TW: alcohol, smut

Blackjack's Pizza is officially the shittiest job I've ever worked. Six fucking dollars an hour is not worth the burns on my arms, flour embedded under my nails, the constant stench of marinara sauce in my hair. The only perk is my shift manager, Eric, a whopping 5'8 of whoop ass. He and I get along quite well, even though he rarely talks to me. I wonder if he genuinely thinks I don't see him checking out my ass every day. Fucking perv.

"Jessica, you're late. Again." Eric scowls as I push through the glass door, the frigid AC hitting me full force. He's standing at the cash register, arms crossed and brows tightly knit in an annoyed frown. "That's what, the third time this month?"

"Yeah, sorry, traffic was hella bad today." I sigh, pulling my hair up into a smooth black ponytail. He's still glaring at me, so I cock out my hip, placing my hand on it aggressively. "What?"

"You know I should probably write your bitch ass up." He spits, locking eyes with me. The hazel in his irises have never seemed so intimidating, and it makes my heart race.

"Yeah. You should. But you won't." I reply, attempting to push past him. "Move! I have to make the fucking dough."

Eric pushes me against the wall, slamming his hands next to my head so hard that I flinch just slightly. I can't let him crumble me, or it'll just fuel him. Eric and I are very similar souls, and I know his motives better than even he does.

"I'm fucking sick of your attitude, Jess." He growls in my ear, breath hot on my neck. It sends a shiver down my back. The kid can be scary if he wants to.

"I need to get to work, Harris." I respond smoothly, locking eyes with him once more. His eyes are smoldering now, the tips of his ears turning red. I am so close to him that I can see the gentle stubble on his face, the chapped flakes of skin on his lips, the constellation of moles on his face.

"You don't need to work if I get you fired, princess. Learn some fucking responsibility." Warm spit sprays my cheek as he talks, and I disgustedly rub it away.

"Get off me or I'm filing a harassment suit."

"Fine." He puts his hands up, smirking. "I'm just gonna call Boss right now and say you were late again."

My heart starts to pound. No, he fucking wont. The terms my mother set was that I had to keep this job or lose my car that I bought with my own fucking money. If she hears I got fired again, I'm beyond fucked.

Eric pulls out his cell phone, extending the wire and dialing the number. He leans against the wall, grinning at me.

"Stop." I snap, panic starting to set in. "Eric, stop. Please. I need this job, okay? I'm sorry. ERIC!"

"Hi, Bob. Yeah, it's Eric. I-"

I suddenly shoot out, grabbing the phone and dropping the call. Eric slams me full force against the wall, knocking the wind out of me as I drop the phone. He calmly bends down, sticking it back into his pocket as I sink to the tile below me.

"What do you think you're doing, Jess?" He scolds, wagging his finger in my face tauntingly. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you to use your manners?"

"Eric." I gasp, my chest rattling from the force in which I hit the wall. "Please don't report me to Bob. I need to keep this job. I'll do anything, okay?"

"Anything, eh?" Eric smirks, looking down on me with a crooked grin.

"God. Anything, just don't rape or kill me."

"I'll let you off the hook-"

"Thank you."

"I'm not finished yet! I'll let you off the hook if you let me take you out on Friday."

I stare at him, shocked.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Like... a date?"

"Obviously, dumbass." He starts tapping his foot impatiently. "So, deal or no deal? Would be a shame if I had to call Bob..."

"Fine, I'll go out with you on Friday." I jump to my feet, anger and excitement bubbling in my gut to the point where I feel sick. "Don't mention this to anyone. I'm only doing this because you threatened me, douche bag."

"Sure, princess." Eric chuckles as I limp back to the kitchen, already smelling like tomato sauce.

...

I stand in front of the closet, hair dripping water down my bare shoulders. I have no clue what to wear, as Eric never really told me where we were going. Knowing him, it won't be anything romantic, probably the fucking bowling alley he worships. I settle on a button-up flannel and light blue jeans. It's not fashionable by any means, but I have to remind myself: this is just Eric Harris, and I'm only doing it to keep my job. Impressing him wasn't in the terms and conditions.

"Jess? Where are you going?" My mom asks as I plop down by the front door, lacing up my boots. "It's almost ten o'clock."

"I'm going out." I mumble, standing up and brushing off my jeans.

"With who?"

"...Eric."

"Your manager?" My mom raises a thin eyebrow, lips curling up in a smirk. "I thought you couldn't stand him."

"I can't." I snap. "But I decided to be nice."

"You? Being nice? To a boy?" My mom chuckles. "Did he threaten to fire you?"

"What? No!" I snap, eyes widening. My mom just laughs, tossing her curly black hair back.

"I knew it!" She sings. "Stay safe. I don't trust that kid, he looks troubled."

The doorbell rings, and I throw open the door. Eric is standing there awkwardly, lacking all the cockiness he usually carries. He's wearing a simple white shirt, a blue plaid flannel, black jeans and his hat on backwards. He cracks his knuckles anxiously, barely meeting my eyes.

"Bye, mother." I glare at my mom, who's still sniggering. I walk out into the porch, slamming the door shut. I then turn pointedly to Eric. "Okay, smartass. Where are we going?"

"Wow. No how do you do? No introducing me to your mom?" He smirks, immediately at ease now that my mother isn't here.

"You're pushing it, Harris." I growl, pushing past him and throwing open the passenger side door. "I'm only here to save my own ass."

Eric's facade momentarily cracks, and he looks slightly hurt. But he immediately grins again.

"We'll see about that."

...

"Where are we even going?" I question, watching the forest slowly envelope the car. We're on a single dirt road now, the dips in the ground making my stomach lurch. It's terrifying, and I just expect some awful creature to dash out in the brightness of the headlights. Eric, however, doesn't seem worried, humming a tune out loud.

The trees suddenly start to taper out, until we finally approach an empty field with its perimeter fenced in by forest. Eric turns off the ignition, the headlights dimming until we are in complete darkness. The coyotes are howling eerily off in the distance, their voices echoing through the field.

"Okay. Come on." Eric sighs, opening his door. I stare at him like he's insane.

"Uh, no? It's dark and there are coyotes."

"The coyotes won't hurt you."

"The bears and the mountain lions fucking might."

Eric slams the door, stepping to the back of the car and popping the trunk. I certainly don't want to be left alone here, and I contemplate what is worse: the unpredictable Eric Harris, or getting mauled by wildlife. At least Eric understands English. I hurry out of the car, stumbling over to him. He's grabbing a blanket, shutting the trunk and walking quickly past the car.

"Eric, what are you doing?" I whine, barely keeping up with him. For a jackass so short, he walks incredibly quickly. He's making his way out in the field, flattening the long grass as he walks. He finally stops, letting the blanket unwrap itself in the breeze, before laying it down. He then sits on it, looking at me expectantly. I sigh agitatedly. "I'm only doing this to keep my job, asshole." I snap as I sit down.

Eric pulls a pack of Camel cigarettes out from his back pocket. He offers one to me, and I take it. He fumbles around with a zippo lighter, finally managing to summon a flame. He holds it up to mine first.

"What a gentleman," I smile, inhaling deeply. I suck in another breath, before blowing it out into soft wisps. Eric takes a light inhale, immediately spewing back out smoke. I sigh. "That's not how you smoke a cigarette, dumbass."

"What?" Eric frowns, wasting more of his cigarette.

"You have to inhale it into your lungs like this." I demonstrate, breathing in, before releasing the smoke out of my nose.

Eric tries a few times, and finally he starts coughing so hard his eyes begin to water. He pounds his chest with a fist, clearly embarrassed, before spitting onto the grass.

"Ahh. That's the spirit." I smile at him as he struggles to regain his composure.

"I can already taste the lung cancer." He rasps, rubbing his nose on his sleeve. "Fuck."

"I guess you don't really smoke much." I flick the ash off of my cigarette, watching the red embers disappear into dust. "That was pretty weak, Harris."

"Shut up. We are done discussing this." Eric snaps sheepishly. He rummages around in a shopping bag for a minute, glasses clinking until he pulls out what he's looking for. "Want some?"

I eye the bottle of silver patron apprehensively. I usually hate tequila, but I've never had quality booze before. I mean, what's the point? We're in high school, getting drunk off of our parents' spirits or convincing older siblings to buy cheap booze from Walmart.

"I'm gonna need a chaser." I finally reply, taking the bottle in my hand.

"No, sweetheart, I'm taking your straight shot virginity tonight." Eric snickers, pulling out a container of sea salt and some lemon wedges in a bag.

"This is the epitome of classy. I can't believe you brought an entire fucking pound of sea salt with you." I roll my eyes, taking the bag from him.

"Okay. You gotta lick your hand first to make the salt stick." Eric instructs, watching me closely. I glare at him, running my tongue on my hand. He dumps salt all over the place, which runs down my hand and spatters all over the blanket.

"That was smooth."

"Shut up. Now what you gotta do is lick, sip, and then suck." He licks his hand, sprinkling salt on it. "You gotta get the lemon ready. Watch me do it."

He licks the salt off his hand, quickly downing a small glass of tequila, and then sucks on the lemon. His face contorts slightly, wincing as he clears his throat.

"Whoo. That was strong. Your turn, princess."

"Eric..."

"Come on. Don't be a pussy."

I glare at him, before licking the salt and quickly throwing back a shot. It immediately burns, and the sour lemon tops it off as I try to hold down the alcohol. I feel Eric's eyes on me, his lips in an amused smirk.

"Stop!" I wail, punching him in the arm as he bursts out into laughter.

"Now we're even." He giggles, dumping the rest of the grocery bag out on the blanket. There's a bigger bottle of Irish Creme, a few small bottles of Fireball, and a flask full of peach schnapps.

"Don't get drunk enough that we can't get home." I scold, unscrewing one of the fireballs. I toss it back, coughing as the cinnamon stings my throat. Eric just waves me off, sipping the Bailey's straight out of the bottle.

"I'm german, sweetie. I can handle it."

"You're german or you think you're german?" I taunt, lighting another cigarette. Eric shrugs, unscrewing the flask and taking a deep sip.

"lutsch meinen Schwanz." He replies, smirking.

"I don't take german, asshole."

"That's probably for the best."

We sit there in silence for a while, gazing at the stars. Away from the light pollution, you can see everything in clear detail, little pinpricks of light so far away. Eric lays down and I follow suit, bodies barely touching in awkward hesitation. The inky black sky is penetrated by the full moon, casting light in his dark pupils.

"What do you think about when you look at the sky at night, when theres no clouds out and you can see all the stars?" Eric muses, voice gentle and low.

"My grandma used to tell me that the stars were little holes in the sky and it was heaven shining through." I reply, watching the twinkling lights against the blackness.

"That's gay." Eric announces. "Also, by the time we see those stars, light years away, they're already dead."

"Shut the fuck up, okay? Don't ruin this." I sigh irritably, punching him in the arm. "What's your zodiac? I can find your constellation I think."

"Zodiacs are full of shit."

"Eric."

"Fine. I'm an Aries, whatever the fuck that means."

"Okay. See those stars right there? The ones that form a kinda weird curved line? That's your constellation."

"That's great, but I don't really give a fuck."

"Why did you bring me out here anyway?" I ask, changing the subject. "I mean, it's gorgeous and all. But why me?"

"Because, Jess." Eric sighs, running a hand through his spiky hair. "I know you know I like you, yeah?"

"Obviously. You check out my ass everyday."

"It's a nice ass. But, also, you're not like other-"

"Not another not like other girls speech."

"I'm being serious!" Eric props himself up on his elbow, staring at me. "Jess. I've never met a girl so much like me and so much unlike me all at the same time. You're sassy, you're stubborn, you don't tolerate any bullshit..."

"You literally threatened me into coming out here with you."

"Because I knew that was the only way!"

"You could've just, Uh, you know, asked me."

"But what's the fun in that?"

We fall silent for a moment, the coyotes howling around us and the crickets chirping sharply. I look over at Eric, who's eyes are back on the stars, and he looks like he's about to cry. I lean closer to him, grabbing his hand. He doesn't move, but audibly swallows.

"Hey. Are you okay?" I finally ask, sitting up so I can be at his level. His eyes are glimmering, and a tear spills over which he quickly races to wipe away.

"Yeah. I just... I think... sometimes I just can't stand myself."

"Yeah. I get it."

"Do you, though? I hate myself and I hate how I'm such a dick to everyone. But it's-"

"It's easier to be a dick than to be vulnerable."

"Precisely."

I tilt Eric's chin towards me, holding it in place so he can't avoid my eye contact.

"Eric, I know we butt heads a lot. But I'm here for you, alright? You can be vulnerable with me. Trust me."

Eric looks confused for a moment, brows furrowed, before he suddenly leans in. His lips connect with mine, rough and passionate. I fall onto my back, him straddling me so all I can do is look at his face. My heart is skipping beats as he kisses me, the flavor of peach schnapps still on his tongue.

I go to lift his shirt, gripping the fabric. I need to get closer to him. But immediately, he pulls away.

"Don't." He whispers, all passion suddenly gone.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask, hurt bubbling in my stomach. I thought he wanted it. Maybe I went too far.

"It's... my chest." Eric sighs, shaking his head. "I have a condition... it's not bad but I hate it. They used to make fun of me in gym class..."

"What?" I sit up, my hand running down his chest gently. There's a subtle dip in the breastbone, and I look at him for confirmation.

"It's not contagious... it's called pectus excavatum... it's just ugly..."

"Take off your shirt."

"What?" Eric stares at me, both shocked and confused.

"Eric. Take off your shirt." I lean in closer, my lips brushing his ear. "When I said you can be vulnerable with me, I wasn't lying, you know."

Eric bites his lip, pulling back. He takes a heavy breath in, before pulling off his shirt, exposing his thin, toned body in a blue cast of moonlight. The dip is barely noticeable, and I run my hand over it, sucking in my breath as I feel the warmth radiating from his body. He looks concerned, until I peel off my flannel, pulling him back on top of me as we feverishly begin to kiss again. His tongue slides over my teeth, until I nibble on his lip. The movements are becoming frenzied as he pulls me up, struggling to rip away my bra as we fumble for more skin.

I help pull off the lacy bra, flinging it onto the ground. I pray I don't forget it, since it was quite expensive for a piece of fabric. Eric unhooks his belt, pulling it quickly out of his belt loops as he unzips his jeans. I fall backward, trying to squirm out of mine at the same time. Finally, Eric's strong hands yank them off, throwing them to the side along with his.

"I've wanted this for quite a while, Jess." He purrs in my ear, tapping his fingers up and down my stomach. With each inch closer he gets to my underwear, I suck in another deep breath. He's such a tease, and I hate him for it.

"Obviously, douchebag. But are you going to do it now?" I snap, trying to escape from the grip he has on my wrists. He leans closer, his warm chest against mine, and I can feel his heart pounding. His bulge rubs against me through his boxers, and I inhale sharply, flexing my hands to grab anything.

"Do you want me to?" Eric cocks his head, smirking. "I thought you couldn't stand me."

"You heard that?"

"I did. I was on the porch for at least five minutes." Eric moves his lips against my neck, biting down gently against the skin.

"Just do it, okay? Or I won't be able to stand you even more."

Eric releases one wrist as he pulls his dick out of his boxers, giving it a few firm strokes with a smirk on his face. He peels away my underwear, watching me struggle to keep my breathing in check. And then, he rams into me, giving me no warning and making me shriek. The coyotes stop howling for a few moments, and the crickets go silent.

"Yeah, Jess, I knew you were a dirty whore when I first saw you. Nobody wears shorts like you wear to work just because they want to." Eric growls, thrusting in and out aggressively. His hands pin my wrists down, fingernails digging into my arms. "I've wanted to fuck you like an animal since you first started working here. I signed you up for every shift I had, just so I could see those sexy legs of yours, all dirty and covered in flour."

"Don't talk to me about flour. It turns me off." I laugh, but then he thrusts deeper and rougher than he has before, and I let out a startled gasp.

"You're even tighter than I thought you'd be." He smacks my ass hard, and I bite back a squeal. I'm not sure whether to feel insulted or pleased by this statement. "Aren't you glad you took me up on this date?"

"Uh huh."

"Hmm?" Eric runs a hand through my hair, pulling it away from my sweaty forehead. "Use your words, Jessica."

"Eric, please... harder."

"Call me Reb, princess."

...

I stare out the car window as we roll up my driveway. My hair is still sticking to my neck, hopefully hiding the love bites down my collarbone. Eric is humming another song as he stops the car, the headlights fading once more.

"Well." He looks at me, grinning cheekily. "I sure had fun tonight."

"Me too. As much as I hate to admit it, you're not that bad, Harris." I taunt, shooting him a flirtatious smile.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around, then."

"Yup."

"Oh, and Jess?" He shouts out the window as I walk up to the front door.

"Yeah?"

"You work tomorrow, 3 PM until 8. Don't be late."

I watch him drive away, music reverberating out of the open windows. When he's out of sight, I let out a breathy laugh, unlocking the door and slipping inside.