Steel & Ice (7 page)

After a smoke out in the Monte Carlo, Larry
and Aaron went back in. I sprayed myself and interior of the car
down with ginger body spray. Aaron had a few more hours on his
shift and said he would try to meet up with us later, but I doubted
he would come. He wasn’t a big fan of Checks. After the stress of
Black Friday, I was pretty sure Aaron would be looking for some
dick tonight.

“
Why don’t I follow you to
make sure you ain’t swervin’ and shit?” Jesse didn’t handle his
weed as well as the rest of us. He was high enough that he just
nodded. Oh yeah, I needed to be following him.

******

It was around five when we
arrived at Checks. Earlier in the day than I usually started
drinking, but it
was
Black Friday after all. The bar was almost full when we
arrived. More men that women, all needing a drink after their wives
dragged them shopping at four in the morning for that super deal on
some gadget at Best Buy. I got the first round, and Jesse and I
found a place to sit by the pool tables. I pulled my hat down over
my blood shot eyes, shoved my hands inside the hoodie I grabbed
from the car, and scanned the pool area, taking in the scene in for
a moment.

Jesse nodded toward the pool tables. “Wanna
play?”

“
Nah man. I just wanna chill
for a second and enjoy this beer and my buzz. Why don’t you grab us
another round. It looks like its filling up and the bartender might
get busy soon. I can’t speak for you, but I’m ‘bout to pound this.”
I held up my Labatt’s.

“
Gotcha.” Jesse would do
about anything I told him to. I tried not to take advantage of him.
He would buy all my beers if I let him, but I wasn’t like that. He
was close to my age, but seemed like a little boy to me. I didn’t
think he had come across too many hard times in his life. He was a
student like me, but I think mommy and daddy paid for it while he
lived in their basement.

I was checking a text from Aaron telling me
he wasn’t coming when I felt someone behind me. I stiffened,
straightening my back. Shields up.

“
Don’t worry. It’s just me,”
a familiar voice said.

Sweet baby Jesus, I knew
that voice. It was the voice of a giant hottie I had successfully
managed to avoid. It had been almost three months since he gave me
a mind-blowing orgasm on the Eight Oh Eight dance floor. Fuck! I
had no idea what to say.
Eleanor Skye,
calm down
, I told myself.
He’s seen you in work clothes stinking like
French fries, and he still pursued you at the club. So you ran out
on him. You don’t owe him anything. Let him say what he has to say.
Oh god, what is he going to say? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I turned around and gave him a coy smile,
while continuing my mental pep talk. I was going to have to muster
up Clubbin’ Elle in Kitchen Elle’s clothes. “Hey. How’ve you
been?”

“
I would’ve been better if
you hadn’t run out on me.” Aw fuck. He was going right in for the
kill. Where was Jesse with those beers?

“
I had some
business
I needed to tend
to.”
Did I just say that? Ok, that was
good. Don’t let him know you were freaked the fuck out and ran for
the hills. Don’t let him know that was the best non-self-induced
orgasm of your life.

“
Business huh? What kind of
business?” he asked, tipping his head to the side a
little.

“
Little of this, little of
that. You know. Business.”

He chuckled softly. “You didn’t even tell me
your name.”

“
You didn’t tell me yours,”
I countered.

“
Are you always this
evasive?” he asked, raising one eye brow. Why was that so sexy? Why
were his eyebrows making my panties wet?

“
Sometimes, I suppose,” I
replied with a shrug. He chuckled again in a low, sexy way, that
managed to have me pulling my legs tighter together.
Pull it together, Elle. You’re doing good not
looking like a fool. Don’t fuck it up now.

“
Hey I got the beers and
some shots too,” Jesse came bouncing back, perplexed by the giant
of a man standing next to me. “Oh sorry. I only got
two.”

“
No problem,” giant hottie
said, giving a nod to the bartender while motioning to our drinks.
I looked over at the bar. Just as I had predicted, it was almost
full. People were waiting three deep to get a drink.

“
It might take a while, man.
I was over there forever just to get this round,” Jesse told giant
hottie. I looked at the two men in front of me. Jesse was a little
taller than me, slightly overweight but in a cute, plump sort of
way. He might have been raunchy as hell on line with the rest of
the cooks, but he was sweet with the ladies. Coupled with his baby
face, he was able to score his fair share of girls when the guys
went out. Giant hottie was everything Jesse was not. He was over
half a foot taller with broad shoulders. Tonight he had his leather
vest over a white T-shirt, and I had to make sure I wasn’t drooling
as I stared at his hard, sinewy arms. They looked strong, like they
could pack a punch. Christ, I wondered what his thighs looked like.
I could only imagine his legs were just as muscled and strong.
Strong enough to hold me up and fuck me in the shower like Gideon
fucked Eva. I drew my eyes up to his face, half covered by a black
hat. Was he covering his eyes like me? Whereas Jesse’s face was
round all over, giant hottie’s was all sharp angles. Even his
almond shaped slanted eyes were insanely alluring, unlike Jesse’s
round eyes, that could only be described as ‘cute’.

Jesse and giant hottie were talking about
bikes or something when a bus boy brought some drinks over and
roused me from my reverie. Hmmm. He didn’t even leave the table and
he got drinks in less than five minutes? The bar was packed three
deep all over. What was up with that?

“
What are we toastin’ to?”
giant hottie asked, holding up his shot.

“
To old friends and new
friends,” I said with a smirk. Where did that come from?

“
To friends,” he repeated
with a smile of his own. I watched his lips move, then open to take
his shot.

“
Elle, shoot that shit!”
Jesse howled.

“
Yes,
Elle
take your shot,” giant hottie
gave me a full smile this time. As I tipped the shot back, all I
could think was that he knew my name and I still didn’t know his.
What the hell?

“
Jesse, let me introduce you
to,” I said, waving a hand towards giant hottie.

“
J,” he said, and shook
Jesse’s hand.

“
How do you guys know each
other?” Jesse asked. God, this was uncomfortable.
Well Jesse, this mammoth of a man here stuck his
hands down my pants at the club, and I came all over his fingers.
Oh, and I just learned his name with you a few seconds
ago.

J pulled a black bandana out
of his pocket, wiped it under his nose, put it back in his pocket
and said, “We’ve done some
business
together.”

Jesse, totally oblivious, chirped, “Oh
that’s cool. Did you know J has a Harley, Elle? It’s fucking
awesome. He built it himself.” He was like a little boy. Oh, sweet
Jesse. His eyes shown like he was in the presence of royalty.
Orgasmic royalty, I thought to myself.

“
Yeah, I think I saw him on
his bike once. Excuse me gentleman,” I said in my best (but still
terrible) British accent. “I need to go powder my nose in the
ladies room.”

I had to make a conscious effort to not run
to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet, pants on, and slammed my
beer. Despite the fact that I wanted to drag him into the restroom
with me and peel his clothes off, I also was hoping he was gone
when I returned. My head was a mess. I got my phone out of my
pocket and dialed Chris.

“
Yo.”

“
Fuck Fuck Fuck I’m so
fucking fucked,” I screeched into the phone.

“
Whoa cowgirl. Reign it in.
What, where, and when?”

“
Giant hottie who goes by J,
Checks, and right fucking now.”

“
Eight Oh Eight orgasm giant
hottie?”

“
The one and only. I’m in my
damn work clothes, and he comes up behind me and starts whispering
in my ear,” I replied, a little too loud for a bathroom
stall.

“
Well, I guess you can’t
hold that cock blocking shit against me, anymore.”

“
Fuck Chris, no jokes. What
do I do?”

“
Where are you?”

“
In the
bathroom.”

“
Hold up Elle. I’m going to
three way Aaron. He he,” Chris laughed, Beavis and Butthead style.
“We’re gonna three way with a gay guy,” she snorted. Glad someone
could laugh.

“
Yup,” Aaron answered. I
could hear the din of the restaurant in the back.

“
Hey it’s me and Elle. We
got you on three way. He he. You’re doin’ two girls. He
he.”

“
Only if you both suddenly
grew dicks and Adams apples, then fuck yeah. I ain’t had a three
way in over a month,” Aaron joked right back. Well, the first part
was a joke. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d had a three way in the
last month.

“
It is not joking time.
Someone needs to tell me what the fuck I am supposed to do.” The
din quieted, so I assumed Aaron had ducked into the manager’s
office.

“
Do about what?” Aaron
asked.

“
Elle is at Checks smelling
like French fries, and giant hottie is there whispering sweet
nothings in her ear.”

“
Shove it, Chris. He came
over to our table and is chatting it up with Jesse.”

“
Where are you?” Aaron
asked.

“
On the shitter,” I
sighed.

“
What the fuck Elle?! Get
back out there and get him in your bed. Why the hell are we three
waying on the phone?” I loved Aaron, but he was a bit of a man
whore.

“
This is Elle, the queen of
masturbation we are talking about here. I’m pretty sure she’s hot
boxing a cigarette, and tapping her foot incessantly as we speak.”
Chris knew me too well. I stopped tapping my foot, but continued
rapidly puffing on my cigarette.

“
Aaron, I have my work
clothes on, my fucking hat, and French fry smelling shirt. And I
have crusty alfredo sauce leftovers on my pants from when Larry
exploded the microwave today. I’m not in Clubbin’ Elle
mode.”

“
Aaron, talk some sense into
our girl, please,” Chris pled. The five year age difference between
Chris and I was evident in her lack of nerves when it came to men.
I played it cool on the outside, but was melting on the inside.
Chris was cool inside and out. Not sure if that came with age, her
gorgeous body and face that was every man’s type, but in that
moment I would have killed to have icicles in my head instead of
the fire I was feeling.

“
Elle, you walk around this
kitchen like you own the place. You may not feel like Clubbin’
Elle, but less than an hour ago you were Kitchen Elle, ordering a
bunch of men around and they followed your orders like the minions
they are. Buck the fuck up, walk out there with your back straight,
and own that place just like you own the club and the kitchen. Fake
it til you make it, chica.”

“
Damn, Aaron. That was
great. You should write, like, an advice column or something’.”
Chris seemed impressed, and very high. “Yeah, Elle. Get your ass
out there and rock it.”

I took a deep breath and threw my cigarette
in the toilet. “Ok, ok, I got this. I’m going to walk out there
like the queen I am,” I said, trying to actually believe it.

“
Oh no honey, I’m the queen.
You my dear, are the king in a woman’s body. Now take that body out
there and call me later after he’s fucked you raw,” Aaron
exclaimed.

“
He he, raw, he he.” Yep,
Chris was toast.

“
Thank you, I love you both
and good bye!” I said, and hung up. I shoved myself off the toilet
and out the door before I could change my mind.

“
Damn Elle, I thought you
fell in. What the hell do you girls do in the bathroom?” Jesse
exclaimed.

“
I had to shit,” I dead
panned. All that and J was gone. God damn it.

“
TMI Elle. TMI. Well, your
friend is cool as fuck and bought us another round and shots. He
said to tell you he would find you later after he finished some
business.”

Business.
Hmmm.

******

I was half way through my next beer, and a
little tipsy from the shots when Larry arrived.

“
Fuckin’ A, it’s a mad house
over there. I had to beg Aaron to let me go, even though it was
forty-five minutes past the end of my shift. I need a shot and a
beer and a bowl and a smoke, in that order. Oh, and Aaron said
‘Here’s a nugg. Now buck the fuck up’. Whatever that means.” Larry
shook his head and handed me some very fine nuggs of light green
sticky icky icky in the cellophane from his cigarette pack. I would
have to thank Aaron later.

“
What can I getchya?” the
bus boy from before came up to the table and asked.

“
Whatever beer they are
drinking, three shots of Jack,” Larry started.