Head Over Wheels (Spicy Young Romance)

by January Valentine

  The girl definitely had the ability to transform a fragrant meadow into a sewer. Only a witch could do that.

  After our brief but meaningful meeting at the club, I wasn't surprised she'd recognized me, and even if she hadn't, I imagined my outfit would have stood out in any crowd, so either way, I'd just been made.

  After once-overs, they both looked like they'd just chewed on lemon rind.

  "Elizabeth," Vanessa played it so cool, "this is James's ... friend ... from The Prestige. I ran into him the other night. Did he mention it to you?"

  "The Prestige?" Elizabeth paled. "What was James doing there? And what were you doing in that place?"

  Another one who muddied the waters. I wondered which one of them had rubbed off on the other, because they were a brutal tag team.

  "I wasn't with James." While her eyes widened, Vanessa's words sweetened. "I had to drop off a contract for the owner, and happened to run into the two of them ... on the dance floor. Apparently right after James had an unfortunate incident with a degenerate." Her face lit with a straight-from-hell grin. "Isn't that right ... Oh, I don't believe I caught your name the other night."

  I had to stop the just-slapped-in-the-face look that fought to respond. I so wanted to get up in her face.

  "You are?" Elizabeth's eyes traveled from my ten-gallon hairdo to my leg-binding boots, more than likely intentionally dismissing the core of my dominatrix attire.

  How much could a mother take? I could almost understand her blatant concern.

  "Jewelia." Don't you dare stammer! "My name is Jewelia Delarosa. I'm Indigo's friend."

  Confronting the bimbo seemed much easier. "And you're the old friend, Vanessa, correct?" Honey was no match for me.

  Vanessa shot daggers at my breasts, while Elizabeth didn't even try to hide her suffering.

  "Indigo ..." Even her clucking tongue sounded classy. "I detest when people use that tag to reference my son. His name is James."

  "You're his mom?" She'd just told me she was, so why did I even ask? And I'd taken her for Vanessa's sister? She was an attractive blonde, well-preserved and dressed to the hilt, in a sophisticated way.

  She lifted her chin. I took the action for a definitive, "Yes."

  "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Ballou. I've heard some lovely things about you."

  Her lips pruned."Hmm."

  "That's some outfit. Is it real leather?" Vanessa hammered.

  Recovered from shock, I sharpened my game. I'd be sly, but gracious to the bimbo. "I don't wear animals." I tucked up the corners of my mouth so tightly, I was sure I'd carved new dimples in my cheeks.

  Vanessa's face drooped like a pair of stretched out pantyhose. Her cheeks grew pinker than the angora sweater she wore, and her fingers fumbled with the pearl choker that practically strangled her, as I would have loved to be doing with my bare hands. "Unusual costume. It's nice to see they're inventing new fabrics that can stretch endlessly without ripping." Vanessa smirked.

  My eyes reached the floor. Vanessa's flats were the identical color of her outfit. Mrs. Ballou's heels looked croc. Real no doubt. Murderer ...

  Facing Vanessa, I exclaimed, "I adore your pumps. Where did you find a store that carries that style in a men's large?" I'd ride her till she crumbled. "I just love your hair," I ran a finger along the air beside her ponytail, "it's so silky. Is that your real color?"

  "Can I help you ladies?" Rebecca to the rescue. "Jewelia doesn't work here. She just stopped by." She gave me the brush off. "But I'd be happy to show you something. We've just added new items to our already stunning collection."

  The two converged on the jewelry display like flighty birds, fitting themselves between me and the privacy jog in the wall.

  "What are you shopping for, Jewelia?" Mother Ballou inquired, scrutinizing my fingers and wrists. I flipped my rose ring to the inside of my hand, because if either one of them insulted the tiny silver petals and gemstone buds, I'd have to defend my father's honor.

  "Gold." My fingers made a beeline for my neck.

  "Oh, a necklace. Let me see," said Vanessa, her hands reaching it almost as quick as mine.

  Holy shit. I'd almost walked away wearing unpaid for AMA merchandise! And they'd press charges, no doubt, even if it was accidental.

  "I don't think it's for me." I unclipped the rope and handed it back to Rebecca. "Maybe something in Swarovski?"

  Rebecca shot me a prudent, "Really?" glance, then returned her attention to the two nags and what she must have thought would be a big commission.

  Vanessa grabbed the price tag. "It's awfully plain, which is probably why it's so cheap. Perhaps a dangling diamond pendant would add some style." Her bony finger pointed to a tray of heavily guarded sparkling stones.

  As we stood side by side, I managed a thorough assessment of their attire. Both wore sweaters and slim-fitting knee-length skirts. Where Vanessa wore pearls, Mrs. Ballou had tied a geometrically patterned scarf around her neck. Was she concealing a bit of crepe? From her smooth-skinned glow, highly unlikely.

  My stomach twisted relentlessly. They seemed to share a lot in common. And then there was Indigo, the object of the three of us. Ouch. I questioned my sanity.

  "I have to run, ladies. It was a pleasure meeting you." I focused on Indigo's mother, because if I had much more to do with Vanessa, I'd have ended up dragging her out into the alley bordering the building. I stuck my smile in front of Vanessa's face. "If you stop by cosmetics, Brittany will show you a terrific lip plumping gloss. Research has come up with astonishing formulas that work wonders, even on pencil thin lips."

  "Is Brittany the one who decorated you?" Vanessa snapped.

  Damn. She was quick.

  "Laters." When I tossed my head, my hair didn't even move.

  Our parting was strained, our goodbyes as phony as the leather I wore. As I walked away I felt my bagel aim for my throat, so I ducked into the ladies room. False alarm. Still, with a racing pulse, I needed a quick calm me down. I checked the time on my cell and pounded a button for Pete.

  Me: Break time Need HELP

  Pete: Sorry Stuck @ accident scene

  Me: Fuck

  Pete: Kelly's 15 mins

  Thank God for best friends. I punched the time clock and hoofed it down to the café. This was Manhattan. Not a face questioned my appearance. I'd had the presence of mind to grab a handful of toilet tissue to dab at my cheeks, and by the time I walked through the door, my eyes were dry.

  I scanned the café, which at midday wasn't jammed as it was during breakfast. No crowds. No Pete. Damn. What next? Then I spotted Casey, flagging me from a corner table right beside the door.

  "Hey, Casey."

  "Are you okay?" His face held concern. He quickly stood and pulled out a chair. "Sit with me."

  I flopped down across from him and stretched my aching legs, making sure my skirt covered every inch of thigh. "Where's Pete?"

  "Right after you texted him, Peter called me. He sounded alarmed."

  "Pete promised he'd never let me down ... And you came in his place when he couldn't." I felt a rush. Tears gathered. "I feel awful dragging you all the way down here, Casey. It wasn't necessary. I'll be fine. Why don't you get back to work before you're missed. I hope I didn't get you in trouble." My bottled thoughts poured out like my lid had popped.

  "Don't worry. I'm a supervisor." He winked a nod. "So what's the emergency? Lover's quarrel? Work related?" He pushed forward the extra coffee resting beside him.

  I shook off a no followed by a jerking yes. "Kind of both, maybe. Maybe not ..." I uncoiled my fingers. The moisture evaporated as my palms clamped around the cup.

  "So what actually went down?" Casey's gaze was shrewd.

  A fine silver chain wrapped his wrist, shooting sparks as he lifted his coffee. With pursed lips, he skimmed the cream from the top. Gosh, he reminded me so much of Pete.

  "It was humiliating. Insulting. Degrading." I felt the flush rise.

  "I'm still waiting ..." Reaching across
the table, he scooped up one of my hands with both of his.

  The dam broke. "These two women ... this guy's mother ... this girl ... I don't lack confidence, Casey, but I swear, these two ..."

  His face filled with sympathy. "Does the fellow you're in love with know you're being harassed?"

  "I doubt it. Vanessa operates undercover." Realizing Casey's inference, I gasped. "In love with him? How could I be in love with him? I just met him."

  Casey nodded. "Love at first sight isn't only in theaters."

  "You don't think so?" A lump formed in my throat. "It happened to you?"

  He smiled.

  "Pete?" Who couldn't fall in love with Pete.

  "I was in a men's shop, standing behind a sale rack of shirts. These big hands on the other side of the rack seemed insistent upon sliding every hanger I placed my fingers around."

  "Pete." I grinned.

  Casey's face lit with the memory. "I had no idea who it was, or if he even knew what he was doing, but it was quite frustrating. We eventually started pulling and shoving the hangers back and forth until half the shirts were on the floor."

  "Oh, no." I laughed.

  "When I tried to snatch one particular shirt I'd been admiring, it wouldn't budge from the rack, because Peter's big hands refused to release it."

  "It must have been a riot." Enjoying the warmth of his presence, I leaned forward with interest.

  "It almost started one." He sipped his coffee then set his cup down. "So, I decided to be the bigger person and let go of the shirt, then strode around the corner to confront the perpetrator. After a few moments of staring, without a word, Peter threw the shirt at me and stomped off."

  "And you knew it then?"

  "I did." His hazel eyes glistened. "I bought the shirt, had it gift wrapped and held onto it, because I knew our paths would cross again."

  "You did?" I knew I was gaping, but couldn't control my emotions, no less my face.

  "Absolutely. And some three weeks later we ran into one another at a coffee shop. The rest is history."

  "How sweet." The lump in my throat grew so large I could barely swallow.

  "I guess that's kind of how I felt the first time I saw Indigo. Our eyes met and wow, I went reeling. I'm supposed to see him tomorrow ... but I just don't know if I should. I mean, how much fighting can you do for someone? Maybe it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm under too much pressure. I have a promising future ahead of me. I don't need this in my life right now."

  A breath gushed through Casey's lips. "Sounds painful, and serious. Two bitches ganged up on you and now you're about to fall apart."

  "It shows, huh. I can handle myself, but this was in work where I couldn't do a damned thing about it. How can people be so mean?" As I relayed the horror of the encounter, my lips trembled. "Why are people so cruel?"

  "I wish I could answer that, hon." Casey's earthy eyes bore into mine. "Refusal to understand. In your case, more than likely envy." While he tilted his head, his lips stretched into a grim line. "I've been there, Jewel. On more than one occasion."

  "I wanted to knock her teeth in."

  "I have." He grinned. "Not everyone's accepting. We deserve better treatment, but unfortunately, that's the way of our species sometimes. But don't let anyone bully you. Gotta have a strong neck."

  "Hold my head high." I smiled. He was compassionate, so much like Pete. I reached across the table, grasping both of his hands. "Thank you, Casey. You've made me feel so much better."

  "I'm happy to help. Call me if you need me." He reached into a pocket and slid a business card across the table. "Right now, I have to get back to work."

  I checked the clock on the wall. "Holy shit. Me too or I'll be out of a job."

  I hugged him and together we exited, each jogging off in our own direction.

  DINNER WITH INDIGO

  When I noticed the flash, I was dolled up and pacing, my heels embossing dime-sized impressions into my plush bedroom carpet.

  "Great timing, thunderstorm. And I spent an hour getting my hair to cooperate."

  I kicked off my shoes and padded to the window where I watched a grid work of lightning electrify the distant sky.

  "Why am I doing this?" I made sure my voice reached Emma's room. "I have no idea where we're going. If we're even going."

  Crap. He's standing me up. My heart sank.

  I rummaged through my nightstand, then rearranged everything in my chest of drawers. It was nowhere.

  "Emma! Have you seen my crystal studded hair clip?"

  I'd tossed my cell on my bed an hour prior, and the ringer was maxed, so I'd hear it just about anywhere in the apartment. Not that I planned on leaving the phone unattended. Cradling it in my palm, I flounced into the living room.

  "He's not texting ... or calling ..." I stared at the blank face of my phone. "You know. I'm gonna turn this thing off right now and get out of these clothes." I spun, ready to leave the room. "He's gonna flake. I feel it in my gut."

  "He'll call." Emma twirled me around. "Jewel. You know what his schedule is like. He made a date with you. Will you chill?" She pulled up the top and sides of my hair, and strategically placed the clip so a thick knot sat on the crown of my head, unveiling my beaded hoop earrings.

  My fingers checked her accuracy. "He's got one hell of a nerve thinking I'm gonna be sitting here waiting."

  Emma took hold of my shoulders, giving me an affectionate shake. "Stop it, Jewel. You're flushing. Next you'll be breaking a sweat. Sit down and relax. Do you want to look like you've just finished ten sets of pushups when you meet up with him?"

  "If we meet up. I look like a blimp in this dress."

  "You look great."

  "It's just as well we're not seeing each other tonight. Look at my stomach. I'm getting my period. Crap ... it's protruding like a bowling ball."

  "You're beyond anyone's help." She shook her head.

  I padded into my room to step back into my heels and do a last-minute check of my reflection, just in case.

  "What was that?"

  "It's the buzzer, Jewel." Emma annunciated slowly, as if speaking to a child.

  "The buzzer? What the ... Who is it, Em?"

  Without expectation, I thudded to the window. Pedestrians strolled beneath the flush of street lamps, but no one paused under the building's canvas canopy.

  The only other thing I noticed, and not entirely unusual for the area, was the double parked vehicle, three floors below where I stood. Cars edged around it with ease, a few honking out of anger, because an inconsiderate moron had the nerve to block their path. It happened all the time. Around here, nerves ran rampant, and at that moment mine were so tight, with the help of a guitar pick, they could have plucked out jazz.

  As I ran into the living room, Emma was in process of announcing, "It's Indigo ..." She looked as shocked as I felt. "Wow. He's here ..."

  She didn't have to tell me who it was. I'd recognize that voice if I wore ear plugs in the middle of Grand Central Station during Black Friday rush hour.

  Grinning like an idiot, I restrained a squeal, but managed to mouth an overzealous, "I'm nervous." I shook my hands out in front of me as if flicking off pins and needles, then hit the call button with the pad of my middle finger. "Hey."

  "Hey. Come on down ... before I get towed away." His words reverberated through the speaker, followed by a faded chuckle. Simply hearing his voice made me shiver. I almost spaced.

  "Indigo. Um, what a surprise. Be right there." My voice tunneled down on the heels of his.

  After cutting our connection I whirled. "What the hell? He said he'd text me." I forced my facial muscles to relax so my foundation didn't settle in the creases Emma swore no one else could see.

  Em, arms crossing her chest innocently, shrugged and bobbed her head. "It's nice when a guy's spontaneous."

  I rolled my eyes, yanked up my top and pulled down the hem of the dress I wasn't sure had been the best choice. "Wish me luck."

  She hugged me. "
Depending upon the time, I may not be here when you get back. I'm going out with Billy." Her glowing face floated before me.

  "Maybe we should have doubled."

  "Don't be such a wuss. I've never seen you this way. He won't bite, Jewel. At least I hope not."

  "Mmm. Might be nice." I giggled on the way out the door, but soon grew serious. This is it. Oh my God, he's really here. How are you gonna act, girl? Like he's just another guy like Pete. That's it. Pretend he's Pete!

  As soon as the elevator opened, I loosened my hips and swept into the lobby, making as dramatic an entrance as possible in heels that required precision balance. Back to me, Indigo stood gazing out the window, idly whistling something that sounded like a Maroon 5 song.

  "Hey," I called sweetly from a distance, so his first glance would capture the full view. "Here I am." How ever did I make my voice sing like that? I'd have to remember so I could reproduce the awesome sound for Emma.

  He spun around, all smiles and casual, fidgeting with his keychain. Then his hands dropped to his sides. His handsome features morphed, clouding as though he was struggling with a ten-second decoding of the shocking message his eyes had delivered to his brain. He swallowed hard, looking at me the same way he'd done in the park when I approached.

  I should have worn flats. Walking with wobbly legs would have been easier then.

  I straightened my smile and cozied up to him, my lips aimed at his cheek, but his mouth caught mine first. "You look beautiful," he said after his lips pressed and released mine.

  "Thank you." I softened my voice, then took a step back, hugging the small handbag I carried beneath my arm tighter. "You didn't call. I wasn't sure where we were going. What to wear." I concealed the deep breath I required to continue speaking.

  His lips puckered just enough to look adorable. "I guess I can't use the same excuse twice, huh?"

  My head automatically tilted.

  "I'm spontaneous?"

  I cocked a brow and smirked, then smiled. "Once a charm, twice won't cut it. I'll let you slide this time, but three strikes and you're out."

  His brows lifted dramatically. "I'll have to remember that."