Chapter 2: Fuck Chivalry

All I wanted to do was get in my car and drive. Drive anywhere. Run away from everything. It was a stupid impulse, a self-destructive thought I carelessly acted on. Now I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas and no cash.

But, hey, at least there’s a ludicrously hot girl nearby. That’s…pretty much my bar.

I snap my eyes back and forth between Addy—aforementioned hottie—and the stranger who’s just walked in. “Actually, I would like a fucking coffee, Addison,” the man replies. “But I’d appreciate it if you stopped calling me dickface in front of customers.”

“Don’t be a dickface and I won’t call you dickface. Lamb, this is Malcom Gelsper, my dickface landlord,” Addy said, motioning between me and the man. I gulp and hold my breath. Is she really shit-talking her landlord right to his face?

To Addy’s credit, she does in fact start pouring Malcom a steaming mug of coffee.

“Asking you to pay your rent makes me a dickface?”

“Property is inherently theft,” Addy says with a cocky smile. She fills his mug with about half coffee, half milk, then dumps in four heaping spoonfulls of sugar.

Malcolm’s expression is stone. “I take my coffee black.”

“I know.” She slides the concoction across the counter. 

Silence hangs between them for a moment. Then Malcom grabs the mug, takes a sip, and turns to face me for the first time. “Lamb, was it?”

“Lum,” I clarify. I don’t bother with my last name. I don’t want it anymore.

“Lum,” he repeats. “New to Robin’s Brook?” He walks to the other side of the counter and spills the contents of his mug into the sink.

“Just, uhh, passing through.” I don’t bother to mention that I don’t really have the capability to leave just yet.

He gives me the hint of a smile. “Well, don’t underestimate our little town. There’s a lot more to see here than you’d think.”

I glance over Addy, who is leaned up against the counter, her eyes bright and fierce, that infectious smirk dancing on her lips, her leather jacket drooping down her right arm to expose a bit of smooth, creamy shoulder. Yeah. There’s some great stuff to see here, all right. I’m not drooling, you’re drooling, shut up.

“Well, I hope to see you around more, Lum.” The landlord points at Addy as he backs out of the building. “Rent. Tomorrow.” The bell over the door jingles as it shuts behind him.

Addy lets out a held breath once he is out of earshot. “Motherfucker,” she mutters, emphasis on the fucker. He seemed okay to me, but far be it from me to question my literal savior over here. “Sorry for the interruption. Now where were we, little Lamb?”

“You were just sweeping me off my feet” is what I want to say. “S-sandwich?” is all that comes out.

“Shit, that’s right. You must be starved.” It’s a wonder how quickly she’s able to jump from fiercely hot to warm and protective. I feel simultaneously safe and exposed in her gaze. Like I’ve known her for months, and yet I am unraveling before her. “Lemme heat something up for you. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I manage to say, shocking even myself. My face is burning hot. Addy grins toothily. I swear her hair wavers back and forth on its own for just a second. As she slips through the door behind the counter into what I can only presume is the kitchen, I take in a little more of the café. I find myself wandering around the walls and examining the many, many band posters plastered haphazardly all over the place. Misfits, The Dead Kennedys, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Offspring, Rage Against the Machine…and a whole bunch more I’ve never heard of: The Mortician Position, East of Northeast, Chokehold Epidemic, Wasted by Candlelight, Rose Petals & Opiates, In Stereo Where Available, Two Days After Yesterday (isn’t that just…tomorrow?), the list goes on and on.

I don’t realize Addy’s right behind me until I hear her voice. “See anything you like?” She’s leaned in over my shoulder. Her breath is hot on my ear. I am caught somewhere between leaning back into her arms and jumping out of my skin. My body opts for the latter, but there’s a moment in which I can’t help but imagine her arms around my waist, feel her lips sliding across the nape of my neck, hear loving whispers in my ear…

I must be blushing furiously when I snap around to face her, because her smirk widens wonderfully. Her eyes dart downwards to my lips, or maybe my chest, and I definitely don’t care, she is looking at me. I do the same, noting the slight freckling over her nose; the curve of her lips; the garnet gemstone dangling around her neck, just above some extremely enticing cleavage. “Yeah,” is the best response I can muster. I see a lot of things I like.

Then she hands me a plate bearing a warm, melty breakfast burrito, filled with egg and sausage and cheese and everything else good in the world. The whole exchange between our eyes must have only lasted a few seconds, but what a glorious few seconds they were. I file memories of cute freckles, very kissable lips, and fantastic breasts away for later. She pulls out a chair from a nearby table and sits across from it, and I add kind as fuck to the ever-growing list. “Chivalry’s not dead,” I remark.

“Fuck chivalry,” she says back, still smiling. “So what’s your plan, little Lamb?”

I don’t think she has noticed yet the trembling of my legs whenever she calls me that. “I don’t know, to be honest. Do you know anywhere I can scrap together some cash? A pawn shop or something? Or someplace that needs work for like, a single night? I just need to fill up my car and I’ll be on my way.”

She pouts. I calculate it makes her lower lip roughly seven thousand percent more kissable, which should be a crime against queerdom. “Leaving so soon?”

I take a few hefty bites of the burrito, the taste of gooey cheddar and tender sausage causing me to practically moan. Addy raises an eyebrow. I quickly swallow and wipe my mouth, embarrassed. “I mean, I…it’s not like I have anywhere to stay. Or any reason to, really…” I mumble. It’s true in theory, but suddenly, I don’t feel like leaving one bit.

As if reading my mind, Addy’s grin turns wolfish. “Let’s give this little Lamb a reason to stay, then.” Her eyes twinkle with mischief. This girl is going to be the death of me, and also, yes, please yes. “You can stay here tonight. You look like you’ve been driving all night, you should have a place to crash.”

“Here, like, in the café?” I glance around. There’s a two-seater, but nowhere I’d really be able to comfortably sleep.

Addy points at the ceiling. “Nah, I live right upstairs. You can stay with me.”

I choke for a moment, thankful my mouth isn’t currently filled with burrito. “No!” I blurt out. Her eyes turn downward, and my bumbling continues: “I mean, I—I’d love to, but I don’t want to be an inconvenience!”

“It’s fine,” she waves my concerns away. “I like having people over! Besides, my place has felt a little lonely lately. It’d be cool to entertain someone. And like I said before, nobody who is in need goes unattended in this establishment.” Her smile hints at unspoken reasons for her generosity, and my mind races. 

Oh shit, is she flirting with me? No, no, she’s just being kind, like she said, she likes having people over…Or wait, does that mean she often has people over like sleeping with her over? No, she’s probably just talking about entertaining guests. But I’m a total stranger! What if she really is into me? That’s wishful thinking, look at her and look at me. No, no, she’s just being a good person. It means nothing. This internal dialogue is brought to you by lesbians everywhere.

“C’mon,” she goes on. “What have you got to lose?”

My mind, if this girl gets any more awesome. “Okay, okay!” I relent with a stifled giggle. “I’ll stay here tonight. As long as that’s okay.”

Addy puts one of her hands over mine. Her palms are hot to the touch—not warm, like, actually hot. Not hot enough to burn my skin or anything, but it definitely feels about as hot as a radiator or the heated blanket in my car. Her nails are short, painted a fierce red. She gives my hand the gentlest of squeezes. “Addison Grey, at your service,” she says. “You’ve come to the right place, little Lamb. Don’t worry. I’m gonna take good care of you.”

I’m dead. I crashed my car into a tree or something, and this is all just my dying brain making up some shit while I bleed out. But her smile is real, her hands are warm, this burrito tastes amazing, and this place really exists. 

I’m not gonna make it to the coast, am I?

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