Page 6 of Dragon's Unwanted Love
“I think you got your message across loud and clear,” he said, grinning at her. “No one’s going to ask you to go get coffee again.”
***Abby***
Abby used her anger and frustration to fuel her through the morning. The only bright spot was the moment when Tom handed her the steaming cup from the coffee shop. She thanked him sweetly, then took a big gulp, not caring that it burned all the way down, and flashed him a pleased smile.
“Thank you, it’s perfect,” she said. “Maybe you should go for coffee all the time, they usually mess up my order.”
Behind her, Jackson had to stifle his laughter and almost dropped his cup when Tom shoved it into his hands. “You just couldn’t resist poking the bear, could you?” he asked. “Not that he didn’t deserve it.”
“I could have been nice, but I didn’t feel like it,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “He’ll think twice about messing with me again.”
“Remind me not to make you mad,” Jackson said, grinning at her. “You don’t play fair.”
“You’ve already made me mad,” she shot back at him. “You survived.”
Jackson studied her for a few seconds, and she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Heat rose up inside her, her heart began to pound, and her body started to tingle in a new way. A strange look appeared on his face, something in his eyes changed, and she suddenly had the urge to turn and run from him. The feelings slowly creeped through her. Stunned, she looked away, fighting the urge to look at him again, to see if what she’d seen in his eyes was real, then forced herself to take a step away from him, wondering if she’d lost her mind.
“I don’t think I want to take that risk again,” Jackson finally said. “I think I got off lucky.”
She gave him a dirty look. “Very funny,” she said, hoping he couldn’t hear the way her voice was shaking. “We should get back to work.”
Dr. Simmons walked into the lab at exactly twelve o’clock, inspected their work, and then gave them the rest of the day off, which was the first good news she’d had all day. When she ran down the stairs and plopped down next to Yvonne on a bench in front of the building, she was smiling.
“You must have had a better morning than I did,” Yvonne said. “Dr. Vigil droned on and on all morning about how important ethics are in medicine, and I swear that woman never shut up.”
“It’s her passion,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “At least you didn’t have to clean and stock the dissection lab.”
“Oh, gross,” Yvonne said, wrinkling her nose. “You win. Let’s go get some lunch, and then we can go back to your place and pack your stuff.”
“I brought my lunch, but I’ll go with you,” she said, getting to her feet. “It won’t take long for me to pack. I don’t have that much stuff.”
Several hours later, she carried the last box of her belongings into what was now her bedroom, set it down on the desk in the corner, and then looked around. With a little whoop, she threw herself onto the soft bed, wishing she could take a nap right then, but a quick glance at the clock reminded her that she had to get to work. When she sat up, Yvonne was smiling at her from the doorway, and she was embarrassed for a second, but then remembered they were friends. She didn’t have to hide her background from her.
“I think this is the nicest bed I’ve ever had,” she said, bouncing up and down. “Thank you again for letting me move in.”
“I’m glad to have you here,” Yvonne said. “What do you want for dinner?”
“Oh, Yvonne, I’m sorry. I guess we should be celebrating, but I have work tonight,” she said. “Maybe we can do something when I get back. It’s a weeknight, so the bar shouldn’t be that busy. I could bring home some pizza or something.”
“That sounds great,” Yvonne said. “I’ll just grab a snack to hold me over.”
“I think I’d better shower, I’m a mess,” she said, getting up from the bed. “I should be back by ten, if that works.”
“Only if you put extra cheese on that pizza,” Yvonne said, grinning at her.
She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water soothe her tired muscles, then climbed out and began the laborious chore of getting ready for work. When her hair was done and her face covered in makeup, she went to the closet and pulled out her uniform, then quickly put it on, avoiding her reflection in the mirror. Reminding herself thatit was just a job, a temporary one at that, she headed for the living room, almost forgetting that Yvonne was there.
“Oh, my God, what are you wearing?” Yvonne asked, throwing down the textbook she’d been reading. “Is that makeup on your face?”
“It’s my uniform. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I have to wear it,” she said, then sighed. “The makeup is all part of the look. It gets me an extra thirty percent in tips so it’s worth it to humiliate myself. You have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this. I’d never live it down, and they’ll never take me seriously.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Yvonne said, getting to her feet and walking around her. “What kind of bar is this place?”
She sighed, “It’s a hipster cowboy bar. Personally, I don’t get it, but the tips are good, and I don’t get hit on that often,” she said. “They make the men wear something equally degrading, so that helps. It’s just a job; at least, that’s what I tell myself every night when I walk in the door.”
“More power to you, girlfriend,” Yvonne said, shaking her head. “Who knew there was a temptress hiding underneath all those jeans and tee-shirts? You should show that body of yours off a little more.”
“Are you kidding? It’s hard enough to be taken seriously as it is,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m more than happy to let a bunch of thirty-somethings ogle me for tips; it pays the bills, but that’s as far as it goes. Men are pigs, you know that. As soon as I let a little skin show, they’ll all be looking at me differently.”
