Mr. H

Eighteen

They unloaded her desktop, desk chair, tv, and a few lamps. He took a look inside the the massive warehouse, noticing all kinds of furniture wrapped in plastic, racks of clothing, tons of boxes, and what looked to be a bunch of restaurant equipment. Tiff saw him gazing across the contents and figured she had to explain. "This isn't all my stuff. This is mainly storage for Jimmy's businesses in town. He owns some nightclubs, and restaurants. I keep my things here cause I know it's secure and climate controlled." She didn't have anything to hide, but didn't want to say exactly how much her uncle owned. James now knew Gio was right, but still wasn't concerned. "Well I didn't think you had use for this much furniture and commercial kitchen appliances!," he continued,"Okay, What about the suitcases?," he asked, not wanting to delve any further into her family's business adventures. "Well I can't run around naked can I?," she blurted, "and plus I haven't picked where I'm staying for the summer. I told Jimmy I would let him know tomorrow and we could make arrangements from there."

James didn't want to be nosey and ask a bunch of questions even though his mind was wondering. Not that it would change the way he felt about her though. Hmm...she picks where she stays for the summer... He shut the gate and walked around the truck one more time before she pulled it in to the building. "How's about we take the van back to the hotel and you ride with me?," she proposed, "The windows are dark enough where you won't be noticed and the A/C works!" James acting like he was having to think real hard, but he knew the answer immediately. "Fuck yeah! Sounds like a plan to me! Follow me back to drop this thing off and we will go anywhere you take us." He walked to give her a swift kiss and they hopped in their rides to go drop off the van. They got to the back entrance to the hotel, James parked, and was in the truck with her with the quickness. "How's about we just cruise the backroads on the outskirts of town and take in some decent scenery?," she asked while pulling back onto the main road. "I'd like that! Get me away from this city shit! By the way, I like your shirt, but do you even know who the Runaways are?" She scoffed at his ridiculous question as she reached down and grabbed the remote of the disc changer that was tucked away under the back seat and handed it to him, "Why don't you press 'play'? Their hit song 'Cherry Bomb' began to blast through the stereo and she sang along.

Can't stay at home, Can't stay in school
Old folks say, you poor little fool
Down the streets I'm the girl next door
I'm the fox you been waiting for

Hello daddy, hello mom
I'm your ch ch ch cherry bomb
Hello world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch ch ch cherry bomb

James took amusement as he watched her and listened as she looked at him singing. Lord if she only knew...she is a fucking cherry bomb. He took a deep breath as he took in the sight of her driving through town and singing along. When the song was over she took the remote to switch the discs to find something he might like, "You like Skynyrd?," she questioned. He nodded his head yes in agreement and reached out his arm to rest on her thigh. She pressed play and continued driving, even though his hand on her thigh was a slight distraction. Cruising through town and signing along with the tunes playing, James was beyond happy just to be with her. They were about to be away from any form of a restaurant and she was hungry. "You want a snack or something? I'm starving, thinking about whipping in and grabbing a pizza." He replied, "Sounds pretty good. I'm starving too!" She pulled into a mom and pop style gas station/pizzeria and told him to wait there. She came back out with a large pizza, two Pepsis, and headed further out to the far side of town. She eventually pulled over at a large field with some trees giving shade in a far corner, "How bout a pizza picnic?" He laughed just sitting there along for the ride, "anything you want is fine, all that matters is you're with me." They hopped out and he grabbed the food while she opened the back gate and rummaged around to find a throw blanket.

There were no words as they made their way to the tree line taking in the peacefulness of the area. They got to the spot, she laid out the blanket and they both sat. "It's beautiful here, so calm and peaceful," James said scooting close to sit beside her. Tiff just replied "mhmm" as she handed him his drink and they started filling their bellies with greasy slices. "So, how'd that final go?," he asked mid chew. "It wasn't bad. Grades will be posted in a few days, but I think I did just fine. Glad I don't have to worry about any of that for 4 months." She appreciated him asking, but she had already forgotten about the worries of school since being in his presence. "I forgot I have something for you!," James blurted out to get up and ran back to the truck. He had secretly snuck the roses and her earring into the back at the warehouse. He was running back to her and she was wondering what he could've gotten. He plopped back down, "These are for you!" She didn't know what could be in the large white box so she slowly lifted the lid to see the roses. "They're beautiful!," she exclaimed. "Oh and something else, he reached in his pocket to grab the box from the jeweler to place on her knee. Tiff gave him a 'what the fuck look', "Just open it, I'll think you'll be happy," he said with a smirk. She opened the box, her eyes started filling up, but she held it in. "Oh God! I thought I'd lost it at the concert! Those earrings have special meaning and I was devastated when I saw it was gone this afternoon! Thank you so very much! Where'd you find it?!" "I stepped on it in the bathroom floor. It was missing the back so I had a jeweler replace it. He informed me that it's a very expensive piece."