InstructionbySeduction by Jessica Shin Read Free Book Online Page A

and locked position. He turned and walked out of the bathroom,
closing the door behind him.
    Leah wasn’t sure which emotion was stronger—the hurt at
Kelly for either purposely or inadvertently betraying her or the victory of
fucking the comfort zone and telling that jackass exactly where to go.
    Leah calmed herself then burst out of the bathroom and
headed directly for the door. She said nothing as she pushed through it and
stomped down the front steps. She barely knew where she was, it was too late
for the bus and she had no money for a cab. But by God she was justified.
    “Leah! Where are you going?”
    Leah hunkered down against the wind and didn’t look back.
Kelly ran to catch up with her.
    “What are you doing? If you’re ready to go that’s cool. Just
let me know. What’s going on?”
    “So does everyone know about my new sexual liberation or did
you only tell a few people?”
    “What are you talking about? Did Mike… Oh shit. He must have
heard me when we were talking over by the register. What happened?”
    “He thought I was passing it out. I told him I wasn’t.”
    “Shit Leah, I’m sorry. Come on, don’t walk out in the cold.
I’ll take you home.”
    Leah wanted to continue to be defiant but she knew Kelly
hadn’t purposely hurt her and it was about ten degrees out. Leah shivered then
turned and let Kelly walk her back to the car.
    When Kelly pulled up to Leah’s apartment building after a
mostly silent ride, she turned to her and said, “Let’s have a girls’ night
soon. Just you and me. Watch stupid movies and do each other’s toes. How long
has it been since you did something like that?”
    “Too long,” Leah said. It did sound fun. A little
frivolity never hurt anyone . She smiled and looked up at Kelly. “Let’s do
it.”
    “Let’s check our schedules for next week and set a date.”
    “Sounds good.”
    Leah made her way up to her apartment, the sounds of Friday-night
parties going on around her. She still had to work the next day so the day of
the week didn’t mean much to her other than her apartment would be noisy. She
passed by a group of drunk college students and wondered if Hale arrived that
night if they’d see how he showed up and decide they’d seen a ghost or a UFO.
Hell, maybe they’d be right.
    Once inside Leah walked into the bedroom and took the box off
the dresser. Suddenly she wanted to be alone. She rubbed the designs on the box
and it comforted her. She didn’t need Hale all the time, did she? She was dying
to tell him about how she fucked the comfort zone but he would be there
tomorrow…she hoped.
    Leah put on some comfy pajamas and crawled into bed. She
listened to the sounds of the partiers around her and for once was not annoyed.
They were just people having fun, doing whatever it was they wanted to do. Just
like her.

Chapter Four
     
    Leah worked the early shift the next morning, opening the
store at six in the morning. She enjoyed the contractors coming in for donuts
for their crew to thank them for working a Saturday. They were always in such a
good mood for so early in the morning it was impossible to look at them smile
without returning the favor. I’d probably be in a good mood all the time if
I were working for myself, Leah thought, but doing what? People won’t
pay to watch you fuck the comfort zone.
    As she was wrapping up her shift, the manager, Bob, came by
and said to her, “Oh Leah, can you swing by my office before you leave for the
day? I need to see you.”
    Oh shit oh shit oh shit.
    “Sure. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
    He found out about last night. He knows. I’m fired. Mr.
Hands is fired. We violated some law. No dumbass, how could he know? It’s
probably just about scheduling. But he’s never asked you into his office to
talk about scheduling before. It’s all too coincidental .
    Leah continued to argue with herself until she found herself
standing in Bob’s doorway. He smiled and waved her in.
    “Shut the