Miss Nobody

(Please read TW/CW in my bio.)

Chapter 12

BAKED

Afternoon Day 4

Grunting from behind a tool shed further off the path caught my attention. "Ormus?" The poor pig had been alone lately...two men with their pants around their ankles surprised me as I turned the corner.

I froze in place and couldn't help but watch as Ben moved in and out behind Roman. I was about to turn around and slowly sneak back the way I came when they both saw me and quickly pulled up their pants. "I'm so sorry!" I blurted out and covered my eyes, which would have been more polite twenty seconds ago. I peeked through my fingers, blocking their bottom halves, until they were dressed.

The men were ruddy and stared at the ground while they adjusted their clothes.

"It's okay." Roman smiled and buckled his belt.

"Sorry." Ben shook his head, his eyes locked on the ground. "Please don't tell him. Please don't tell anyone." He gestured to Roman.

"Of course not, it's not my place to tell anyone. But just a heads up, I think more people know than me." I tried to hint without telling on Jonny but if they wanted it to be a secret they might need to be a little more discreet.

Roman picked up on my hint. "Mr. Zantana knows?"

I nodded.

"Fuck." Ben looked at the sky in angst and motioned for Roman to start walking.

Roman interlinked his arm with mine and Ben followed us. "I'm glad someone knows our secret." Roman squeezed my arm as we walked. "I keep telling Benedicto-" Roman looked at Ben behind him. "-that we won't be able to hide forever."

Ben rolled his eyes and put his hands in his pockets.

"Why do you have to hide?" I asked Roman.

"Ben's worried about his uncles finding out," he whispered loudly.

"Like Jonny?" I looked back at Ben.

He shook his head while looking at the ground.

"Mr. Zantana is not the problem. It's Mr. Zantana's older brothers that he thinks will not approve."

"They won't," Ben said quietly.

"I'm so sorry you both have to experience that. Especially in this day and age. Nobody should have to hide who they are."

"Not one of us on this planet is healthy, mentally." Roman sighed. "Our parents fucked us all up and most of us don't know any different. Lots of lead in the paint." He laughed. "At least we don't have to hide around each other." He kissed Ben quickly on the cheek and looked at him with fondness.

Ben blushed and returned his love-struck gaze.

I blushed, feeling like I was intruding.

We stopped in front of a storage building. "Tio said you needed more locks on your door. I can do that now if it's a good time?" Ben pulled out a toolbox and headed to the workbench. He grabbed six boxes of locks and a drill.

I should've protested but hesitated. Would locks work to keep me in? To keep the danger out? I nodded instead. "Yeah, that would be good."

"Seems like overkill." He loaded the six locks into a bag. "But what Mr. Zantana wants, Mr. Zantana gets."

Roman grabbed the toolbox. "That's the reward for being the Boss." He walked past me with a wink and led the way to my room.

I let the men in.

Roman whistled as he viewed the dilapidated room. "This is where they have you staying?"

"I don't know why my Tio wanted to put you up here and so last minute too," Ben said and looked around. "We spent all summer building that tiny house, I thought you would end up in there."

"Where do you guys stay?" Curiosity or Detective work? Either way, I needed to start asking more questions about the people around me.

"Employee housing. Over that ridge in the back," Roman answered.

"The one infested with mice?" I asked, horrified.

Roman and Ben both chuckled. "Chef's cat is helping." Roman walked over to my large half-circle window mostly obscured with old boards. He moved a leaning board and tried to push it back into place. It slowly leaned back to the side with a groan. "Looks like Tio is a peeping Tom." Roman pointed out the window as I approached him.

Jonny's black cabin was across the street, directly across from my room.

Roman shook his head and rolled his eyes. He pulled a tape measure off his utility belt and measured the window frame. "We'll get you all nice and cozy up here."

Ben cleared his throat, catching our attention and pointed to the hole in my floor.

I shrugged.

Roman almost choked. "Don't worry hun, we'll have this place looking new in no time."

"That would be great. Thank you. I'm going to be out late so I'll be out of the way." I let them know.

"Is Mr. Zantana taking you to the car show in town?" Roman smiled suggestively.

"He did ask me out but I already had plans." I made sure my ID was still floating around in my cock purse. I needed a wallet.

"Oh, so you told him no?" Roman looked surprised. "Not many people have the guts to tell him that. Good for you. May do him some good, bring him back down to earth a little bit." He pulled out a tube of dusty rose lip gloss and crossed over to me. "Pucker up." He pursed his lips and I copied him. He spread the pretty gloss across my bare lips and turned my face from side to side. "They say you should match your lipstick to the color of your nipples. I think this is the one." He winked and placed the tube in my purse.

"Thanks," I told him and smooshed my lips together.

"Come on, let's get the supplies, big mouth." Ben straightened from leaning against the door.

"I'll show you what I do with my big mouth," Roman sassed.

Ben playfully admonished Roman as they walked out the door.

I grabbed my jacket, phone, and some cash and put it in my purse. The leather purse had a black rooster embroidered on the front and I laughed to myself when I remembered Mrs. Ortega calling it her cock purse. For some reason it made her think of me.

My giggles eased the tightness in my shoulders and even though everything was going wrong in my life, I tried to remain positive about my future. I gathered my clothes in a daze and headed into the bathroom. My shower was quick and hot and lifted my mood a little more.

Evening Day 4

I waited in the front parking lot contemplating all that had happened the past few days. The memories of being a sex worker weren't unpleasant but I couldn't shake the feeling that my reason for working in a brothel in the first place was important.

The memories of using Sex Magic during my time there was coming back to me. Manifesting with sexual energy and helping men achieve goals they could only dream of. The training I received in my dreams was returning slowly, only glimpses. And within all of it nothing about what I should be looking for in the water.

Keiran's car tires screeched into the parking lot. He stopped in front of me, leaned across the interior of his sporty car, and pushed open the passenger door. "Get in, gorgeous!"

I slid myself into his low car and put on my seatbelt as he gunned it out of the parking lot. I held onto the door handle trying to steady myself as he took the curves on the road too fast, his tires squealing.

I held my breath as a memory tugged at my consciousness. The feeling becoming more familiar. I braced myself.

***

I'm in the driver's seat of a car. I'm driving too fast and I know it. The car behind me catches up, hitting my back bumper and throwing my car into a spin across the road. I hit a tree. Hard. A branch digs into my neck as I pass out with the smell of fresh pine overtaking my senses.

***

The ding on my phone brought me back inside Keiran's speeding car.

A text from Jonny: You disobeyed me.

My heart sank and I blushed as I replayed my morning with Jonny. His fingers inside me. Kissing me against the wall. His naked tattoo-covered body. I forgot to leave my panties. I cringed at the word 'panties' but it was his word, not mine. I giggled. As much as I wanted to flirt with Jonny, I needed him to keep his distance. What happened between us was...hot but something like this couldn't happen again. If something were to happen to him...the tears burned my eyes.

I wiped them away quickly and got a hold of myself. I didn't reply to his text and put my phone in my jacket pocket.

Keiran was driving too fast to notice me and before I knew it he pulled onto the small town's Main Street, where his mom's cafe was located. A bright neon green sign greeted us.

Baked

Cannabis

Cupcakes, Coffee & Crepes.

"This is cool." I looked over the cafe front. It was mostly silver, white, and green from the hanging plants. A minimalistic, industrial vibe but like a jungle.

"My mom opened this place for the shock value." A mischievous glint in his eye. "To piss off her parents, but it took off." Keiran shrugged.

We exited the car and walked down the sidewalk to go inside. An older couple stopped us. "Keiran, is that you dear?" The gray-haired woman smiled. "Look at you all grown up. How handsome you've become."

Keiran smiled widely. "Mrs. Widell. Sir." He shook the older man's hand.

"Are you back in town? I heard they hired a new Chef over there. God rest his soul." The man looked at me, he was trying to be polite in Keiran's presence but I could tell I made them uncomfortable. "Did they ever figure out what happened? I can't imagine Chef did this by accident."

I hesitated, unsure what to say.

Keiran put his arm around my shoulders. "They've ruled it an accident. Chef did make mistakes from time to time, unfortunately, this one wasn't so forgiving. Jane is lucky to be alive." Keiran let them know.

I almost believed him but the toxicology report hadn't come back yet so I wasn't sure how he knew this.

"Of course." Mr. Widell looked at his wife and their smiles were more friendly toward me. "It's good to have you back in town. Tell your mother we say hi and it's her turn to hire the caterer for the bridge tournament."

Keiran nodded. "Of course, have a nice evening." He led us into his mom's cafe.

"Is that true?" I whispered.

Keiran winked at me. "I have no idea. Mrs. Widell's bridge club is nothing more than an extravagant gossip session. They'll spread it around and you'll be forgotten about in a week." He shook his head with a smile and guided me toward the silver and glass register stand.

Everything was covered in plants. Green vines wrapped around the stand working their way up silver pipes to the high ceilings.

"Two Iced Chais, not infused." He ordered for us and the young woman behind the greenery blushed.

I suppose Keiran was handsome. His shaggy light brown hair, a bit past his ears, and his glittering green eyes covered with long lashes. They gleamed like he held secrets he wasn't supposed to know. He turned to me. He had nice teeth and a friendly smile, I continued my assessment.

"It's the best thing on the menu and the house specialty." He smiled. He was tall but I was only two inches taller than five feet, so most people were.

I nodded, returning his friendly smile. After I met Jonny, I wasn't really paying attention to the other men around me. Of course, Chef's death, my sleepwalking, and the fact that someone still wanted me dead might have had something to do with being celibate, but who was counting?

The room was dimly lit with white walls. They shone through the dark green leaves of the plants like stars all around the large warehouse. Fluffy couches and mismatched armchairs were strewn about in a way that didn't make sense but still plenty of room to sit alone or in a group. The vibe that Keiran's mother created in here was unique.

Keiran grabbed our drinks and we sat on a small but cushy loveseat. The sides of our bodies touched. It made me nervous. Is this a date? Am I being naive to think we are just friends hanging out? I tried to keep a friendly smile on my face as he handed me one of the full cups.

"Hope you like it." He drank from his cup.

I sipped. "This is amazing." I nodded to him.

"He thinks it's a punishment but I like it when he chokes me." Jess's familiar voice drew my eye to the couches in front of us. Jess and Cherry sat on a loveseat a few yards away. It was hard to see them clearly through the crowd and dim lights but Jess's blonde hair and Cherry's dark hair were a familiar pairing.