Page 21 of Cash

FIVE - Kimberly

Sundays werethe one day I didn’t bother setting an alarm. My boutique was closed, I had no obligations with others, and had nothing I needed to do. For me, it was a day of resupplying my mind and body with rest.

Someone banging on my door stirred me from my sleep. I glanced at the clock. An eight o’ clock in the morning invasion could only come from two walks of life.

The police, or Jennifer.

With some reluctance, I tossed the blankets to the side and rolled off the edge of the bed. After glancing in the mirror, I pulled my matted hair into a ponytail and walked into the living room.

The knocking continued, so rapidly that it eliminated the police from being the culprit. I meandered to the door and yanked it open.

Dressed in sweats, slippers, and a hoodie, Jennifer slid past me and shuffled toward the kitchen. She looked like she just got out of bed.

“Seriously?” she said over her shoulder. “You haven’t had coffee yet?”

I turned to face her. “I was asleep.”

She dropped a pod into the machine and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. “He just dropped you off?”

“Huh?”

“It was like, I don’t know, ten after eleven or something. He pulled up, you got off the bike, and then he just left. What happened? Was he a douche?”

“No.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “He was awesome.”

She shot me a look of disbelief. “So awesome that you didn’t invite him in?”

I opened the cupboard and grabbed a cup. “We had a great time.”

“Is he a weirdo?”

“No. He was nice.”

She pulled the hood off her head and glared. “But you guys didn’t fuck?”

“No. We didn’t.”

She opened the fridge and grabbed the cream. “He didn’t want to?”

“He did want to. I said no.”

She slammed the carton of cream down beside her coffee and faced me. “What is wrong with you?” she screeched.

“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” I said in a regretful tone. “Kind of.”

“You’ll never see him again.”

“He’s coming over tonight.”

Her eyes shot wide. “What?”

I pushed her aside and set my cup under the machine’s spigot. “He’s coming over for dinner.”

“Thank God all’s not lost.” She exhaled a long breath and then lifted her cup. “You better get on that dick like a rat on cheese, though.”

“Oh?” I widened my eyes in false wonder. “Should I?”

“If you don’t, it’ll be the last you see of him,” she said with a nod. “He’s giving you a second chance. If you don’t take it, he’ll be gone.”