Page 5 of The Reverse Cinderella
“Yes. Makes me think that I should have chosen something more sensible to study. Like insurance.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you’re in at the perfect time.”
He really did have the most amazing chocolate colored eyes. She dragged her attention away from them, “What do you mean?”
“It’s been my experience that when one industry is dying, another comes up to take its place. It’s not that these people aren’t consuming material, they just are getting their material from a different source,” Max nodded to the group. “See how many of them have a phone? Cell phones are the new television, radio, personal assistant, social network, whatever a person needs. The trend is shifting from one device to another. Rather like the oven to the microwave, only faster this time. And since you’re smart enough to realize this, you’re ahead of anyone who doesn’t. You just need to figure out how to translate what you’re learning to the internet, to social media, to programs like Netflix. That’s how you get ahead of the curve.”
Pretty smart for a landscaper. During their conversation, one of her hands had crept up to rest along his broad shoulders. It was easier to balance on his leg that way. At least, that’s what she told herself. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“Glad I could change your perspective.”
“Hey, it’s so nice you guys could hang out with your mom and dad!” A troop of sorority girls stopped and the ringleader’s voice was sugary sweet. “I mean, it’s hard to have real friends but you’ll always have your parents!”
The group paused, embarrassed by the public taunting being thrown their way.
“Are we that old?” Max asked Piaget. “We’re not that old.”
Thanks to the three inch heels Piaget could look the ringleader in the eye who was smiling in satisfaction over her barb.
“Really?” Piaget asked. “Do you really need to make people feel bad? Is there something wrong with you that it makes you feel better to put people down? We’re just having a nice night so I’d appreciate it if you go away.”
The girl glared at Piaget and Piaget glared right back. She was through dealing with people like this girl. People who belittled others because they had less. Less money, less time, less knowing the right people, not having the right job. Less, like Piaget now was.
“Did I ask you to psychoanalyses me?” she looked Piaget up and down like she was some particularly foul thing.
“Somebody should,” Piaget muttered. “You need therapy if you’re this mean all the time.”
The next thing Piaget knew a cold beer was being poured down the front of her shirt.
“Ha!” The sorority girl practically yelled her triumph in Piaget’s face. “Let’s go girls.”
The posse beat a hasty retreat through the crowd and Piaget was left dripping wet and the next table of college guys were torn between ogling her breasts and laughing.
There was clapping from Adam’s table. The table of nerds that Piaget just defended. “Way to go Red!”
Piaget gave a weak smile to them and tried to hold her sopping shirt away from her chest.
“Whoa, who knew girls could be so mean?” Max’s sexy voice said in Piaget’s ear and he offered a hand full of napkins which weren’t going to be enough. Piaget took the napkins from Max and rubbed uselessly at her front. “Why don’t you go to the washroom and change your shirt?”
“Because I don’t have another one? Look, guys, thanks for the evening but I think I’ll just head home.” Piaget smiled through their protests. “It’s all good. I’ll just pay for the wine and go.”
“No! We got the wine,” Adam said. “Pleases don’t go, we’re having so much fun.”
“You can have mine.”
“Excuse me?” Piaget looked up into those deep chocolate eyes. They really were something. His voice was good too. Low and sexy.
“My shirt. I’m wearing a tee under this one.” He literally stripped right in front of her. Well, one shirt anyways. Underneath, sure enough, he had a second shirt on. He offered the bundle of shirt in his hand to her.
“Um…” Piaget wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t like he was the cleanest person in the world. Then again, she had beer on her. Probably backspit too from whoever had been drinking that beer.
“Hey sexy momma, I’ll give you my shirt!” A boy near Piaget started to take his tee off and he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Anyone could tell he’d had gym time. Suddenly, more shirts were being handed her way.
Quickly, Piaget took Max’s shirt and made a beeline for the rest rooms. She knew that her face was past fire engine red, she was blushing that deeply. Past her hair color red. She’d seen chests before. She’d seen a man strip before. Well, she’d seen Gary and her husband had been unimpressive. He’d gone to the gym and stuff but wasn’t into having muscles. Mainly he ran. Had to keep down the paunch. Did it say something that she’d rather risk dirty shirt than deal with seeing a man’s chest when she wasn’t married to him, she wondered.
Or maybe it was because these were boys, not men. These college kids were half her age. She could have been their mom. If she’d had babies early, she thought ruefully.
If she’d had babies at all which didn’t seem like it was going to happen.Tick, tick, tick, said the biological clock. She’d been widowed for a year. She was on year two of her college education. There was no time, nor money to date and everyone at the college was younger than her or a married teacher. Plus, it wasn’t like she could date from the pool of people that she had used to belong to. Piaget didn’t belong with them anymore since she was now poor.