“What’s up, dude? Help ya with something?” I asked the man who’d just walked into the store.
I was moseying slowly across the store, still kicking my own ass in my mind for not spitting out the fucking question before we were interrupted. Actually, I had spit out the question. I’d just not managed to do it in any legitimate way that convinced her I was serious. Why did I always turn things into a joke with her? And why the fuck was it so hard to ask her one simple question? Will you go to the homecoming dance with me? Simple. But it wasn’t simple. And now I was frustrated as hell that I’d once again missed my opportunity.
I eyed the customer as he walked in, almost hating him for the interruption. The man just looked around for a moment. When he finally met my eyes, his were cold. Judging this book by the cover was easy—he was an asshole.
“I said… Can … I … help … you?” I asked slowly as though he were impaired, but the man just smirked back at me, saying nothing.
The guy eventually shrugged, and he cocked his head to the side. His eyes traveled down my body, stopping at my feet for a moment. I glanced at Hell, and I scoffed in amusement. Hell didn’t look at all amused. The man’s eyes moved back up to my face, and he smirked again before he sauntered off toward the junk food aisle. He reeked like body odor and stale cigarettes, and I waved my hand in front of my face as I looked at Helene. Apparently the stranger wasn’t much for hygiene.
The gas station stayed pretty quiet most of the time. It wasn’t a busy area to begin with thanks to the station being just outside of city limits. The owner was an old man, who, legal or not, tended to vacate the premises by seven most nights and leave his high school help to run the joint and sell his alcohol.
That meant Helene and I were on our own to deal with the weirdo. I knew Hell, and I could tell the man was making her nervous. I shrugged as I looked at Helene, and she bit her lower lip, looking up at the clock and sighing. My eyes followed hers. Eight-thirty. Thirty minutes to go until we could close this joint down for the night.
I glanced back at the stranger who was still walking slowly down the aisle. He pulled a bag of Twizzlers from the shelf then a package of some kind of gummy candy. He pocketed both as I watched.
“Seriously, dude?” I asked. “I’m staring right at ya.”
The man turned slowly back around, a cold glare leveled on me. I sneered in return.
“You’re paying for that shit you just stuck in your pocket, yeah?” I could be a smart ass. I knew that, but I rarely seemed to be able to control it the way I should. Hell, I’d been kicked out of a class or two thanks to my fucking mouth. And I fully expected Helene to lay into me the moment crazy-pants left the store. She didn’t have much patience for my stupid mouth.
“Yeah,” the guy grunted out the word. He turned around, heading down the aisle farther. He grabbed a bottle of vodka, the very same brand Helene and I indulged in one night after work, and then he headed back up toward the counter. I turned and followed him, and I watched as Helene exhaled deeply. What I didn’t like was the worry on her face.
“That it for, ya?” Helene asked the man when he set the bottle down and pulled the candy from his pocket.
“Yeah.” His eyes wandered down to her chest, stopping at her small tits, and he stared.
I stepped up beside the man a foot or so down the counter, and I looked over at him, studying him while he studied Hell’s chest. “Doesn’t she have a nice smile?” I asked, my smart ass smirk firmly affixed to my lips. “Yeah. It’s about eight inches higher than you’re looking, asshole.”
The stranger, glanced over at me, laughing even as he fished some cash out of his pocket.
“Didn’t see you pull up in a car,” Helene said. I could tell she was trying to ease the tension. “Staying nearby? Not much around her.”
“Nearby…” the stranger grunted.
The nearest business was a rundown old strip of ten or so hotel rooms—very Bates motel like in my opinion, and it was rarely occupied.
Helene nodded.
The man just stared at Helene’s face. She looked terrified, and I wanted to be rid of this asshole if for no other reason than that.
Helene rang him up quickly, her fingers trembling slightly on the cash register keys, and when the man finally walked back out the door, she instantly sighed.
“Wow, what a fucking whack-job—”
“Did you have to bait him like that?” Helene cut me off angrily.
I knew that was coming. I was silent for a moment, my jaw tensing. “I … wasn’t—”
“No? What the hell was that then? You just showing off? Is that it?”