“We got stuck trying on clothes, and all of a sudden the lights went out. Can we pay for the dress and then you let us out?”
She glared at us like we were insane. “My till is closed.”
I tilted my head toward Terra. “She’s wearing the dress.”
“My till is closed. We’re closed. It’s ten minutes after. How did you not hear us announce that we were closing? We made two announcements.”
I’d never been one to lie, and I didn’t think it was a good time to start. “I heard the announcement. We just didn’t get out of the dressing room in time. Can we pay for the dress and go?”
“My till is closed.”
“I got that. Your till is closed. But I don’t know what that means.”
Obviously unamused, she glared.
“I guess we’ll go back, change out of the dress and then we’ll need you to let us out of here.”
“Push on the door and it’ll open,” she snapped. “You’ve got twenty minutes and then the alarm will sound. I suggest you hurry.”
“I really want this dress,” Terra whispered.
I shrugged and tilted my head toward the blonde monster. “I guess we’ll have to come back.”
“Both of us?” she asked.
“Both of us.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Terra cleared her throat. “How long until the alarm sounds?”
“She said twenty minutes.”
Her brown eyes fell to my waist and slowly raised up my frame until she met my gaze. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile.
I stared back at her. “What?”
“Ready to go again?” she whispered.
I stared back at her in disbelief. She turned toward the dressing rooms and began to sashay again, driving me wild with nothing more than her walk. I realized it was quite possible I met my sexual match with Terra, but it was far too early for me to tell.
I knew one thing for sure. I was willing to do whatever I must to find out, but so far everything told me this was going to be far from a no big deal relationship.
And I was completely fine with that.
Chapter Nine
Terra
I leaned over the edge of the table and put on my bitch face. “And I mean it. One word, just one, and I’ll hate you forever.”
She took a sip of her drink. “I said I wouldn’t.”
“Swear it. I mean it, Michelle. You have to swear.”
“Okay, I swear.” She sighed. “Just tell me.”
“You’re acting like it’s no big deal. But it’s a big deal. You need to understand that.”
“It’s a big deal. If I tell anyone, you’ll hate me. I swear not to say anything to any-fuckin’-body.” She spoke like a Philadelphia Italian man.
Michelle was my best friend since we were kids. We went to school together, her father and my father were very close, and although I didn’t know for sure, I believed he was a made man. If anyone would understand the problems I might face with having Michael in my life, it would be her.
“I met a guy.”
“Oh my God, that’s crazy, Tee,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
“Just shut up and listen. I met this guy. He’s so fucking hot.” I rubbed my palms together frantically. It was exciting to finally tell someone. “So, I was in Starbucks, and Vincent came in. You know how he hated me going there, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, Vincent comes in and starts his bullshit, screaming for me to leave. I was like, ‘get the fuck away from me, you douche.’ And then he just grabbed me. Then, the fucker, he pulled me out into the parking lot like he was going to beat me up right there. Fucking people inside were all just staring at us like they didn’t give a shit. Anyway, I’m fighting him and kicking, and all of a sudden...”
She leaned forward and stared with wide eyes. “All of a sudden what? What fuckin’ happened?”
“There’s this whistle. Loud. Real loud. Vincent stopped. We both look over and there’s this guy. He’s dressed in a suit. A fucking suit, Michelle. He’s wearing a suit. So he says ‘let her go’ and Vincent says ‘you don’t know who I am’ and the guy in the suit says ‘I don’t give a fuck who you are, but you need to know who I am’ and Vincent says ‘who are you’ and the guy just fucking smiles. Then, he says ‘I’m the guy that’s going to kick your fucking ass.’ And he did. It was so hot.”
She reached for her drink. “What? What happened?”
“The guy takes off his jacket, pulls off his tie, and unbuttons his shirt. Then, he gets in this karate pose like some Chinese kung fu guy or something. And I was just like. I was like oh my God. And he hit Vincent so fast I didn’t even see it. Neither did Vincent.”