“I’m saving for an apartment.” It doesn’t matter how good the reason is, I still feel losery.
I’m highly aware that this generation, us twenty-somethings, sometimes stay at home longer than what was normal in the past, thanks to the cost of education and the fact that jobs aren’t as easy to get. There’s also that sense of entitlement thing some people have going on—like Benji, who’s more than happy to ride the free train as long as possible. That’s not why I stay. Mostly I’m there to keep an eye on my mom when her relationships inevitably fail. And anyway, Sunny and I had a plan, which isn’t going to happen now that she’s seriously considering Chicago. Unless I go with her. That’s looking more and more appealing all the time.
“So it’s you and your mom, then? No other roommates?”
It’s a roundabout way of asking a personal question. We haven’t had many conversations about family, apart from what he’s said about his dad. But then, we’ve been too busy getting our sex on for much talking.
“Nope. No other roommates.”
He nods, pensive, but doesn’t push for more information. If we start talking about serious stuff, a last round of ride-the-dick won’t happen.
“There’s a bathroom here.”
I’ve already considered it. I won’t tell him that, though. “So classy.”
“We could always find one of those by-the-hour hotel rooms.”
“That’s the worst idea ever in the history of ideas, Randy. I’d rather do it in the back of the Jeep than a hotel room that looks like a Rorschach test under a black light.”
Randy laughs. “Backseat it is then.”
I’m not sure if he’s kidding, but he gets the check, and we walk out to the Jeep. I still have an hour and a half before my shift, and he doesn’t seem to be a in a rush to leave, so I suggest we go for a drive. We park in the middle of nowhere on a trail that leads to who knows what. Apparently Randy is totally serious about the backseat, because I end up with my pants off and my shirt pushed up with him inside me again.
By the time we’ve finished round eight million of our sex marathon, I’ve got twenty-seven minutes to get to the coffee shop. I change into my uniform in the backseat with Randy’s help—which mostly consists of fondling and some gropes—and he drives me to work.
I’m nervous about goodbye. I don’t know what to expect. This isn’t like any of our previous sexual encounters. He parks the Jeep in the lot and turns to me. My hands are clammy. I’m not going to see him again for at least a month. It’s probably a good thing, preventing me from getting attached, or too comfortable.
“I had a lot of fun with you, Lily. Definitely ten-out-of-ten fun.”
I’m still nervous, but his joking makes the tension dissipate a little. “Me, too.”
His answering smile makes my panties want to climb into his pocket. “We’ll do it again next time I have a Toronto game? I’ll hold on to the other box of condoms until then.”
I bite back a laugh. “As long as I can get the time off, sure.”
“Great. I’ll send you a message with the date so I can get in you again.”
I roll my eyes. “I better go. My shift starts in ten, and I plan to make out with you for at least five minutes before I leave this car.” I don’t wait for him to lean in. I unbuckle my seatbelt and plaster my mouth to his.
He holds on to the back of my neck while we kiss. It’s not frantic, because we both know it’s not leading to anything more, but it still makes my toes curl and points below light up. We break apart after a few minutes, both of us panting.
He exhales a long, slow breath. “I’ll walk you in and get a coffee for the road.”
“Sure. Okay.”
Randy gets out of the Jeep and comes around to help me with my knapsack full of clothes that smell like sex. The Jeep also smells like sex, and I’m positive I do, too. He opens the door of the café like he’s being all chivalrous. Except he pats my ass.
I stop inside the door. What in the serious shit? Sitting at one of the tables is my mother.
Here’s the thing, my mom almost never comes to visit me at work. Most of the time she doesn’t pay attention to my schedule. Not that she needs to. I’m an adult; I can manage my own life. Usually we try to stay out of each other’s business. So I have no idea what would bring her here, today of all days. She’s not alone either. She’s got a guy with her. His back is to me, so I have no clue who he is, or why in the world she’d have a coffee date at my work.
My first instinct is to push Randy back out the door. But the damn bell has chimed, alerting everyone in the shop to our arrival. My mother looks up before I make any kind of pre-emptive move in one direction or another.
She smiles and waves.
“Oh, shit.”
“Some crazy customer?” Randy runs his fingers through the back of my hair, catching a few knots along the way. I didn’t even think to check it before I got out of the Jeep.
“That’s my mother. I don’t know what she’s doing here.”