Chapter Nine

“Why did you leave me yesterday?” It had been quiet. He nearly forgot she was there.

“I had something to attend to.” Yeah, Dunn, because you “needed” to attend to your own penis. The thought of what he’d enjoyed doing ran through his mind, and his body nearly betrayed him. Good job. That’ll make it obvious you don’t want her.

“Is that why you refused to come into the office with me?” Oops. He forgot he’d stormed out of there.

“No. I didn’t want you alone with me.”

“Why?” She sounded perplexed. In order to keep his mind off…the things he wanted to do with her, and his imagination out of the filth, he kept his eyes glued to the road. Focus, Neil, don’t drive that way.

“Sally…even our regular patrons know who O’Toole is. They’ve seen him speak to Stew. De Luca’s businesses run because Vinny gets paid to go on runs for them, despite the fact that his crew has…never liked Vinny.” Neil left that alone for now. “You go in there with them, or their associates, and despite being a woman, it’s clearly business as usual. If I go in there, it’s not the same.” She looked incredulous. He knew the excuse was stupid, and deep down he probably was lying to himself. But it wasn’t totally untruthful.

“You’re my employee.”

“And a man. A man with a reputation in this town.” Sally was quiet. “A reputation I don’t want bestowed onto you.”

“And what kind of reputation is that?”

“I’m not divulging.” Sally snorted, and Neil could see her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye. “You don’t believe me?”

“No. You don’t care what my opinion is of you. You’ve made that very clear.” For some reason, that stung a lot more than he was expecting.

“On the contrary, I do rather a lot.” That surprised her. Dunn, what the hell are you doing?

“Sense when?” Neil looked at her and sighed. “It’s complicated as to why, but…first and foremost you are my employer. I want your respect. Not to mention the fact that…you are a woman who has lived a sheltered life-not by your own fault.” She tried to interrupt, but Neil beat her too it. “You lived such a life because you were raised in such an area of the country. There might be poverty, and corruption, but none compared to the big city, not in my experience.” Sally nodded. “The things I’ve done would taint your worldview…and I’d hate to have that tarnished.” Neil turned a little pink, and admitted, “I’ve gotten on your case about you being naïve and childish, but the truth is you’ve handled yourself well. And it’s not every day we see some of that…sweet nature you have around our profession.” She smiled softly. “What?”

“You called me sweet.”

“Your also a pain in my ass, what’s your point?” The laughter that filled the car made Neil warm to her just a little. I love that sound…she has such a warm laugh...I've gone soft in my old age. “You are also very capable. It’s not right that I should continue to make your life difficult when you…haven’t done so for me.”

“Is this an apology?” To Neil’s relief, Sally didn’t seem to be mocking him. In fact, she sounded gentle. If she had touched his face, it would have been like talking to his sister when he was a boy, and he was looking guilty. That image of Maude lovingly comforting him after he’d been punished ran through his mind.

“Yes. As close…as close as I am capable.” Neil looked at her, feeling chagrined. Sympathy filled her face. “I…don’t really know how to do this sort of thing.” After all, she wasn’t a man. A fist fight and a cold drink afterword wasn’t going to settle the score. On the other hand, wrestling around with her wouldn’t be all that devastating.

Do you want to end up killed in an accident? Jesus, get your head out of her-

“I accept.” He was surprised; after all, he’d been nothing but a dick to her sense she’d gotten here. Not to mention where his focus was. “Look, it’s weird coming from me.” Neil didn’t disagree. “But…I’m not an evil woman.” Neil parked his car, and stopped the engine. Now he had no choice but to look at her. Down the road, he could see Clarence and Roland chatting, as well as Clara and Clementine. They were eyeing Neil and Sally.

“No. I would never have pegged you for that.” Sally smiled.

“It’s your eyes.” Neil looked at her again and swallowed. “Your pain. You do your best to hide it, but something there just…even when you laugh it doesn’t quite reach there.” Sally held out a hand, and asked, “Friends?”

“Of course.” He took her hand. Sparks immediately shot up his arm, and filled his torso. His heart his the floor ,and his stomach was in his throat. Those small, slender hands…two of hers fit in his own, nearly. They locked eyes. There was something in hers, so beautifully green, that Neil couldn’t read, and had him looking right into them. His eyes trailed down to her neck, where he watched her swallow, hard, and he wondered what it would be like to plant a light kiss there. There was a heat to his face suddenly, one that reflected in just how red her face was. To his surprise, Sally’s pupils were also larger than normal. You could kiss her right here. Just do it.

“Um…” Sally squeezed his hand gently, a warm smile making his heart hammer in his chest. He couldn’t tell if she noticed how shaky his breath was. Maybe it was hers that shook. Her hand certainly was. Their eyes were glued to each other’s for a long moment. She finally glanced away for just a moment.

“There’s the girls. I better go.” Sally didn’t seem really willing to leave. Her fingers shook as he pulled his hand back.

“Yes…yes I suppose.” Neil watched her get out and follow them into the café. Neil took a deep, shaky breath, and leaned his head back against the seat . Ahead, the girls were giggling, and watching them. After just a few moments, he got out of the car, put his hat on, and walked over to where his friends were waiting for him.

Neil managed to pretend to be as put together as possible, but they knew something was up. Roland in particular had been eyeing him. When the girls giggled, all three looked to them. Sally turned red, and covered her mouth. Clementine smirked, and Clara gushed. Roland and Clarence turned back to Neil, both with their eyebrows raised.

“What was that about?” Neil was wondering the same thing.