boss, demanding to know when I’ll be back in.
I call the management company up first, and they inform me that I can only pay one year in advance, and that the rest will be refunded to me. In a daze, I hang up. Who’s been paying all of my bills?
The next call isn’t as pleasant.
“Your medical leave was burned up a week ago, Mr. Snow,” Sheila informs me rather bluntly. “By all rights, I can fire you right now and be well within the company’s rights.”
Part of me is tempted to quit right away. I have a rather hefty check coming in from the management company, and rent is covered for the next year. But Angela had told me to live life as I usually do.
“I’ll be in first thing in the morning,” I tell her, trying to act sheepish, but I’m still full of energy from the excellent sex with Angela in the Shadow World.
“Are you laughing at me?”
Crap!
“No, Ms. Lance, just trying to multitask while talking. I’ll be in first thing,” I repeat, and hang up before she can say anything else to me.
Sleeping tonight is impossible, I realize as I lay for a couple hours staring at the ceiling.
Well, it may be a Wednesday night, but maybe I should go out. Normally I’m pretty self-conscious, but for some reason I’m feeling confident, and walk to a bar that’s a couple blocks down the road. A large sign out front declares that it’s ladies’ night. I can’t hide my smile as I walk in.
I pull out my wallet to pay the cover charge, but the cute redhead at the counter looks at me dreamy eyed, and stamps my hand without taking my money.
What’s going on? Have I changed that much? Shrugging my shoulders, I walk in and order a cocktail. The bartender, a male, makes me pay but I don’t mind.
The music is blaring and the dance floor’s packed as I watch people shaking and moving to the steady rhythm.
“I don’t remember seeing you here before?”
I turn and look down at the owner of the voice. The girl—well okay, she has to be at least twenty-one to be in here—stands only as tall as my chest. Her hair is a warm chestnut brown, and travels the short distance down the length of her back. It’s too dark in here to make out her eye color, other than to note that they’re dark. In her hands is a blue or purple drink—Now why couldn’t my colorblindness have been fixed with the rest of my vision?—that’s half-full.
“I was bored, so decided to come out and find some entertainment.” The way she’s looking at me, makes me feel even more confident about myself. She’s not the cutest girl here, but definitely above what I consider to be in my league. She finishes her drink, and I decide to play things up. I’ve heard people talk about not buying a girl a drink unless you really know them, but some new instinct says to go for it.
Pulling the drink from her hands, I take a quick sip, and know that she’s drinking a purple hooter. I make eye contact with one of the wandering servers. She turns away from whoever was giving her their order, and rushes to me.
“A purple hooter for the pretty lady, here,” I tell her, and she rushes off to fulfill my wishes. Wow, this new power could really go to my head. She returns within a couple minutes and hands the glass to me. I hand it to the short girl still standing speechless next to me, and turn back to the waitress. “How much?” I ask, and she shakes herself as if coming out of a dream.
“How much?” she repeats my words. “Oh!” It takes her a moment to gather her wits enough to tell me how much I owe, and I pay her, with a decent tip.
“My name’s Becky,” the brunette next to me has to yell to be heard over the music, “and you shouldn’t have had to pay full price for that. It’s ladies’ night.”
“Lyden,” I reply, holding out my hand for her to shake. Her hand is tiny compared to mine, but her fingers are soft. Just because I feel like it, I bend over, and place a soft kiss on her knuckles. Her knees give way, and I have to
Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry