Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
She refused to dwell in the past. That ex-boyfriend had moved on once he realized her mother wasn’t that good, but the fear of the dark remained. Fucking asshole.
She hated most of her mother’s boyfriends. They were always a mix between not giving a shit about her, the kid, to ignoring her, to being a little too friendly, and then plain old cruel.
This was why she got in the habit of sneaking out. It made her life a lot easier. Also, it meant she could study. Now, if she could save up enough money to get into beauty school or take some lessons, perhaps she could leave town and start up on her own.
She had a lot of plans, and it wasn’t to stock shelves for the rest of her life. It was a good job but shit pay, and she hated the hours. They were never consistent. She didn’t know if it was because she had become one of the regular employees. She would soon earn her five-year badge, which was fucking terrifying. She got the job at eighteen and was still working it now. What started out as part-time soon evolved into full time. It sucked.
After she finished with the canned fruit, she completed the dessert aisle and moved onto savory. She had long stopped looking at the cans of food with any interest. She didn’t like the convenience of it and tried to eat as healthy as she could afford. Years of her mother telling her she had a fat ass could affect a woman’s ego.
She didn’t give a shit about her weight, but after watching all the documentaries about the chemicals and stuff they put in food, she was dubious. Although, she did love a good packet of ramen noodles. They were a weakness of hers, also chocolate ice cream.
“Well, well, well, funny meeting you here.”
Nikki frowned and turned toward that husky voice, and sure enough, the guy from the MC club was in the aisle she was working.
“Not funny at all, seeing as I work here and I’m just doing my job.”
“Stocking shelves?” he asked.
She looked at him and then past him to see if he was alone. He held his hands up. “I’m all alone.”
“That’s strange. I thought you guys hunted in packs.”
He chuckled. “You make us sound like a pack of wolves.”
Nikki tilted her head to the side and simply stared at him. She had to wonder if that was the truth. The MC clubs were known for being deadly. Scary as fuck. The men were loyal to the patch, and that was it. The only rules they followed were those set by the club.
She had no idea what rules his club set, but she had heard a lot of horror stories. She had no idea who was telling the horror stories, or whose club they were about. Either way, other than Diana’s involvement, she steered clear of all of it.
Her mother’s dabbling in sex and drugs was enough to keep her eyes open. One of the men her mother liked would often make suggestions of her coming to work for him. Spreading her legs and showing men a good time. That was never going to happen. The more she thought about her mother, the happier she was that she steered clear of the evil bitch.
Her mother, because of the drugs, booze, and jealousy, was not a reliable person to have in her corner. One day, she’d scream at anyone who dared to look at her daughter. The next day, Nikki recalled getting slapped for attempting to take away her meal ticket. She would never look at any of the men her mother brought home. Most of them were pieces of shit.
“Are you looking for something?” Nikki asked.
“I think I found it.”
She looked over at him and then at the shelves. “Don’t let me get in your way.” She moved around her cart and picked up a whole tray of hot dogs. Crouching down to the second-to-bottom shelf, she pulled the last few cans off the shelf, opened her tray, and began to place them at the back. Once they were done, she put the older dated ones at the front.
Many of the shelf stockers didn’t do this. She had seen them simply pushing the products to the back, which was fine. Only, it was a pet peeve of hers. It was silly to have any kind of peeve when it came to shelf stocking, but if she was going to do a job, it was going to be done right.
“I’m not looking at the food,” he said.
Nikki had forgotten he was even there. She frowned and then stood. He’d closed the distance between them.
“What do you want?” Nikki asked.
“You’re different.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t party at my club.”
“So?”
He smiled. “I’m not used to women not partying at my club. There are a lot of women that would love a man’s attention.”