“Yeah. Three of them cornered me. They didn’t realize that being trailer trash has a few perks. For example, I can apparently beat the shit out of two spoiled assholes at once while sending the other one running.”
“That place has to be hell.” Tony shook his head. “I have no idea why your mom wants you to go there. Fuck college. I know for a fact that Rick would hire you on here while you do your apprenticeship. You’re like a second son to him.”
“She wants better for me. She just doesn’t understand that I want this, not some fucking college degree and a desk job.”
“Did you tell her that?”
“How can I? She thinks she’s doing what’s best for me. If I told her I was okay with this life, it’d break her. She’s spent her whole life trying to make up for the way my dad left us.”
“You’re a good guy, Jesse. You’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so.”
“Besides those ass-wipes, how is school going?”
I thought of Emma and smiled. She’d made that place bearable. Actually, I kind of missed school today because I couldn’t see her. “It’s not too bad.”
“Why are you grinning like you just got laid? Oh shit, are you screwing one of the Barbie dolls at that school?”
“I’m not screwing her, but—”
“But what? If you’re not screwing her, why the hell are you smiling like an idiot?”
“I don’t know. She’s just...different. She doesn’t look at me like I’m trash. She looks at me like I’m a whole new world she can’t wait to explore.”
“If you start spouting off poetry, I’m going to throw up. You have it bad.”
“Says the guy who is married and has a kid.”
“Okay, you’ve got me there. I just never saw you as the kind of guy who wanted a relationship. Besides Andy and Ally, you keep to yourself a lot. I mean, you hang out with all of us, but you’re not into it like the rest of our group.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t get close to people.” “Because of your dad?” Tony asked.
I wasn’t sure where all this heart-to-heart bullshit was coming from, but it was starting to make me uncomfortable. “Are you trying to get a psychology degree or what? I feel like I should be lying on a couch while you take notes.”
“And he deflects. Smooth move.”
A customer walked in, effectively ending his interrogation. I checked the guy in while Tony went back to set up for him. The guy was a regular, and this was his third and final session with Tony. They’d been working on a sleeve piece for him. It was a dragon that started at his shoulder and wrapped around his arm. The head of the dragon stopped on top of his hand. I wasn’t big on dragon tattoos, but this one was sick.
Tony took him back to get started, so I decided to clean up the place before we had any more customers. The schedule book said that we had only one more client tonight, so it was sure to be another slow one. I finished cleaning up and sat back down in my stool to wait for the rest of my shift to go by.
Rick left around seven, leaving me alone with Tony for the rest of the night. The last appointment came and went not long after, so we spent the rest of the night playing cards on the counter. He had taken the hint, and he didn’t ask about Emma again.
Tonight was dragging by especially slow. It was probably due to the fact that I was waiting to meet Emma after work. I seriously hoped that my mom wouldn’t make it home on time. I knew that made me an ass, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the two of them meeting. Emma and I had jumped into this all of a sudden, and it felt like things would be different, more real, if she met my mom.
When the shop finally closed, I flew home. I almost beat my head on the steering wheel when I saw both Emma’s and my mom’s cars sitting in the driveway. So much for hoping that Mom wouldn’t be here. Emma was still in her car when I parked in the yard beside her. At least, she hadn’t decided to go in and meet my mom on her own.
She was out of her car before I even shut off my Jeep. She surprised me by opening my door and leaning in to kiss me. She hadn’t been shy about it either. It was like she’d actually missed me during the day, and she was trying to make up for it with a single kiss.
I slid my tongue between her teeth as she crushed her lips against me.
The moan that escaped her had me adjusting my pants.
“Hi,” she said as she pulled away.
“Hi.” I stepped out of my Jeep and pulled her into my arms. “That was a nice hello.”
“I missed you today. School was boring without you.”
“I’m sure it was.”
She elbowed me as I threw my arm around her, and we started walking toward my house.
“It was. Although, you were a hot topic today.”
“Why’s that?”
“Everyone was talking about the fight. Half of the school is either terrified or in awe of you while the other half hates you.”
“Let me guess. The half that hates me are all part of your circle of friends.”
She looked away. “Yeah, they are.”
“It’s a good thing you’re keeping me your dirty little secret then,” I teased, but it bothered me. What chance do we have of making this work when everyone she knows hates me?