Free Love's Back Pocket by Heather C. Myers

control, “I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunity because I can guarantee you it will never happen again.”
     
    “Is that so?” Tommy asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was blatantly staring at her lips.
     
    “It is,” Holly said, and then stood up abruptly. “So,” she turned and began to head to her room, “good night.” With that, she slipped into her bedroom and shut the door behind her, pointedly ignoring the smirk clearly etched on Tommy’s face.

Chapter 12
     
    The next morning, Holly woke up early, as she normally did. Her back was slightly sore due to the fact that she wasn’t used to the bed, but once she stood, she stretched and pushed any uncomfortable feeling off of her. She yawned, and took a long look out the window after drawing the blinds. They were on the freeway of some sort, probably on their way to Arizona. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her wavy hair before opening the door and heading into the lounging room. She saw Victor, the licensed psychologist that would be signing off her hour sheet eating what appeared to be burned toast. Gnawing on her bottom lip, Holly made her way over there, keeping her eyes steady on the man. From their last meeting, she gathered that Victor didn’t like her, nor did he seem to respect her. While that might have offended some people, Holly could understand where the man was coming from, and wanted to hopefully change his mind about her.
     
    “Good morning,” she murmured, taking a seat across from him. Victor acknowledged her with a dignified nod, but kept his brow perked, indicating that he felt obligated to acknowledge her, and that was the only reason why he was doing so in the first place. “How are you?”
     
    “It’s seven thirty in the morning,” Victor said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m tired.”
     
    Holly wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond to that, so she chose to study the man in hopes of getting a feel for him. He was tall, probably about six feet, with distinguished features for a man in his late fifties. His sapphire blue eyes were hidden behind spectacles, and his lithe frame was already adorned in a navy blue suit, despite the early hour. Holly took in his stature; his posture was impeccable and he had a snobbish sort of air about him. Those eyes of his were intricate, judging, and as he chewed, his small mouth was closed. Crumbs seemed to be afraid to litter themselves on his face and clothing. However, there was something that bothered Holly about him, something that seemed sort of … off. It took her a moment for her to realize what it was, but when she did, she smiled triumphantly.
     
    “May I ask you a question, Mr. …” Suddenly, Holly became extremely embarrassed because Tommy had never provided her with his last name. When she looked up at Victor, she could see the impatience clearly written on his face, and he even made a sort of snort. She clenched her jaw, and swallowed, forcing herself to push forward. “Why don’t you shave?”
     
    The question took him off-guard, and he let a surprised look take over his features. “Excuse me?” he asked her, his mouth slightly agape.
     
    “I’m sorry,” Holly said, maintaining eye contact with him, “but you dress sharply, your hair is intricately in place. It’s seven in the morning, and you already look presentable. And yet, there are whiskers decorating the lower half of your face. For a man so put together, it strikes me odd that you don’t take the same time to shave.”
     
    Victor’s face was now unreadable, but he looked at Holly through new eyes. She wasn’t exactly sure, but it appeared as though the corners of his lips curved up, and for that fraction of a second, he actually looked friendly, even approachable. Before the man could respond, however, Tommy made his grand entrance. His dark hair was quite messy, even more than it normally was. While his eyes were