One and Done - S. Briones Lim Page 0,38

then.”

I nodded once and had turned toward the door when Mr. Rossi’s deep voice called out again.

“Jesse?”

I turned. “Yes, sir?”

“Rocky’s had an amazing life so far. She’s good.”

“She always was,” I agreed.

He nodded. “And I’d like to keep her that way. Don’t drag her down again. Don’t make me regret hiring you, capisce?”

“Yeah.”

Chapter 15

Christmas was just another day to me. No gifts, no cheer, just a phone call from Dad and a wave of a hand from Mom. I spent the day locked up inside my old room watching a marathon of A Christmas Story and chomping on Doritos. It wasn’t too bad of a day. I mean, I was never a big Christmas person anyway. It wasn’t as if it was a huge holiday for the Tyler family to begin with. Besides, what I was really looking forward to was the day after. The day I’d be seeing her.

The air was icy that morning, sharp with an electric bite. The streets were empty and still, as if everyone was still locked up indoors, hungover from the holiday’s festivities. The drive through the silent town further revved up my already strained nerves. Was it excitement? Fear? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I’d soon find out.

I sat in my car for longer than I cared to admit staring at the entrance of Rossi’s Novelties. The building was a lot bigger than I remembered and was caked in ice and slushy snow. Along with its garlands and wreaths, it reminded me of those toy houses that were often used as store displays around the holidays.

“What am I doing here?” I paused on the rubber mat, just inches from the sliding door. “What the heck am I going to say to her? I’m sorry for ignoring you all these years, but I loved you enough to let you go?”

Knowing I couldn’t just stay posted outside, I took one last breath and pushed the glass door open. Part of me hoped to sneak inside undetected, but alas, the three silver bells tied to the door handle thought otherwise. I winced as they clanged loudly against one another.

“Fucking bells.” I sighed and ripped off my gloves, taking a look at the store—or rather a warehouse. “Huh, guess they’ve done pretty well for themselves since I’ve been gone.”

It was like a fucking maze to walk through, but I wasn’t complaining. Taking my time, I navigated through the aisles of random merchandise looking for the elusive counter. Passing furry blankets, diapers, spatulas—and whoa, is that a shirt for dogs?—I bit back my laughter eyeing the odd merchandise. Rossi’s Novelties was definitely a bad name for the store. They should have called it “Things You Didn’t Know You Needed.” Seriously, the place was like a hoarder’s dream.

Glancing at a collection of neon colored building blocks, I rounded the corner and felt the wind knock out of me. I felt as if I had walked into the middle of a dream.

“Rocky.” My heart felt like a gigantic beating drum. After years of wondering how she was doing, there she stood, looking like the angel I remembered, except something was off about her…she looked different, and she was staring right at me.

“Jesse, there you are!” Mr. Rossi’s gruff voice greeted me as he gestured for me to join them at the cash wrap. He shot Rocky a knowing look before making his way toward me, and I swear to God his stomach jiggled with every step. Yet even his blubber wasn’t enough to distract me. I could not tear my eyes off my old friend. Her hair looked longer, darker almost. Her face was thinner and higher at the cheeks, having lost the bits of baby fat from our high school years. And her body—damn, her body—had new curves that were never there before. Though she looked as delicate and prim as ever, she was definitely a woman now. My manhood twitched at the realization.

Awkwardness would not even begin to describe how I felt at the moment, but judging from Rocky’s stiffness, she most likely felt the same way. Stumbling out of the weird pose she was strutting, she hesitantly walked toward me and threw her arms around me, and just like that I felt all the walls I had built come crashing down. She felt familiar and mysterious at the same time, and for the life of me I could not figure out why I stayed away so long…

No! Don’t get pulled in again.

Like being dunked into a