Текст книги "Threefold"

Автор книги: Scott Hildreth

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

“Well, let’s try it, shall we?” he said.

“Good bread, good meat, there may or may not be a God, but let’s eat,” Ethan said under his breath.

“Sometimes you disgust me,” Cade sighed.

“You always disgust me,” Ethan responded as he picked up a piece of chicken and smelled it.

After spooning some of the peanut sauce onto his plate, Ethan placed the spoon back into the bowl. I reached for the spoon and did the same as I continued to watch him. He carefully pulled the hot chicken from the skewer, set it down on his plate, and cut it in sections with his fork. He then piercing a piece with the tines of his fork, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite.

“Holy fuck, that’s good,” he said as he chewed the chicken.

I pulled the meat from my skewer, cut it into pieces, and dipped it in the peanut sauce. Cade wagged his eyebrows and tilted his head toward Ethan as I lifted the chicken to my mouth.

“Oh, thank you,” I responded.

Holy shit, that’s good sauce.

I continued to chew my chicken and watched as Ethan raised a spoonful of the fried rice to his mouth. After chewing it and swallowing it, he dropped the spoon onto his plate, cupped his hands together, and glanced at Cade before turning to face me.

“What’s in the rice? The little pieces of meat?” Ethan asked.

I thought of what Cade had put in the skillet before he added the rice; onions, garlic, oil, and ham.

“Ham,” I responded.

“You could learn a lot from this girl, Cade. This rice beats the shit out of what you normally cook; you put bacon in it, right?” Ethan asked as he shook his head and scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth.

“You normally use bacon?” I asked as I turned toward Cade.

He closed his eyes and lowered his chin slightly in confirmation. I glanced down at my plate and stared at the food. After shifting my eyes to Ethan, I watched as he spooned some of the garlic pepper sauce over his bowl of wontons. He then dipped a wonton in the sauce, lifted it to his mouth with his fork, and ate it in one bite. As he chewed the food, I reached for the hot pepper sauce. After spooning the sauce over my wontons, I poked one and lifted it to my mouth.

Oh my God, that’s good.

“Jesus, these wontons are the fucking bomb. Rain, this is really good. Hell, you should open an Asian restaurant,” Ethan said as he poked another with his fork.

As much as Cade obviously wanted me to take credit for the meal, I didn’t feel it was right to continue without recognizing him for having helped, or at least giving him a little of the credit. Ethan’s continuous praise was making me feel somewhat guilty.

“Well, I just did what Cade told me to. Without him giving me instructions, we’d be eating peanut butter sandwiches,” I responded.

“Well, either way, it’s fucking good,” Ethan said as he continued to gobble down the food, “This shit’s one of my favorites, and Cade knows it.”

“She did all the work,” Cade sighed.

I glanced at Cade and made my best effort to wink.

You’re precious.

I sat up in my chair and smiled. As much as I felt I had no real business being in their home, these two men were slowly making me feel as if I belonged with them. Our ten or so nights together eating dinner had become enough of a ritual that it was difficult for me to imagine not seeing them for a night. As I continued to eat and watch the two of them intently, I realized I had no right to feel the way I felt about them or the situation I was in with them. I needed to learn to live in the moment, be grateful for what I had, and not worry so much about what the future may or may not bring. As the three of us sat and quietly enjoyed the food, I realized I had truly been blessed by having them in my life.

“So,” Cade said loudly, interrupting the long silence and gathering Ethan’s and my attention.

“Yes,” Ethan said sarcastically, stringing the word along for some time.

Cade looked up from his plate as he brushed his hair out of his eyes, “Well, this morning when I was going to work, there was a sheet of paper posted on the inside wall of the elevator.”

“Wasn’t anything when I came home,” Ethan shrugged.

Cade shook his head as he carefully placed his fork on his plate, “It’s because I tore it down and kept it so no one else would see it. Let me finish, you goon.”

“Finish,” Ethan sighed as he poked another wonton in his mouth.

“The guy down the hall, the handicapped guy? He needs someone to prepare his meals for him, help him get dressed in the morning, and he needs bathed at night. It said the pay is fifteen dollars an hour in cash, and it would take a total of six hours a day. That’s almost $100 a day,” Cade explained as he alternated glances between Ethan and me.

“Getting a second job?” Ethan chuckled as he poked another wonton.

Cade shook his head from side to side, and finally focused on me.

“No, asshole, I was thinking of Rain,” Cade sighed as he shifted his gaze toward Ethan, “Maybe she should see if they’d hire her. And in thinking that, it got me wondering…”

“I think we should let her stay here. You know, stay all night instead of sleeping on the bench or by the dumpster. It really bothers me that she sleeps outside, it’s cruel to treat someone you like in the manner we’ve been treating her. And I think we should let her stay here instead of leaving when we’re gone to work. What do you think?”

As Cade spoke, I couldn’t believe my ears. My heart began to race and I started to feel almost ill. To think, even for one minute, that my life could possibly change so drastically was more than I was able to make sense of. As I sat and hoped Ethan agreed with Cade, Ethan responded.

Ethan set his fork onto his plate and brushed his hair over his ears, “Well, I like it. And, as far as I’m concerned, doesn’t matter much if she gets the job or not. If she wants, she can stay here. If she gets the job, it’ll just help her out that much more.”

I attempted to swallow. As I glanced back and forth between the two men, my eyes began to feel swollen and heavy. In a week and a half, I had grown to like these two more than anyone else I had ever met in my life. Now, I was beginning to think my feelings were justified, and not simply wishful thinking. I opened my mouth and spilled my thoughts and emotions onto the table.

“This can’t be happening,” I said as I raised my hands to my mouth.

I glanced at Ethan.

He grinned and nodded his head.

I turned toward Cade.

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Well…?”

“I just…really? You’re…” I paused and rubbed my eyes with my index fingers.

My emotions began to mount. I felt as if any moment I would begin blubbering. I had no idea people like this even existed in real life. I glanced at each of the men independently, and shrugged my shoulders.

“You’re serious?” I stammered.

They both nodded their heads.

“If they gave me the job…I could…I could even buy…a uhhm… a new…a few new pairs of panties and some summer shorts,” I said.

Cade smiled, blinked his eyes a few times and wiped what looked like a tear from his cheek.

And the thought of it all quickly became too much for me.

And I began to cry.

ETHAN

The world is comprised of all different types of people. Regardless of how well you think you might know someone, from time to time they’ll say or do something that will completely take you off guard, and change the way you’ll look at them forever.

“So let me get his straight. You have some homeless chick staying in your house? Right now? Cade’s at work, and you’re at work, and some homeless bitch you met a few weeks ago is rifling through your shit, trying to decide what to pawn off for cash?” Jake said as he lowered the lift onto the floor.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. For many reasons, I had not yet shared with Jake the fact Rain had moved in. I didn’t want to listen to his opinions or theories about a homeless woman and the risks we were taking in having her in our home. Today, however, I chose to mention it; not for his approval, but more because I was pleased with her company. I wanted to share my pleasure by talking about it with someone other than Cade. In retrospect, I guess Jake was the wrong person to share my joy with.

“She’s not homeless, she’s got a place now. She lives with us,” I said flatly.

“What the fuck ever. I swear to fucking Christ. You’re the most soft-hearted fucker I’ve ever met. I’d beat that prick’s ass that’s hauling your wife around on the back of his bike, and I’d toss that homeless bitch on her ear as soon as she got done swallowing my cock. Does she suck a mean dick?” he asked as he reached over the seat and pulled the choke lever.

I tried to act like I didn’t even hear what he said about Rain sucking dicks.

Jake was in his mid-thirties, covered in tattoos, had short curly hair, and a full beard. His beard was roughly as long as his hair, and it appeared he washed each of them once a week. He and I had worked together in the shop for almost four years. He was a biker through and through, and had very little compassion for mankind as a whole. He didn’t want to know anyone who wasn’t already in his small circle of friends, which consisted primarily of other bikers. He trusted very few people, and any time something happened which exposed a person who was a liar or a thief, he acted as if the entire world was behind the event. Life, to him, was one big conspiracy. All day, every day, he drank coffee like water, and never shut up. His mouth was constantly moving, and random opinions spilled from it as the day progressed.

“She’s my ex-wife. I don’t give a fuck what she does, she’s not my concern. And yeah, Rain is at the house now, casing the place, looking for gold, silver, and diamonds to hock. When I get home, we’re going to shoot another porno movie, and I’ll sell it on the internet,” I responded sarcastically.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” he chuckled as he switched the ignition on.

“Is the inspection cover on or off that primary?” he asked as he reached for the start button.

“I put it on, it’ll be fine,” I nodded.

He held his thumb over the switch and hesitated. As he glared at me I shrugged my shoulders.

“What?” I snapped.

“You seriously have that little bitch staying in your house while you’re gone?” he asked.

I nodded my head, “Yep.”

“I’ll just say it now. I told you so. I fucking told you so,” he sighed.

I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and inhaled a shallow breath. As I exhaled, I opened my eyes and responded, “She’s not like you think. Maybe after you meet her, you’ll agree.”

“I don’t want the little thief around me sniffing for something to steal. Fuck that shit. When you said you let her stay all night during that storm, I thought you were fucking nuts, but this is borderline insanity, brother,” he growled.

“To each his own,” I said as I reached over the bike and pressed my thumb into his, starting the bike.

As the bike exhaust began to rumble, I listened for any odd sounds from the transmission. I nodded my head at the smooth hum of the motor and hollered over the sound of the exhaust, “You want me to take it for a spin?”

“I’ll take it. If you want to pick up the tools, I guess we’ll call it a day,” he shrugged as he walked around the back of the bike.

“Good, I’d like to get out of here early,” I responded.

“Yeah, you can get home and see what the little thief is doing,” he said as he rolled the bike down the ramp.

“Actually, I was thinking of taking her shopping before she has to go back to work,” I said, knowing it would irritate him.

“Shopping? Sometimes I wonder about you, E,” he grunted.

“Feeling’s mutual,” I said as I began to pick up the tools.

After picking up the tools, and sweeping the shop, I looked at my watch. It was 3:00. Rain shouldn’t have to be back to work until roughly 5:00, leaving us enough time to potentially go shopping. Although I hadn’t mentioned it to her, I suspected she’d never ask, and actually enjoy the trip.

As Jake pulled into the parking lot beside my bike, I waited for his report on the performance of the motorcycle we’d repaired.

“Clutch sound good? No slipping?” I asked.

“Runs like a fucking top,” he said as he switched off the ignition.

“You know, I been thinking,” he said as he lifted his leg over the seat.

He crossed his arms and leaned backward, as if he was giving deep thought to a serious subject. After a moment, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his gaze.

“There’s that patch-in party coming up at the end of summer. Hell, we’re invited you know,” he paused and nodded his head.

“And?” I asked as I stepped to the rear of the bike.

“Well, that girl, the homeless chick. You should bring her to the party,” he sighed.

I turned, smiled, and nodded my head at the thought of Rain riding to the party on the back of my bike. I suspected she’d really enjoy the freedom associated with riding on a motorcycle.

“I might just do that,” I said under my breath as I gazed toward my bike.

“Yeah, probably be a good deal for everyone. You could have that little whore sucking everyone’s cocks. Might make you a few bucks and get you a little cred with the big boys,” he chuckled.

Without warning, or much thought, I pivoted my right hip toward him, clenched my fist, and swung an uppercut at his chin. As my fist crunched into his chin, he collapsed against the building. The pain from the impact shot from my fist to my elbow like a jolt of electricity. As I shook my hand and walked to my bike, he began to blink his eyes and rub his chin.

“You motherfucker,” I hissed as I wiped my knuckles on my jeans.

It was apparent he knew he had crossed a line I wasn’t comfortable with. With wide eyes, he rubbed his chin and glared at me as I got on my bike and started it. As the engine warmed up, I stared at him for a long moment, shook my head, and pulled in the clutch lever.

And, for once in his life, Jake had nothing to say.

Best decision you’ve ever made, you insensitive prick.

RAIN

The day after their invitation to have me move in was a Saturday, and Cade spent all morning moving boxes to the basement as Ethan worked for half a day at his shop. In the afternoon, a delivery service delivered a new bed, and moved it into the room upstairs. Cade purchased a small dresser and a nightstand from an advertisement on Craigslist for $40, and after some haggling, had the items delivered by the person selling them. Although everything I owned fit in one of the dresser drawers, I felt as if I had won the lottery. In many respects, I had.

I had my own bedroom, bathroom, and a place to put my belongings. The family of the handicapped man in the building hired me to assist him, and I was taking great pride in doing for him what had been done for me. Providing open arms, a kind heart, and exercising a little patience proved to provide me a feeling of satisfaction I had never felt.

I was making progress.

As I wandered through the house, and tried to find something that needed to be cleaned, Ethan walked in. I glanced at the clock on the wall, shocked he was home so early. It was 3:15, roughly two hours earlier than normal.

“You’re home early,” I said as I turned around to face him.

“Got off early. You busy?” he asked.

He wasn’t wearing his jacket, which I found odd. The evening ritual was for him to remove his jacket, walk to his room, and then get his one beer for the night.

I lifted the bottle of polish and pointed it at him as if it were a gun, “No, just looking for something to clean. Everything’s spotless.”

“That’s Cade for you,” he shrugged.

“Where’s your jacket?” I asked.

He tilted his head toward the door, “Left it at work. Let’s go shopping. We can run to the mall and get you a few things before you have to go back to work.”

“You mean like now?” I asked excitedly.

I had worked for two weeks, and saved every bit of the money. Cade had given me everything I needed as far as toiletries were concerned, and as much as I insisted, they wouldn’t accept any of my offerings for assistance in paying for groceries. The wages, along with the tips Trent had given me, totaled a little over two hundred dollars. Although I’d refused the previous offers to go shopping for fear of not being able to afford it, it now seemed possible after receiving my second payment. As much as I hated the thought of spending any of the money, buying new panties and maybe a pair of shorts was very exciting.

I rushed to the pantry, and put the rag and polish back where I found it, talking as I hurried past Ethan.

“Can we go to the mall and the DAV? I can get some new panties at the mall, and maybe a pair of really nice shorts at the DAV.”

“Sure,” he responded.

I ran from the pantry, past Ethan, and up to my bedroom. After pulling my hair into a ponytail, and grabbing my money, I rushed down the stairs and into the living room.

“Ready!” I squeaked as I raised my hands in the air.

Ethan shook his head and smiled, “Well, let’s do it.”

The ride to the mall was hot, but very refreshing. We rode up Douglas Avenue the entire way, and as always, traffic was minimal but consistent. As we slowly rode through College Hill, the smell of the spring flowers and freshly cut grass was enough to cause me to close my eyes and try to capture the scent with each breath. Riding on the back of the bike was more pleasurable than anything I had ever done, short of sex. As we pulled into the mall parking lot, the excitement was almost more than I could take.

“Guess when I was here last,” I said as I motioned toward the door.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders as he removed his glasses, “I don’t know.”

“I was sixteen. Christina’s mom brought us. I watched while they shopped. I didn’t come after that, it was depressing,” I sighed.

Although neither Ethan nor Cade had mentioned it, I knew the clothes I wore were nothing short of awful. With the exception of my black worker’s pants I had taken from a sack in the parking lot of the DAV, all of my other clothes were from high school. Over the years, items became ruined and were discarded. What I was left with was a small assortment of shirts, pants, two bras which I rarely wore, and a few pair of grotesque panties that I only wore when I felt I had to. The black pants were in good shape and didn’t show the two years of stains they’d acquired.

I had never seen myself as a dirty person, but since moving in with Ethan and Cade, I was beginning to realize I looked nothing short of awful when dressed. Now going into the mall looking like I just stepped off of a construction site, I held my head high and was filled with pride.

“Well, come on, we haven’t got all damned day,” Ethan said as he held the door open.

As he held the door with his left hand, his right hung at his side. It looked swollen and painful.

“What did you do to your hand, it looks swollen,” I asked.

“Smashed it at work,” he responded as he glanced down at it.

“It looks like it hurts,” I said over my shoulder as I walked inside.

“It’ll be fine,” he said flatly.

As we walked in front of Victoria’s Secret, I hesitated and stared in the shop. A sign in front of a huge display of panties said $10.50 or any 5 for $27.00. I turned toward Ethan, grinned, and glanced at the display.

“Well…” he said as he motioned inside, “They won’t bring them out here to you.”

I cautiously stepped inside as if they were going to reject me as soon as they saw me. The store smelled like I remembered Christina’s mother smelling. After approaching the display and gawking at the selection of panties, a skinny but curvaceous girl with black hair walked up and smiled. A clean, soft scent of flowers filled the air.

“How are we doing today?” she asked.

“Real well,” Ethan responded.

“Can I help you find anything?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“She’s found the panties, where are the bras?” Ethan asked.

“Right over there,” she said as she pointed to a display behind the one where we stood, “Do you know what size you need?”

“34 B,” I responded.

“Honey, I don’t think you’re a 34 anything. Have you been measured lately?” she asked.

Embarrassed, I shook my head.

“Hold on,” she said as she turned and walked away.

“I didn’t say I needed a bra,” I whispered.

“Well, I know you do. You never wear one. Just settle down, I’ll buy it for you, I want to,” Ethan whispered.

“You’re not buying me anything,” I whispered in response.

The black haired girl stepped between us with a fabric tape measure, “I’m Melanie, by the way. Now lift your arms.”

As I lifted my arms, she wrapped the tape measure around me.

“Okay, lower them,” she said.

After measuring me in three different places, she grinned.

“See?” she said as draped the tape measure over her neck.

“32 DD,” she grinned.

“Huh?” I shrugged.

“It happens all the time. Honey, you’re tiny, but your boobs aren’t. Try one of the 32DD’s, you’ll be surprised what it feels like to have a bra that actually fits,” she said.

I smiled and arched my back, “Okay.”

“Let me know if you need any help,” she said as she turned away.

I turned toward Ethan and cupped my hand beside my mouth, “I have big titties.”

He blinked his eyes and licked his lips playfully, “I know.”

After picking out five pairs of panties and a bra, Ethan and I walked to the dressing room. I felt special. To be honest, I was as excited as I could ever remember being in my entire life. I’m sure to most women, panties and bras are not perceived as a huge deal. To me, and for the last five years, they were something beyond my financial reach. Finding it odd how something so simple could become so exciting, I offered Ethan into the dressing room to share my excitement.

“I’m sorry, but he can’t go in with you, store policy,” the woman standing at the end of the row of dressing rooms said.

“But I want him to see them,” I sighed.

She looked both directions, leaned toward me, and whispered, “I tell you what. Try them on, and when you’re done, he can peek in the door, okay? Use this room.”

She unlocked the room at the end of the row of doors, across from the chair I suspected she wanted Ethan to sit in. I turned toward Ethan, shrugged my shoulders, and stepped into the room. After taking off my pants and pulling on the panties, I hung my tee shirt on the hook and pulled the bra on. It was soft against my skin, felt very supportive, but wasn’t binding in any way. I exhaled and looked in the mirror. Standing barefoot in a new pair of purple panties and a black bra, I looked better than I remember ever looking.

“Ethan,” I whispered as I pulled the door open a few inches.

Ethan stood and took the few steps to the door.

“Look,” I said as I swung the door open.

“Holy shit,” he gasped as he glanced over each shoulder, “Close the door.”

“I wanted you to see,” I whispered.

“I can see just fine. Holy fuck, you look great. Jesus, Rain,” he whispered, “The entire store doesn’t need to see you half-naked.”

I didn’t want the entire store to see me half-naked. I only wanted Ethan to see me. Part of the reason I wanted him to see me was because I was proud of the new underwear. A bigger part wanted him to see me because I wanted it to make him want me, and hoped him seeing me in my panties would help fuel that desire.

“I love this bra,” I sighed as I glanced back and forth between the mirror and Ethan.

“I love it too, now close the door and try on the other panties,” he said as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

After trying on each pair of the panties and admiring them in the mirror individually, I totaled the cost of the bra and panties, and decided I could afford to buy them as long as I didn’t buy anything else of significance in the next month. I needed to try and save all the money I could. As much as I hated to, I got dressed, sans panties and bra, and opened the door.

“Okay. I’m ready, boss” I said as I stepped out of the room.

“Now the tough part,” Ethan sighed as he stood from his chair.

Together, we walked to the checkout register, and I carefully placed the items on the counter. As our original saleswoman, Melanie, rang up each item, she smiled, folded them, and carefully placed them in a fancy striped bag. As she pressed the button, totaling the purchase, she jumped back and gasped.

“Holy crap!” she shouted.

“What?” I screeched as I jumped away from the counter.

Fairly certain she’d seen a spider or something gross, and knowing I didn’t want it anywhere near me or my new clothes, I stood away from the counter and waited for her to respond. She held her hands to her mouth and looked as if she was going to cry.

“I can’t believe it,” she gasped.

“What?” I asked as I turned toward Ethan for some kind of answer.

He peered over the counter and shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re our five thousandth shopper this year,” she said through the spaces between her fingers as she continued to stare at the cash register.

I alternated glances between Ethan and her, “What does that mean?”

She reached under the counter and pulled a credit card up and held in in her hand, “You’ve won a $500 dollar gift card.”

My heart raced. I opened my mouth and slowly turned to face Ethan, then shifted my eyes to Melanie, “$500 hundred dollars? Seriously? Me?”

She nodded her head and swiped the card through the reader.

“Looks like you have $409.56 left to spend. You don’t have to spend it today, it’s yours for whenever you like, at any of our stores,” she said as she handed me the card.

I turned to face Ethan and opened my arms, “Oh my God, this is the best day of my entire life.”

As he hugged me and held me in his arms, I was sure I was right. Feeling my body being held tight against his was amazing and I didn’t want it to end. Ethan and Cade were by far the best thing to ever happen to me. My life was changing, my luck was changing, and I had new underwear.

The only way life could get any better was if he didn’t ever let me go.