The Junkyard Boys (5 page)

***

Freshly dressed in clean clothing, I made my way back over to the laundromat, hoping I could still catch Clover before she walked home alone. It was later than I’d intended, but hopefully I could catch her on the road to her house before she got too far ahead.

As soon as I pulled up in front of Fosters’, I could see the closed for business sign, but I could still see them working in the back through the front glass of the store. Taking a quick look at my phone, I saw it was well after six thirty, which meant they’d been working longer hours today. I parked my truck and stepped down. Making my way to the front and spotting Mr. Foster, I decided to knock on the glass. Mr. Foster made his way over to the door to open it for me with a huge smile on his face, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, hello there, Range. Fancy seeing you here again. How can I help you, son?”

Seeing me again? When did he see me the first time? He must mean when I walked Clover to the door this morning.

“Hello, Mr. Foster. I was hoping to catch Clover before she got off work. Is she still here by any chance?”

“Why, yes. She is, as a matter of fact. We had a huge truffle order come in for delivery tomorrow and are just finishing up. I’ll just go in the back and get her.”

The old man took off toward the back of the store, which gave me time to look around their shop. I’d been inside Fosters’ a few times since I bought the laundromat. Normally, I would just stop in and say a quick hello, considering we were technically work neighbors. It was good business to be friendly with the other businesses in the area in case something went wrong and I was needed in a hurry but couldn’t get here fast enough.

This place smelled like a chocolate lover’s wet dream. Any kind of chocolate you could ever want was displayed on the shelves. No wonder Clover had smelled so good when I almost flipped her over today. Just thinking about her smell and the way she felt in my arms this morning was giving me a hard-on of epic proportions. Jesus Christ, I needed to control that shit before she came out from the back.

“Uh, hey, Range. What are you doing here?”

I turned around and holy shit, I couldn’t help myself. I howled with a laugh so intense I was doubled over, holding my stomach, trying to get a damn grip on myself. Standing there in all her glory was Clover, wearing a brown hair net that was stretched across her forehead, and an apron with chocolate smeared across it in all different directions. She even had chocolate on her cheeks, which just made we want to run over to her and lick it off. She looked so damn sexy standing there in all her chocolate glory without any idea what she was doing to me.

I finally got my shit together long enough to look at her and what I saw nearly made me fall to my knees. Clover was looking at the ground, wringing her hands in front of her, shoulders slumped in defeat at my fucked-up outburst. Shit, I had to do something and quick.

“I’m sorry, baby, you just look so damn cute standing there like a big giant candy bar. I just want to eat you like one.”

My being truthful seemed to have snapped her out of the slump I’d put her in, thank god. She gave me a weak smile.

“What are you doing here, Range? Did I hurt your back or something and you need my insurance card? I have it in my purse. I can get it for you.”

“No, baby, I came to drive you home. I thought about you walking home alone in the dark and that shit just didn’t sit right with me, so here I am.”

“Oh, well, that’s very kind of you, but it’s not necessary. I only live a few blocks and I’ve been walking home safe every night since I started working here. I’ll be just fine, but thanks for your concern.”

I saw I was gonna have to put my foot down with this one. No way was she walking home alone when I was here to take her. No woman of mine was walking when I had a perfectly good truck outside waiting for her fine ass to get in it.
Holy shit, where the fuck did that come from?
I needed to get my shit together and quick before I said something else to hurt her feelings.

The Fosters must have heard us talking and decided to appear at the front of the shop right then. They both looked from me to Clover then back to me again, each showing that same silly-ass smile on their faces that Mr. Foster had when he first opened the door.

“Well, hello, Range, dear. How are you doing this fine evening? I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Isn’t that right, Clover, dear?”

What was with these two tonight and why did they keep saying that shit?

“I just came by to see if I could give Clover a lift home, seeing as she has to walk and all.”

“Of course, dear, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Clover was just finishing up for the evening. She is more than welcome to leave now.”

I thought Clover’s eyes were going to bug right out of her head as she listened to Mrs. Foster give us the ok to leave. Before she had a chance to protest further, Mrs. Foster quickly reached up and pulled that hair net from around Clover’s head, releasing her long mane of beautiful hair around her shoulders, at the same time he untied her apron. She then gave Clover a little shove in my direction, just enough to get her feet moving and ass in gear.

“See you on Monday, dear. And please, try and have a little fun for once.”

I held open the door for us to leave, giving a quick waive to the Fosters on our way out. As soon as we stepped outside onto the pavement, Clover turned around, abruptly putting a halt to our departure.

“I’m sorry, Range, but I can’t get in your truck so you can drive me home. I don’t ride with strangers and to be perfectly honest, I don’t know you well enough to get in a vehicle with you and let you drive me anywhere. I know I assaulted you earlier, but I’m not the type of girl who accepts rides from people I don’t know.”

She was so cute right now I had to stop myself from launching myself at her and kissing the shit out of that chocolate-covered face of hers. As much as I disagreed with her, I understood her hesitation about wanting to get in a car with me. I mean, let’s face it, if she knew the type of person I was, she would probably run screaming in the other direction. I decided to put her out of her misery and suggested a compromise instead.

“You’re right, Clover. You don’t really know me, so how about I walk you home and I’ll just come back for the truck afterwards?”

“You don’t have to go through so much trouble. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“It’s no trouble, tootsie baby. Let’s go before the lightning bugs start to swarm.”

The mention of bugs got her ass moving with a small huff. I could already see this girl was going to be a lot of fun. She just didn’t know it yet.

Clover

I couldn’t believe Range just showed up out of the blue to drive me home. I should have known something was up when Mrs. Foster grabbed her purse from under the workstation and started putting on lipstick. Now he was walking next to me, while I tried to come up with something to say. I guessed asking him why he showed up at all was a good place to start, but for some reason, I was afraid of the answer. I took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. What was the worst that could happen?

“So, um, Range, do you normally make a habit of picking up strangers from work?”

“Only the pretty ones that jump on my back and feel me up.”

“Well, you obviously have the wrong girl. I think the one you want probably works at the tattoo parlor.”

Range stopped abruptly and gave me an incredulous look, like I’d just slapped him across the face or something.

“Oh no, tootsie baby, I got the right fucking girl. I got the one who smells like candy and has chocolate smeared over her cheeks. I got the one who has a wild mane of hair that’s perfect for pulling as I bury my cock in her. I got the one who’s so sexy she makes my dick hard just thinking about her.”

I knew my face probably looked as red as a giant, ripe tomato right now. I’d never met a man who talked like him before. Come to think of it, it was probably because they had been boys pretending to be men. Range on the other hand, was all man, from his beautiful hair to his muscular body. I imagined he would have made the perfect lead actor in a 1920s black and white western, riding up to the saloon on a big, black horse, carrying two six-shooters on his hips, while I was a saloon girl, singing every night just for him. As he entered the bar looking for a good time, a man in front would challenge him to a duel at sunset. Of course, he would accept the challenge and fight to the death for his honor. Afterwards, we would ride off into the sunset, never to be heard from again. I was pulled from my A&E moment when Range began walking again.

“So, are you gonna talk to me or just stand there, blushing? Not that it’s not cute, but I’d like to get to know you better, Clover.”

“Why would you want to get to know someone like me, Range? I’m sure there are plenty of other women out there you could spend your time with.”

“I’m sure there are, too, but I want to spend my time with you.”

Wow, I could see this guy had no trouble with his ego. I guess if I looked like him, I would feel the same way. This was going to be an easy fix. I’d go with the truth and once he saw how boring I was he’d run the other way.

“There isn’t much to tell, Range. I work at Fosters’ during the week and then I watch television all weekend until it’s time for work again.”

There, take that, Mr. Ego. Only took me two minutes to scare him away. Must be a new world record. He probably got bored or something and took a bet with one of his friends that he could get the awkward girl at the candy shop to put out. Little did he know I was onto his game. No way was he going to win that bet on my watch.

We continued to walk a few more feet until Range reached over, lightly grabbed my hand, and entwined our fingers like it was the most natural thing in the world. I started to tense and pull away, but then his thumb began to stroke circles on my skin and it felt kind of nice. I guessed holding hands was ok among friends, even though we weren’t really friends. I just couldn’t figure out what his angle was. Clearly, he was good-looking enough to get any girl he wanted at the blink of an eye. Why would he want to waste time on a Plain Jane like me? My sisters would have a field day with this if they knew I was walking home with a hottie like Range. The thought made me chuckle to myself, just thinking about all the insults they would come up with.

“What do you like to watch on television? I rarely have the time myself to sit down and enjoy a good flick, but it sounds like you enjoy it.”

Range looked truly interested in my response. He listened in earnest as I tried to come up with a way to explain my fascination with classic TV.

“Probably nothing you would enjoy watching. I usually watch a lot of older shows and movies.”

“Oh, you mean like from the 90s?” he asked while looking down at me.

“Um, noooo. Kind of older.” It felt so stupid to be so vague, but how was I going to explain I liked movies so old they weren’t in HD?

“Older than the 90’s? So you mean like “Gone with the Wind” type shit? I can see you being a classic kind of girl.” He had a huge smile on his face as he said it, which caused my insides to flutter unexpectedly. How could he not find that lame as hell? Surely, the idea of a twenty-three-year-old woman watching old-ass movies all weekend was a buzz kill. I was sure any minute now he was going to tell me we had nothing in common; that he was glad he could walk me home safely, but he never wanted to see me again. I was totally surprised when he gave my hand a little squeeze of assurance and said, “My buddy Buck used to watch the oldies when he was around. Some of them weren’t half bad.”

Holy shit, that was a shock to the system. Who knew this sexy beast was fond of classic TV? I gave him a huge smile at this revelation but couldn’t help but wonder what else he liked to do.

“What about you, Range? What do you like to do in your spare time?” We were nearing my house, and I found myself slowing my steps because I didn’t want this time with him to end. Something about the way he held my hand spread warmth throughout my entire body and I wanted to savor it for a little while longer. Who knew if I’d ever get the chance again?

“Not much spare time, babe. Between the junkyard and the laundromat, my time is pretty well booked.”

“Oh, yes, the Fosters told me today you owned the laundromat next door. That’s pretty impressive for someone so young.”

He didn’t respond to my praise; instead, he gave me a look like it was no big deal. I still had to wonder why he would purchase a laundromat. It wasn’t exactly something a younger person would aspire to have, or maybe I was just being a judgmental bitch and should stop making assumptions. Maybe one day I’d get to ask, but I didn’t want to pressure him. It’s not like it was my business anyway.

I pulled up short right outside of my house, while Range took a moment to get a good look. It was a nice enough house with three floors that included a basement. My grandmother had lived here for many years before she passed away, but she managed to keep the place in great shape. It had four bedrooms, so each of us had our own, which was a good thing since we rarely got along. The shutters were painted a bland white and we even had a wraparound porch with two rocking chairs out front. Yeah, it was something right out of Southern Living Magazine, but it was home for now. I removed my hand from Range’s grip and indicated with a jerk of my chin that this was indeed my house we were standing in front of, all the while trying to come up with a way to say good-bye to him without it getting awkward.

“Well, thanks for walking me home, Range. I really do appreciate it.” I turned to go inside, but Range reached for my elbow, halting my getaway and at the same time making my heart pound so hard I was sure he could hear it in the silence of the evening. He then did something totally unexpected and a complete turn-on. He licked his thump and brushed it over my cheek then stuck it in his mouth to suck off the contents. It was at that horrifying moment when I realized I still had chocolate on my face from work and had walked all the way home without realizing it.
Someone kill me now!
He released my elbow and took a step backwards.