Free Begin to Begin by A.S. Brown

Georgia. Is your family still there?" She turns from the computer she is playing around with, a sad smile on her lips.
    "No. I have no family. My parents passed away when I was twelve; they were in a car accident. My grandma raised me. She passed away when I was twenty-one. My mom and dad were only children, and my dad's parents passed away before I was even born, and my mom's dad passed away when I was very young. I don’t even remember him really. It was me and my grandma for a long time.
    "Man, I'm so sorry." Way to bring up the wrong subject, Dalton.
    "It's OK. It's been a long time since my parents passed away. I don't want to say I'm over it but, I've moved on and have tried to be happy for them. I do miss them at times, though. Especially my mom." She turns back to the computers and walks down the aisle to a different model. "How about you? How did you end up under your Uncle Mel's wing? Who, by the way, is a very interesting fellow."
    Not really sure how to answer, I shrug at first. After a few seconds, I decide that telling her about my parents won't hurt anything. They aren't good people. Kind of like me, but she doesn’t need to know that part.
    "My mom left when I was ten." I turn and start messing around with one of the laptops. "Uncle Mel and Aunt Dot took me in when my dad got sent to prison not long after she left." Afraid to even look up and make eye contact with her, I decide to continue on. "They looked for my mom for a while, but never found her. Grams seems to think she died. Probably from a drug overdose."
    Taking my chances, I glance over at her. Thinking I will see horror and disgust in her eyes. But what I see shocks me to the core. It's compassion and maybe a touch of worry. "Wow. I'm really sorry, Dalton. It sounds to me like we have some pretty broken pasts, huh?"
    "You don't know the half of it," I mumble under my breath. She turns back to the computers again. "So, which one of these contraptions do you think would work for me?" I ask, deciding to change the subject to something safer, something neutral.
    She taps her finger on her chin in deep thought. It's kind of cute, and I can't help but smile a little. This woman can easily be my best and worst downfall if I let her in.
    "Honestly, any of these three would work." She points to the black, silver, and dark-grey laptops directly in front of her.
    "How about you pick the one that is the best price and that you think will be the easiest one for me to use?" She laughs and looks over the prices of all three.
    Clicks the keys on them all for a moment more, and then proudly announces: "This one!" She points to the dark-grey one excitedly.
    "OK, works for me." We wait for the customer service clerk to unlock the case that holds the actual boxes containing the laptops. Once I have it in my hands, I figure we are ready to go, but Marin has other plans.
    "I need to grab the software you are going to need and a few office supplies for you." She walks around corner and I wonder if I should follow her or wait up front. In the end, I decide to follow her.
    Walking in the direction she took off in, I find her bent over looking on a bottom shelf at different packages of paper. It's paper, for Christ’s sake, why are there so many kinds? I notice the way her brows are pulled together in deep thought, her finger once again tapping her chin. I have no control over my eyes as they take in her body slowly. Shaking my head and clearing my throat, I try to rid the not so appropriate thoughts out of my brain when I look at her.
    She turns her head and straightens up as she hears me clear my throat. "I think I have everything we need." She smiles and bends back over to pick up a stack of items off the floor. As she does this, her shirt droops just enough that I can see down into it. I swiftly turn around and head around the corner to gain my composure.
    I have never reacted this way to a woman before. Sure, women have turned me on before but never just by their