Selena Kitt - Taken

“What’s the matter, Lizzie?” Sarah squeezed my shoulders, her hair brushing my cheek as she leaned over to peek at the papers strewn over the desk.

“My hundredth hang-up tonight!” I rolled my eyes toward the phone. “They finish half the stupid survey, and then they decide it’s too long and hang up.”

“Don’t sweat it, hon.” She reached across me and gathered my completed surveys. “Don just went home and left me in charge. Let’s knock off ten minutes early.” I plopped my pencils into a cup and stood, stretching, my shirt pulling up out of my jeans. Sarah poked the eraser end of a pencil at my navel as she passed by, and I laughed, following her toward the office.

“David… Tina… Chad… Stacy… Lynn!” Sarah trailed her hand across each cubicle as we walked by and heads popped up one by one. “Turn ’em in folks! Time to go home.”

I followed her into the office, heading past her toward the small fridge.

“Throw me one.” She sat down, kicking off her heels and putting her bare feet up on Don’s desk.

When I touched a can of Mountain Dew to the sole of her foot, she squealed.

“Nice polish. Can I borrow it?” I tossed the can to her and she studied her toes.

“Sure.”

“I’m outta here.” Stacy slapped her surveys on the desk. “Eight good ones.” I stuck my tongue out at her overachieving back as she walked away and Sarah grinned. Chad and Lynn left together, arm in arm, without one survey between the two of them completed.

“What a waste.” Sarah sorted surveys on the desk. “Teenage hormones! What were they doing-calling each other ?” Tina left her surveys and was gone without a word. David was still putting things together in his cubicle.

“He’s waiting to be alone with you.” I watched him through the two-way glass.

”Not gonna happen.” Sarah snorted. “Besides, work relationships are bad news.

The male-female power struggle is tough enough without adding that to it, right?” I shrugged. “He’s cute.”

Sarah laughed. “How easily you forget that you’re attached at the hip to a certain stud who picks you up here every night…or is there trouble in paradise?”

“No, but…” I grumbled. “He’s not picking me up tonight. He’s going out with ‘the guys.’”

“Aww-so you have to spend a night all alone?” She mock-pouted. “Welcome to my life.”

“Here ya go, Sarah.” David gave me a steady look as he came in the office. He was clearly wishing I wasn't around. She took the surveys and sorted them onto the desk, acknowledging him less than she had anyone else tonight. “So what are you girls up to on a Friday night?”

“Not much.” I might as well not have even opened my mouth. He was all about Sarah.

“How about you?” David nudged her. “I’m meeting some friends at Industry tonight-want to come?”

I watched her, half-smiling. Did he really believe the woman known around the office as The Ice Princess was going to agree to go to some dance club with him last minute?

I watched his jaw work as he waited. I felt bad for him, knowing Sarah wouldn’t say yes, even though I knew she wanted to-some part of her did, anyway. She wouldn’t admit it to me, of course. Not out loud.

I’d told her, one slow Saturday we spent hanging out in the office, how I’d go for David in a heartbeat if I weren’t seeing Tim. I’d never seen Sarah turn so cold — and that was saying something. I knew immediately, in spite of her objections, she had a thing for him. She told me right away to drop it-she insisted she didn’t want to talk about it.

So of course, I teased her about it constantly. That was the way things were between me and Sarah. And really, I wasn’t kidding about David. Yeah, he was older, practically old, but he was hot . If Sarah dated him, I cajoled, I could at least live vicariously. She tolerated my teasing, rebuffed me with sarcasm. That was Sarah.

She sat in silence for a moment, glancing at me and seeing the light in my eyes.

“Actually, Lizzie and I are having a girls’ night.”

“That so?” David looked over at me. I neither confirmed nor denied-I just smiled and looked away. “Well sounds like fun. See you two later.” He went out of the office to get his jacket.

“He’s not a bad guy.” I shut the door and lowered my voice. “Besides…have you seen his basket?”

“His what?” She wrinkled her nose.

“His basket. His… you know…” I cupped the crotch of my jeans as if there were a bulge there.

“Oh Jesus, Lizzie, is that all you think about?” Sarah laughed. “There’s more to life than sex. He’s a thirty-five-year-old telemarketer, sweetie…” I raised my eyebrows. “So are you.”

“I’m a telemarketing supervisor .” She fished her purse out from under the desk and slipped her shoes on. “Besides, he’s not my type.”

”You keep saying that.” I rolled my eyes. “Methinks the lady doth protest a lot.”

“Too much.” Sarah smirked. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey.” She stood, slinging her purse over her shoulder and looking at me, considering. “How would you like to actually do a girls’ night? I can cook. We can rent a chick flick. You can borrow that nail polish. What do you say?” I hesitated and then shrugged. “Why not? I don’t have anything else to do.”

“Gee, I’m glad I’m a last resort.”

We both grinned.

* * * *

It was pouring outside, and by the time we’d rented

Unfaithful

, it had developed into a full-fledged summer storm. We were both shivering and wet, and Sarah turned on the heater in her car. I pressed my hands against the vents in an attempt to warm them.

“Feels like summer is officially over.” Sarah’s teeth chattered as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

“Sarah, your lips are blue.”

“Yours are purple.” Her eyes lingered on my mouth for a moment and then she met my eyes and smiled. “Ready to run for it?” It was raining so hard the windshield was a waterfall.

“On three.”

We counted together, opening the doors and running toward her apartment.

Sarah stopped to slip off her heels, hopping as she did it, and that put her ahead of me.

She beat me to the door and we both stood there shivering as she fumbled with her keys. The warmth of the apartment felt good, and I set the movie on the table near the door.

“Come on.” Sarah unbuttoned her wet blouse, heading toward bathroom. “Let’s get out of these and put them in the dryer.” I followed, hesitating only a moment before pulling off my wet Coldplay t-shirt. She threw her blouse in the dryer, turning to grab my shirt.

“Jeans too.” She turned her back to me. “Will you unzip me?” I unzipped her skirt and she slid it off and threw it in. I unbuttoned my jeans, rocking them down my hips.

They were wet and came off hard. I toed off my shoes and threw my socks and jeans in with the rest of the clothes. She turned it on and smiled brightly at me. There were curly, wet strands of blonde hair stuck to her cheeks. “They’ll be toasty warm by the time we’re done with dinner. How’s pasta sound?”

“Great.” I followed her out of the bathroom.

Sarah started a fire in the living room in the gas fireplace near the sofa, and she made me sit there with a glass of wine. I wasn’t much of a drinker-hadn’t even gone out to celebrate my drinking-age birthday the year before. Sarah, I figured, was thirty-something-I wasn’t completely sure of this, but it was my best guesstimate.