Side Effects

Chapter 3

"Come on, get in the car!" I begged the woman who had backed at least ten feet off the road. Okay, this was not my finest hour. I probably should have approached this differently than just pulling up alongside her and telling her to get in. But in my defense, as I was driving up, I got my first good look at her ass, and all rational thought just flew out of my brain.

She was wearing a pair of jean shorts, and the bottoms of her cheeks were clearly visible, and I knew damned well I looked like a pervert pulling up in a sports car to do unspeakable things to her. There was no reason for her to trust me, and it got worse when I saw the rest of her. She was stunning, and I was pissed I hadn't been at the door to take the pizza delivery. She didn't deserve what happened to her.

"There is no way I'm getting in that car with you!" she said in an accent that made me think that she was from Puerto Rico. Her Latina looks and skin tone helped with that too, and I was having a hard time trying to offer her kindness instead of a date. I really wasn't on my game here.

"Listen, I'm sorry. Let me start over. Those girls that fucked you over with the pizza delivery? That was my house. They had no business doing that, so I hope you let me make that up to you. At least let me give you a ride to wherever you're going."

"That was your house? Was that bitch your girlfriend or something?"

I snorted in laughter and could only shake my head. "Very much no. My sister rented out my house without my knowing, so I was invaded by all of them. They're a plague that won't go away. But please, let me make it up to you, okay? I've had a weird day, and I know you're probably not doing well. Maybe we can help each other out."

She looked off down the road, no doubt doing some mental arithmetic to see how long of a walk she had left. Unless she took a ride with me or another stranger, she had at least 45 minutes of hiking before she got to Marco's, which is where I assumed her car was parked.

"Fine. But if you try anything I'll scratch your eyes out!" She held up her hands, and she had some stunning red nails that looked like they could do some good damage.

"I won't. I'll be a gentleman!" I promised.

She just raised an eyebrow at me before opening the door and slipping down into the seat. "Fuck, this car is nice, I'll give you that."

I was doing my best not to be jealous of the leather seats that were caressing her butt cheeks right next to me. "Thanks, I do love it." I checked that there were no cars coming and pulled back out onto the road. "Should I ask how much those assholes cost you?"

She sighed, laying her head back on the headrest, and closed her eyes. "With everything, $175 for the pizza that will come out of my final paycheck, and then whatever they would have done for the tip. Oh, plus the job of course, which was what pays the rent because my regular job is an unpaid internship. Now I need a job, or I'll be out on my ass at the end of the month. My budget is so tight, I couldn't even afford an Uber."

"What kind of internship are you doing?" I wondered. Was the beginning of an idea forming in my head? Yes. Was she going to say No? Probably. Was I going to regret this? Maybe.

She groaned out loud, looking out the windows. "Working over at McDougal Brothers construction. I just graduated and want to be an architect to design homes, but they're having me just file permits and run paperwork around. They won't let me do anything. I'm there 30 hours a week for no pay, then I get to deliver pizza all night and weekends. This isn't exactly what I wanted to do when I was in college."

I couldn't help but laugh, and she turned to glare at me before I held my hands up to stop her. "Wait, hold on. I'm only laughing because I was seriously just thinking that exact same thing about my job. I hate what I'm doing, even if the money is good, and I would have never wanted to do it when I was in college. But my family roped me into it."