Sucker for the Boss

by Blue Sky Books

“Alright. When will your shift be over then?” Mimi asked and Lorna replied without looking up - “Not for another few hours. You should go on home. I’ll take the bus later.”

  Mimi didn’t respond for a few seconds. She could sense that her best friend was glaring at her angrily but all Lorna wanted was to be left alone.

  “You’ve turned into one big mope ever since you started obsessing over Josh McKenna. I wish you’d get over it already,” Mimi finally said and turned around and walked away without waiting for a response. Lorna looked up finally to watch Mimi leave the library in a huff. She knew that her friend was right about what she had said, but it was difficult to just forget about her feelings and move on. What had started off as an innocent, girly crush had now turned into a more serious obsession and the incident at the hockey rink seemed to have only made matters worse.

  Lorna continued to stand behind the counter, flipping through the pages of books looking for their barcodes when she suddenly saw a shadow fall over the book that was in her hand. Alarmed, she looked up to find that a broad muscular chest stood in front of her. She craned her neck up further and her heart nearly stopped beating. Josh McKenna was standing behind her counter.

  His dirty blonde hair was not combed back neatly today and it fell softly over his green eyes, which were lazily focused on her. A pair of electric blue earphones were plugged into a device which she couldn’t see, hidden away in the pockets of his faded blue jeans. He was wearing a chocolate brown cotton T-shirt that hung loosely from the muscles of his broad shoulders. She could see the straps of a black backpack on his shoulders, while his hands were dug deep into the pockets of his jeans.

  The worst part was that he was grinning at her. Her knees seemed to buckle at the sight of his broad grin and the way they dimpled his cheeks. His lips were unbelievably cherry red and she couldn’t remember the last time she had been this close to him. She couldn’t find a single word to say to him.

  “Umm I was wondering if you could help me?” he said. His voice sounded smooth and rough at the same time. Like the masculine voice of a country singer. She froze up again and all she could do was nod her head violently. He grinned at her again.

  “Awesome. I’m looking for a book recommendation,” he continued and took his hands out of his pocket and laid them on the counter. Lorna barely responded, other than mumbling something under her breath which he obviously could not have deciphered.

  “I need a Literary Fiction to write a book report on and I have no idea where to start looking,” he added and slowly leaned in towards her. Lorna didn’t move back which meant that she could now smell the faint scent of coffee on his breath.

  “I’ll be glad to help,” she finally said, almost too softly for him to be able to hear. His broad smile however reassured her that he must have heard her response. Even though Lorna had managed to respond to him, she didn’t know what her next move should be. She kept standing behind the counter, while he leaned against it, towards her. She still had the book in her hands, which she had been scanning and she continuously licked her lips nervously.

  Josh finally pushed himself away from the counter and took in a deep breath.

  “So are you free now or I can come back later if you’re busy?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of her. Lorna shook her head and plonked the books down on the counter.

  “Oh no, I’m free,” she said. A sudden burst of energy was coursing through her veins and she surprisingly skipped out from behind the counter and found herself a foot away from him, there were no barriers between them now.

  She became instantly aware of how she looked. She quickly pulled down her denim skirt, which reached a few inches above her knees. She was glad she had remembered to wear her red lipstick today, which always made her lips look luscious and kissable. Her white cotton blouse had a loose comfortable fit and she straightened it before she began walking. Josh followed her slowly.

  “So what kind of books do you like reading?” Lorna forced herself to make conversation. She didn’t dare to turn around and look at him.

  “I’m not much of a reader,” he replied and had taken a few long strides which had brought him next to her. Now they were walking together.

  “Alright. Well, would you like to read one of the classics or something more contemporary?” she asked, looking straight ahead. She was certain that if she allowed herself to look at him, her voice would crack or her knees might buckle. Around her, she could see girls staring at them, well mostly at Josh. This made her feel even more self-conscious.

  “I’m not sure what that means,” he said after a few seconds. She forced herself to turn around and look at him and she could see that he was visibly puzzled, almost angry with himself.

  Lorna stopped in her tracks when they reached the Fiction section.

  Not only had Lorna stopped because she had reached the section of the library where she could find a possible recommendation for Josh, but also because she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t have to look at her own hands to know that her palms were growing sweaty.

  “So what do you think? Do you have a book in mind?” she heard him ask and she slowly turned around to look at him. His hand dropped off from her shoulder and they stood facing each other. Lorna tried to paste an expression on her face that would create an illusion of her thinking of a suggestion to make.

  “I’m really struggling here. I need to be able to finish reading the book in time and write up a report in two weeks,” he added. His brows were wrinkled now and he pursed his delicious lips together. Lorna tried to form the words.

  “I’m not sure what would be most suitable for you,” she began and she could see that his grin had turned into a grimace. He was losing hope and she hated seeing him disappointed.

  “But I might have a book that you can’t go wrong with,” she quickly added and she saw his eyes light up.

  “Yeah?” he asked, a hopeful ring to his voice. Lorna whipped around on her heels and started walking towards the aisles. She knew every corner of the library by heart. Even before she had started working here, this was the place she spent all her free time in and she didn’t have to look at the books to know where to find the one that she was looking for.

  Within a few paces she had reached the section of the aisle that contained the authors whose last names began with D. It only took her five-seconds to find Dickens and then spot two copies of the book that she was wanted. She licked her lips quickly and pulled out a hardbound copy of Great Expectations. Josh looked at her face and then at the navy blue book in her hands and then at her face again.

  “Have you read any Dickens?” she asked him. A few strands of his straight hair had fallen over his left eye and she had an incredible urge to run her fingers through them. Josh blinked at her and she didn’t have to wait for a response.

  “You’re in for a treat then,” she said and managed a weak smile, perhaps the first one she had presented him with. Without warning he stretched his hand out towards her and grabbed the book out of her hands, and their fingers brushed against each other. Lorna felt an electricity course through her veins when they touched and she jerked her head up to look at him. He looked absolutely unaffected, instead his head hung low as he ran his eye over the first page of Charles Dickens’ masterpiece.

  “This looks like scary stuff,” he was grinning again. Lorna tried to smile more confidently.

  “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Plus, you’ll have a lot to write about it in your book report,” she offered and licked her lips again out of nervousness. She was so glad that she was being able to have a conversation with him without jumbling up the words.

  Josh looked back down at the book and wrinkled his brow again. “Have you read it?” he asked and Lorna couldn’t help but laugh a little at that.

  “A couple of times, yeah,” she said.

  “What if I don’t get it?” he asked and shut the book with a bang. Lorna raised an eyebrow and looked at him. It was the first time that she was able to conf
idently look at him, without worrying that he might catch her staring. She finally had an excuse to examine in detail the perfection of his face. She could see the look of worry in his eyes.

  “I’ll tell you what,” she said and saw his eyes widen. She reached out to the shelf again and pulled out the second copy of the book. “Why don’t I re-read the book along with you and we can discuss it along the way or once you’ve finished?” she said and clutched the book tightly to her chest.

  “Like a book club!” Josh nearly yelled out, “Really? That would be so great,” he added.

  “I’d be happy to. It’s one of my favorite books,” Lorna said, giggling at the sight of Josh so excited. The fact that she had been the cause for his excitement made her heart flutter.

  Before Josh could respond to that she heard a girl’s voice behind her -

  “What are you doing here?”

  Lorna turned around to find Jessica Owens standing behind her, her eyes fixed on Josh. Jessica Owens, the girl who Lorna herself couldn’t deny was a girl with a million dollar smile. She whipped around to see Josh walk past her and straight to Jessica. She stood apart from them while the two of them exchanged a comfortable hug.

  Jessica was in a short yellow jersey dress, a long brass chain hung around her neck while a large tan leather bag was in her hands. Her brunette waves reached her minuscule waist like a shining curtain of hair and her perfect white, straight teeth were framed by pouting, coral lips. She looked like a delicious summer dessert and Lorna noticed how Josh’s hands lingered on her waist for a few extra seconds.

  “I’m just picking up a book,” Josh told her while they continued to smile at each other.

  “Oh,” she laughed in response. “I just wanted to use the library computer. My phone’s battery ran out and I needed to respond to a Facebook message urgently,” Jessica said, seemingly unaware that Lorna was standing near them, staring.

  “Hey do you want to grab a quick coffee?” Jessica asked and Lorna’s heart sank with a clunk inside her body.

  “Sure thing,” Josh replied chirpily and Lorna gulped her misery down her drying throat. She saw Josh lightly touch Jessica’s waist as they started to walk away instantly and Lorna kept standing there, staring at their backs.

  “Hey! Thanks!” she heard him say just as she was about to turn around. She saw Josh look over her shoulder and wink his right eye as he walked away with Jessica. Lorna kept standing silently, that dreadful feeling of loneliness and regret was filling her heart with every passing second.

  *****

  Lorna stared at herself in the mirror and blinked. She had spent the past fifteen minutes trying to draw a thick winged outline on her eyelids with a black liquid liner. She smacked her lips to make sure that her bright red lipstick was still intact. The little black dress that she had picked out was one of her favorite ones and she could think of no better outfit for the night. After a lot of deliberation, Lorna had decided that she wanted to attend the party that was being thrown by Jessica Owens to celebrate their college hockey team’s victory this season. Jessica’s father was the coach, which meant she had a special connection with the team anyway and everybody was invited.

  Mimi of course thought it was a bad idea and so did Lorna initially. Ever since Josh McKenna had walked into the library, demanding a book and her heart and then later walked away with his hand on Jessica’s waist; Lorna had been feeling like the whole world was against her. She had a hard time getting dressed for classes, she wasn’t her cheerful self at home with her family and she didn’t really want to discuss the incident with Mimi.

  At the last minute however, she changed her mind. She believed that attending this party would be the only way she could get over him. She would be able to see Josh for who he really is and how different the two of them are.

  So she stepped into her sequined black kitten heeled shoes and grabbed her black clutch. She had tied her auburn curls to the top of her head in a messy bun and now they fell around the nape of her neck. She tucked a few curls back into her bun, waved a quick goodbye to her mother who was serving dinner to her younger sister and father and then walked out of the house.

  “Don’t you think it’s time you moved out of home Lorna?” Mimi asked her the moment she stepped out. Lorna gave her friend a quick inspection. She was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a silvery blouse.

  “Why are you dressed like you’re going to the mall Mimi?” Lorna asked her instead of responding to the question.

  “Because I’m almost certain that nobody at that party is going to be rating us on our dress-sense,” Mimi said, rolling her eyes.

  “Please tell me that you’re not carrying a book” Lorna asked, pointing at the huge canvas bag that Mimi was holding in her hands.

  “So what if I am? What if I get bored and have nothing to do?” Mimi asked defensively.

  “So then you get drunk out of your mind! This is why nobody wants to talk to us,” Lorna said and started walking. She didn’t know why she was blaming Mimi for all her misery, but she was.

  Mimi started following her, trying to match her quick pace.

  “You mean, this is why Josh McKenna won’t talk to you? Our reading habits is why he won’t notice you?” she heard Mimi yell out to her, the words pricking her like a million needles. Lorna turned around to face her friend and she could see that Mimi’s face was as red with anger as her own.

  “I didn’t even want to go to this stupid thing. Neither do you, really. I mean look at you!” Mimi said and Lorna directed her gaze to her own clothes.

  “You look like you’re trying too hard. I mean this is a college party Lorna, not some kind of film premiere,” Mimi said and stuck her hand on a hip. Lorna could feel her cheeks flushing with rage and her fingers quivering.

  “I’m not forcing you to come!” was all she could scream out.

  “Fine!” Mimi yelled back

  “Fine!” Lorna mirrored her response and turned on her heels. She could feel a cool breeze ruffle the curls around her face as she started to walk in the direction of Jessica Owens’ house. She clenched her fists and hoped that Mimi would follow her, but she couldn’t hear her friend’s footsteps on the pavement anymore.

  *****

  The house looked like it was bouncing along with the beats of the music that came pouring out. At least three dozen cars had been parked outside on the curb while countless numbers of people were milling about, plastic glasses of alcohol in their hands.

  Lorna tugged at the hem of her dress, to try and pull it down over her knees. She had never felt this self-conscious before and she was cursing herself for having driven her only companion away. She squeezed in through a group of her classmates, none of whom seemed to recognize her and reached the front door that was wide open.

  She stepped in gingerly and could barely see in the low lights inside the house. The music was too loud and she wanted to cover her ears to block the sound out, but decided against it since it would make her look silly. The black dress was definitely a bad idea, Mimi had been right, she was too formally dressed given that a lot of the girls were only in swimsuits.

  Lorna looked around her as she began to walk through the house, she recognized a few faces but couldn’t find anybody from her Book Club or library. In a house full of people, she felt completely alone and she could feel tears welling up inside her. She couldn’t remember anymore why this had been a good idea.

  Lorna stopped in her tracks when she noticed Jessica in the center of the room. She was wearing a small, purple bikini top and a silky white skirt. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had large silver hoops hanging from her ears. That same white, toothy grin was plastered on her face as she laughed at what the two boys who were talking to her were saying.

  A sudden wave of anger and jealousy overtook her being and Lorna squeezed past the crowd and towards the long table that had been arranged with different kinds of alcohol and towers of plastic cups. She just grabbed the first bottle of beer
that she could find and gnawed at its cap with her teeth. The metal cap finally popped open and Lorna stood by herself, in the middle of all that music and that large crowd and tipped her head back and guzzled down half the bottle of beer.

  She licked her lips when she stopped for air.

  “Hey!” she yelled out to a guy who was walking past her.

  “Hey!” she yelled again over the music and grabbed his arm. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her quizzically.

  “Is there a pool or something here?” Lorna asked him and he pointed at the other end of the house and walked away.

  Lorna started making her way through the crowd again till she reached the glass sliding doors to the backyard. She didn’t need to step out to finally realize that it was a pool party more than a house party. There were more people by the pool than there were inside the house. The music outside was different and louder and everybody was in their swimsuits.

  Lorna pressed down her eyes and stepped out in the cool air. She was hoping nobody would notice or recognize her and she could just go back home after the beer. That is until she saw Josh, and all her plans of going home early changed. She had never seen him half-naked before and the effect that it had on her senses was indescribable.