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Jessi
I jumped a little as Rip snapped his fingers in front of my face.
“Where the hell have you been today, Jessi?”
I had never heard him sound so frustrated. He had a smear of grease on his face, and I realized I didn't even know what he was working on. I blinked at him. “The phone,” he said, and once he said it, I noticed that the thing was ringing.
I ran across the shop to answer it, breathlessly greeting whoever it was that was calling. It was Rip's friend, Sanders, and he had the part that we needed, but for slightly more than we wanted to spend on it. I frowned, biting my lower lip, trying to remember what Dad had said about this piece. Should I accept the deal anyway? I couldn't remember.
“Hang on a moment,” I told Sanders. Then, “Rip?” I called across the shop.
“What?” he snapped.
“Can you talk to him?” I asked meekly, holding the phone out towards him.
Rip gave a frustrated sigh and came over, practically tearing the phone out of my hand. Five minutes later, he was done on the phone and writing down the details of the payment.
“Look, Jessi, if you're going to be absolutely useless today, you might as well go home,” Rip told me. “I know your dad isn't here, so maybe you don't feel like you need to work, but I thought your work ethic was better than that. I just don't understand what's going on with you.”
I blushed a little and dropped my eyes to the floor. “Sorry,” I said meekly. “I don't mean to be a total space cadet.” The truth was, I was really tired. I hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, with memories of Gary's advances still fresh in my memory.
It wasn't even so much that I didn't want to sleep with him. I just didn't want to do anything to screw up the future that I envisioned for myself. Sleep with Gary, and I was doing something totally against the university guidelines and could be expelled. Don't sleep with Gary, and he would ruin my potential career and possibly get me kicked out of the university as well.
I realized suddenly that I really wanted to confide in Rip. It was probably just because he was the one who had told me about Gary's reputation in the first place. But I also couldn't help comparing the two men.
Rip was Gary's opposite in every way. He was wild. I knew my dad didn't want me hearing all of Rip's stories, but I knew that he partied a lot and slept around with a bunch of girls. I'd overheard him telling Dad before. In terms of appearance, Rip was a lot more rugged, where Gary was more collegiate. Rip had those sexy tattoos spiraling up his muscular arms, telling the world that he was a biker. He was cute, though, with his hair spilling over into his eyes, and he was extremely flirtatious when he wasn't frustrated with my lack of work.
I'd been interested in him for a while. He was definitely off-limits for me, though. Dad would freak out if he even knew I was interested in the man, and there's no way Rip would still be allowed to help out around the shop.
On the other hand, there was Gary, who was also off-limits to me. I honestly couldn't say that I was attracted to him. I admired his work, I appreciated all the help that he gave me with various projects, and things that I didn't understand from our courses. But when he kissed me, there was just nothing there. No spark and no desire. Nothing. I felt like I should be attracted to him, probably, but he just wasn't my type.
I had a momentary flashback to the previous evening in the office, and I trembled a little. I was going to have to at least pretend I was interested, if I wanted to keep my place there in the university.
“Are you okay?” Rip asked, and I realized he was peering at me with concern. Suddenly, I realized I was crying a little bit, and I turned my face away, feeling embarrassed.
“I'm too stressed out about all of this,” I told him, even though that was only partially true.
Rip looked sympathetic at that. “You've been pulling a lot of hours at the shop, and I know that you've been pretty busy during the week as well,” he told me. “There's a lot going on for you right now. But if you burn yourself out, you're only going to have a more difficult time. Why don't you take the rest of the day off, and maybe we can go for a drink tonight?”
I blinked at him, surprised at how nice he was being. Suddenly, I couldn't stop myself from giving him a hug, relaxing a little when the hug was returned.
“I know we're not really friends, but if you're in a bad situation, you know you can talk to me, right?” Rip asked me.
I sighed and shook my head. “It's nothing,” I told him. “Just, like I said, I’m a bit stressed.” I glanced around the shop. “I really can't take the rest of the day off,” I said. “There's too much that needs to get done. I know that, and you know that. If Dad comes back and sees that I haven't done anything all day, he'll be livid. I could at least be tracking down-”
“No,” Rip interrupted, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Honestly, Jessi, you look like shit. Go take a nap or something, and I hope you feel better. When your dad gets here, if he says anything, I'll tell him that you weren't feeling well. Which is true. But with the amount of work we've all been doing around here, we're on top of our deadlines. Don't worry about it.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay,” I said.
“And come for a drink with me tonight,” Rip said. “I'll be over at the Hounds of Hades clubhouse. I can introduce you to some other biker dudes and you can talk shop with them or whatever. It'll be good networking for you, and maybe you'll be able to relax a little.”
“My curfew is at eight,” I reminded him, blushing a little. God, that curfew was such a stupid thing.
“Maybe you can get your dad to bend it a little if you're out with me.”
“He's already pissed because I missed curfew last night,” I told him.
“What were you doing last night?” Rip asked, sounding interested.
“I just had a lot of schoolwork that needed to get done, and I stayed late in the library,” I lied.
Rip didn't look convinced, but he let the matter drop. “Well, no wonder you're exhausted today,” was all he said. “Why don't you go take a nap?”
“Okay,” I finally said, nodding my head. “Thanks, Rip.”