Free Take Me (A Steamy Short Story Romance) by Elizabeth Hawkes Page B

thought they were after talking with you."

 
    A smile started to spread over
Ellen's face, ever so slowly, like she was trying to suppress it but couldn't.
Suddenly she was bent over laughing silently, trying not to squirt coffee out
her nose.

 
    "You really believed all
that stuff I said about gay sex in the frat house ?! "
she managed to blurt out with watery eyes, after she finally quelled the last
burst of laughter. Then she doubled over again, laughing out loud and failing
to hold it back. People in the coffee shop were staring.

 
    " Ellen! You lied ?! " I wanted to smack her.

 
    "I would say I'm sorry, but
I'm not," she tittered.

 
    "Well, I'm not sorry
either," I said, "I had the night of my life. I guess the joke’s on
you, so there."

 
    And then we both had ourselves a good laugh.

 
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    DRILLED

 
    It was just a temporary job, and
I would have rather spent the summer traveling in Europe with my best friend
Emily. But months before the semester was over, I'd already added up the
dollars and cents and knew I just didn't have enough, even with my student
loans to help me out. I guess when you are poor and going to college on a
scholarship, a lavish summer vacation isn’t an option.

 
    So yeah, I'd be working all
summer. Again. And even though I was used to it, I was starting to wish
I had more excitement in my life. It seemed like all the rich kids I knew, like
Emily, were always going on about their cool ski vacations and whatever, and I
was beginning to grow a little envious. When was I going to have some
excitement? When was I going to have
some thrilling stories of my own to share? I had to study so hard just to keep
my 4.0 GPA and my scholarship, on top of working at the bookstore all semester.
It wasn’t fair that after all the stress of finals I'd have to go straight to
another summer of work.

 
    In any event, I couldn’t complain
too much because I landed a pretty cool job, and it was definitely better than
being a camp counselor (which I had done last year), or making milkshakes at
the drive-in, like I had every summer in high school.

 
    This year I was working for
Delaware South, the private contractor that ran the facilities at Yosemite
National Park. The job was super cushy, and from what
I could learn about it most of the girls seemed to like it. And
why not? It was a beautiful place, and the responsibilities for most of
the jobs were pretty minimal. Liquor wasn't allowed in the dorm-style barracks
where I would have to live, but that didn't stop the other young employees from
having parties and a great time.

 
    In fact, the talk around the
dorms primarily revolved around parties...and boys. There were way more female
employees than male, and given the general unattractiveness of the male
corporate drone units, it seemed like a summer romance was out of the realm of
possibility for most of us. So whenever one of the girls managed to hook up
with a tourist or one of the ripped rock climbers who spent the summer bumming
around the park, it always caused a small sensation in the dorms.

 
    I sighed, rolling over in my
bunk. I had the day off, and I was taking a lazy moment before heading over to
the cafeteria to steal some food for breakfast. I still wasn't sure what I was
going to do afterwards; probably go on a hike by myself, then splash around in
the river. It is easy to get lazy on these sultry summer days. I pushed my bed sheet
off of me and looked around the spare, musty dorm room. All of my roommates
were at work and I was alone, in a rare quiet moment.

 
    The morning sunlight streamed in
through the windows, already starting to heat up the room. I could hear the
sounds of traffic and conversation outside, off in the distance.

 
    Maybe I should take care of
myself, since I had the dorm all to myself. I ran a hand up my body, wondering
if I should dare to do it. It would suck if