Uh-huh, yeah right.
Her use of that saying could be the biggest fucking coincidence in the history of the world, or I just boarded the crazy train headed straight for cuckoo city. I pulled my cell phone out of the cup holder and checked the time, smiling when I saw the picture of Claire that I was using as my screen background. I caught a lot of shit from Drew when he saw it, but I didn’t care. I covertly asked Liz to send a picture of Claire to me and she was more than happy to oblige. The picture she sent was a black and white close up of Claire, laughing unabashedly at something, with one hand held up to her face and her fingers spread in such a way that you could still see her beautiful smile, the mirth in her eyes and the dimples in her cheeks. It was stunning, and I only hoped I would be able to put that look on Claire’s face myself one of these days and be there to witness it.
Looking at the picture of Claire on my phone erased the confusion and questions from my mind and made me just want to concentrate on her, not ghosts from the past. I shut the engine off and got out, finally taking a good look at the building I parked in front of. I was impressed. It was bigger than I thought it would be and it looked great from the outside. I could see Liz through the front window on what must have been her side of the store, so I rounded the front of the car and stepped up on the sidewalk. I started walking towards the front door and had to stop short when a little boy went flying in front of me, arms and legs flailing all over the place.
"Gavin, get your ass back here!"
On instinct, my arm flew out and I grabbed onto the back of the kid's shirt, halting his progress of running away. A guy, probably close to fifty, jogged over to where I was.
"Hey, thanks for stopping him," he said, looking down at the boy with a stern face that would have made me cringe if I was on the receiving end of it. I let go of his shirt, confident that the little runaway wasn't going anywhere now that he'd been caught.
"Gavin, how many times have I told you that you can't just take off when you get out of the car? You have to hold my hand."
The kid shrugged. "I don't know. I was just hurryin' my ass to the ice cream store 'fore it all meltses."
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laugh. This kid had balls! The poor guy just rolled his eyes at the boy and let out a sigh.
"If you enjoy your sanity at all, don't have kids," the guy said to me before grabbing the kid's hand and walking away.
"Thanks for the advice!" I yelled to him as the two of them walked into the ice cream shop next door.
Liz noticed me on the sidewalk through the window just then and opened the door for me.
"Good morning!" she said brightly as I walked inside.
Everywhere I looked I saw bras, underwear and all sorts of frilly shit on hangers and displayed on tables. I could almost feel my dick shriveling up and retreating back inside my body. I didn't mind taking this stuff off of a woman, but standing in the middle of a room surrounded by this crap made me feel entirely too in touch with my feminine side.
Jesus fuck, what is THAT?
"That's a ball gag mask, Carter. I take it you aren't into bondage?" Liz asked seriously, noticing the direction of my gaze.
"Uh, I….umm…"
Is it hot in here all of a sudden?
"Have you ever tied up a partner? Used whips? Experimented in anal play? Had a threesome? Would you say you're more of a dominant or a submissive? When was the last time you were checked for STD's?"
"What? I mean, I…."
"How many sexual partners have you had in the last five years? Have you ever been convicted of a sex crime against another human, animal or plant?"
"ELIZABETH!"
Oh thank God. I don't think I've ever been happier to hear the sound of Claire’s voice.
"I've got my eye on you," Liz whispered, looking me up and down and doing the whole two-finger point from her eyes to mine.
"Duly noted," I muttered as I walked past her and over to the doorway behind the counter where Claire was currently standing with her hands on her hips. Since she was busy staring over my shoulder shooting dirty looks at Liz, I had the opportunity to take her in unnoticed. It was unbelievable how she seemed to have gotten even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. Maybe it was because I knew her so much better than before. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail with stray pieces falling down around her face. I noticed a smudge of flour or maybe powdered sugar on her cheek and I wanted to lick it off. My dick got hard just thinking about tasting her skin.
"I'll deal with you later, Liz," Claire threatened.
"Shut your mouth and get your scraggly ass back in the kitchen where you belong, whore!"
Claire rolled her eyes and jerked her head behind her.