Chapter Eight
Declan
After a freak injury sustained when a runaway lunch cart clipped me in the back, I had to drag myself to physical therapy three days a week for six months.
The school was liable since it happened during their event, so they had to pay.
While that saved my parents from crippling medical bills, the school was cheap about it.
They cared more about their budget line than their students.
After two weeks of going nowhere, my mom finally said fuck it and sent me to a private specialist.
My jaw dropped as I emerged from my beater in the lot of a corporate building made entirely of glass—a mirror stretching endlessly into the sky, disappearing into the crystal-blue above.
The cost of running a place like this had to be astronomical.
If the building was any indication of the care I'd receive, maybe I had cause for hope.
But life had other plans. My car door wouldn't shut—it never did when it was hot out.
Just my luck. The universe seemed determined to keep me in my place.
There I was, excited about this fancy doctor's office, and my shit box of a car had to remind me I was essentially a bug under a boot.
The worst part? With my injury, I couldn't even force it closed.
"Piece of shit!" I screamed in teenage angst. "Can you just fucking not today?"
It was probably a waste of a cosmic wish, but just then the door slammed shut with a thud and I jumped back.
Spinning around in a reflex and I found myself face-to-face with her.
She towered over me by three inches in her stilettos.
Her legs, smooth and muscular, seemed endless beneath the pale-yellow summer dress hugging her curves.
Copper waves of hair bounced above her shoulders, and her lips—God, her lips were glossy and red, like candy apples, begging to be tasted.
But it was her eyes that took me. Blue as a Hawaiian beach and staring right into mine.
My dick immediately hardened in my gym shorts, but that wasn’t unusual in my teens.
Still, it was lust at first sight, and I had no idea what to do with it.
Where had she come from? The lot had been empty when I pulled in, I was sure of it.
"Thanks," I managed to squeak out.
Smooth, real smooth.
"For what?" She batted those impeccable eyes and smiled. For a second, I almost believed the door had closed itself.
"Your triumph over my evil car," I said, immediately wishing I could take the words back.
She laughed softly, the sound making my spine tingle. "You look like someone who needs a break, so consider it a gift." Her voice was pure silk flowing from perfect lips and a delicate squared jaw. Who was this woman, and why was she being so nice to me?
"I appreciate it," I said. "I'm here to see–"
"Dr. Petrovic." She finished my sentence, making me gulp so loud I scared away nearby birds. "You're here to see Dr. Petrovic."
Warning bells went off in my head, but her smile made them fade to white noise. Still, I had to ask: "How do you–"
"You dropped your appointment letter," she cut in again, holding up the paper I hadn't even realized I'd lost. "It fell when you were yelling at the sky." She winked. "Did you think I read your mind? ‘Cause that would just be freaking adorable."
Something about the way she said it made my skin crawl, but in a way I liked. And my cock twitched thinking about it.
What the fuck?
She glanced at her watch and smirked, perhaps able to tell I was ready to cum in my undies at the very sight of her. "I don't want to keep you from your doctor,” she said in a sensual tone. “You're almost late.”
“Okay, so you know why I’m here,” I say, doing all I can to keep from choking on my tongue. “But what are you doing? Do you work here?”
No, she doesn’t fucking work here you imbecile.
“I'm just out here waiting for my ride."
That's when I noticed the small bench by the front door. Had she been there the whole time?
"Oh, okay," I mumbled. "Well, thanks again." Something about her turned my brain to mush.
The building's directory pointed me to the third floor. The lobby was nothing but an open space with four elevators. As I waited for one to arrive, I watched the numbers tick down from nineteen, stealing glances at her through the glass walls. She was still sitting there, perfect as a painting.
I hoped she'd still be there when I finished. Selfish, maybe, since she was waiting for someone, but I couldn't help it.
You didn’t even get her name, jackass.
The doors opened, and I froze.
Go back and ask, or be on time?
I stepped into the elevator and smacked the button with highlighted number three.
You are such a chicken shit.
Aside from his skill, Dr. Petrovic turned out to be unremarkable. The appointment went well, though I barely paid attention. My mind kept drifting to her. An hour later, armed with better medical knowledge and hope for recovery, I headed back down.
My heart nearly stopped when I saw her still sitting on that bench. Gathering what was left of my dignity, I approached.
"Someone has clearly gone mad," I said, trying to sound confident.
"Oh?" Her smile hadn't changed. "How's that?"
"Well, only someone who's out of their mind would leave you sitting here." I tried to play it off as a joke, but we both knew better.
"Aren't you clever," she purred, standing and walking toward me. She wasn't running away—that had to be a good sign.
"You never know when someone like me might show up and sweep you off your feet," I said, immediately regretting how cheesy it sounded.
"Or at least give you a ride home." Realizing how creepy that sounded, I stammered, "Um, I mean to your home.
Like, where you sleep and shower. LIVE. Where you live. "
You are such an idiotic cunt.
Mortified, I turned toward my car, my head tucked like a whipped dog. The door worked perfectly this time, but when I looked up for one last glimpse of her, she was gone. I blinked hard, rubbed my eyes, but she had.
I turned back to check the bench, my heart pounding. That's when I heard that haunting laugh behind me. The one I’d been hearing for a few months.
I ducked down into my Dodge only to find her already sitting in my car. And something in my brain short-circuited. She might have been the devil herself, but I didn't care. I was addicted, and I still didn't know her name.
The drive across town was quiet at first. I couldn't help feeling like a creep, stealing glances at her dress riding up her legs. My mind raced with thoughts I knew nothing about. Thoughts of pulling the lever on the side of the seat and dropping her seat back while my free hand stroked light lines up the inside of her thighs. Thoughts of discovering what, if any panties she wore. Thoughts of tearing them off and… I don’t know what.
Because I’ve never done anything with a girl.
I wouldn’t have known how to do anything but ruin the inside of my own shorts.
And that realization briefly killed the fantasy.
She wouldn't tell me where she lived, instead directing me to the nearby park with a community playground, baseball field and pool on the outskirts of town.
"Thanks, hun," she whispered before hopping out. “Say… how about you come pick me up Friday night, right here?”
When I drove away, her image burned in my mind like a photographic negative, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just made a deal I might regret.