Strip Tease

Chapter 8

My shift had luckily gone by pretty fast with minimal questions from Kristy about my not-a-date date with Orion. All I got was a 'how was it?'. Lucy hadn't been working that night, so I would just have to get interrogated by her Sunday night instead.

I had walked into the back to change into my normal clothes and take off my make up when I had gotten a text from Orion.

ORION> Out front. Were taking my car tonight.

I laughed at his text remembering how he had to practically kiss his knees last night in my car. I finished with my make up and pulled my loosely curled hear into a pony tail on top of my head. I opened the back door of the stage and walked out into the alley that was on the side of Temptations. I passed my car and waited under the lamp post so I could see clearly.

After a few minutes a large grey truck pulled up next to me with silver block letters on the side that read DENALI. The window rolled down and Orion's face came from the drivers' side. "Hey, baby. How much for an hour?"

"Sorry honey, I don't think you could afford all this." I said gesturing down my body.

He laughed loudly but it was cut short. "No, I definitely could." He said smirking at me.

I glared at him and opened the door to the truck. He held out his hand to help me climb in and I gladly took it.

"Where are we going?" I asked once I finally buckled myself in.

"How does coffee sound?" He asked.

"Tea sounds better. I don't want any extra energy. I could really use the sleep."

"Tea it is." He nodded and pulled out into the street. We drove in silence for a little while as I watched the trees pass us. I could already tell we were headed back towards my apartment because this was the way I drove to work.

"Orion?" I asked to get his attention, but my voice was just above a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Who are you?" I leaned my head against the window and looked towards him. I studied his face as it contorted into a few emotions. My voice was soft and sleepy and I knew I could fall asleep at any moment.

"Pass." He said, mimicking my words from the other night. I smiled, but waited for him to speak again, knowing he wasn't finished. "Can I answer that later? I want to enjoy you not knowing for a little bit longer. I promise I'm not dangerous and that you're safe with me-"

"I know I am, Orion." I murmured. I looked back out the window and let my eyes close as the sun started to rise. Neither of us said anything else until we stopped at the same coffee shop down the road from my apartment that we met at. I smiled when I saw the open sign glowing bright green in the window.

Orion got out of the car and came around to my side. My door was already opened but he held his hand out for me to take so I could get down from the car safely. "Now I know why you wanted to take your car. You fit so much better in it than mine." I laughed to myself.

He smiled and held the door to the coffee shop open for me. He walked in after me and gestured to the table by the fireplace. "Why don't you go grab a seat and I'll order our drinks. Do you want anything to eat?" He asked.

"Sure, surprise me." He nodded his head and walked off to the cashier. I took my seat by the fireplace and watched him place our order. I turned my head to look at the fireplace and watched as the flames danced inside the metal cage. I stuck my hands out trying to warm them up.

"You cold?" I heard his deep voice behind me and I smiled.

"No. it's just comforting." I looked up just in time to watch him place a large glass mug in front of me. He set a blueberry scone and a chocolate chip muffin in the middle of the table.

"You can have either one, or both if you want it. I don't imagine you've had anything to eat in awhile." He said and I smiled at him as I took the chocolate chip muffin from the middle of the table. "Really? Not the scone. Note to self: doesn't like scones"

"No, I like scones." I giggled. God, I must be tired if I just giggled over a scone. "I'm just allergic to blueberries." I said while ripping the top off of my muffin. "It's not deadly or anything, I just break out into hives and my tongue swells up.

"Good to know." We sipped our drinks in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the warmth of the fire and each others company. He cleared his throat and I looked up. "How was um...work?" His lips pressed together, uncomfortable with the word. I wouldn't let it bother me though.

"It was good. Saturdays are pretty busy; we usually have a lot of parties, but people tip less because it's so packed. Thursdays and Mondays are my favorite but I have school those days so they are extra exhausting. What about you? What did you do today?"

"Well I got to work pretty early, so I finished signing some paperwork for a new building we are working on. We had a company wide meeting after lunch so that was incredibly boring. As soon as it was over, I went home and slept until about midnight."

Silence took over once more and it wasn't the awkward kind. I liked being able to sit with someone and not have to fill the silence with meaningless chatter. The fireplace calmed my nerves too. I can't remember the last time I hung out with someone outside of school or work. It wasn't so bad, I might try to do it more often. But then my mind wanders to Becca and I think better of it.

I found myself looking at Orion once again. His eyes were fixed on the fire and his face was illuminated by the flames. He was wearing plain blue jeans and a black long sleeve thermal shirt. There was a black beanie on his head that was struggling to contain the unruly curls underneath. His arms were resting on the table, both hands holding onto the cup in front of him. He lifted one hand up and rubbed his face with it, trying to wipe away the tired look that looked permanently plastered there. He pulled his hat of and tossed it on the table, running his hands through his hair, back and forth. When he finished his eyes fell back onto the fire. "Like what you see? You've been watching me for five minutes now." He turned to look at me, the ghost of a tired smirk on his lips.

"Tell me something about you. I don't know very much."

"I could say the same for you."

"I told you I was allergic to blueberries, didn't I?"

"Fine. My middle name is Thomas. Your turn."

He looked at me, like really looked at me. His eyes searched into the depths of mine, his brows knit together, and I watched as his jaw clenched and un-clenched. He wasn't angry, at least I don't think. His eyes held so many questions. Questions that I wasn't sure if I knew the answers to, and others that I didn't want him to know the answers to. I looked back at the fire in shame. I couldn't possible give him everything he wants from me.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, he said, "Do you want to get out of here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE FOLLOW, VOTE, AND COMMENT :)

*UPDATED*