I sighed. "I don"t think she"s not going to be able to take that option."
"Yeah, well, I"ll tell you what I tell everybody when I see an impending mess as bad as this one: tough s.h.i.t. I"ll try and pull some strings because it"s you, but even if I found a used, compatible engine that wasn"t going to absolutely crucify her bank account, this thing"s gonna die from something else. I give it half a year... maybe a year, tops."
"So, it"s either spend thousands on an engine and buy some time, or spend at least that on a newer vehicle. Either way, she"s out of pocket a substantial little sum."
"Sure looks that way, bro."
"Alright, Kevin. Thanks for everything you"ve done. I"ll talk to her, and we"ll sort it all out."
"Later, dude."
I hung up the line angrily.
As soon as the problem had happened, I"d known that it was going to take a miracle to fix it. Unfortunately, having her come back around had apparently filled the miracle quota for today.
I was still trying to figure out what to do when Clara came into view. She was climbing the wide steps outside, ducking into the union building and scanning for me. As she spotted me in the seating area, she stomped towards me with a look of clear, overwhelming stress painted across her face.
"What"s the problem?" I asked.
Clara slumped down in the chair to my side. "Just... unreasonable teachers," she muttered. "Couldn"t they just consult each other on the homework front? Instead of bombarding us with it, all at once?"
"Pretty sure that"s not how it works," I chuckled lightly.
"Guess not," Clara muttered before pulling herself to an upright, seated position. "Alright, so, have you heard from your guy yet?"
My face immediately fell.
"Yeah, that"s what I thought," she groaned, slumping back into the cushions. "G.o.ddammit! Why is this turning out to be such a bulls.h.i.t day? Everything"s been going downhill since I saw you last..."
"Well, what can I do to make it up to you?" I asked her. "Surely there"s something..."
She caught my eye and chuckled. "Maybe not tonight. I"m going to be buried under a.s.signments for the next day or two anyway..."
"Oh, you"ve got plenty of time before then," I smiled. "You seem stressed. Just give me an hour or two of your time to help you unwind, yeah? Wouldn"t you enjoy that?"
Clara glanced over mischievously.
"Well... I suppose that could work for me."
I made sure that it did...
Two hours later, after an incredible simultaneous o.r.g.a.s.m that left us both completely spent. We were laying together in bed. She and I were just the way I liked us best grinning together, drained from great s.e.x, without a st.i.tch of clothing on us.
I was already on my back again, and my lover was curled up against my chest. Absentmindedly, my fingers played with the hair on the back of her head.
"G.o.d, Dalton, that was just as incredible as before," she murmured softly.
"Oh yeah? Satisfied, love?"
"Am I ever..."
With a satisfied groan, I glanced over at my alarm clock.
"Huh. It"s later than I thought."
"Is it?" She asked, lifting her head.
"Yeah, it"s already half past five."
"Half past five, huh..." Clara murmured. "That"s strange, I feel like there"s something important that I"ve forgotten, something like..."
Her eyes widened.
"Oh no. Oh f.u.c.k. No. Please no."
"What? What is it?"
Clara was leaping up from the bed, clearly frazzled. I didn"t like how stressed she was getting, all of a sudden.
"Oh G.o.d, it"s work," Clara finally groaned.
"Work?" I asked. "Wait... you didn"t...?"
She"d forgotten to contact her boss.
"Yeah..." She held her face in her hands. "I can"t believe it. I completely f.u.c.king forgot to email Arnold last night, when I came home... and I stayed up talking to Natalie. I was supposed to be there over an hour ago."
Clara dove for her phone and practically went catatonic when she saw her notifications. "Oh s.h.i.t. Oh s.h.i.t, I"m in trouble..."
"I"m sure it"ll be fine," I told her. "Look, just apologize to him, and everything will be okay."
"That"s not how this works," Clara lashed out. "Look, my car"s a mess that"s apparently broken down, now I"ve been totally distracted from my job, and for what? s.e.x?"
I didn"t like where this was going.
"Clara, look. I"m sorry. I"ll help you."
"I don"t want your help," she muttered.
"Be that as it may... I know that you"ve had a rough time of things lately. Between the car thing, your job, school, our parents suddenly marrying, your feelings for me..."
She glanced at me with irritation. "No, go on," she snarled. "Please. Feel free to rack up additional ways that my life is f.u.c.king up right now. Really. I want to hear them."
I rose from the bed, and she didn"t move.
"Clara. Don"t shut me out."
"I"m not shutting you out," she grunted.
"You are. Look at you."
She looked down. Her arms were crossed, her stance was defensive, and she looked ready to absolutely come unglued at me.
Clara stayed like that for a moment... and I was afraid that she"d only snap harder.
Instead, she began to relax.
"Look, I"m sorry, Dalton," she whispered as I came over to hold her close. "You"re right. There"s been a lot on my plate the last couple of weeks. I didn"t mean to try and take it out on you. It"s just that... I don"t know what I"m going to do."
"I know," I murmured, rubbing her shoulders as she remained pinned against me. "I understand. This has been a lot for you lately." Pulling back, I lifted her chin with my finger. "But here"s the thing I"m going to be right there with you, all the way."
She nodded softly.
"Listen. First thing"s first. We can fix your car. My guy tells me that he can maybe find a used engine to plug into it. I can cover that."
Clara"s eyes widened.
"No. I can"t let you do that."
"Look, you need a car, and I have a ton of money," I shrugged. "What"s a few thousand dollars to me right now? Sure, it"s a lot of money, but I"m not going to miss it. I"d rather see you mobile and happy."
"Still... I"ll find a way to pay you back."
"Chiefly unnecessary," I responded.
"Doesn"t matter," Clara shook her head. "I can"t expect you to make that kind of sacrifice for me, even if you want to and you have the money."
"Fine. Point conceded," I rea.s.sured her. "As for the rest... school is going to suck, and our parents being married is going to suck too. Those, I can"t really help you out with. But you"ll have my support for as long as you want it..."
"I appreciate that," Clara whispered, nestling her cheek into my chest. "But what about work?"
"You"re going to have to suck that one up," I answered. "Make the call. Figure out what you have to do to keep yourself on the payroll. That privilege of yours that you mentioned before is probably gone by now, though."
"Yeah..." She muttered. "Definitely."
"So, do the right thing," I continued, handing Clara her smartphone. "Don"t put it off. Reach out to your boss now, kiss a.s.s, and keep yourself with some income. Work your way back up into his graces."
Clara took the phone from my hand and smiled up at me. "You"re really great, you know that?"
"I can be," I shrugged.
"When you"re not seated at a table with a bunch of marines and making a complete a.s.s of yourself, at any rate," she chuckled. "What was it you told me the night we met?"
"Oh, I told you a great number of things."
"I"m thinking of something in particular. You asked if I had a menu, and then you were going to have me"
"Stand on it, and I"d ask for some of you. Yeah, I definitely remember that."
Clara pulled up her contacts list on her phone and navigated towards her boss. "It"s funny to think of how much has changed since then," she thought aloud. "I thought you were a total p.r.i.c.k, and even a short while later, my roommate was trying to send you away... but now, here we are."
She lifted the phone to her ear and let it dial.
I thought about that too. A lot had changed since Clara and I had first met... but I was happy with it. It was great to finally have someone to push all of my attention into, as opposed to just cycling through girls in my bed.
"Hi, Arnold? Yes, it"s me... I know... I"m really sorry. My car... okay, sure." She paused, pulling the phone away from her ear for a moment. "He"s putting me on hold so that he can go somewhere quieter."
I nodded, listening for every cue in her tone.
"Right. I"m calling to apologize for tonight. I was supposed to email you yesterday and notify you that my car broke down, but I didn"t get the opportunity to reach out until now... uh-huh... yes sir... I understand... of course..." Her eyes widened, but I couldn"t tell if they were from surprise or fear. "Right... no, I get it, I understand... yes sir. Thank you, sir."
She hung up the line and turned to me.
"Well, the good news is that I haven"t lost my job... bad news is that I"m on probation. Two shifts a week, maximum. As if I needed to add being broke to my troubles..."
"Don"t worry about the money," I replied, pulling close and ma.s.saging her shoulders. "Just focus on doing what you"ve got to do."
Clara looked over her shoulder at me with begrudging acceptance, and didn"t fight the point.
"I don"t know what I"d do without you, Dalton," she murmured. "You came into my life at such a strange time... but I"m happy to have you."
Her hand slipped over my knuckles as I kneaded her shoulder. It was warm and soft, squeezing tightly into the indentions between my fingers.
"I"m happy to have you too," I smiled, planting a kiss where her jawline connected to her ear.
When she turned, her eyes half-lidded with the first waves of desire, I slid my hands to caress her face and hold it close. Giving a deep, pa.s.sionate kiss, I realized how the tension had gotten my blood pumping again.
As my c.o.c.k bounced with l.u.s.t for her, I gently lowered Clara back down to my bed again...
52.
Arrogant Brit
Chapter 15.