She starts to drag me toward the store entrance, but August sidesteps, placing himself
right in front of us again.
“Not now, ladies,” he says gruffly.
He's not even looking at me, I don't think. There's nothing there at all.
“This is the public mall, August,” Bunny reminds him pointedly. “We'll just be a minute. I don't know why you're being so —”
“Is Kirkman inside?” I ask him.
He looks toward me, as though surprised I figured it out. He seems startled to see me somehow. I have to fight the sudden urge to reach out and snatch those glasses off of his face.
“The store will be open again in just a moment, ladies,” he huffs coldly.
“You really think I'm a security risk?” I ask him defiantly. “You really think that there is some reason I can't just duck in here on my lunch hour and check out a new pair of boots? August?”
He shifts uneasily from foot to foot. I know he is not accustomed to my tone of voice, but I feel a sudden equality with him, since I've seen his ejaculating cock not thirty minutes ago.
His jaw clenches and unclenches, the muscle jumping there over and over again. Finally, he shifts subtly to one side so that Bunny and I can walk around him. I stick my nose in the air and stride toward the door with Bunny jogging right next to me.
“Oh my God, girl,” she whispers dramatically. “You are a changed woman I tell you! That was dark!”
Once inside, I scan the overly bright interior. House music thuds over the PA as we swiftly circle the perimeter of the room. It only takes about forty seconds to find him. Kirkman East is standing right there, holding up two nearly identical pairs of snakeskin loafers in front of a smug, nonchalant saleswoman.
As soon as he sees us, he dips his head to smirk at me over the top of his mirrored sunglasses.
“And how did you ladies get in here? Hm?” he says slowly, his tongue wetting his lower lip. “Did Melanie send you?”
“Nobody sent us,” Bunny huffs. “Just doing a bit of shopping.”
He looks her up and down, his eyes lingering over the edges of her waitress uniform.
“I love your costume,” he says, grinning.
Bunny shoots me a look, twisting the corner of her mouth sarcastically like who does this guy think he is?
I put my hands on my hips and look at the shoes in his hands. “The silver ones,” I tell him pointedly.
He shifts his attention to me, and I do my best not to react to it in any way. I get the feeling that Kirkman is used to having women crumple in front of him, and I'm determined not to do that.
“No, but seriously,” he continues, “I was supposed to have security out there, and he’s kind of a hard ass. I do not think you guys are supposed to be in here.”
I sigh, tipping my head in a gesture that I've seen Bunny do. It seems to make people like her quite a bit. He narrows his eyes at me.
“Well, I guess we will have to be going then,” I announce. “Mind if we take a quick selfie?”
He stands up straight again, rolling his eyes dramatically. Poor thing. He probably gets asked this question all the time.
“Sure, sure,” he sighs. He holds his arms out, making a space for Bunny and I to tuck under as though draping his wings over us. It's kind of slimy, but ten seconds later I've got five selfies with Kirkman, and Bunny and I are headed back out the door.
“Hey, I thought you were shopping?” August says as we exit the store and rush past him.
“I guess she found what she wanted,” Bunny calls out over her shoulder as we hurry away. “Right? Did you get what you wanted?”
“More or less,” I say stubbornly.
I know that August didn't realize he was rejecting me, but I still feel rejected. And yet, knowing that these pictures might just save my job takes a little bit of the edge off of that.