September, 2017

Two:

I stared at the man sitting across from me and frowned. I had come for a job interview, but the whole thing had turned into an uncomfortable situation filled with dirty innuendos and had finished with him asking me to go back to his place. "I just came for a job."

"I wouldn't be able to hire you without knowing that you have the required skills I'm looking for." Robert smiled, a set of yellow crooked teeth on display through his cracked lips, and it put me on edge. I realised with discomfort, that he was looking at me like I was a piece of meat he was ready to devour.

"I believe the required skills you're looking for is whether or not I can read and use a computer." I pretended that I was either daft or completely ignorant to what he was implying. "I've read the menu, and I'm more than happy to bring my laptop back here to show you that I can use it. Or, I could come into the office tomorrow and you could get someone to run through the software with me? Give me a trial?"

Robert was getting frustrated that he hadn't gotten his point across, and he reached across the table to grab one of my wrists in his sweaty paw, but I withdrew before he could. "I'm going to give you a trial tonight. Don't be so-"

"Babe, I thought your interview was meant to already be finished."

I snapped my head to the side and then looked up at the man who was staring at Robert like he was the scum of the earth. He was gorgeous in an usual kind of way, and I recognised him instantly.

His face was blank, but I could see the fury burning in his eyes, which still hadn't turned away from Robert's sweaty face. He had abused his body so much that, even though it wasn't hot, his body was oozing the liquid from every pore. Or maybe he was just terrified of Happy.

"Oh, hey sweetheart." I managed to smile, surprised that it wasn't fake, and turned my back on Robert who was frowning with a mixture of anger at getting interrupted, and confusion as to what was going on. "It's just wrapping up now, we're just going over the finishing touches."

Happy glared at the older gentlemen, then wrapped his large palm around my arm and yanked me to my feet so that I could settle at his side. "Yes, I can see that."

I hardly met his collarbones and I looked up at him, then snuggled into his side when his arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me harder into his side. His touch left nothing to the imagination, he was claiming me as his own in front of Robert with one clear message: Back the fuck off.

"So, like I said, I can come in tomorrow?" I finally managed to tear my eyes away from him and looked back at Robert, who was glaring. "And we can go through the software to make sure that my skills are up to par?"

Robert's eyes narrowed at his hand on my waist and he shook his head. "Don't worry about it, the position is no longer available."

I turned up my lip and was about to give him a piece of my mind, but Happy came to my rescue and did it for me. "Then why the fuck has she been sitting in this diner for the past hour? You harassing my girl, fuckhead?"

His tone had been deadly, and Robert's face went pale before he held his hands up in surrender. "No, I just-"

"Made sleezy comments and tried to get her back to your place." He snarled, teeth bared. "I know, I've been sitting a few booths down listening. You listen here. You look at her, you try to speak to her, you come near her again? I'll fucking kill you."

Robert vacated the booth pretty quickly and I sighed in relief against Happy's side. "Death threat was a little over the top, but it was fun to watch him squirm. Always coming to my rescue, Hap."

"Wish you didn't keep putting yourself in situations where you need rescuing." He answered dryly.

I took a step away from him and slid back into the booth to finish my vanilla coke. "Yeah, well, trouble seems to find me no matter where I go."

"Looking for a job?" He surprised me by sitting down across from me.

I glanced around the diner to make sure that there were no prying ears. "I'm bored at home, I wanted to have a hobby. I mean, dad will flip when they find out that I'm working, but I'm sick of not having any independence when it comes to money. I'm sick of living of a trust fund, you know?"

He eyed me. "Where do your parents think you are?"

"I dunno." I shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't heard from them in a few days. Probably assume I'm at the library studying if they've rung the home phone."

Happy's eyes narrowed. "They're still away? As in, they've been away for two fucking months and left you on your own?"

I snorted loudly. "They're probably going to be away for a while, Hap. They know that I'm old enough to take care of myself. This shit has been normal since I got my license and they didn't have to charter me anywhere, anymore. They always give me the choice to go, but I'm ... I'm so sick of being weighed down with having to be the perfect daughter all the time. It's easier to be by myself and be able to breathe."

He shook his head. "You don't need to be perfect, you need to be you. You got a dog to keep you company?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "A dog? As if my dad would let me have a dog. They're dirty, don't you know?"

"Your dad sounds like a fucking prick." Happy replied.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Granddaddy was high up in the oil, my dad is high up in the oil which makes me high up in the oil when he passes, I guess. He's just trying to make me into the perfect-"

"House wife who has a stick up her ass?" He offered.

"Something like that." When the clock hit half-ten, I yawned and got to my feet. "You've rescued me twice now, Hap. Third time and I'm going to have to send a fruit basket."

His lips pulled up into a smirk. "I would rather muffins."

"Muffins, you've got it." I grabbed my keys off the table. "Thanks for always rescuing me, Happy. I appreciate your need to play knight in shining armour."

He walked me out to my car in silence, but held the door open for me when I slid in and started the engine. "When you get home-"

"Lock the door." I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

When I looked up at him, he was smirking at me again. "Yes, lock the door, Free Bird. And lock this one, too."

"Thanks, Hap." I motioned for him to crouch down and then kissed his cheek. "Don't know what I'd do without you."

He watched me drive away and I caught his eye in my rearview mirror while I fought off the urge to turn around and ask him if he wanted to come home and watch a movie with me. He was a grown ass man who didn't need to be spending time with a seventeen year old girl who kept annoying him by needing him to save me.

But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want him to.