Chapter 2 : Close Your Eyes, Sexy

*Ember*

We ended our conversation long after the sun rose.

I sat back in my gaming chair and daydreamed about DracoK4u’s muscular physique, cold yet somehow warm blue eyes, and the intricate dragon tattoo I’d seen peeking over his shoulder. I wondered if it extended all the way across his back. I’d have to ask him to show me next time.

The dragon clock on my desk smiled at me, a wooden dragon curled around a round-faced clock. I picked it up, running my hand over the warm wood as I thought about running my hands over DracoK4u’s chest.

It took several moments before I realized the time the clock was showing.

“Crap!” I exclaimed, dropping the clock back on my desk and racing to the bathroom. I was already late for work.

I hopped in the shower and scrubbed quickly. Well, as quickly as I could while thinking about DracoK4u’s hands on me, rubbing soap everywhere. I groaned, trying to push the fantasy away.

“Late,” I reminded myself, turning the water from hot to cold to cool myself down. “Late. Laaaaaate!”

Sexy thoughts of him still followed me to my closet, then down the stairs to the bookstore.

Rowena was already there, a pair of cat-eyed glasses with rhinestones on them perched primly on her nose. “And where have you been?” she asked without looking up.

“Sorry. I got caught up in my forums last night,” I said, carefully cutting open the box on the counter with a scissor so as not to slice any of the books within. “I’ll get these cataloged.”

“And shelved,” Rowena sniffed.

“And shelved,” I agreed.

Rowena looked up at me through narrowing eyes and then smiled, her wrinkles crinkling almost up to her blue-silver hair. “You’ve met a man, haven’t you?”

“You know that’s not possible,” I replied quickly, though I was sure my warming cheeks were giving me away.

“I knew it. Child, you need to get laid, as the young people say,” Rowena said decidedly. She let her glasses drop on the beaded chain around her neck and shuffled over to the desk. “One of these days, I want you calling in sick because some handsome young fellow has you tied to his bed and is eating breakfast off your belly.”

“Rowena!” I gaped, a book dangling between me and the scanner.

“I’m just saying.” Rowena picked up one of the books I’d already scanned into the system. ‘The Complete Encyclopedia of Dragons.’ “I have a feeling this one’s going straight into your private collection?”

“I already have one. This one’s for a boy who came in. He was kind of disappointed we didn’t have many books on dragons, even though the bookstore is called The Dragon’s Lair.”

Rowena snorted. “That’s because all of our collection is being hoarded upstairs.”

I winced. It was true. “I’ll make sure he gets this the next time he comes in.”

“And maybe bring a book or two downstairs if you’re finished with them,” Rowena groused.

“You know, there might be dragons out there who hoard books,” I pointed out.

Rowena rolled her eyes. “Ember, darling, you’re not a dragon.”

“You never know. I could be.” I held up my gloved hands and gave Rowena a sardonic smile.

“True,” Rowena mumbled. “But I’ve yet to see you grow wings and a tail, so off you pop with those books.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I teased and scooped up the armload of books. In the process, I knocked the cardboard box and a whole host of opened mail onto the floor.

“I’ll get it!” Rowena and I said together, but as the mail had fallen behind the counter, I was the one closest and got to it first.

What I first saw in my hands, bright red like an angry neon sign, was PAST DUE.

“What the…?”

Rowena reached over the counter with her gnarled fingers. “Give those to me.”

I took a step back, out of her range, peeling back the top of one PAST DUE bill to reveal another. And another. And another.

“Rowena, some of these are talking about shutting off the electric and the water,” I gasped. “And this one says if you don’t pay up, we’ll be evicted from the store in three months!”

“It’s not a big deal. Nothing you need to worry about,” Rowena said, chasing me around the counter to try to get her hands on the letters before I kept reading.

What I read next made my heart sink. “Rowena, I want you to stop paying me a salary immediately. Letting me live upstairs is payment enough. Look at these medical bills. Rowena, they’re astronomical. And… Is this one talking about chemo treatment? Are you sick?”

Rowena stopped trying to chase me, puffing as she leaned on her floral cane. “Wicked girl, just give those over and don’t give it a second thought. I’m not going to stop paying you–”

“You are. You can. And you will,” I interrupted her. “God, have you been trying to keep up on your medical payments AND pay for the store?!”

With a sigh, she lowered herself onto a stack of hardbacks. “You really shouldn’t have to worry about such things. I’m working it out.”

“No offense, Rowena, but it doesn’t look like you are,” I said, getting more and more distressed. “I… I have a little money saved…”

“Don’t you dare!” Rowena exclaimed.

“I want to help,” I insisted.

Rowena creaked up to a standing position and came over to pat my hand. “Oh, darling, you might need that money to run again, and you know it. Plus, it wouldn’t even be a drop in the pail.”

“But…”

Rowena snatched the mail and shoved it down her bra. “There now. You just keep working and don’t worry your pretty little head about anything else. It will all work out.”

“That’s not exactly a solid plan to fix this…” I trailed off as her cataract-ridden blue eyes began to well with tears.

She stiffened her spine, not letting one fall. “It will work out.”

I sighed and gave her a hug. “I love you, Rowena. Please know I would do anything for you.”

She patted me on the back. “I know, child. I know. Now, you shelve those books. It won’t do for our customers to come in and see a messy store!”

“Okay,” I agreed. I hugged her again, then went to shelve the books while Rowena went behind the counter to peer at the computer screen.

I hoped it was telling her something more hopeful than I was feeling.

***

When I finished my shift, Rowena shooed me back upstairs. I’d offered to stay longer, unpaid, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

With sadness weighing heavy on my heart, I sat in my gaming chair and opened my forums, staring at all five of them across three screens.

I hoped he was there. I prayed he was there.

A DM popped up right away, and I smiled, sighing with relief.

*Hey, beautiful. How was your day?* he asked.

I hesitated, then answered. *Can we talk face-to-face?*

*Like on a real date?* he replied with a smiley face.

I choked on a sob. *No. I mean like we did last night.*

*Absolutely.* His handsome face appeared onscreen moments later.

I didn’t know what kind of a mess I looked and I didn’t care. “Hi,” I croaked. It was all I could get out before I started sobbing.

“Hey, hey, beautiful,” he said, concern evident in his tone. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve just had a shit day,” I hiccupped. “My… my boss, who I love dearly, she’s… she’s, you know, elderly. And she has cancer. I just found out.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

“What’s almost as bad is that she hasn’t been able to cover her treatments and the bills for the bookstore. Everything is past due. They’re threatening to evict us.” I grabbed a Kleenex and wiped my eyes and cheeks. “It’s all a mess. And I can’t fix it.”

He gave me a sympathetic look. “I am sorry, Flameheart. Baby, that’s terrible. It’s so sweet of you to want to help. You have a beautiful soul. I could–”

“I wish you could hold me right now,” I sniffled, setting the Kleenex aside.

“Me, too.” He sighed and leaned his elbows on his desk, as though being closer to his monitor could somehow cross the physical distance between us. “Hey, close your eyes. I’ll try to be there with you as best I can.”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion but did as he said, leaning back in my chair and gripping the arms against the sadness.

“Imagine I’m there,” he said, his voice more hypnotic than ever, pulling me further away from despair into peace and calm. “I come into the room and smooth a hand over your hair, kissing your forehead before I pick you up out of your chair, and carry you to the bed.”

His voice filled the atmosphere, becoming my one and only focus.

“I can feel your warm body as I lay next to you and kiss both eyelids and both of your cheeks. I carefully pull off your shirt and strip off your jeans, and so we’re skin-to-skin.”

Everything began to feel so real. I absentmindedly traced my hands over my skin. Feeling a warmth spread over my body and heat rise between my legs.

“I put my arms around you,” his voice continued to caress my ears, “and hold you against my chest. I can hear your heartbeat, and you can hear mine,” he murmured.

I rested my hands on my heart as a tear trickled down my cheek and I imagined him, warm, safe, and holding me tight.

“I kiss your tears away. And I stay with you all night. As long as you need me,” he whispered.

I kept my eyes closed a while longer, just listening to him breathe. Then I opened my eyes and said a tearful, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, beautiful,” he responded. “Someday, I hope I really can do that for you. In real life. And I don’t mean that in a crazy, stalker-y way, either.”

I gave a wet laugh. “I know.”

DracoK4u sighed. “I want to talk to you all night again. But I know you have work in the morning, and today was rough enough as it is. So, I’m going to have to insist you go to bed.”

“You’re right,” I said. “All I really wanted was to talk to you, anyway. You helped. A lot.”

“I’m glad.” he blew me a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow, beautiful. I promise.”

“Good,” I replied. “I’d like that.”

The screen went dark.

I leaned over and turned off my monitors, then began stripping off, tossing my clothes around the apartment, not really caring. Not tonight. Tomorrow I could be all fastidious and put things in hampers, but now I just wanted to go to bed.

I’d forgotten to take off my gloves before going online, so I pulled those off as well, setting them on the bedside table. My hands began glowing as soon as the leather hit the wood.

I stared at them for a moment before I heard a sharp intake of breath, and, naked, I whirled around, hunting for the unknown source of the sound.

“Flameheart, why are your hands glowing?” came the grumble of a deep voice from my computer.

My jaw dropped. I’d forgotten to disconnect the call!

“I–”

“I mean, not that I didn’t enjoy the stripping, but… um… Are you okay?” he asked.

“Shit!” was all I could think of to mutter before slamming my finger down on the power button of my tower.

I sank into my gaming chair. Oh God. Oh Jesus. He’d seen. He’d seen my hands!

Another addition to a perfectly shit day. How could I ever see him again now? It wasn’t safe for either of us.

I considered making another run for it, then decided against it. I couldn’t leave Rowena in the shitstorm she was in.

I curled up on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest.

I cried the rest of the night, terrified of what might happen next.