Authors: Tammy Coons
The Wannabes
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Amazon
Edition
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The
Wannabes
Copyright
© 2013 by Tammy Coons
Editing
by Jenn Scranton
Cover
design by Michelle Warren
All
rights reserved.
Without
limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
the author of this book.
This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents
are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various
products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without
permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized,
associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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The
Wannabes is dedicated to all of those out there who have ever struggled to find
their own way to happiness.
“BOB TO THE front please,” Corbin
called through the microphone. She placed the closed sign on her counter. It
had been a busy Friday at Royce’s Market and she was happy her shift was over.
“Hey girly, you can’t leave without checking me out,” a deep
voice said, making her smile. Corbin instantly knew it was Keith. Before her
dad passed away, he and Keith had been avid fishing buddies. He was an older
gentleman in his sixties that always insisted she check out his groceries. He
would wait in her line even though other cashiers were available.
“There are other cashiers, you know.” Her words made a wide
smile creep across his face. She removed her closed sign.
“Yes, but I love bothering you,” he replied. Corbin shook
her head. “How’s your mom doing?” She felt her stomach twinge at his question.
“She’s still holding her own. She doesn’t know who I am
anymore.” Corbin blinked back a tear. “She is in the last stages of
Alzheimer’s.” Her Mom had been diagnosed with the disease just months after
Corbin’s dad had passed away. Corbin had tried to be her primary care giver,
but after three years she could no longer do it on her own.
“Sorry to hear that. She is a great lady.”
“Are you staying at your cabin yet?” Corbin changed the
subject as quickly as she could. She scanned his items, not wanting to make
making eye contact. She glanced past him to see Bob, the store manager, making
his way to the front. Bob was a tall, balding man who always had a smile on his
face.
“Yep, starting tonight. I finally got all of the walls
replaced. The flood last year left a huge mess. I’m ready to live by the river
again.”
“I see Keith caught you before you could escape,” Bob said
with a grin.
“Of course he did,” Corbin said rolling her eyes. She
listened as Keith and Bob talked about the weather. She pushed away the
thoughts of her Mom for the time being and finished ringing up his groceries.
“$150.96.”
“Holy shit, I’m going to have to quit drinking,” Keith
chuckled. He took his time writing out a check.
“You know, things go a lot faster when you use a debit
card,” Corbin chided crossing her arms.
“Plastic is so impersonal,” Keith smirked.
“Pretty big word for you, Keith,” Corbin teased. He ripped
out the check and handed it to her.
“It’s always a pleasure to annoy you.”
“Have a good weekend.” Corbin handed him his receipt.
“You too,” Keith said with a wink.
“Ready to count down?” Bob asked, fishing out his keys.
“Yep.” Bob put the keys in the register and Corbin took out
her money tray.
“Big plans this weekend?” Bob asked.
“I think we are going to Rebels.”
“I’ve never been out there, I don’t really think it would be
my scene.”
“Probably not,” she chuckled. Bob unlocked the office door.
Corbin sat at the desk and began sorting and counting her drawer. She typed all
of her calculations into the computer and placed all of her days work into the
safe. She made a bee line to the backroom and clocked out. The high school kids
were there getting ready for the night shift. Corbin thought back to the days
when she first started working at Royce’s. Many of her weekends were spent
there. But they always had so much fun after the store closed. One of the guys
in charge would sing at night and tell dirty jokes via the loudspeaker.
She unlocked her locker and gathered up her purse and
jacket. She made her way to the beer section and grabbed a 12 pack of her
favorite beer, Blue Moon. She then proceeded to the checkout lane.
“I need my check too, Lacey.” Corbin said as she fished out
her debit card. She made minimum wage, but managed. Sharing an apartment with
two other people helped out a lot. She paid for her beer then stepped out into
the warm sunshine. She looked across the road to George’s gas station hoping to
catch a glimpse of her longtime boyfriend, Rob. Not seeing him, she climbed
into her rusty 1998 Chevy Lumina. She cranked the starter and after two tries
it started. She put the car in gear and then pulled into the gas station. She
purposely pulled up to the full service pump and the little bell sounded off.
She looked to the door of the station and waited. After what seemed like hours,
Rob walked out the door. He walked towards her and was shaking his head. Corbin
felt her heart tug in her chest. She and Rob had been dating since high school.
He had boyish good looks. His hair was brown, and his eyes almost a chocolate
brown.
“Corbin. What the hell?” he said.
“What?” Corbin asked with a shrug.
“Seriously, you know how to use a gas pump.”
“I just felt that I wanted full service today.” Corbin
winked. Rob rolled his eyes then proceeded to fill up her car.
“$25.00,” he said. Corbin handed him her money and she
grabbed his hand.
“Are you coming over tonight?” She asked giving his hand a
little squeeze.
“It’s race night, you know that.” Corbin’s heart sank.
“Maybe after?”
“Maybe, I gotta go.”
“Ok. Can I at least have a kiss before I leave?”
“I am at work, Corbin. I will text you later.”
“I love you,” Corbin said softly. And with that, Rob turned
and headed back into the station. Corbin watched him go, the familiar feeling
of rejection filling her. She started her car again, and then looked into her
review mirror at her reflection. Her mousy brown hair was pulled back tightly
and she wore no makeup. She looked down at her tan baggy pants and Royce’s
market shirt. Maybe it was time for a makeover. Maybe then Rob would pay more
attention to her. She put her car in gear and drove the short distance to her
apartment. As she walked up the stairs the pungent aroma of Mexican food and
barbeque filled her nostrils. The smell of the mixture made her stomach churn a
little. She unlocked the door and shut it as quietly as she could. One of her
roommates, Alex, worked as at bartender at Rebel’s and usually didn’t get home
until the early morning hours so she slept most of the day away. Stella, her
other roommate, worked as a hairdresser at Vavoom.
Corbin walked into the kitchen and put her beer in the fridge.
She pulled out one of them and twisted the top off. She took a long chug, the
cold liquid was welcoming.
“You must be Corbin,” a male voice said from behind her. She
turned slowly and found herself face to face with a tattooed man wearing only
boxers. She instantly assumed he was one of either Alex’s or Stella’s conquests
from the night before. Her roomies were known for that kind of stuff, more so
Stella than Alex. “I’m Ryder,” he continued. “Alex’s brother.” He held out his
hand.
“Oh yeah, I forget you were coming today.” Corbin shook his
hand. Ryder was tall, she guessed about 6ft. He had long light brown hair that
was a bit disheveled and he had many tribal tattoos scattered about his body. She
scanned down his body, her eyes resting on the V that shown at the top of his
tight boxers. She bit her lip then looked back up into his eyes. She felt
herself go red when she noticed the small smile on his face. She cleared her
throat and moved away from him.
“So how long are you staying here?” she blurted. She took
another pull from her beer then started choking, beer sprung from her nose.
“You ok?” Ryder asked, placing a hand on her back. Corbin
brushed past him and hurried into the bathroom. She slumped against the
bathroom door, feeling as if she wanted to crawl under a rock.
“I am such a tard!” she said under her breath. She washed
her face and then changed into some sweats and a sweatshirt. Feeling totally
embarrassed, she cracked open the bathroom door and then crept into the
kitchen. Not seeing Ryder, she hurried into her bedroom and shut the door and flopped
down on her bed. Her bedroom was her sanctuary, her place to get away from
realty. Corbin was an avid reader, her Kindle her best friend. She perused
through her collection on her Kindle, finding nothing of interest so she chose
to begin her recent paperback purchase, Joyland by Stephen King. Corbin had
just started reading when she heard Stella announce her arrival home, in her
usual extravagant tone.
“I’m home! Let the weekend begin.”
Corbin, feeling relieved that someone else was home, put her
book down and exited her bedroom. She proceeded to the living room where Ryder
was sitting on the couch. He was shirtless but had put some jeans on.
“You must be Ryder. Alex forgot to tell me you were a hottie,”
Stella purred. Corbin felt her cheeks flush. She watched as Stella continued to
try to charm him.
“And you must be Stella. Alex warned me about you,” Ryder
chuckled, then stood and shook her hand.
“Oh honey, you don’t need a warning.” Stella touched Ryder’s
arm. “It’s going to be fun to have you around.” Stella gave him a quick wink.
“Gah Stella, he just got here,” Corbin said rolling her
eyes. Corbin continued to the kitchen and grabbed another beer from the fridge.
She leaned against the counter and listened to Stella barrage Ryder with a ton
of questions. She picked at the label on the bottle.
“Be careful with that beer. The last one almost killed you,”
Ryder said as he entered the kitchen. Corbin shrugged.
“I bought a 30 pack,” Stella announced as she trailed
behind. “And…tada!” She pulled a bag of marijuana out of her bra.
“You shouldn’t have that stuff on you. What if your parole
officer calls you in for a UA?” Corbin said in almost a whisper, as if the
apartment was bugged. Stella had been in and out of trouble since she moved to
town. The last time was for public intoxication. Her little stint landed her in
jail for a few months and she had been on probation for six months.
“Did my last one today! I am free and clear baby!” Stella
pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and shoved it in Corbin’s face. Without
reading it Corbin threw it on the counter.
“I have been a good girl, I deserve this.” Stella packed the
pipe then lit it. The aroma filled the room. Corbin cracked open the window and
turned on the ceiling fan. Stella took a long drag then handed it to Corbin. “Come
on, Corbin. Celebrate with me. Think of this as an early graduation
celebration.”
“Graduation?” Ryder asked taking the pipe from Stella.
“Yep, little miss Smarty Pants just earned an Associates’
degree in French. She’s heading to the U of I in the fall to get her Bachelor’s
degree.”
“Ugh, Stella,” Corbin covered her face with her hand. She
hated when people put her on the spot.
“What? It’s awesome. I barely made it through high school,
let alone Beauty College.”
“That is cool,” Ryder exhaled. “Are you going to be a
teacher?” He handed the pipe to her. Corbin took it from him and their hands
brushed. She felt the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. Corbin
shrugged.
“She wants to move to Paris,” Stella continued.
“Stella, please shut up.” Corbin wanted to cover Stella’s
mouth with duct tape.
“Ok…ok…”
Corbin took her turn then fled to the living room. She sat
down on the couch just as Alex yanked open her bedroom door.
“Who needs an alarm clock when you live with Stella Jones?”
Alex yawned. “Where’s Ryder?” Corbin chuckled.
“He is in the kitchen, with Stella. I am surprised she
hasn’t molested him by now.”
“Poor Guy.”
“He’s holding his own.”
“Stella, keep your panties on for once,” Alex called as she
entered the kitchen. Corbin heard Ryder laugh.
“Shut up, Alex!” Stella had retorted. Corbin leaned her head
back onto the couch, allowing the relaxing feeling from the marijuana overtake
her. She had always been a pot lightweight. She felt her eyes closing.
“That was pretty good stuff,” Ryder said as he sat down next
to her. His body brushed against hers. Corbin snapped her eyes open and then
jumped up and moved to the bean bag chair.
“Do I stink or something?” Ryder said as looked Corbin in
the eye. It was the first time she noticed the color. They were deep green, she
was immediately sucked into them and they shared a moment of just looking at
each other. Corbin opened her mouth to speak just as Stella entered the room.
“No honey, it’s not you. She is just uptight.” She sat down
next to Ryder.
“No I’m not,” Corbin said. She ran her hands through her
pony tail. “I just don’t think Rob would appreciate me sitting on the couch
with another guy.” Stella shot her a look that said oh please.
“From what I have been hearing at Vavoom, Rob has been
spending a lot of his free time in Muscello.”
“I have been hearing stuff, too,” Alex added from the
kitchen.
“So,” Corbin shrugged. “A lot of people go there.”
“Yeah, to get laid. You know the girls over there,” Stella
pushed.
“Fuck you, Stella.” Corbin flipped her off
“The truth hurts, baby.” Stella cocked her head to the side.
Corbin wanted to reach out and slap the look off of her face. Stella’s mouth
often got her into trouble. She stared Stella down. Anger filled her. The
thought of Rob with another woman made her sick to her stomach. Tears stung her
eyes.