"Is that what ya had in mind?" Able laughed as he turned back around, ready to chat with the mysterious woman who had been in need of his protection. But all he found was the sight of her walking quickly in the opposite direction.
"Hey, wait up," he called out, forcing his way through the crowd as he followed her toward the back door exit.
Pushing open the heavy door, he glanced down one side of the alley, finding it empty before turning his attention in the other direction. He caught a glimpse of her back as she turned the corner. She was damn quick in her high heels, he had to give her that. "Hey chick, wait up!" He called out, having to jog just to catch up with her.
"Oh no you don’t, you stop right there, you psycho!” Penny warned, spinning around just as he caught up to her. Quickly she riffled through her purse before pulling out her trusty canister of mace, proceeding to point it his way. "Stay back, I'm warning you, I know how to use this!" She about screamed, eyeing him hard. His little freak out on Sal in the gallery, had frightened her. More so, Cole’s constant lectures about all men being secret serial killer or rapists, had frightened her into believing that the sexy stranger might be a real life boogie man.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, crazy lady. As I recall, you were the one who asked me for help back there, but now, I’m a psycho?" He questioned, still holding his hands in the air where she could see them.
Penny's eyes darted around the dark alley as she took in his words.
"Yeah…, I did, but then you went all crazy. Did you see his face? You scared the living shit out of that guy!"
"Wasn’t that the point, though? I'm pretty sure you were trying to ditch that poor bastard all night. At least, that's the way it looked to me. And, if that was the case, problem solved, you’re welcome. No need to try to blind yourself with a can of mace, just to say thank you.”
“Why would I try blind myself, that doesn’t even make any sense.” Penny returned, giving him a confused look.
“No, it doesn’t, but then again nothing with you really seems to, so who the hell knows? The only thing I know for a fact, is that you’re holding that mace, the wrong way.” Able informed with the point of his finger toward her peppery weapon.
“Wait, what?”
Able couldn’t help but smirk, she looked so damn cute with her brows furrowed, her eyes darting from him to the bottle of mace in her outstretched hand.
“If you try to spray me, you’re just gonna end up tagging yourself, Babe.” He pointed out with a little shrug.
“Ugh, stupid woman!” Penny hissed, quickly fixing her hold on the mace, before locking her eyes back on his. Hazel on blue.
“There ya go, that’s better. Trust me, you don’t want any part of that shit. I have a friend that maced himself one time, just for shits and giggles, he’s a real bad ass, and even he cried like a little bitch.” Able informed with the shake of his head.
A moment passed of the pair just staring at one another.
"You’re right, I was trying to ditch that guy. But, then you went all Natural Born Killers. Sorry, but I’m just a little freaked out, right now.” Penny admitted.
“Understandable,” Able nodded, thinking it was cute how she talked so fast.
Another moment passed of Penny chewing her cheek while Able rocked back and forth in his boots, waiting to hear the next thing she came up with. So far, the girl was a trip.
“Your friend, sounds like an idiot. Who the hell goes around macing themselves?”
“Well, you, almost did so…,” Able reminded with the raise of his brow.
“Point taken,” Penny shrugged, rolling her eyes.
"Look, I get that your freaked out. I’d be freaked out too if that sleazy bastard back there was trying to feel me up. He was an asshole. I could see that from across the room. I should have stepped in sooner. I’m sorry that I didn’t, and for that, I guess I’m a bit of an asshole too. But, I’m definitely not the psycho. That was all just an act.”
“How do I know that, though? You could just be telling me what I want to hear. Maybe you just want me to drop the mace so you can murder me and toss my body in that dumpster over there.” That one, had Ables’ eyes jerking to the dumpster next to them then back to her.
“Well, that escalated pretty quickly.” He scoffed.
“It usually does with these types of things, doesn’t it?” Penny challenged as if she was really on to him.
“You’re absolutely right, but here, look. I have proof that I’m not a psycho.” Able offered, pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. Slowly he opened it and even slower he extended his arm out so that she could get a good look for herself. “See, that right there is my cat. His name’s Cracker." Able informed, using his free hand to point at the ridiculously fat cat in the picture.
“But he’s white…” Penny challenged, narrowing her brows.
“So?”
“Are you a racist?”
“What? no; why the hell would you say that?”
Able sounded completely offended as he pulled back his wallet, clutching his kittie’s picture to his chest.
“Maybe, because you named your cat a racial slur?” Penny pointed out.
“Bullshit, I did! I didn’t name him that because he’s white.”
“Then why the name cracker?”
“Because he loves crackers, jeez woman, not everything is so black and white. Some things, are just cute and cuddly, and happen to like crackers.” Able informed, thinking about his favorite little fuzzball.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You carry around a picture of your cat?”
“Of course, he’s like my best friend.”
“And that's supposed to show me that you're, not, crazy?" Penny challenged, with the raise of her brow.
She watched as he glanced down at the picture then back up to her. The goofball smile that ripped across his face had Penny letting out a little laugh as she tucked the mace back into her oversized purse. No way could a man with a smile like that be a bad guy. It just wasn’t possible.
"Yeah, I guess that wasn't the best proof, was it? But in my defense, he's a really fucking cool cat." Able smirked, watching as she slipped off her heels, replacing them with a pair of beat up shit kicker boots from out of her bag.
When their eyes met again, Penny gave him a sheepish grin, feeling kind of like a total jackass.
"So…, I’m sorry about almost macing you… well me, anyway." She said with a snort.
"Hey, no worries, I guess my ‘scary guy act’ is just really on point, huh?" Able smiled, stepping a little closer as he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his faded out jeans.
"Yeah it is; you should be an actor. You would rock that shit on the big screen."
It was Ables turn to let out a snort, realizing that she obviously didn't have a clue who he was. Which was just fine by him.
"Do you think it would be okay if we just started all over again?" Penny questioned, tugging up her purse strap.
“Ya, I think that would be nice.” Able nodded in return, sticking out his hand.
“Hi, my name’s Olivia.” Penny smiled, placing her hand into his to give it a curt little shake.
It felt weird using her real name. She hadn't heard it being said in ages. For years now, everyone had just called her Penny Lane or Mom, for that matter.
"Hiya Livi, my names Holden, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Finally?”
“Ya, I’ve kinda been watching you all night. Not in a creepy way, though, I promise. I was just trying to work up enough courage to come introduce myself, is all." Able smirked, tossing her a wink, though, mentally, he was kicking himself. The second his middle name had come out of his mouth he had wished that he could take it back. It felt like a lie. Technically, it was, his name, just not the one he normally went by in his day to day life. So far, it didn’t seem like she had recognized him as being Able Grace, zombie killer, on America’s number one T.V. show or as Able Grace, one-half of the Br
others In Murder movie franchise. Those were the two big ones that people usually recognized him from. He had been in dozens of other movies but none of them had been blockbuster hits like Brothers In Murder, had been. And as for his starring role on the T.V. show, The Dead Walk, well forget about it, it seemed like the entire world knew him from that. Except for her, apparently.
Before he hit it big on those two projects, his choice in roles had kept him pretty much under the radar. He had a career suffocating habit of turning down big budget flicks, in order to star in much smaller, and much more interesting, if you ask him, low-budget indie films. He found that those types of movies, just fit who he was as a person. He liked interesting shit, liked things that were different and outside the box. Which was why he was kind of digging on the little oddball that was standing before him now.
He liked that she hadn’t recognized him. He liked being able to be himself, without the added weight that always came along with being famous. He loved acting, he did, but it was exhausting always having to be fake. That’s why he was into photography. He liked that he could let the pictures speak for themselves. Pictures never tried to pretend to be anything they weren’t. They just were, what they were, nothing more, nothing less. He didn’t take them to get rich or to get more fans. He took them because he saw something that looked cool and wanted to capture the moment. It was just an added perk that people seemed to really dig them.
“You’re not creepy, well, maybe you are but if you’re creepy, then so am I. I was watching you too.” Penny admitted with a blush.
She liked how he had given her a nickname right off the bat, Livi. All of her favorite men seemed to do that. She found herself staring at the man she now knew, as Holden. Thinking he was way too beautiful for his own good. She had thought him handsome before but up close, even in the dim light of the alley, he was something altogether more. Stunning, even.
His bone structure belonged on the cover of a magazine. Wide shoulders emphasized his slim waist and the shirt he was wearing did little to hide his muscular arms. Arms that led down into hands, big hands, with thick digits, the kind that made a woman's thighs clench just by looking at them. And that’s exactly what hers did as he pulled off his trucker cap to run those same girthy fingers through his messy locks.
“Well, I guess I better let you get back in there.” Penny noted, jerking her head toward the building to their right. “Sorry for getting you involved in that mess, that was a dick move on my part, but thank you, you were great." She offered, shifting back and forth in her beater boots.
“It was no problem, really. I’m glad I could help.” Able smiled.
Seconds ticked into a moment as the pair eye fucked each other, in the most innocent way possible. It was as if they were two kids at a high school dance, both wanting to come together with the music, yet neither having the balls to ask the other to dance.
“Alright then, I guess this is goodbye.” Penny finally broke the silence.
“Is it?” Able challenged, eyeing her from beneath his thick lashes.
“Indeed; good night, Holden. It was really nice meeting you.”
“Right back at you, Miss Livi. I know I’ll never forget ya, that’s for sure.”
“Hard to forget a girl who tried to mace ya, huh?” She smirked.
“Even harder to forget a girl who tried to mace herself.” Able one-upped her with a wide smile that had Penny’s heart skipping a beat.
“Very true, very, very true.” She admitted, turning on her heels to make her way down the ally. “Night, kiddo,” she tossed over her shoulder with the sweetest of smiles before turning her attention back to where she was going.
Able watched her walk away, her long hair swinging back and forth as she made her way down the darkened alley. He noted that she didn't so much walk as she glided across the cement. He wondered how she managed to flow so smoothly in those clunky boots of hers.
“Is it weird that I think you look sexier in those boots than you did in heels?” He questioned, realizing that it was fact.
He had never seen anything sexier than her clunking around in those old military boots with her sexy little skin tight dress. So rock star, so hippie. So uptown, so downtown. The girl had a style all her own.
“A little, but I like that you do!” Penny threw the words over her shoulder, never slowing on her journey.
Able’s smile, felt foreign on his lips. It was too wide, making his cheeks hurt. She was so damn cute, just a little thing, really. She couldn’t have been over 5’7. Her waist was slim, just like the rest of her, almost willowy even. Her bare legs were toned, leading up to an ass that looked like it was just begging to be slapped. She was a total knockout, in every way that he could see.
What really had his head spinning, though, wasn’t her tits or her ass. It had been the break your heart smile that she had given him right before she turned away from him. That was the thing that had really done him in. A need to see it one more time had Able jogging to catch up to her. Not ready to give her up, just yet. He couldn’t do it. He wanted to see more of that smile. He just had to.
"Hey, wait for me,"
"What's up?" Penny questioned, spinning around just a little too fast on the broken pavement beneath her boots. It had her taking a tumble right into his waiting arms.
"You’re all right, I gotcha," he assured with that intoxicating raspy voice of his. God damn it was Heaven on the ears. Too bad it was Hell on Penny’s panties. Poor things were just drenched.
“Thanks, normally I’m not so clumsy, I swear.” She defended, as he righted her in her spot.
“Don’t feel bad, I trip over these big ass feet at least once a day.” He said pointing at his boots.
Penny looked down to find that yes, they were indeed some ‘big ass feet, and you know what they say about big feet, that’s right, big socks… among other things.
She liked his boots, liked them a lot actually. They were beaten up, just like her own. Lived in and broken in, just right. You could tell a lot about a man by his shoes. Take for instance Cole, and his albino alligator cowboy boots. They were flashy, just like he was. They stood out, telling the world he was the shit. Able’s boots on the other hand, were proof of a man who lived on his feet, a man who didn’t care about what was in style or what looked cool. They were speckled with paint of all different colors, making Penny think that he might be an artist, a painter of some kind.
She kicked herself for having the thought. Now she couldn’t stop picturing him naked, dripping with paint, red paint, for some reason. God damn, did he ever look good in that color and nothing else in her imagination.
"Thank goodness! I would hate to think that I was the only one who had ever tripped over themselves.” Penny smirked, feeling more than just a little embarrassed for herself. It wasn’t all bad, though, at least the trip had given her a chance to feel him up a bit. Turns out, his shirt wasn’t lying, he really was packing some ripped up muscles under there.
For a moment, she forgot why she had stopped in the first place. His blues had her lost for functioning thought. In a bit of a daze as she looked him over. He was hot; the man just radiated ‘come fuck me’. She had to take a step back, she didn’t want any part of that, well, she did, but didn’t, couldn’t really. Though, she wasn’t really sure, why. She was a big girl, single, and way over twenty-one. So that wasn’t the hesitation. What stopped her from shoving him up against the wall and taking what she wanted, was two things: rape was against the law, and two, he was a stranger, and no matter how much her naughty bits were saying that was cool, her brain still told her that it wasn’t kosher to be hooking up with random dudes in back alleys. Her heart had its own reasoning’s as to why she couldn’t, but she refused to think on that for too long.
Her heart was a silly bitch, one that made terrible decisions[E1]. She had ripped away it’s privileges, years ago. So, it had no say in the matter, when it came down to, rape the sexy stranger in the alley or not to rape the sexy stranger i
n the alley.
“Hey, since that creepy dude isn’t bothering you anymore, how about you let me bother you for a while?” Able requested, interrupting Penny’s internal struggle not to become a rapist.
“And how per say, would you like to bother me?" She inquired, hoping it involved the brick wall behind her and her boots coming up off the cement, while she screamed out the name of her Lord and savior.
I was thinking, I would bother you with a cup coffee, maybe?”
“Oh my, that does sound bothersome.”
“Terrible, I know.”
“Well, as long as you know.” She offered with a playful smile.
“I also know a great little place down the street. It's got the best donuts in the world, I swear.”
“Best donuts in the world, huh?”
“Yep, true story and, if you promise not to try to mace yourself again, I might just buy ya one, two if you say pretty please. I’m a sucker for pleases." Able informed with a dirty smirk, leaning into her just a bit.
Penny nibbled her lip for a moment, already pretty damn sure of what she was going to say. Checking her watch, she found that it was still pretty early in the night, definitely too early to go back home. Cole, would enjoy that too much.
Normally, she wouldn't go wandering off with a perfect stranger, but there was something in his eyes that made her want to trust that he wasn't a bad guy. She wondered how many serial killers had those kind of trusting eyes. She guessed most of them, they had to lure their victims in somehow, right? Even so, she found herself giving him a little nod. How could she not with that little boy smile he was giving her? She had been a goner, from the moment she had first spotted him tonight.
"Is that a yes?" Able questioned, bending his knees, so he could get down to her level. His eyes scanning over her features, for confirmation.
"That’s a pretty big yes, and, I promise, no more mace." Penny giggled, holding up her fingers in a boy scout promise.
"Fantastical, shall we then?" He questioned, offering her his arm.
"We shall, kind sir," she nodded with a smile as she gladly accepted.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Page 8
