“Ah. I don’t know if you were notified. Mia’s parents asked me to keep an eye out for her, in addition to being her driver. I hope it won’t cause any trouble for you if I sit on the sidelines?”
“Yes.” she sighed. “That stalker situation. Now that I think about it, you driving her around makes a lot more sense after you told me about your security work the last time we spoke. Don’t worry, the other girls already know about young Ms. Miller’s trouble, they will understand. Just ... be so kind and try not to ogle the girls too much.”
“Oh, there is no need to worry about that, Mrs. Jenkins. Why would I ogle the girls?”
It was a casual statement I delivered with a friendly smile, and I kept my suggestive tone to a minimum when I emphasized the last word. For just a split second, I could still see the doubt flash over her eyes, and hoped she would get my meaning. If there was anyone I would ogle, it would be the woman in the room.
Then, to my greatest delight, her expression sported a one-sided smirk that somehow reached both of her eyes, telling me she indeed appreciated my unspoken compliment. The other girls, however, weren’t nearly as comfortable with me being around, and they made that known as soon as they entered the gym.
“What’s Tiny Tim doing here? Is that creep gonna watch us!?” I heard some girl I didn’t know call out in almost panic, causing most of the girls that had followed her into the gym to agree.
I just raised my hands in a gesture of surrender and moved to the exit, perfectly happy with just waiting outside the door for them to finish.
“Don’t call him that!” came the insistent and likewise scolding shout from Mia, Joan, AND Ava at the same time, followed by the three of them sharing a surprised look before walking further into the gym.
As I made my way outside, I looked at Ava and studied her face curiously. She actually stood up for me this time, and not only in front of her girlfriends, but even against them. When she noticed my look, she seemed a little embarrassed but happy. I heard the muffled discussion continue while standing just outside the barely open door.
“Since when are you all defending him?”
“I kinda owe him for helping Jenny.” Joan explained.
“And he got stabbed and almost shot, protecting me and Mom!” Ava added.
“What!?” I heard Mrs. Jenkins gasping. Apparently, she hadn’t heard about why exactly I was out of school.
“AND he’s found out who that guy is who’s creeping on my Mom!” Mia said, matter of fact.
“Wait. That was him?” Mrs. Jenkins asked, sounding so surprised I got the impression she must have thought I lied to her when I told her about my work.
“Yeah. My parents are actually pretty happy with him. Mom won’t stop telling everyone how fast he found the guy after even the police couldn’t do shi ... anything.” Mia explained, before turning back to her group of girls. “And you all should know that already, you were there when he did it.”
“So what?” The girl who started this dispute challenged her. “Then he’s a weird mix of a tough nerd. He still doesn’t need to watch us practice.”
“Actually, he does. He’s been covering my ass all week, making sure that creep won’t get to me.” Mia defended me.
“HA!” They heard my muffled voice travel through the almost closed doors from the hallway I stood in.
“What?”
“You said I covered your ass all week.” I shot back in a half laugh.
There was silence for a few seconds until they realized what I meant. What can I say? I was still a seventeen-year-old boy, and incidentally didn’t give a flying fuck about what these bitches thought about me. That ship had sailed long ago. I realized too late, though, that I shouldn’t tease Mia too much. To my relief, the next thing I heard was Joan breaking out in yet another bout of laughter, telling me that Mia’s face must have been priceless at that moment. I got a short glimpse of Mrs. Jenkins, shaking her head at me, before she closed the door fully.
My resolve to just stand in the hallway was almost gone by the time I heard them finish up two hours later. Apparently, they practice even longer on Mondays, and I was very glad Christmas break would start before I got to experience that. Despite Ava being a member of the Cheer team, I never knew they spent so much time practicing. By the time Mia finally came out of the locker room, arms locked with Ava, all of the others had already gone home.
“Ava will come with us shopping.” Mia informed me in a curt tone before the both of them walked off without me. She had even stuck her nose up while saying that, and I was already expecting to hear one of her well known ‘Hmph’ noises. Maybe making a comment about covering her ass, after I had just teased her in the car about remembering Tess’ name, was too much after all.
With the two of them in the backseat of the car, I noticed something else, though. While Mia was happily chatting away about what stores they’ll visit, Ava looked decidedly uncomfortable while keeping her quiet about Mia’s plans, but I had no idea why. She kept that demeanor up for the entire drive to Mia’s home, and I made a mental note to keep an eye on her when we entered the Miller House.
I just had a little chat with the other guy from the firm who was currently on guard duty, when Mr. Miller joined in.
“Ah, Timothy! I hear you will be taking my wife and daughter shopping?” he said with a weird grin on his face. The kind of grin people have when they want to make fun of you, or know something you don’t.
“Yes, Sir. And, as it looks, Ava as well.”
“Oh, so you’re going shopping with both of my women and one of their friends, then. I have to say, I like this arrangement with you as their driver more and more. Well, I’ll use the opportunity to completely refurbish our kitchen. Should be more than enough time before you’ll be back.” he laughed, slapped me on the back, and walked off.
I never thought the cliché about women and shopping was real ... until that day! When I go shopping, it is because I want or need something, and mostly after I checked where I could get that specific thing. These three women, however, went shopping to check IF there was anything they wanted, and only paused their tour through the stores to get something to eat while I kept my attention on the surroundings.
I had planned to let my eyes wander and think about what presents I should buy myself. I had to get something for Bill and a few of the people from work, though I wasn’t sure if I should include the family in those deliberations. Even if I had no desire to spend the Holidays with them, I still thought I should get a few gifts. Problem was, I really wasn’t sure what I should get for them. I always felt like presents should be either thoughtful or meaningful. For me, presents were something you gave to people so they knew you cared about them in some way, not because you felt obligated to. And if you care about them, you should know about their interests, hobbies, or needs, enabling you to give them something they actually appreciate. By now, however, I really didn’t know the family anymore.
The ladies had different plans, though. While Mia was perfectly happy to use me as her packing mule, she and Nora also kept inquiring about a lot of their purchases, seeking a ‘male perspective’ on different gift ideas they had. To my great surprise, I actually enjoyed the casual conversations I had with Mia throughout the trip, and she even helped me pick out some of the gifts I needed for my female colleagues. I was still quite insecure about this, and didn’t want to give anything that could be considered as inappropriate.