Antique Virgin

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Bryce slammed both feet hard on the brake pedal. He swerved off the highway as a beat up lime green pickup shot past him, narrowly missing his front bumper.

The heavy Hummer shimmied around him and he fought the steering wheel to stay in control until the truck came to a complete stop. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath came in gasps. Maniac. What the heck was that all about?

Bryce watched a white car appear from a side street. A siren began to wail as the red and blue lights on the roof of the car lit up as it sped away, obviously going after the pickup truck. The words on a gold seal on the door read GLAD BEACH SHERIFF in gold letters.

That was close. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. Clutching the skin above his heart, as if holding it would slow it down, he took slow deep breaths. At least I’m okay and no one was hurt.

He couldn’t believe some people drove like that. He at least made the effort to be careful, not that it always worked out. But when you have bad luck all the time it wasn’t entirely your fault.

Bryce blew out a breath then steered the Hummer back onto the highway and drove until he came to the parking lot in front of the Antique Virgin. He turned in, parked in an empty slot then shut off the engine.

He sat in silence for a few moments looking through the shop’s front window at Sax’s long medium brown hair tied into a pony tail that bobbed and weaved as she disappeared behind the beaded curtain. Her tanned complexion dotted with freckles and the dimple in her left cheek was attractive and her eyes, the color of jade, intrigued him.

There was something different about Sax. Something that attracted him to her. His brow wrinkled. He didn’t know why and it bothered him. He had to know more about her. Spending time with her was the only way.

He stepped out of the Hummer, and closed the door with a thump. The sound of cars rushing on the highway made a steady shush sound. The breeze carried the smell of the ocean. He took in a deep breath. He really loved it here. The air was so clean compared to New York.

He went to enter the shop, the bell hanging over the front door made a dull clunk when he opened it. Bryce frowned and looked upward at the bell over the door. It must be broken.

He closed the door and the traffic noises disappeared. The smells of the ocean were replaced by the mustiness of the shop. Looking around he spotted a wheeled step stool pushed against the back wall near the bead curtain. He decided to fix the bell to impress Sax. He enjoyed doing nice things for people.

He also hoped it would make up for Cin and Pep’s rudeness.

Pep had left for New York already which pleased him. He never cared for his brother-in-law-to-be’s stuck up attitude.

He retrieved the step stool, picked it up and carried it to the door. He set it up under the bell. He then scrambled to the top step of the step stool and leaned slightly forward on his toes in order to able to study the broken clapper inside the brass bell. The stool wobbled badly underneath him. But he wasn’t worried. This wouldn’t take long.

“Hello?” Sax called from behind the bead curtain.

At the sound of Sax’s voice he turned his attention from working on the bell and saw her standing among the beaded strands, her arms filled with a stack of green and yellow striped beach blankets.

“Uhhh, hi, I thought I’d fix the bell...it doesn’t work, you know.”

There was a loud crack and the step stool began to sway under his feet like a drunken sailor on a Saturday night and began to wobble. He struggled to maintain his balance flapping his arms like a bird.

“Whoa!” Bryce’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape and he froze. His heart beat hard. “Look out!” He cried.

Suddenly the ladder began to fall to the right when the stool collapsed sideways, throwing him off. Oh crap! He closed his eyes when he saw he was going to fall into a pile of mismatched porcelain dishes. Everything happened so fast all he could do was close his eyes tight and brace himself for the pain that was sure to come.

Without warning someone slammed into him from behind and arms wrapped around his waist knocking the air from his lungs. He gasped for air as surprisingly strong arms wrapped around his midsection and held him tight as he and his savior flew to his right. A sense of panic came over him. Can’t breathe!

His heart beat faster when he landed on his side, sending shooting pain up and down his back. The arms around him released him and they rolled away from each other. Bryce rolled onto his back and began to cough as spots danced before his eyes.

“Man, that hurt!” He finally gasped after he was able to draw in a breath. “I thought I was in real trouble there for a second.”

“You can look now. But be careful.”

Bryce opened one eye and looked to his right. His face was only inches from the red and gold face of a dragon. Its solid black eyes were angry and its mouth was open as if were ready to incinerate him. His hard skipped a beat and he swallowed hard.

I almost fell into that thing. That would have really not been good.

“Man! Good miss. Thanks.” Bryce swiveled his head to see Sax sitting on the floor with her hands flat on the floor behind her, propping her up.

“You can say that again. Are you okay?” Sax was breathing hard and her features were flushed.

Bryce stood and winced due to a twinge of pain in his lower back. Good thing nothing’s broken. “Yeah. Surprisingly.”

He saw Sax cringe.

Bryce grinned. “Sorry. What I mean is nothing’s broken. Thanks for saving me.” He winced when there was another pinch in his lower back. He saw what looked like concern in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Sax nodded and her features relaxed into a brief smile. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She paused and stood. “I’m fine too, by the way.”

Bryce realized he’d forgotten to ask about her. i***t. His cheeks grew warm. He was so selfish sometimes. “Good.” He offered her what he hoped looked like a reassuring smile.

Good! That’s the best I can do? Bryce looked around them in order to find something to change the subject. The beach towels lay sprawled across the floor where Sax had dropped them. He indicated them with a nod.

“Oh dear, the towels.” Sax struggled to hold a strip of her torn pant leg over her bare leg.

Seeing her pants were ripped he decided he better help. “No worries. I’ll get them.” He knelt down and began to pick the towels up and throwing them over his right arm as went.

“Oh now, Mr. Kelly don’t worry about those. I’ll pick them up.”

“It’s the least I can do,” said Bryce. A sharp pain in his back reminded him this was not a great idea. He gritted his teeth and kept going.

“But I almost committed ladder-cide,” said Sax.

Bryce threw the last of the towels over his arm and stood. “Ladder-cide?”

“Yeah, I mean that ladder is a death trap. You could have died.” Sax’s eyes brimmwith tears. Oh crap, I must have upset her somehow. He didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.

The sight of her crying nearly broke his heart. He didn’t know why, but the sudden need to comfort her was overwhelming. He had never experienced this level of emotion for someone. He wrapped an arm around her. “Oh, now there, there, Sax,” he whispered.

“No one was hurt. Besides it wasn’t like I was going to break those mirrors on the wall over there. That would have really been some bad luck. About seven years times sixty I’d say.”

Sax sniffled into his shoulder and chuckled. “No. I guess not. Besides, there are only ten mirrors on that wall.”

“Who’s breaking my mirrors?” Bryce swiveled his head and saw a man on the low side of sixty enter the shop from the back room. “What’s all the commotion out here?” Now who was this?

Sax shoved Bryce away from her. Startled by her sudden shove he looked at her with his mouth hanging open. What the…? It’s not like they were doing anything wrong.

The man’s bushy gray eyebrows shot up when he stared at Sax’s ripped jeans. His eyes came up to lock with Bryce’s. “And what have you done to my daughter?”