.FOX'S POV.
I took deep breaths as I arrived at the Red Cross center, rounding the corner of the building and heading for the back. I needed some water, and my bottle was empty. God, was it hot. I opened the back door and stepped into the small kitchen, pouring myself a small, plastic cup of cold water from the jug in the fridge - downed it in two gulps. I heard the phone ring in the front lobby, and started through the hall to answer it. What surprised me was the sound of Emery picking it up. She's here already?
I stopped in the corner of the hallway just as I heard her giggling. "No, Lily, it's not that big of a deal," I heard Emery sigh, "Of course I didn't tell you! You would've killed me."
I wasn't sure of why I was standing there, eavesdropping on her little conversation... but after the next sentence, I was glad I had. "After you told me you hated him and his whole group of cross-country man whores, I didn't want to tell you... I don't know. You seemed really mad at them," Emery said softly, "And it's not like I wanna work with him, I have to." They were talking about me. Figures.
"Sex God?" she laughed hysterically, "Lily, he has no charm. Maybe that bimbo Trisha would fall for his act, but I'm smarter than that." Sex God, huh? That's a new one...
I smiled and ran my hand through my sweaty hair. No charm? Please, I could land any girl if I wanted to. I could even get Mrs. Sawyer. "Yeah, I guess he's cute, but he's so full of himself it's disgusting. I swear, he has to have some kind of venereal disease..." Emery protested, and that's when I'd had enough.
"You promised not to spread rumors, Ms. Price. I kept my end of the bargain," I said, keeping a straight face on, even though I wanted to laugh in her face. I'd caught her talking about me. Watching her squirm was quite enjoyable. Her cheeks blushed a deep red, and her jaw dropped ever so slightly at the sight of me.
"Hey Lil, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Fox just showed up for work," she mumbled into the receiver before setting it down with a shaky hand. I made a few 'tsk' sounds with my tongue against my teeth.
"You went against our agreement," I said, shaking my head with mock-disappointment. Emery looked as though she might be sick, she was avoiding eye contact and running her fingers through her straw-colored hair. It's not like Lily would actually spread the rumor; no one talked to her.
"There you are!" Nina practically shouted, pulling the door of her office open and strutting towards us, "Listen. We've got to start raising awareness for the blood drive, and there's not much time. We need banners, flyers, we need to pack the van with... oh, God! The van... I totally forgot that it won't start! And with Carlos gone I – oh, my..." Nina sighed. Damn. What's up with her? She's a nervous wreck.
"I'll work on the van," I found myself saying. Both Nina and Emery turned to look at me, Nina looked hopeful. Emery on the other hand, was glaring at me.
"You know how to fix cars?" Nina asked, open to the idea of me working on it.
"Yeah, I'm experienced," I stated, and winked at Emery. I was the epitome of a mechanic, even though my father didn't want to hear a word about it. He wanted me to be a doctor, or some boring old business man that buys companies that are in debt and sells them off, piece by piece. Emery snorted, but looked at her feet once I caught her eyes. She's all talk.
"Really?" Nina asked, ignoring Emery's comment.
"Yeah, I work on my car all the time," I told her, and she nodded.
"Alright then, Fox. The van's parked behind the building, you can't miss it," she said, and then turned to give Emery some instructions, "Em Gem, I want you to work on banners. You've made lovely ones in the past, with the hand prints and the drop-of-blood-man." Emery nodded and automatically turned to the storage room, while I made my way to the kitchen and out the back door.
Sure enough, there was a white caravan parked diagonally next to a willow tree. It had the Red Cross logo on its side, and it had a few scratches along the front. I jumped in and tried to start it, noticing Emery walking out the back door with a long line of paper and a bucket of paint. The engine didn't make a sound, and I assumed the problem was fixable. I hoped it was, because I honestly didn't want to be the one to tell Nina she needed to get this van towed and looked at by a professional. She would flip for sure.
I popped the hood, and noticed that although the tree provided some shade, the hood of the car was exposed to sunlight. I could feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead as I skimmed the car parts – the cables, the battery... the battery. I turned around and looked at Emery, who was engrossed in the banner. She had taken her Red Cross shirt off, exposing her small chest in a white tank top. Eh, she had a little something there, though she was no Teresa.
She looked up and caught me staring at her, turning pink instantly. She was so... inexperienced? Has she really never had a guy stare at her assets before? "How long have you had this van?" I asked her nonchalantly.
She dipped her small, pale hand into the vat of red paint, and began tracing the giant 'B' she'd written in pencil with her handprints. "Um, like 4 years," she guessed, twisting her hand to get every last drop of paint on the handprint.
I nodded, and went to my car. Or at least, one of my cars. My vintage 1965 Corvette was still a work in progress, so I drove my father's BMW in the meantime. I grabbed the jump starter from the trunk and ran back to the van; despite the saturated air I somehow had the energy. "What are you doing with that?" Emery asked in a cold tone.
"What's it look like?" I huffed, setting the box down and pulling the cables up to the battery. I pulled the crimson Red Cross polo off my sweaty back and tossed it to the side.
"You better not wreck the car, Fox..." she warned, getting up and stepping closer.
"I know what I'm doing, ok?" I turned to look at her with a determined face, and clipped the other cable to the side of the battery. Just as I released the cable, I start shaking violently. Faking an electric shock was easy, and incredibly fun. She screamed; a panicked look took over her face. I grinned and released the cable, perfectly fine. I moved to jump start the car.
"Asshole," she hissed, and I shook my head. Girls are too easy. The engine purred to life, and I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the front of my arm. I noticed Emery staring at me, a small smile playing on the corner of her lips.
"You're a genius, Fox!" Nina cried, bursting from the back door.
"You need a new battery, Nina. It's fried," I told her, wiping my hands with my polo.
"Well then, can you go and get me one? I'll give you the money; I just need it installed for the blood drive. We need to commercialize."
"Sure." I shrugged. "Have fun finger painting, Em Gem." I winked at her before following Nina back inside. It's so amusing watching her squirm.
***
.EMERY'S POV.
I can't believe he'd eavesdropped on my conversation! I'm not sure how much he'd heard, I could only pray he didn't know Lily considered him a Sex God. That would only add to his immensely swollen ego. While Fox ran to the store, I finished up a banner and traced a little blood droplet onto the 10' by 6' sheet of paper. I gave it a smile and limbs, and then carefully hung the sign on a long, low branch on the willow tree.
By the time I'd started working on the next sign, Fox was back with the new battery, still shirtless. His body was gleaming in the sunlight, acting almost as a reflector as the rays ricocheted off his toned back. I knew I shouldn't have been drooling at the sight of him, but it was impossibly unavoidable. He was shirtless, working on a car in the sweltering sun. It was either finger paint or enjoy the view. I wasn't ignorant, but after a good few minutes I realized I'd better get the signs finished before Fox caught me staring or before it was time to go to the daycare.
I heard him grunt and noticed his biceps tighten. After a few minutes, he hopped into the driver's seat and started the car. The engine rumbled to life and the smile on Fox's face was unmistakable. "You revived it," I said in some form of congratulations as he turned the car off and dropped the hood of the van. He remained silent, making me feel stupid that I'd said anything at all.
"So. I need you to watch Holly Saturday. Until like 7," he said casually as he leaned against the front of the van.
"I only work until 5," I told him.
"But I have a race against Marianapolis," he stated, as if it countered my schedule.
"Does it look like I care?" I asked, my finger pointing to my blank face.
"Look, I don't expect you to understand, but this is a big meet. I'm the best freakin' runner on the team, the captain. I need to be there."
"Why can't someone else watch Holly, like her mother perhaps?" I questioned, dipping my hand into the tray of paint.
"Because she's out of town with my dad. I have to watch her, or else the maid will report back to my father and I'll be in deep shit."
"Oh, no!" I gasped in fake horror, "We wouldn't want Fox Evans to get a spanking, now would we?"
"Very funny," he said, narrowing his eyes, "Plus, that new babysitting policy at the daycare is up. Consider it overtime."
"I don't expect you to understand," I muttered, mocking his words as I stood up to face him, "But after 5 p.m. on Saturday, I have a life."
"Psh," he smirks, "What exactly does a virgin do on a Saturday night? Play Monopoly with her mother?"Again with the virgin thing! He would forever use it against me... and so would everyone else at school.
"No, we stopped having game night a year ago," I stated, smiling icily as I played along, "When my dad got laid off and my mother started working her ass off doing two jobs." Why I had filled him in on my personal life, I did not know.
"Well then, I'm sure you wouldn't mind the extra money. I doubt you even have plans," he shrugged.
"It's not my fault you had one too many wine coolers and were dumb enough to try and drive your drunk ass home," I countered through my teeth. My statement was equally as low as his. His eyes widened a little, and he clenched his jaw. I bet he didn't think the virgin had it in her.
"What's going on here?" Nina asked, stepping out to assess the situation.
"Nothing," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I instantly regretted that, because my hand was still covered in wet paint, and it had grazed my white tank top. Splendid. More white articles of clothing covered in un-washable, staining substance.
"Actually, Emery was being unreasonable." Fox spoke up, looking innocent as ever. "She's unwilling to do her job and do what the daycare asks her to." Nina gave me a questioning look. I glared menacingly at Fox before explaining myself.
"Fox wants me to look after his little sister while he runs a race for the school team on Saturday, but I'll have to work two extra hours on top of my eight at the daycare. I need a break, and Holly's his responsibility," I said speedily, trying not to whine. Nina stood there for a moment, evaluating.
"Ok, I have the perfect idea." She smiled as she continued, "Emery, you will watch Holly and take her to Fox's race." My jaw basically detached from my face and fell to the ground while Fox grinned victoriously."And I'll drive the van over and we can begin commercializing for the Blood Drive. It'll be great publicity, with so many young people around," she finished. I shook my head and sighed, knowing there was no way I could get my ass out of this mess.
"Yay," I muttered, "Now if you'll excuse me." I hoped Holly was in a good mood. I'd much rather preferred to be in the presence of a cute little two-year-old than spend another minute with that manipulative, conceited, annoying womanizer. I didn't understand how they were related. Holly was such an angel and Fox was such a beast. I meant that in a bad way. The worst way possible.