White is for Virgins

Chapter 7

.FOX'S POV.

I took deep breaths as I arrived at the Red Cross center, rounding the corner of the building and heading for the back. I needed some water, and my bottle was empty. God, was it hot. I opened the back door and stepped into the small kitchen, pouring myself a small, plastic cup of cold water from the jug in the fridge - downed it in two gulps. I heard the phone ring in the front lobby, and started through the hall to answer it. What surprised me was the sound of Emery picking it up. She's here already?

I stopped in the corner of the hallway just as I heard her giggling. "No, Lily, it's not that big of a deal," I heard Emery sigh, "Of course I didn't tell you! You would've killed me."

I wasn't sure of why I was standing there, eavesdropping on her little conversation... but after the next sentence, I was glad I had. "After you told me you hated him and his whole group of cross-country man whores, I didn't want to tell you... I don't know. You seemed really mad at them," Emery said softly, "And it's not like I wanna work with him, I have to." They were talking about me. Figures.

"Sex God?" she laughed hysterically, "Lily, he has no charm. Maybe that bimbo Trisha would fall for his act, but I'm smarter than that." Sex God, huh? That's a new one...

I smiled and ran my hand through my sweaty hair. No charm? Please, I could land any girl if I wanted to. I could even get Mrs. Sawyer. "Yeah, I guess he's cute, but he's so full of himself it's disgusting. I swear, he has to have some kind of venereal disease..." Emery protested, and that's when I'd had enough.

"You promised not to spread rumors, Ms. Price. I kept my end of the bargain," I said, keeping a straight face on, even though I wanted to laugh in her face. I'd caught her talking about me. Watching her squirm was quite enjoyable. Her cheeks blushed a deep red, and her jaw dropped ever so slightly at the sight of me.

"Hey Lil, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Fox just showed up for work," she mumbled into the receiver before setting it down with a shaky hand. I made a few 'tsk' sounds with my tongue against my teeth.

"You went against our agreement," I said, shaking my head with mock-disappointment. Emery looked as though she might be sick, she was avoiding eye contact and running her fingers through her straw-colored hair. It's not like Lily would actually spread the rumor; no one talked to her.

"There you are!" Nina practically shouted, pulling the door of her office open and strutting towards us, "Listen. We've got to start raising awareness for the blood drive, and there's not much time. We need banners, flyers, we need to pack the van with... oh, God! The van... I totally forgot that it won't start! And with Carlos gone I – oh, my..." Nina sighed. Damn. What's up with her? She's a nervous wreck.

"I'll work on the van," I found myself saying. Both Nina and Emery turned to look at me, Nina looked hopeful. Emery on the other hand, was glaring at me.

"You know how to fix cars?" Nina asked, open to the idea of me working on it.

"Yeah, I'm experienced," I stated, and winked at Emery. I was the epitome of a mechanic, even though my father didn't want to hear a word about it. He wanted me to be a doctor, or some boring old business man that buys companies that are in debt and sells them off, piece by piece. Emery snorted, but looked at her feet once I caught her eyes. She's all talk.

"Really?" Nina asked, ignoring Emery's comment.

"Yeah, I work on my car all the time," I told her, and she nodded.

"Alright then, Fox. The van's parked behind the building, you can't miss it," she said, and then turned to give Emery some instructions, "Em Gem, I want you to work on banners. You've made lovely ones in the past, with the hand prints and the drop-of-blood-man." Emery nodded and automatically turned to the storage room, while I made my way to the kitchen and out the back door.