She was tall and gangly, no curves on her body. From what I could tell, her features were relatively plain: small, straight nose, pale-pink lips. Her hair was something else altogether. It was thick and shiny, and in the sunlight, my eyes snagged on shades of honey gold mixed with the brown.
She wasn’t my type. Of that I was sure. So why was I so completely, unquestionably fascinated with her?
She clenched her fists as though she itched to punch someone. Her walk was purposeful, deliberately intimidating to whichever unlucky bastard caught her anger as she headed to the house next door.
She might not have been a striking beauty, but it was hard to tell from my distance. All I knew was that she commanded my attention like no one had before.
I couldn’t help the smile that split my lips. I wanted to see this.
Her gaze briefly met mine, and I swear to God my whole body jolted. I knew that I would always remember this moment. Her presence was too powerful to forget. My whole body froze, scared that if I moved, I’d realize this was all an illusion.
Before she could hit the doorbell, a Camaro parked in the street in front of the neighbor’s driveway. I heard a car door open and slam closed, but I couldn’t be bothered to look. I couldn’t seem to remove my eyes from the spitfire. She froze, then turned with painful slowness toward that someone I still had yet to look at.
Her mouth moved, upper lip curling into a sneer. She shouted something unintelligible, and I wanted to see more, hear more. My mind was unconsciously moving my body toward her. I’ve never been in a trance before, but I thought this was what it must feel like.
I didn’t have to move far because she started to walk down the driveway toward her new target, still shouting, hands flailing with temper.
Did I really think she was plain? I thought, staring at her unabashedly.
She was magnificent. Strong. Powerful.
Her eyes were glowing like fiery embers, beaming deathly daggers.
“You fucking piranha,” she snarled.
I glanced quickly away from her to see who she was chewing into pieces, and I stopped cold when I realized who—or what—it was. It was a monster. The guy was as wide as a house, neck as big and thick as her torso. Tall and hairy as Chewbacca.
What the hell is she doing? Does she have a death wish?
I was going to come and help her out, wondering how in the blue hell I was going to fight this motherfucker. He was heavy so he’d be slow, and I could use his weight against him. I’d probably lose a couple of my teeth and get my nose broken by the end of the day.
She drilled a finger into his chest, shouting in his face. “Remember the guy you harassed earlier, the one who came here to collect your car repair bill? That’s my brother, you fuckwad dingle dick!”
She didn’t look like she needed my help. The guy stepped back and raised his hands in defense. He looked like he was willing to take her crap to get a chance to check her out.
I gritted my teeth. Should I interrupt? She didn’t look like she was in danger. I leaned against a parked car on the street across from them, alert and watching. It would only take me about five seconds to jump in the middle of them if needed.
“Listen here, sweet tits, your brother owes me money. You’re not getting a dime out of me!”
She narrowed her eyes at him, as if she’d like to squish him like an insect. “Listen carefully, potato face, because I’m not repeating myself. What’s between you and my brother has nothing to do with what you owe our business establishment. You’re gonna have to pucker up and spring me some money right now or else you won’t like the consequences.”
He sneered, puffing up his chest. “Do you really think a little twig like you can scare me?”
I felt my body go on full alert. I pushed away from the car, ready to attack him if he made a wrong move. That movement caused him to finally notice me. I placed my hands in my pockets, staring at him. He looked away.
“Oh, probably not,” she shot back. “But the cops will.” She shook her phone right in his face. “Does your brain have the capacity to recognize this as a phone? Why, let me tell you what I’m going to do with this shiny phone. I’m going to call the cops right now and tell them how your vehicle was delivered to you in good working order and you refused to pay. How’s that sound to you, Mr. Dingle Dick?”
Mr. Dingle Dick didn’t like that one bit. He turned an ugly shade of red and his left eye began to twitch. He opened his mouth, stopped, and threw another glance at me.
“You get off my property right now,” he growled at her. “You’re trespassing.”
He turned around and lumbered back to his house, slamming the front door closed.
I straightened, expecting her to turn around and finally acknowledge my presence. But she just stood there, hands balled into fists. I could feel her anger and frustration.
I was going to say something, but she spun on her heel and hurried to her vehicle. I jumped behind the car behind me just in case she had any ideas.
Tires squealing, her car jumped the curb, crushing the two lawn gnomes that were happily sitting on the corner of his front yard. There was a loud popping noise over her screeching tires as she ground the gears back into first.