guy?

  I wasn’t sure who he was, but I knew he was hot. I had no idea what they put in the water out here, but I was grateful for whatever it was because it had made some gorgeous men.

  After eating dinner at a small deli and stopping by a few more bars, I made my way back to Nick’s apartment. When I walked inside, Luke was sitting alone on the couch with a beer in his hand.

  When he saw me, he stood up. “Hey, Natalie. How are you?” he asked with a genuine smile as he extended his arms out.

  “I’m pretty good. How are you? It’s nice to see you again.” I walked over to give him a quick hug.

  I wasn’t really used to all the affection Nick and his friends would give, but it was nice. I hadn’t seen Luke since the night I met him at Asia’s exhibit. He was tall and rugged. He reminded me of the mechanic or cowboy type—totally hot and manly. Luke was definitely the perfect match for Nick. From what Nick had told me, Luke seemed laid-back and rea
lly sweet, too. I was happy my cousin had found such a great guy to be with. He hadn’t always had good luck in the romance department.

  “Where’s Nick?” I asked as I tossed my purse down on the kitchen counter.

  Luke tilted his head toward the bedrooms. “He’s back there somewhere. We’re about to watch a movie. You gonna join us?”

  “Um…” I looked around the living room and contemplated my answer. “Sure. Just let me go change.”

  “Cool. Tell Nick to hurry up, would you? He’s probably waxing his eyebrows or something back there.”

  I laughed. “Okay. Be right back.”

  Walking to the end of the hall, I lightly knocked on Nick’s bedroom door before turning the knob and sticking my head in.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  Nick was standing in front of his mirror, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He was more muscular than I’d thought. He was even sporting a six-pack.

  “Whoa, Nick. I had no idea you worked out.”

  He gave me a look like I was completely absurd before turning back to the mirror and messing with his hair.

  “So, how did the job hunt go?” He pushed a strand of hair away from his forehead and turned to check out his profile.

  “Pretty good. I talked to a few people, and I’m supposed to go to a place called Red tomorrow afternoon.”

  Nick’s hands stopped moving, and his eyes moved to meet mine in the mirror. “Red?”

  I walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, facing him. “Yeah. Why?”

  He turned to face me. “Who did you talk to?” he asked without answering my question.

  “Why do I get the impression this isn’t going to be good?”

  “No. I mean, it’s not a big deal or anything. It’s just that Asia used to date the owner, Jay. Did you talk to Jay?”

  I shrugged. “I think so. I talked to some hot guy in a suit.”

  “Yep, that was Jay.” Nick moved to sit next to me on the bed. “Don’t worry. He’s a good guy, but…”

  “But what?” I asked, getting impatient.

  “But you can’t fuck him.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “What the fuck, Nick? What makes you think I’d fuck my boss anyway?”

  He put his hands up in surrender. “I’m not saying you would. I just don’t want any drama or anything. I mean, Asia has Marcus, and she’s happy, but I don’t know if you messing around with Jay would make things weird for her.”

  I smiled. “Well, don’t worry, Nick. I’ll make sure to steer clear.” I patted him on the shoulder before I got up to leave his room. “Oh, by the way, Luke says to hurry up.”

  Nick rolled his eyes before responding, “Tell him it takes time to look this fine.”

  I laughed before closing the door behind me.

  As I made my way to my room, I realized I’d met three really hot, straight guys in the past day and a half, and all of them were now off-limits. Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

  The guys and I decided to go out for some drinks after the chaos at the shop had settled. Apparently, Asia was painting all day, and she had let Marcus off his leash. It was getting dark as we made our way to our cars at the back of the building. We were going to meet up at Scarlet since Dank had told the girls he met that he would be there. He was still playing the role of a pro surfer, but it should be pretty easy to convince them since Marcus was coming with us, and he was considered a local celebrity.

  I wasn’t exactly dressed for the club, but I didn’t give a shit. I never really cared about my clothes, and no one else seemed to either. I wasn’t stupid. I knew from experience that women found me attractive no matter what I wore.

  “You wanna ride with me?” Marcus asked as he made his way toward his Chevelle.

  I knew I’d probably end up drunk, so I figured it was a good idea. “Yeah.” I followed behind him and got into the passenger seat.

  His car was spotless as always. I had a feeling that Marcus had OCD or something. He kept everything way too clean.

  “So, what’s up with you being friends with this Natalie chick?” Marcus turned his key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

  I cut my eyes to his, and he gave me one of his shit-eating grins.

  “You sound like a bitch right now. You know that, right?”

  He laughed as he put the car in reverse. He looked over his shoulder before backing out of the spot. “I’m thinkin’ you’re the one who sounds like a bitch, agreeing to be friends with a girl you clearly wanna fuck.”

  I glared at him, wondering if he was really going to go there.

  “Don’t look at me like that. You know damn well that shit with Asia was completely different. You’re not in love with Natalie.”

  I knew he was right, but my situation was different, too.

  “What was I supposed to say? No, I won’t be your friend. If you’re not going to fuck me, don’t talk to me.”

  Marcus shrugged. “Who knows? It might have worked.”

  Laughing, I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. “No skin off my back, bro. There are plenty of other women out there.”

  “Yeah, but I thought you were getting tired of the bullshit.” He turned the car toward downtown.

  “Well, maybe I’ll go for someone different this time, someone I wouldn’t typically go for.”

  “What? Someone old and ugly?” he asked, laughing.

  I pretended to be offended as he pulled up to a red light and stopped the car.

  “Hey, old, ugly women need lovin’, too.”

  Marcus chuckled as he turned to look at me. “It’s probably all for the best anyway. Natalie seems like a cool chick. The last thing she needs is an asshole like you getting a hold of her.”

  The club was loud and crowded for a Monday night. Once summer started though, it didn’t matter what day of the week it was. People—primarily college students and sailors from the local Navy bases —were always looking for a good time to blow off some steam.

  As Marcus and I made our way through the crowd, we spotted Dre and Dank standing at the bar with the group of girls from the shop. A few hot chicks were on the dance floor, and I caught some of them checking me out, but I never approached women as soon as I saw them. I liked to wait and see if they would approach me first.

  The only time that hadn’t applied was with Natalie. As soon as I’d seen her sitting at that bar in the gallery three months ago, I had known I needed to talk to her. It was like her fucking body had been calling me.

  “There they are,” Dank said when Marcus and I reached the bar.

  The girls turned to look at us, and they smiled as they fluttered their eyelashes. Those things had to be fake. They were so fucking long that I could feel them fanning me every time they blinked. I preferred women with natural beauty, not ones who covered it all with caked-on makeup, hair extensions, and acrylic nails.

  Dank gave Marcus a look, clearly asking for help. “Hey, man. We were just waiting on you before we head up to the VIP area.”

  Marcus got the hint and gave him a chin lift before heading over to the stairs leading to the VIP section of the club. Clearly, the girls had been expecting some special treatment since Dank was supposed to be a pro surfer.

  “What’s up?” I muttered to Dre.

  “Same ole shit.” He finished his beer before putting the bottle on the bar and walking with me to the VIP section.

  It was too fucking loud downstairs to hold a conversation, so I was glad we were going upstairs. This club wasn’t as nice as Red. Since Jay had gone back to Red, he’d made a lot of changes, and that place would be packed almost every night during the summer. I’d prefer to go there, but I knew Marcus tried to avoid it. It wasn’t because he didn’t like Jay. Somehow, they’d managed to squash all the bullshit surrounding my sister. But that place reminded Marcus of some unpleasant memories, like Asia getting attacked by a guy she had punched there.

  After getting everyone into VIP, Mar
cus went to another table to talk to some guys in suits. He seemed to know people everywhere he went. Dank was busy with entertaining the women as they seated themselves at an empty table, so Dre and I made our way to the bar to get drinks.

  He asked the bartender for ten shots of tequila before he faced me, leaning his side against the bar. “So, how did things go last night?”

  I shook my head and rubbed my hand against the stubble on my cheek. “The bitch slapped me.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Like rough-kinky-sex slapped you? Or like she-fucking-hates-you slapped you?”

  I gave him a what-the-fuck-do-you-think look, and he read me loud and clear.

  Chuckling, he said, “Well, shit, Pooky. Looks like you might be losing your touch.”

  That fucking nickname again. “I’m not losin’ shit. I’m just not willing to play games for pussy anymore. I used to sweet talk ’em. They wouldn’t even know what hit them by the time I was done, but now, I just keep it real. Apparently, bitches prefer to be lied to.”

  The bartender walked over with a tray of shots and offered to take them to our table. Dre reached over and took a shot glass. I followed suit and took one for myself.

  “Amen, brother,” he said.

  We both lifted our glasses in the air and then brought them down to our mouths before throwing the liquor back.

  As we approached our table, we saw one of the girls had warmed up to Dank. They were talking, and she was busy laughing at something he had said. The bartender came and distributed the tray of shots on the table.

  “Oh, goody!” one of the blondes yelled as she reached for a shot glass.

  We all took a shot, and the girls decided they wanted to go dance. Dre willingly went with them since he loved getting a woman on the dance floor, and Dank was dragged along. I decided to head back to the bar for another drink. When I got there, Marcus came to stand beside me.

  “Hey, man. I’m about to head out,” he said.

  “Are you fucking serious? You’ve been here for ten minutes.” I lifted my chin toward the bartender to let her know I needed another.