Amira Read Online Free Page A

today.  He waited around for a few minutes, motioning toward
the back of the store, but finally he gave Serena a disappointed look, threw
his hands in the air sarcastically, and headed quickly to the stock room alone.
    After clocking out, Serena ran into the restroom, peed after
drinking too much iced tea during her shift, and quickly fixed her hair and
makeup as best as she could with having limited supplies in her purse.  She
hadn't planned on getting ready for a date, so she had only carried a few
essential things with her.  She wished she could do a little more, but she
powdered her nose, freshened up her lip gloss, and checked that she didn't have
mascara smudged under her eyes.  She made a mental note to stop by the beauty
counter and grab a spritz or two of perfume from the perfume tester bottle and
pick up some mints on her way out.
    Imogene, the beauty advisor, always sprayed Serena with her
favorite “Violet Eyes” every time she saw her.  She could rarely afford
Elizabeth Taylor's cologne on her part-time wages, but Imogene knew how much
she loved it and didn't mind Serena stopping to use it any time she wanted. She
was a sweet older woman whose own beauty skills were questionable since she
drew on her eyebrows in an unnatural arch and her lipstick always managed to be
crooked, but she was kindhearted and jovial nevertheless.  Her dark bronze skin
always shimmered and glowed, which Serena was sure was a reflection of her warm
personality shining through.  She was widowed and sang in the gospel choir at
her church and was always singing hymns at work too.  Management frowned on
that, however, and told her to keep religion out of the workplace, but that
didn't stop her from always singing. 
    Serena buzzed past the beauty counter, barely stopping long enough
to say five words to Imogene  She let out a jolly laugh as she misted Serena in
a perfumed cloud, amused by her rushing by, and her full robust breasts bounced
as she laughed.  She said she envied them as young girls, always having some
place to go, and called Serena “ Miss Taylor ”. 
    On her way, Serena ran into Maggie who asked where she was going
in such a hurry.  Serena just said she was meeting someone and left it at
that.  Maggie looked puzzled because Serena normally told her everything, but
she just continued on her way and left her there in mid-sentence as she asked
Serena again where she was going.  They were supposed to go out that evening
with the girls from work, but suddenly Serena didn't care about breaking that
commitment.

Chapter 4
     
    “Oh…fuck!” Serena mumbled under her breath as she reached the
front of the store.
 At the registers, they couldn’t see any exterior windows.  Maggie would always
sing the Smashing Pumpkins lyrics, “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a
rat in a cage” , and joked about how they keep them there in the dark with
no natural sunlight for some kind of mind control.  Serena told her she was
crazy and said it wasn’t that bad as they could still get fresh air as the
automatic doors would open and close all day.  What Serena could not see
before, however, was that it was now downpouring, and she wondered now how she
was going to meet this man without getting totally drenched and ruining her
hair and makeup.
    Just as she got to the exit, she saw a newer model sedan pull up
in front of the store, and he ran out, ducking through the rain and carrying an
umbrella.  He opened his long trench coat toward Serena, and she slipped inside
as he put his arm around her and held the umbrella over her.  The warm
spiciness of his cologne filled her nose, and the heat of his body warmed her
as he sheltered her from the rain inside his coat.  He quickly opened the
passenger side door, and she jumped inside. 
    He made sure she was seated comfortably before closing her door
and running around the front of the car and getting in himself. Serena started
to apologize for getting the car so wet, but he