Read Online Raspberry Crush by Jill Winters - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jill Winters
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control. Suddenly the train stopped short, pitching everyone forward, and as Corryn tried to steady herself, she felt something like a pinch on her breast. A pinch and a twist.
What the hell!
"Hey," she barked, tapping the man's upper arm, which was thick and rock solid.
"Huh?" he said, angling his head to face her. "What?"
"You pinched me!" she yelped. Well, she wasn't about to scream, You tweaked my nipple, at top volume, but clearly they both knew that was what she meant.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking baffled. "I was just offering you my arm—"
"Of course you'd turn out to be a pervert," she mumbled to herself.
"Hey, you didn't have to take my arm," he said defensively.
"I'm not talking about your dumb arm," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm talking about... the other thing."
"What other thing? Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
Right. Who else was within tweaking distance, besides the bag lady in the adjacent seat, snoring? Just then Corryn's eye caught the gleam of the shiny police badge attached to the man's belt, and her mouth fell open. "You've got to be kidding me—you're a cop? "
The T screeched to a stop at Copley. This was where Corryn was getting off, and she couldn't get off fast enough.
Latching onto the mass exodus for fear of getting left behind, she was still fuming when she got to the street. Well, that settled it, then. All men were pigs—not just the ones she knew personally.
Chapter 6
"You know what gets me?"
"What?" Billy said conversationally, sipping her raspberry crush as people moved and mingled around her. Earlier Katie had suggested that everyone go for drinks at the Kenmore Pub after work. Now she and Georgette were on the dance floor around the bend, and Billy and Des were standing by the bar, talking. (Or Des was talking; Billy was standing there nodding, with one eye on the door.)
Melissa was the only staffer missing tonight. She'd had the day off, but she wouldn't have come anyway. Ever since the one time she'd had too much to drink and drunkenly confessed the whole sordid story of her parentage, she tended to shy away from after-work activities.
Apparently Melissa had been the result of a one-night affair between her mom and a drifter who'd been passing through town. For the first twelve years of Melissa's life, her mother had supported her with odd jobs. When she'd met Des's dad, Jim Aggerdeen, everything changed. A widower with a young son, Jim had wanted a wife and a family again. And according to Melissa's drunken ramblings, he was a great stepdad, but she was still forever determined to find her real father someday.
After such an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability, it was really no wonder that Melissa now kept a somewhat professional distance from the rest of the Bella Donna crew.
"What gets me," Des continued now, "is the way nobody keeps it honest anymore." Fresh topic. "Can't anyone see how life has become just a co-opted travesty of social indoctrination?"
"Hmm, that's true," Billy replied absently, and slipped another glance over Des's shoulder. She was expecting Mark any minute now, and she was really looking forward to seeing him. Once she hugged him and looked into his handsome, smiling face, she'd put everything—i.e. Seth—back into perspective.
After a ten-minute monologue about social conventions and the corporate-industrial complex, Des said, "But I guess that's just what makes you and me different, Billy. We live outside the box, you know?"
She was about to respond when Mark came through the door. "Hey, there," he said, smiling as he came closer.
"Hi!" she enthused—so damn happy to see him, so damn happy that he was there to remind her that he was real, that he was a part of her life.
Mark folded himself into Billy's hug, but pulled out before it even got going. "Hey, what's up?" he said, extending a hand to Des. "You work at Bella Donna, too, right?"
"Yeah, hi," Des mumbled, barely
What the hell!
"Hey," she barked, tapping the man's upper arm, which was thick and rock solid.
"Huh?" he said, angling his head to face her. "What?"
"You pinched me!" she yelped. Well, she wasn't about to scream, You tweaked my nipple, at top volume, but clearly they both knew that was what she meant.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking baffled. "I was just offering you my arm—"
"Of course you'd turn out to be a pervert," she mumbled to herself.
"Hey, you didn't have to take my arm," he said defensively.
"I'm not talking about your dumb arm," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm talking about... the other thing."
"What other thing? Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
Right. Who else was within tweaking distance, besides the bag lady in the adjacent seat, snoring? Just then Corryn's eye caught the gleam of the shiny police badge attached to the man's belt, and her mouth fell open. "You've got to be kidding me—you're a cop? "
The T screeched to a stop at Copley. This was where Corryn was getting off, and she couldn't get off fast enough.
Latching onto the mass exodus for fear of getting left behind, she was still fuming when she got to the street. Well, that settled it, then. All men were pigs—not just the ones she knew personally.
Chapter 6
"You know what gets me?"
"What?" Billy said conversationally, sipping her raspberry crush as people moved and mingled around her. Earlier Katie had suggested that everyone go for drinks at the Kenmore Pub after work. Now she and Georgette were on the dance floor around the bend, and Billy and Des were standing by the bar, talking. (Or Des was talking; Billy was standing there nodding, with one eye on the door.)
Melissa was the only staffer missing tonight. She'd had the day off, but she wouldn't have come anyway. Ever since the one time she'd had too much to drink and drunkenly confessed the whole sordid story of her parentage, she tended to shy away from after-work activities.
Apparently Melissa had been the result of a one-night affair between her mom and a drifter who'd been passing through town. For the first twelve years of Melissa's life, her mother had supported her with odd jobs. When she'd met Des's dad, Jim Aggerdeen, everything changed. A widower with a young son, Jim had wanted a wife and a family again. And according to Melissa's drunken ramblings, he was a great stepdad, but she was still forever determined to find her real father someday.
After such an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability, it was really no wonder that Melissa now kept a somewhat professional distance from the rest of the Bella Donna crew.
"What gets me," Des continued now, "is the way nobody keeps it honest anymore." Fresh topic. "Can't anyone see how life has become just a co-opted travesty of social indoctrination?"
"Hmm, that's true," Billy replied absently, and slipped another glance over Des's shoulder. She was expecting Mark any minute now, and she was really looking forward to seeing him. Once she hugged him and looked into his handsome, smiling face, she'd put everything—i.e. Seth—back into perspective.
After a ten-minute monologue about social conventions and the corporate-industrial complex, Des said, "But I guess that's just what makes you and me different, Billy. We live outside the box, you know?"
She was about to respond when Mark came through the door. "Hey, there," he said, smiling as he came closer.
"Hi!" she enthused—so damn happy to see him, so damn happy that he was there to remind her that he was real, that he was a part of her life.
Mark folded himself into Billy's hug, but pulled out before it even got going. "Hey, what's up?" he said, extending a hand to Des. "You work at Bella Donna, too, right?"
"Yeah, hi," Des mumbled, barely
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