The Wild Within

Chapter 6 Luke

Luke

“What’s up, Jones?” I said to the older guy sitting in the supervisor's chair. “Where’s Roland?”

“Showing the new hire around,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Since when does he bother to do that?” I asked.

Roland was the crappiest supervisor in the warehouse because he was lazy, cut corners, and made us do all of the last-minute stuff because he didn’t do his part. But he was the owner's brother, so he was put on overnight since he couldn’t handle the production shifts. That and he was an infamous horn dog who made advances on any of the females.

“Well, the new hire's name is Ophelia,” he said, reading the note on the desk. “Suppose that had something to do with it.”

“What?” I said and looked at the note scribbled on the desk, letting him know she was starting tonight. “I’ve never seen a female in Full pack; they usually do break pack or shipping.”

“Nah, the dainty ones work in break pack,” Jones chuckled before getting to the butt of his sexist joke. “And the butch ones are in shipping.”

“Okay,” was all I could say as he laughed at his joke. Man, I missed my day shift crew.

“Can’t get a good read on this girl, though,” Jones sighed. “She’s pretty, but she’s got a b***h face like nobody’s business.”

“Jones, come on, man,” I said. “Be nice.”

“I’m nice,” he said defensively.

“And this is where we end the tour,” I heard Roland’s voice from down the back hall. “If you need any help since it’s your first day and all, pretty lady, you can find me here.”

“Please stop calling me pretty lady,” I heard a disgruntled voice, and my ears perked up at the sound. “Thanks for the tour; I think I can figure it out from here.”

“Well, alright,” Roland sighed, and he appeared in from the stacks. “Oh Luke, I forgot you were coming.”

“You saw me last night,” I said, and then the most beautiful girl with raven black hair, blue eyes, and soft white skin followed behind him. She immediately put some distance between her and him.

“Hi,” I said, staring at her. “I’m Luke.”

“Ophelia,” she said bluntly and looked away from me.

“So I gave our girl the tour,” Roland spoke up.

“I’m not your girl,” Ophelia spoke up. “Please stop referring to me as anything other than my name.”

“Oh boy, I see we got a firecracker here,” he chuckled, and Ophelias eyes narrowed at him. “Sorry, anyway, Luke, she’s all yours. Good luck.”

With that, he handed out the stacks of tickets to everyone and shuffled off to take his first smoke break, even though we’ve only been here less than an hour. Ophelia grabbed her tickets and her scanner and took off.

“Hey, wait,” I called which she made her stop and turn. “I’m supposed to train you.”

“I don’t need it,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not very difficult; scan the ticket, put the corresponding box on the belt, and throw a tote down after the order is complete.”

“Well, yea, but what do you do when the conveyor jams or there’s a backup?” I asked. “Which happens at least once per shift.”

“Umm,” she said as she thought about it, but I knew she didn’t know. I smiled at her, waiting to see if she’d be honest or make something up. She sighed in defeat and shrugged her shoulders. “Fine, but don’t call me any of those cutesy names like that other guy.”

“I’m not a fan of them either,” I said. “Pretty boy doesn’t sound right when one dude is saying it to another.”

Her eyes widened at my comment, and she smiled a little, trying not to laugh. It made her eyes brighten up, and they seemed to sparkle. They were the darkest blue eyes I’d ever seen, and they seemed to pop with her black hair and pale skin.

“You’re funny,” she noted. “Okay, Luke, let’s go.”

Ophelia was a quick learner. She watched everything I did and asked questions accordingly. We did end up having a jam and a backup, so I taught her what to do. She wasn’t very talkative, and I tried to make small talk, but the most she’d do was chuckle at a joke or smile at my comments.

“Where are you from?” I asked her when we were waiting for the line to start back up. There was a jam somewhere else which halts any work for anyone else.

“All over,” she replied vaguely. “You?”

“Same,” I replied. “Military life.”

“Gotcha,” she replied, and we fell into another silence. Man, it was hard to get this girl to talk.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” I said.

“Not really interested in making friends,” she replied with a shrug. “No offense, I’m just here to make money.”

“I get that,” I said. “But sometimes it’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

“So far, you’re the only one worth speaking to,” she said. “But I’m still not interested in friends.”

“We don’t have to be friends,” I said. “We can be work buddies.”

“What’s the difference?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.

“I know you’ve noticed that Roland is a bit of a….” I struggled to think of an appropriate term.

“Horny old creep?” She offered.

“Yeah, that’s about right,” I said. “And I know he can make you feel uncomfortable. I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he keeps his distance.”

“And what am I supposed to do in return?” She asked.

“Answer one question a shift,” I said. “I’m gonna be on overnights for a while, so I need something to look forward to.”

Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized my face. I smiled genuinely at her and drank in her features again. The more I looked at her, the more attracted I was.

“You know I can handle Roland,” she said. “But I may end up killing him if he messes with me on a bad day. So fine, I’ll agree to your terms. One question a day, but I get to veto the question if I don’t want to answer.”

“Okay, but if you veto, you have to ask a different question,” I countered.

“You drive a hard bargain, sir,” she said, and the way she said the last word had a curious effect on my manhood. “I agree to your terms.”

“So…what’s your last name?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said with the best fake concern face I’ve ever seen. “But you already got your question for the shift, sir.”

That word made me twitch again. Ophelia’s smile was mesmerizing. Suddenly there was a loud bell, signifying it was time for a break. We put our scanners down and headed out of the stacks. I snuck a few glances at her and observed how she walked and moved her body as if she were a dancer. She was graceful and almost seemed to float.

“You’re staring, Luke,” she chuckled.

“Oh uh, sorry,” I said. “I was just trying to remember something.”

“Right,” she chuckled. “I’m going to have lunch in my car, so I’ll see you in thirty?”

“Oh, you’re welcome to join me if you want,” I offered.

“That’s sweet of you,” she said. “But I really would be more comfortable in my car.”

“Alright,” I said. “Well, I’ll see you back at the stacks then.”

“Sure,” she said and headed out the door.

****** 

I waited for Ophelia by the bay area and was getting nervous that she decided to bail out before the end of her first day. I had hoped that she at least enjoyed herself a little bit, even if Roland was lurking around the corner a couple of times.

I was relieved when I saw her walking back to the stacks, pulling her headphones from her ears. I couldn’t control how this girl affected my body, and I was suddenly thinking about what her lips tasted like, what her moans sounded like, and how amazing her body would feel pressed against mine.

I shook my head of the lust. I thought I was supposed to tell my mate by scent? I don’t smell anything as potent as described. So this girl couldn’t be my mate, but she excited me in a way I hadn’t felt before just by simply existing.

“Ready?” I asked when she grabbed her tickets and scanner.

“Let’s finish this s**t,” she said with a determined glint in her eye.

Ophelia and I knocked out the tickets in record time. She was efficient and deceptively strong. She may even beat my best time someday. I told her this, and she seemed to like the idea of a challenge.

“What’s your best time?” She asked.

“Twelve minutes eighteen seconds for an order of fifty-six, and no they were not the same boxes,” I bragged.

“It’s on now,” she said with a nod. “Especially once I put my music on.”

“You should leave an earbud out or keep it low so you can hear the alarms and stuff,” I said. “I missed my lunch break one-time coz of that. It sucked.”

“Thanks for the advice,” she said. “So I guess we’re done here?”

“Yeah, it is clock out time,” I said. “So I’ll see you tonight?”

“I’ll be here,” she said. “Make Sure You pick a good question.”

She winked, smiled a genuine smile at me, and headed out the door to the parking lot. I felt myself swoon just a little bit more. How is this girl affecting me like this? She’s just a human girl. It wouldn’t even work out between us because she can’t find out our true existence.

When I walked out the door, I didn’t see Jasmine’s Mercedes, having been preoccupied and long forgotten about her picking me up today. She beeped the horn when I wandered past the front of her car, and I turned to look at her. It took me a moment to remember her and why she was there.

“You okay?” She asked when I got in the car. “Rough shift?”

“No,” I said and started to search the parking lot for a glimpse of her, but she was already gone. “It was great, actually.”

“Oh really?” She said, surprised. “I thought you hated overnights.”

“I think may not be so bad,” I replied.