White is for Virgins (4 page)

“Hola, Emery,” Carlos called from the storage room. Carlos was the incredibly funny, incredibly awesome maintenance guy. He was pretty easy on the eyes, too. And he seemed to be interested in a certain caramel-skinned, exotic friend of mine...

“
Hola, Carlos. Where’s Nina?” I asked him, hopping on top of the counter and swinging my legs over, landing right in front of the computer.

Carlos shrugged, and I took advantage of my free time by pulling out my list of SAT words. I thought I’d have extra time to study these, but the schedule had become somewhat of a disadvantage.

“Em Gem? Are you there, hun?” Nina yelled from one of the back rooms.

“Counter!” I yelled back, hopping back over the counter before she had the chance to cat–

“Emery, I told you not to hop over the counter,” Nina warned, shaking her head.

I turned to the guy next to her, who was smirking.

Oh, God.

I stood there quietly, blushing like mad while running a hand through my hair.

“Oh! Right, Emery this is Fox Evans. Fox, Emery,” Nina smiled, introducing us.

I glared at hi
m, and he just stood there. Fox Evans?
His name is Fox? Fox like bathroom Fox? The guy that Teresa did dirty things with last night? The guy that got busted with DUI? Man whore, guitar player with amazing hair, drunk driver… named after a wild animal… Why am I not surprised?

“I t
ake it you two know each other?” Nina jumped in with a cheery voice when no one said anything.

I faked a quick smile in Fox’s direction.

“Yeah, he’s in my creative writing class at school,” I told Nina, angling my jaw as I stared at the ground.

“Oh, wow. That’s cool. Well then I’ll leave you two alone,” Nina said clapping her hands together as if saying ‘problem solved’, “Fox is a…
new volunteer, and I want you to show him how to work the computer and sort the files; how to take calls, email, and all the other standard procedures, alright?” she said before turning on her heel and heading for her office in the back of the building.

No it’s not
all right, Nina. Definitely not right.

I stood there, still staring at the ground.

I was in no mood to talk to him; I just wanted to get my vocab done. Nevertheless, I forced myself back behind the counter. My plan was to talk real fast and spend the least amount of time within three feet of him as possible.

“This… is the computer. I’m pretty sure you know how to use one of these, you just click on the icons on the screen; they’re labeled. You’ve got the forms, general paperwork that you can print out, random information, qualifications for blood donation, and the schedules for upcoming events,” I started, staring right at the screen as I explained. I didn’t want to look at him, it was still way too weird since the time I caught him in the stairwell.

I pointed to the phone, not even caring if he was listening or not.

“When we get phone calls, you pick up and say something along the lines of ‘Hello, this is the Hartford Ame
rican Red Cross center, this is,” I cleared my throat, “Fox. How can I be of service?’ and then you listen to them – be
as nice as possible
. If they want to talk to Nina, just transfer with this red button,” I blurted, surprised at how fast I was talking.

I exhaled quietly, and dared to turn around to face him.

He was on the other side of the counter, leaning in on his elbows.

“So, you’re the new girl, right?” he asked, biting his lip and raising one of his eyebrows.

He was studying me, intensely. I felt my cheeks heat up but glared at him anyway.

“I’m not
gonna repeat myself, so you better have gotten all of that,” I warned him, turning back to my SAT list.

“You’re working on that shit already?” he asked, eyeing my paper looking
confused. He disapproved.

“Yes, this…
shit
is due Friday,” I scowled, trying to study whatever words I’d managed to define.

“I thought it was due –” he started, but I cut him off.

“Well she changed the due date, you weren’t in class today,” I said, keeping my eyes on the paper.

“Chill out,
Em,” he smirked with his hands up in mock-surrender.

What makes him think he can call me ‘
Em’?

My head shot up, and my eyes met his.

“Why are you here?” I asked him, trying to change the subject.

“Volunteer work,” he said obviously, his smirk dying down.

“Who are you trying to fool?” This time
I
smirked, “
Volunteer work?
No offense, but you don’t look like the type that gives a crap.”

He maintained a placid expression, leaving me with nothing to work with.

“How can you be so sure? I’m big on world peace,” he said with mock-sincerity, placing a large, delicate hand to his chest.

Was it bad that I like
his hands? They were nice - big and tan, with long delicate fingers. It was a shame such masterpieces were wasted on someone like him.

I averted my gaze back to his face.

“The closest thing to world peace that you’d enjoy is watching the Miss America pageant, during the swimsuit segment,” I muttered. “News in the girl’s bathroom travels fast.”

“Oh, so you were interested in my whereabouts?” He flashed a cocky grin.

“Not even close. I thought they were talking about some wild animal when Teresa dished on the dirty details of Lauren’s party. Turns out I was right,” I said, immediately wishing I hadn’t.

See, in my mind, it had sounded like a good comeback. But saying that to a person like Fox, who had enough ego as
he did testosterone, was a serious miscalculation on my part.

His cocky grin only increased in size
at my comment.

“Well, I am pretty wild,” he admitted.

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I believe it was.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I sighed, shaking my head.

“Why, thank you. I’m sure you’re not too bad yourself.”

“You’re a pig.”

“You’re just tense, I can fix that,” he suggested, stepping closer to me.

“
Tempting…
” I said in evident disgust, “But I’ll happily pass.”

I swung my backpack over my shoulder and speed-walked my way toward the front door.

“Maybe next time,” He laughed, hopping over the counter.

“Not even in your dreams,
” I shuddered.

I was very, very grateful that Nina had suggested working at the daycare; it definitely had its perks. For example, it offered me an excuse to leave!

Chapter 3

I was freaking out by the time I walked into Mrs. Sawyer’s classroom. I’d somehow lost my SAT list.

It was not in my nature to lose t
hings, so naturally I was freaking out. I was running my hands through my hair before class started, trying to think where it could’ve been. I’d already called Nina that morning, but she said it wasn’t anywhere in sight.

My heart started racing as I made a terrifying discovery.

I’m going to have to ask her for a
new one
…
She’ll think I’m irresponsible, embarrass me in front of class, and give me a whole lecture about taking care of important papers. She probably won’t even give me another copy!

Maybe I’d just have to beg some
one to make me a copy. I’d have to redefine and study them like crazy once I got back from the daycare at seven.

I pondered asking Fox for his;
he should’ve still had it. Knowing him, he’d probably ask for sexual favors in return. I shuddered.

I turned around in my seat and found him staring at me.

“Good morning, Ms. Price,” he smiled slyly.

“Have you seen my SAT paper?” I snapped.

I skipped all that ‘good morning’ crap, cutting right to the chase.

He noticed.

Leaning toward me, elbows propped on his desk, he smirked. “Is that anyway to greet someone, Em?”

“Stop calling me
Em, this is important,” I told him.

He simply sat there. His expression said it all. He knew where my paper was, and he knew
it meant a lot to me.

“God, Fox! You have it, don’t you?” I concluded.

The grin on his face proved me right.

“You better give it back. I wo
rked too damn hard on that list,” I warned him, narrowing my eyes.

“Or you’ll what,
Em? Tell Sawyer on me?” he teased.

I consider
ed that for a split second.

What is this, second grade?