"Okay listen, dicksuck," Lauren snarled, "you can take that patronizing tongue that smells like your own ass and tuck it the fuck in, because the next time you talk to me that way, I'll knee you in your insignificant little balls."
That's what she
wanted
to say. Badly. She wanted to lean into the smarmy mechanic right here in his own garage, bracket him with her blue eyes, and remind him that when he talked about air filters and brake shoes, she knew damn well what the fuck he was talking about, and that he didn't need to use
that
tone, thank you very fucking much.
Except that, alas, she had no idea what he was saying about air filters and brake shoes. And he knew it, too.
But still. Did he need to savor his smug little explanation
that
much? "Yeah. Well, so here's the thing, ma'am," he went on now, his lip curling; motherfucker couldn't even stop himself from smirking for three seconds, "it
was
under warranty.
Was
. But when the manufacturer went to a fixed-maintenance model last year, that modified the terms of your warranty. Understand?" He gave a reasonable facsimile of sincerity, belied by that damn curled lip. Lauren wanted to pull out her little Swiss army knife and slice that lip clean off. "They emailed you about it."
"I get, like, three emails a week from that dealership!" she protested. "Each one is, like, eight thousand words!"
"Well," the man shrugged, his lip curling even more, "somewhere in those eight thousand words, ma'am, is the information about changes to the warranty policy." He looked suddenly bored, his eyes seeking out her cleavage again. "Look, I can't tell you how long the wait'll be. You're probably best off just sitting out by the cashier if you can't figure out a ride."
She found herself staring dully up at his big, stupid face with its big, stupid nose and that curled lip, and she decided she very much wanted to knee him in the balls. But she also knew she had a car that wouldn't run, and he had it up on a lift with her keys in his pocket. She sighed. "Fine. Thanks, uh, Mr..."
"Hal." His eyes went vacant once more as he studied her tits, so she turned away and made sure she was facing well away from him before she rolled her eyes, her bold stride down the seedy hallway through the buzz of the fluorescents spoiled as soon as she realized he'd be checking out her ass. "I'm Hal, honey."
"I bet you are," she hissed under her breath, shoving the door open with one smooth bop of her hip. It shook on its hinges, the little spring at the top groaning as she stepped through into the little waiting area. She'd already spent half an hour here while sleazy, smug old Hal had taken his first look at her car, and now the little cashier glanced up with the same bright smile from earlier.
"All set?" She had a pucker to her lipsticked mouth that looked oddly familiar, in a round pale face with frazzled hair she'd swept back off her forehead. There were a couple of zits up there, nothing major; the girl couldn't possibly be older than nineteen, and Lauren found herself smiling back before she even knew it. "Cash or credit?"
"No. He's not even started on my car yet." She sighed back down onto the hard chair and grabbed the nearest dusty copy of
House and Home
off the rickety table under the defunct TV. "I did, however, get a free lecture about warranties and an unsolicited helping of low-grade sexual harassment." To her shock, the girl behind the register laughed.
"Yeah, he tends to do that." She hesitated, an impish smile sprouting from those mobile little lips as she studied Lauren. "No offense, ma'am, but... you're sort of his type."
"Meaning?" Lauren was too shocked and defeated to be offended, at least so far. She girl's smile grew.
"Well, let's just say he tends to go for women with big boobs, and leave it at that," she giggled. She flipped through some papers on her counter beside the register. "I'm sorry," she added, and Lauren sighed.
"No, it's not your fault." She glanced down at her shirt, the cloth straining hard, and shook her head ruefully. "These things can be a fucking curse sometimes."
"Tell me about it," the girl nodded, giggling some more. She glanced over her shoulder at the door to the service area, then leaned out from behind the register. "It's not just you," she smiled, arching her back; the buttons of her flannel strained to hold her in, and Lauren found herself laughing back at her. "My name's Abby."
"I'm Lauren." She hesitated, then glanced at the cashier's chest. "So that's why he hired you?"
"No!" Abby rolled her eyes. "It's even worse than that. He's my dad."
"Oh!" Lauren had no clue what to say, except, "sorry..."
"Yeah, well." Abby tossed her hair back. "That's how I know his type. My mom's like a 34F."
"Fuck," Lauren marveled, then she covered her mouth. "Oh. Excuse me. It's been a stressful day."
Abby laughed again. She seemed like the kind of girl that did it easily, and often. "You want to swear? Fuckin' swear!" They both grinned. "This is a car repair place. I hear about forty f-bombs per hour. And yes, Lauren, I do get my share of glances." She paused, her lively eyes flickering down Lauren's seated body. "He likes nice butts, too, so you're double-screwed here."
"Oh. Great." Lauren felt herself stir, sitting up straighter in the hard chair. She worked hard to keep herself in shape, and it bothered her when only men seemed to notice. "Thanks, though."
"Hey!" The cashier put both hands up. "I see dozens of people in here every day. I know what I know, and you're a fucking ten." She winked. "Eleven, maybe."
"Wow!" Lauren was grinning widely now, feeling herself respond to this careless little sweetheart. "You're going to make me blush."
"You already are," Abby pointed out indulgently.
"Fuck." She glanced across at the only other person in the room, an elderly man waiting while Hal did his safety inspection. The guy's head was tipped back against the big front window, his eyes closed in cowlike docility. Abby noticed.
"It's okay," she smiled. "I'll quit bugging you." She straightened the stack of papers on the counter, humming to herself while an impact wrench whined in the distance. Lauren felt the flush slowly dissipate, her annoyance with Hal very much forgotten now. The girl's hair spread in untidy whorls across her face as she bent over her paperwork, her fingers tapping decisively at a filthy keyboard off to one side.
Lauren's mind wandered as she paged through some spread of a celebrity home out on PEI or Labrador or someplace, wondering to herself what Abby looked like under her flannel, what her legs could do, what that wild hair would feel like trailing over naked skin as that wry little mouth crept down, down... With a start Lauren found Abby's face again, realizing the girl was staring right back at her.
The eye contact was an electric jolt sizzling through her body.