That One Ride

13. Remember The Time

"John, I swear to God, if you don't stop, I won't hold back in beating the shit out of you. I mean it."

She huffed, clenching her fists so hard she was afraid they would bleed. John White was a lot of things. Was he good looking? Yes. Terribly so. Was he successful? Yes. That diploma from Harvard was proof enough. Was he charming? She thought he could kill a poor girl with his smooth talk. But was he someone who she wanted to spend time with?

No. Absolutely not.

John White had it all, but he didn't have anything that appealed her in anyway. Most of the time she wanted to punch him so he would shut his mouth full of pearly white teeth. But, he was her colleague, and since she didn't want to ensure Anderson's wrath, she reigned in her anger and later got rid of it by going for a nice long ride without the John White's of this world.

But, that would have to wait till her shift was over. She hated when there was fifteen minutes left, and yet it seems they last an eternity. And since she finished everything for the day, and since she didn't feel like starting any sort of work for tomorrow, all she had left was to wait. She was excited about that, if she were honest, to get a few minutes of peace and quiet before going home to listen to her mother whine again. And then John came to see if she was done. She swears, one of these days her eyes are going to get stuck watching the front of her brain.

She wasn't blind. Mr. White was making passes at her, with, in her opinion, very poor attempts in flirting, and he has been doing so for a little under a year, just after she started working in this damned company. She could understand why he thought he had a shot with her. She really did. But, after her thing with Hunter, there just hasn't been a wanting, a need in her for dating, other than a few one-night stands that happened under the influence of alcohol here and there. They almost always left her feeling worse rather than better, for what reason she didn't know. It's not like she was cheating. She and Hunter were past tense.

"I mean it too, Ashley. Would it kill you to go out for coffee with me? Fifteen minutes. That's all I'm asking." John persuaded, and Ashley rolled her eyes. She looked at her watch and saw that she had twelve minutes left. She groaned inwardly, begging it to somehow move faster.

"John, as much as I love spending time with you at work," he seemed to smile as she said that and she cringed at his obvious lack of experience in people using sarcasm to talk to him, "I don't hang with people from work." His smile fell.

"But you hang out with Franky all the time." He countered.

"That's because Franky and I have known each other since high school. Do you really think I wouldn't hang out with someone I've known for almost ten years?" she asked and he seemed to be at a loss for words. She looked at her watch again. Nine minutes. That's it, she's calling it. She stood up from her seat and grabbed her things. She pulled the jacket off her chair and went for the door to leave her office. John followed like a puppy on two legs. She reached the elevator, her knees itching to get home and have a nice ride. The door opened and she stepped in, pressing the button as John stood right next to her, the smell of scented candles she described to her brothers filling her nostrils. Seriously, does this guy bathe in it?

"Well, not all high school friendships last you know." He said.

Oh yes, I do. She thought as the door opened. She stepped out, her heels clicking on the marble floor, her heartbeat synchronizing with the sound. The sound of John's shoes next to her felt like an off-beat tune to her ears, and she would have loved it if he would pause. The sight of her brother waiting for her in front brought a great sigh of relief from her mouth. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, that smirk that reminded her so much of her own.