“You’re late.”

Oh great here comes the lecture. “Only six minutes late Safia, I got caught in traffic,” I said while hurrying to clock in for the afternoon shift.  I could already sense her peering under her thin framed glasses just thinking of what to say next.

“Again, so it seems.  You know, some day you’ll need to understand how important punctuality is,” she said with her condescending tone while holding that annoying clipboard that houses her agenda and notes for the day.  She likes carrying that everywhere she goes in the store.

“Looks like it’s just you and me tonight huh?  I said sighing making sure she heard me.

“Yup, and we just got a new shipment in today; I’ll be working on the inventory in the back if you need me.”

“Great, so I won’t see you for the rest of the shift.”

“If you’re good, maybe.  Either way you have plenty to do in the mean time.”

In other words she’d be hanging out back while I worked tonight.  Inventory was always her way of escaping the front of the store and dealing with guests.  She usually did that when she was not in the best of moods.  I could tell by how she was dressed that even more was on her mind. She dressed skimpier when she wanted attention or when she wanted to be a distraction. 

It’s been two months since she came to work here at the music store and she was immediately hired as a supervisor.  I’ve been here for over a year along with others who have been here even longer.  When the general manager decided to overlook anyone who had worked here for the position you can imagine the uproar it started.  Instead, he decided to hire the girlfriend of a fellow supervisor.  Aren’t there any legal complications with that?  Anyway, as much as I hated the decision I had to deal with her.

“Your register is set and the store is organized… keep it that way.  We shouldn’t be too busy tonight but that doesn’t mean you can be lazy.  Here’s your list of things to do in the mean time.”  She handed me her list of chores, as I like to call them.

“Isn’t it against company policy to wear open-toe shoes and short skirts?”  I said, eyeing my list as she turned and headed towards the back.

“Only for you, smart ass.  Now get busy, you’ve got quite a bit to do.”

Our store isn’t a large store by any means, but it’s the only place this side of town that has a variety of music tastes.  So, on that note, it can get a bit overwhelming at times, which is why we normally carry two closers.  Lucky I got stuck with her even though it’s no secret we don’t get along.

“You got to be kidding.  There’s like fifty things to do here.  What the hell… scrub the restroom?” 

We normally had a rotation of cleanup throughout the week.  Sunday and Thursday closers were responsible for restroom cleanliness.  This was Monday afternoon.  How did I get stuck with this duty? 

Stopping at the back room door, she turned with a slight smirk on her face.  “Mike didn’t do a good job last night.  Make sure that toilet shines tonight, okay?”

“Bitch,” I said under my breath.

Closing the door behind her, I could almost hear her gloating in the back.  We used to be great friends before, used to hang out almost every other weekend with her and her boyfriend - who coincidentally decided to quit a month ago.  Seems he found his replacement.  I’m still confused on how they managed to be a couple. 

They have almost nothing in common.  She’s spontaneous and outgoing and he’s a raging jealous nut who acts like an overprotective father.  I can’t blame him, though, she is gorgeous.  She’s just the perfect height as some say.  Five feet four inches tall with a milky white complexion coupled along with soft sensuous skin that complements her figure. 

She doesn’t workout anymore, but she doesn’t need to either.  As a former cheerleader she carries her natural frame very well.  Slender and sleek, she has just the right amount of thickness to her hips and legs with the firm waist to company.  This gives her a lovely hourglass figure that isn’t exaggerated. 

Her breasts are just shy of a C cup, but you could never tell by the tops she wears that hug and perk her beautiful mounds up tight.  Her hair, a dark auburn that she usually ties up in a bun or ponytail for a more professional look, shines and darkens with the changing light. 

She wants to be taken seriously and she normally dresses to that fact.  But since she’s been working here, since she’s been my boss, it’s been downhill for us on a professional level and a friendship one as well.  I can’t even remember the last time we went out for lunch, although she has asked a few times in the course of her stay here. 

I’m just being stubborn I suppose.  But then again, she can be a bitch with her bossy tone.  Maybe that’s what bothers me, a former friend now telling me what to do.  One thing that can’t be denied though, her skills in retail are sound.  And it does look like it’s going to be a slow night.

“Don’t forget to dust the lights, you forgot last week,” she yelled from the back. 

“I didn’t forget.  I just didn’t do it,” I said making sure she didn’t hear me.

One thing about having so much to do, it makes the night go by a lot quicker.  I was easily able to get most of the stuff done with almost no interruptions.  People came and went and I finished most of the duties on the list - all except the restroom duties.  So, as time went by I just hung out and kept myself busy. 

Our restroom is in the back, where she’s working on our inventory.  I’d hate to let her sit there and watch me while I scrubbed.  I’d wait ‘till later when she’d be done and out from the back.  I knew she might gain a sense of satisfaction from watching me - didn’t want to give her that feeling.

“So how are things going?” she said as she walked out from the back of the store.

“Just need the restroom and we’ll be done for the night.  The register is dropped, carpet vac’d, windows shined, lights dusted, everything is organized,” I said as I leaned against our back counter twirling my nametag lanyard.

“Great, everything is checked in the back as well,” she said as she hopped on the counter in front of me and crossed her legs.

I could almost read her mind as she eyed me sitting there, just three feet in front of me.  Her over leg was dangling and rocking with a break of her ankle every few seconds.  She caught me taking a peek at her feet and let out a little grin.

“So about these shoes you so kindly mentioned earlier,” she said as she twiddled her toes at me.

Shit, she’s toying with me, I thought.

“What about them?” I said, acting as if completely unfazed by the question.

“Well, I just did my toes today…but I’m not sure if the color really goes with these shoes.  What do you think?” she asked while raising her foot toward me so that I could get a closer look of her toes.

We were up late one night having a few drinks over at her place.  Her boyfriend and my girlfriend at the time had a few too many and were out early.  We, on the other hand, stayed up until the break of dawn just talking about anything that came to mind. 

The conversation covered a range of topics like life, work, goals, sexual fantasies, and it eventually lead to fetishes.  I told her how aroused I became when I would see a woman with beautiful, well-kept feet and lovely toes.  I even complimented hers that night. 

That’s the night that she hinted on wearing short skirts just so she could tease men with her sensuous legs.  Which, by the way, she’s been wearing every night I work with her now.  She mentioned Eternity as her favorite male cologne, something that always lit a little fire in her when she smelled it… since then it’s been my choice of cologne to work as well. 

“I honestly wouldn’t know.  They look fine to me,” I said while trying not to stare down.

She crossed her legs again, this time taking her time and making sure I was looking while she did it.  I couldn’t resist taking a peek as she slowly moved each leg under and over the other.  I couldn’t put out the dirty little thoughts that would eventually cloud my mind.  Thoughts conflicted with my overall feelings for her.  Feelings like envy, frustration, even hatred were being overwhelmed by feelings of curiosity, pleasure and lust.

A warm feeling sank into the pit of my stomach as I shifted uncomfortably.  I caught myself thinking of how soft her legs would feel in my hands.  How lovely it would be if my fingers could run from the base of her calf up to her thigh.  Feeling her skin up against mine and firmly gripping her thighs between my fingers and palm.  The idea of slowly moving my hand down the side of her legs kept replaying in my head.  Down to her ankle, down to her soles, down to her toes. 

I leaned back just a bit while crossing my hands over my crotch.  I didn’t want to show how aroused I was getting just by looking at her and thinking of what could be.  I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how bad she was teasing me and how easy it was working.  But the truth is I did want her.  She is beautiful and a lovely person to hang out with, when our professional lives didn’t cross of course. 

She closed her eyes and took a long breath through her nose.  I saw the corner of her eyes fall as the edges of her lips rose to a curious smile.  She must have caught another scent when I moved - the cologne she loves.  She opened her eyes and stared at me.  I couldn’t deny that I wore this just for her; to tease her the way she teased me.  As we stared for what seemed like minutes, I searched through her dark brown eyes that almost never revealed what she was thinking, always a mystery. 

We stared at each other for a few more moments.  I wanted to lean over and take her in my arms and bring to life all the pleasures of lust in my head.  I wanted to pull her up against me and break the aura around her while slowly moving in and pressing her lips against mine.

“Gray,” she said. “Where did we…”

I couldn’t let her finish her sentence.  Something about this was wrong.  I’m supposed to hate her, remember!  Why is this so complicated?  Thoughts rushed through my head: lust, pleasure, fantasies, but most of all guilt.

“It’s nine already…” I said, interrupting her, and walked to my left and towards the front door.

I watched her head sink into her chest as I walked away.  She sat there as I began to close the side security gates, not moving.  I took my time setting up the locks, noticing she was still sitting there, staring at the ground.  Finally, she hopped off the counter and turned my way.

“There are a few items that need to be wrapped up.  I’m gonna finish those up while you close up here.”  She turned towards the back door again.

I looked at her as she slowly walked away.  I stared at her perfectly formed legs fitting tight underneath her black skirt.  She must have known I was watching each of her steps.  She stopped at the door and stood still for a moment.

“Let me know if you need me,” she said and disappeared in the back.

Her tone was a bit lower, almost like if she was forcefully keeping herself busy.  In fact, I knew she was.  She hates our wrapping machine.  She couldn’t wrap up merchandise to save her life.  Instead of leaving items straight and firm, her wrappings were always loose and wrinkled.  She usually left all the wrapping to me since I did the best job out of anyone in the store.

I finished up filling out our check out reports at the register when I heard tussling coming from the back.  I could tell she was struggling with what she was doing.  The constant crunch of plastic wrap being thrown into the garbage along with deep sighs gave her away.  I felt sorry for a minute, thinking about what she might have said earlier.  She was about as stubborn as I was, she wouldn’t ask for my help back there, yet she was so close on opening up to me.  I filled in the last line and turned to walk towards the back area.  Walking up, I stopped at the door and turned to look into the corner that housed our wrapping station.

“Need help?” I said with a slight smile.

She turned and looked at me but didn’t say anything.  She returned my smile and turned back at what she was working on - her way of saying yes.  I walked toward her and stopped at her side.  I expected her to move out and let me finish up the wrappings but, surprisingly, she didn’t.  She continued to struggle with some wrapping so I decided to move up behind her and reach my arms over her body to assist.

“See your problem is that you use way too much wrapping.  Let’s use a little less and see how we do.”

Stepping closer to her, I could feel a static aura almost break between us.  We were separated only by inches, but I was close enough to smell the sweet scent of lotion on her neck: sweet pea.  I pulled some wrapping over to us and measured it shorter than what she was using. 

“This is a good amount for what we need.”

I reached over for the cutting tool.  She beat me to it, but my hand rested on top of hers.  I waited for a second to see how she would react but she simply kept it there.  I could smell her lovely perfume over her collar as we moved in unison over to the items being wrapped.  We cut the wrap and slid it underneath the merchandise.

“Now let’s see how tight we can get it…” I whispered softly in her ear.

We worked together with almost no resistance.  I paused for a second and let out a deep breath over her shoulders.  She leaned back into me while taking position on the most sensitive parts of my body.  It took all my energy not to give in to the ravaging instincts that plagued my mind at that moment.  I struggled to focus on what we were doing while instantaneously we began to breathe in slow unison.  I wanted her and I needed to show her the truth of my desires.

She leaned harder against me and slowly grinded her bottom up against my crotch while shifting her shoulders back just a bit to drive into my chest.  She set herself up in a perfect position to feel me completely and continued to move up and down.  I leaned into her as well, looking over her shoulder onto her neckline, then collarbone, then her perked up mounds. 

I could see her eyes close as she breathed in deeper.  She began to rest the back of her head on my chest while slightly tilting away, giving her neck fully to me.  The thought of kissing her delicate neckline made my mouth water with delight.  With that thought she turned to her right and looked back at me.  Our eyes locked and it seemed that for a moment time stopped.  I licked my lips while she stared at me.  I leaned in and kissed her moist lips. 

She tasted wonderful, like fresh strawberries - a credit to the lip balm she wore.  I slid my tongue between her lips and into her mouth.  She returned the favor by pushing hers into mine.  I could feel the contour of her tongue as she slid in and out of my mouth with a firm press.  I didn’t notice how hard I was pushing my body up against her but she simply pressed back with just as much vigor. 

She was caught between me and the workstation with no means of escape.  She pushed back, seeming like she wanted to pull away and fight back from the situation.  My suspicion was erased when she hooked her right hand over my head and pulled me harder into her.  She opened her mouth wider and pressed her tongue more forcefully. 

Our left-hand fingers intertwined together as she led my hand around her waist, under her shirt, and finally under her skirt.  I gave enough slack between our bodies to slide our hands deeper together to where we could feel the lace of her panties.  Our lips unlocked for just a second.

“Touch me…”

We dove under her panties and felt her clean-shaven fissure waiting for our touch.  Our mouths locked again while we stopped right above her clit and slid our middle fingers down over, spreading her lips the further we progressed.  Our fingers, completely drenched with her sweet lubricating fluid, needed no direction as they drifted towards her precious goal instinctively.  She moaned in my mouth and twitched in my arms as we explored the delicate entrance to her womanhood.  With a sudden fury we penetrated her final defenses as she swallowed our fingers. 

“Oh! Ah!”  She reacted without letting our lips fall apart.

Our lips separated as she turned to let out a gasping cry of pain and pleasure.  She expressed her delight with the sweetest sounds I’ve heard.  I ravaged her neckline, tasting the softness of her skin on my lips and falling further down along her collarbone and ending at her shoulder.

“Deeper, harder…” she moaned as she squeezed our fingers inside her with every outward motion. 

I could feel the pressure she applied to our hands and how much she enjoyed the combination of our thumbs stimulating her clit with small but firm circles and occasional flicks from our tips.  Her hips swayed back and forth in concert with our penetrating rhythm when suddenly I felt the pressure building up.  She began to contract faster and faster and trembled vigorously in my arms.  I turned to whisper in her ear.

“Let go in my arms, show me how much you’ve wanted this and how much you love it.”

Her heart raced as her breathing fought to catch up.  She swelled in my hands and soon I knew there was no turning back.  Her head flipped back facing the ceiling but her eyes were shut tightly.  I could see a tear begin to form at the corner of her eye when she began to cry out.

“Gray, I’m going to… I’m gonna…”

She dug her nails into the back of my head as she pulled me back down to fully take her neck, which was now coated with perspiration.  With one last push of our fingers I felt a sudden volume of warm fluid stream past us with such momentum.  She seemed to yell at the top of her lungs as each push of fluid was pressed out to trail her inner thighs and trickle down her legs. 

“AHHHhhhh…UHhhhh…” she cried and panted at the same time.

Like a Boa constrictor she coiled her thighs around our hands and squeezed tightly as she exerted her last spurts of orgasm.  Her breathing was heavy, as if she had sprinted a mile and just crossed the finish line.  Finally she fell against my body as hers went limp with relaxation.

She turned to face me, her eyes watery and glossy from the strain placed on them and her body trembling slightly in my grip.  I let out a small grin as we stared for a few moments.

“We need to wrap up more merchandise together,” I said as she let out a giggle.

“Shut up,” she said laughing as she caught her breath “you were always better at it anyway, but I’m a quick learner.”

She closed her eyes for a brief moment only to open them and stare back into mine.  We were still inside her and I noticed she began release her constricting grip to allow us to move again.  We slid out of her loveliness, as a slight moan escaped her, and eventually out from under her panties.  With our hands still locked together I pulled our fingers up across her body to my lips.  I kissed her fingers one by one.  Taking our penetrating fingers together into my mouth, I closed my eyes and sucked on them, tasting her sweet juices on my tongue.  Her aroma lingered strong and drove me to lick our fingers clean, making sure I gathered up all that she offered.

As I finished she turned her body to face mine.  We were silent for a few minutes; our simple stares communicated between us all the questions flooding our minds.  Where would we go from here?  How would this affect our work relationship?  Was this a mistake?  We both spoke up at the same time.

 “Saf -”

We both let out a chuckle.

I spoke up first.  “Saf, I don’t want this to affect us negatively, but I don’t want to prevent us from exploring more.  What do you think?”

She lowered her head and pushed me back, giving her enough room to allow her to adjust her skirt and shirt.  The silence after the question was almost numbing.

She finally looked back at me and smiled.

“Someone still has one more chore to do.  I don’t want to be here all night, so get started.”  She winked and turned to walk away.

I laughed at her sense of humor.  “You’re kidding right?  Saf?”