wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself to kill the time. She went into the bathroom and pulled off the uniform shirt. Underneath she wore a tank top. Her pants were a tight pair of jeans which flattered her generous ass. She was no size zero, but she knew she was good looking. She wished she had opted for her push up bra today. If she’d known she was going to get asked out, she totally would have. She adjusted things with the bra she had on under the tank top to reveal as much cleavage as possible.
Walking slowly, she switched off all the lights and locked the store door behind her. Her uncle would open, she would close. That was their schedule for the summer. She didn’t mind. It made it so she could sleep in until ten at least. She walked the few blocks to the 7-11, past a few of the town’s bars. One more year before she was old enough to drink. Back in Missoula she had a fake ID, but her mother found it and cut it up in front of her right before she left. Ruby knew she should have just moved out of there a long time ago. She was through being in the middle of her parents war with each other. Tired of getting the brunt of the anger they couldn’t dish out to each other. With what she saved this summer she should have a pretty good head start with being able to pay rent on a place of her own for next semester. After that, who knows. Ruby knew she was young enough to try and fail at more than a few things still in her life. She knew that if only her parents were okay just accepting a failed marriage a long time ago things would be so much easier for everyone. Ruby knew she wouldn’t let herself get like that ever.
One of the bars, the Grizzly Den, was an old garage and on warm nights like this one they rolled up the big bay doors. The raucous sounds of the night life filtered out to her, and she decided what the heck, she didn’t see a bouncer, she would try and get a drink. She still had twenty minutes before she was supposed to meet Mac.
She walked in like she owned the place, and could feel every eye on her. She put a little extra waggle in her walk, and went up to the bar. She ordered a Miller Lite, like it was something she did every day.
Travis Johnson appeared at her elbow. To the bartender he said, “I’ve got this one.”
Ruby blushed. “Oh you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s my pleasure.” She felt his gaze on the tops of her breasts and made a point to stick her chest out.
The bartender brought the beer, and Travis walked her over to a table by the open garage door.
“What brings you here tonight?”
Ruby’s mama always taught her to be honest, and she had no idea why she needed to keep a secret from Travis. Her Uncle never really talked to him. For sure he was in the shop at least a few times a week, but her Uncle usually seemed to keep his head down when he interacted with him. “I’m meeting Mac at nine, I had some time to kill.”
“Meeting Mac.” Travis looked amused. “And what are you and Mac going to do?”
“He’s going to take me for a drive in his nice car.”
“That Japanese piece of crap? You want to ride in a car, I’ll take you for a ride.” Travis drove a 1972 Chevelle painted a pearlescent white. Having an old car like that was one of the reasons why he was in the parts store so often. But it sure sounded powerful, and it glittered and shone in the sunlight.
“Oh yeah?” Ruby pulled out her phone and looked at the time. She downed the second half of her beer in one big gulp. “Sorry handsome, too late this time, I’ve gotta run.”
“Hey sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. But really, just don’t go see him. He’s…dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” This gave her pause. What did Travis mean?
“You don’t want a guy like him.”
“Oh, and I want a guy like you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m dangerous too, but not like Mac. I mean it. Seriously, stay away from Mac. He’s bad news.”
Ruby thought of Mac’s sexy