When her eyes landed on babygirl and the way we were standing I saw the venom in her eyes but not giving a fuck about her either I turned back to my woman.
“Put the coffee pot down.”
“What…but…?” I took the shit out her hand and put it on the counter, by this point every nosy fuck in the place was in my business.
“Where’s your bag?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
I called to the old woman behind the counter, the only one who I’d noticed was even remotely decent to Cherry and told her to pass me her bag.
“Tell your boss he needs a new server she quit.” The old lady smiled at me, see she understood.
I dragged her out of there asking me a million questions.
“Drake I don’t understand.” She was trying to keep up with my long strides; I didn’t say a word just took her to the truck and buckled her in.
Silently I drove to the bottom of the hill and stopped.
“Look up there babygirl.” She turned her eyes up to the house.
“You live there now, do you really think you’re supposed to be living in that and working at the diner?”
“But how am I supposed to make money for school and stuff?” And that’s when it hit me, I’m a real asshole; here I had fucked this girl taken her virginity no less, moved her out of her house and into mine and not once had I said anything to her about her security. Fuck Dana had warped me after all.
“Cherry who’s your man?”
“Uh…you?”
“You asking me or you telling me?”
“Are you or are you not my woman?”
“Yes.” Again with the soft yes.
“Do you or do you not belong to me?”
“Yes.” That was a little better.
“So why the fuck would you think that I wouldn’t take care of you?”
“But you never said…”
“I shouldn’t have to, you should take it as a given.” I was losing my fucking mind, wasn’t I just beating up on myself for not telling the poor girl that I would take care of her, how the fuck was she supposed to know Drake? Didn’t stop me though.
I hated that she would’ve just accepted me using her body and never giving her anything in return, that she was so selfless that she was willing to accept that, but most of all I hated that I hadn’t met Cherry Staples before I’d ever known Dana Reese, then again at the time of my marriage she was only thirteen or so so that wouldn’t have worked. Whatever.
“Okay since you need me to spell shit out for you, Drake Kinkaid’s woman does not work in the diner pandering to assholes who don’t deserve to walk in her shadow. We clear?”
She nodded her head but I could see she was still a little lost.
“How did you get there?”
“Walked.”
I looked at her like she’d lost her damn mind I have a garage full of luxury cars and my woman walked at least a half an hour down the damn hill.
“Babe I need you to play catch up here, now I understand that you’ve never had a man in your life before but you cannot be this fucking green. Stop letting people take advantage of you, no woman should be with a man who’s just going to use her for sex and give nothing back in return; I took you out of your mother’s house which means you’re now my responsibility.”
“What’s wrong with the diner? It was the only place that would hire me out of high school and I needed the money to save for school. ” She pouted all cute at me.
“You’d be there till you were sixty dealing with those fucks, don’t think I don’t know they use to stiff you, now as to what’s wrong with the diner, look up at that monster on the hill. You see it? You don’t live there and work for less than minimum wage it’s just all kinds of fucked up babygirl.” I could only shake my head, how could two people be so entirely different? Dana would’ve been in my bank account already.
“Well what am I supposed to do now?”
“Watch soap operas get a hobby the fuck should I know what women do with their time?”
“I don’t like TV and you curse too much Drake.”
“Uh huh get used to it, so don’t watch TV why don’t you see about school then or is it too late to get in? Never mind I’ll have dad talk to the Dean I think they’re old pals from way back. For today you can come to work with me since you already made me late with your shit.” I put the car in gear and headed in the opposite direction to my garage.
My crew was already deep in the guts of a race car we were rebuilding hopefully for my next circuit, most drivers weren’t too much into this part of the operation but like I said I liked anything to do with cars so I liked being in from the ground. I had a team of professionals that worked with me to my specifications, there had been a lot of grumbling in the beginning when I stated that this was the way I wanted to do things but I didn’t get a PHD in engineering so I could sit on the sidelines and let someone else tell me how to run my shit. The others were there as back up and because the sponsors required it. My crew chief knows who’s really in charge that’s why he’s my crew chief not that he doesn’t have plenty to do but I have the last say always. Racing is a business I handle my business just like any other businessman worth his salt. I’m team owner too, which a lot of my fellow drivers have a problem with but fuck them, my money my rules. The sponsors had stopped worrying about shit a long time ago when they realized I’m more than just a racecar driver. I know cars inside and out I like knowing when I get inside one that I know what the hell to look for, if they’re any problems I know where the issue is and how to fix it. That’s also how I became as rich as I have at my age, I added my dad’s business acumen with my love for racing and started my own little empire. I can also charm the pants off of any reporter who gets in my face even if I’ve just had the worst race of my life it’s all in the game.
Cherry Ann did her country cousin comes to town thing again looking around as though she was afraid to break something before I took her to my private bathroom to change out of her uniform.
“I’ll be right outside when you’re done feel free to look around but stay your little ass off the track, if you get bored there’s a computer over there knock yourself out.” Shit I have to remember to get her one of those tablet things to carry around with her. The jeans and tank top she changed into were soft and worn, not too bad but it was something we were going to have to take care of. I hate shopping but shit I knew if I sent her on her own she’d buy the cheapest shit she could find because that’s just how my babygirl is wired.
I didn’t see her again until lunchtime because let’s face it once I get my hands on an engine the rest of the world ceases to exist, I also realized that I’d fucked up again because I’d forgotten to tell her where the mini fridge was with cold drinks and snacks. She was sitting in my chair looking, not scared but…something.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I think Don might’ve said something to her.” Clancy my crew chief had walked in behind me.
“Don, Don who the fuck is Don?”
“That new kid that wants to race.”
I still wasn’t sure who he was talking about but whatever.
I looked back at her and I did not like what I saw, she looked miserable as fuck.
“You think Don said something to her or you know?”
“Look I don’t really want to get in the middle of…”
“You want to keep your job? Now what the fuck did he say?”
Clancy took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair before answering me, he had a flush on his face so I knew whatever was coming was going to be bad.
“He said something along the lines of when the boss was tired of her she should give him a try…Drake…” he pulled me back by my arm and stood between me and the door.
“He’s a stupid kid Drake don’t get yourself in trouble over this.”
“Bring him.” I was so fucking pissed I couldn’t feel my limbs, I was numb from the neck down, this I know is not a good thing because when the numbness wears off in a few seconds the fury sets in and it’s not a pretty sight.