Page 7 of The Handyman

Flames licked my cheeks when I realized there wasn’t a question mark in sight. Reece just demanded it, and I bit my bottom lip as a groan built in my chest. ‘Ok. Everything okay?’I texted back.

“I wonder what happened,” Murmuring to myself as I opened the fridge, my hand groped blindly for the bottle of red on the second shelf.

Reece started typing away, the ellipsis blinking at me teasingly. ‘Yeah. I’m not going to get into it over text, but basically I’m celebrating finishing this job.’

A smile tilted my lips, a warm fuzziness blossoming in my chest at this response. The fact that Reece would want to celebrate an accomplishment withmeof all people.Not to mention, he probably rented a room at Black Cat if we’re going so early. Of course, there were private rooms and specialized rooms, but they werereallyexpensive. Not only did the room itself need to be rented, but then it would be down for cleaning and reorganizing. The rates didn’t cover anything under 3 hours because it took that long to properly clean. There were addons, like food that had to be ordered in advance.

Really, it was a feat that Black Cat managed it all. I only had the basic yearly membership, but I knew there were some people, like Reece, who had more advanced packages. When I signed up, my membership required STD testing and a general health exam, which I hadn’t been expecting.

One girl I’d talked to required a psychological exam because her kink was so extreme.

But that was the beauty of the place, I guess— security and freedom. That woman was into public humiliation and she’d been given just as much concern as the one that liked getting cut. There were very strict guidelines, and if someone breached contract. . .

Like Brandon. My mind’s eye flooded with memories of calling security on him. He’d tried to wrestle me down, asking me if I liked it— that I was a whore and a piece of shit.

“He’s the one that’s a piece of shit. Good riddance.” Two burly ex-military guys had burst into the room when I managed to hit the button on the floor. They carried him out, naked and screaming like a lunatic.Brandon fucking deserved it! Who hits women in the face? But that doesn’t mean it’s not my fault for ignoring my gut.

Thus, the crux of the matter. Brandon was a dick, but I chose not to listen to myself. At least I wasn’t really invested. After signing the contract, it waspainfullyclear he only cared about getting himself off— emphasis on the ‘pain’.

‘Me: Congrats! How’d things go at the storage place?’

Shaking my head as I sent my text, I set my phone on the counter to pop open my bottle of wine. A soft knock sounded from the front door, and I grabbed two glasses hanging under my top cabinets. I cracked open the barrier smiled broadly, as I let Hannah in.

Hannah wore pajamas and slippers.

“Man, I wish I thought of getting into my PJs. I got distracted.”

She giggled a little, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

“It’s one of those days, isn’t it?” I shut and locked the door behind us.

“Oh, my God— you have no idea, Riley. Okay, so. . . you know how I’ve been suspecting this guy of stealing tips?”

Nodding firmly, I poured us both a glass of wine before grabbing the bottle and heading into the living room.

“I finally caught his ass. He started talkin’ shit about how he was having such a rough time, and all this bullshit, but I finally had an excuse to fire him.”

“Juicy. What happened? Was this before you opened?” Sitting on the sofa, I curled my legs under me I sipped my wine, regretting that I hadn’t changed into something more comfortable. Wiggling my feet out of my sneakers, I sat back against the arm rest as

She nodded, dropping heavily onto the cushion opposite me. Then she took a huge gulp of her wine. “Yeah. So, basically, I thought for a couple months now that things weren’t adding up, but today I finally caught him stealing. He started crying about how heneededthis job, and this and that, and he was gonna pay it back. Blah. . . blah. . . blah. Shit like that. I fired him on the spot, and I’m debating trying to figure out how much he stole over the past few months and whether or not to take him to court over it. I’m pretty sure it’s a lot.”

My brows rose and I hummed over the rim of my glass.

Hannah rolled her baby blues as she leaned in, her smug excitement palpable in the air.

I was more than happy to listen to her go on and on about this guy, whoever he was.It’s nice not to be stuck thinking about Brandon or my parents.I could always count on Hannah to talk and talk, and talk—and talk.

6

Riley

‘Riley: Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I had my neighbor over for wine and gossip. I fell asleep on the couch.’

Stuffing my head into a fresh shirt, I dropped my phone onto my bed to cover my arms and pull the fabric under my breasts. Gazing at myself in the full-length mirror on the back of my closet door, I smoothed my shirt down my sides under deeply knit brows. I’d always had a tiny waist, so my legs and boobs looked bigger than they really were because of it. Cupping my B-cup breasts, I arched a little as I fought a frown.

“It’s wrong to say‘tiny’. . . I’ve never been below a size 8,” my mumble swept through the room to crawl up my back, and I reached down to rub my thighs outside my jeans. Of all the things I wished I could change about my body in high school, my legs were at the bottom of the list. Flexing my toes in my heeled boots, satisfaction bloomed in my chest as I inhaled deeply. Reaching to pull my hair into a loose bun, my lips quirked in a smile at my own reflection.Talk about vanity.

My phone chimed shrilly, and I snapped a hair tie around my mess of locks to snatch the device off my duvet. Excitement popped against my ribs, the light, airy feeling of agoodday straightening my shoulders and bumping up my mood. I read his reply.