It was another long day at the pawn shop. I thought at least once a day about selling it or getting someone else to run the damn place, but I couldn't do it. My grandfather had started it, and then my dad kept it going. I couldn't bring myself to break the chain when he passed away.
Seeing my neighbor shut off his hose and put his hands on his hips when I pulled into the drive at home didn't brighten my mood any.
"Why don't you take care of your lawn?" he complained as I climbed out of the car.
As I walked to the door, I answered, "The grass is three inches tall."
"I'm tired of having to deal with all your dandelion seeds. You need to dig those things up like any responsible person. The whole neighborhood..."
I closed the door, cutting off the rest of his tirade and muttered, "I'll dig them up and shove them up your ass."
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood.
I took a shower, whipped up some grub, and then kicked back to watch some t.v. Same old, same old. I ended up dozing off at some point, and woke up in the middle of Fallon's monologue. The guy's better than Leno, but I was raised on Carson. There's just no comparison.
I shut him off and headed upstairs to bed. The last thing I needed was to sleep all night in the chair and wake up as stiff as a board.
Still half asleep, I stripped down to my boxers, shut off the light, and turned toward the bed. That's when something moving in my peripheral vision drew my attention to the window.
I stood there in the darkness of my room, hypnotized by the sight of my neighbor's twenty-year-old blonde daughter. She was right in front of her window with the lights on. The contrast of the darkness surrounding that window focused my attention, as if I needed any help in that.
She lifted her arms over her head, stretched, and yawned. The tight top she was wearing clung to her like a second skin, giving me a hell of a show as her breasts lifted from her stretch. She ran her fingers through her hair before letting her hands drop back to her side.
Her parents made me want to pull my hair out. Cammie made me want to pull something else.
I finally snapped out of it, and the
dirty old man
shame washed over me. Embarrassed by my behavior, I shook my head and closed my eyes for a second.
The mistake I made was opening them before turning away.
She grabbed the tail of her top just as my eyes opened, and in a flash, she'd pulled it over her head. I had a couple of blissful seconds to drink in the sight of her perky breasts before she tossed her top aside and walked away from the window.
I have no idea how long I stood there with my eyes bugging out and my mouth hanging open. Even after she vanished from sight, I could still see her in my mind's eye.
****
To say I was a little distracted at the shop the next day was an understatement. I couldn't keep her out of my head. Every time my thoughts wandered, they made a beeline to Cammie's tits. In my defense, it had been about seven months since I'd been laid. What do you expect from a guy in his forties under those circumstances?
I was finally getting a handle on it as closing time drew near. A couple of encounters with people trying to sell me shit or pick up stuff for peanuts had pushed up my frustration factor, which helped.
With the shop empty, I was planning to close up early. So, when the door chime sounded just as I was about to lock up, I wasn't especially happy about it. I looked that way, hoping it was someone coming in to make a payment and leave. The last thing I expected to see was Cammie.
The top she was wearing was every bit as tight as the one I'd watched her pull off the night before. Her skirt danced around her thighs, barely hiding anything. It certainly did nothing to conceal her long, smooth legs. She smiled as she walked toward me, carrying an iPad box.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked, "What can I do for you?"
Her smile widened and she waved. "I wanted to see what I could get for pawning this?"
"You do know how this works, don't you? You're paying back a good chunk of interest on a pawn loan," I warned her as she sat the box down on the counter.
"I know, but I need the money like
right now
. It's worth it."
I nodded and said, "Well, so long as you understand. Let's see what we've got here."
For all intents and purposes, the iPad was brand new. The box was in pristine condition. All the literature was there, and all the components. It was the latest model with all the bells and whistles as well.
"I need to make sure it works, but everything looks good so far," I told her. "Does it have a lock on it?"
"No, I turned it off before I brought it in. Go ahead. It works, and it's charged. I haven't really used it much. So, how much?"
"As long as it's working, I can go $275."
"Perfect," she said while flashing me a heart-stopping smile.
I tore my eyes away from the sight and went to work. A few quick tests confirmed that it was fully functional.
"It checks out," I told her when I finished. "We just need to do some paperwork, and make sure you know exactly how much you're paying back on that loan of $275."