Glitch (Next Level #1)(8)

A kid springs from his seat and dashes into the back.

“That boy has more energy than I get after six quad macchiatos.”

“Six quad?”

“Four shots of espresso in each.”

Holy shit. “You drink six of those a day?”

“Only when I want to speak to electricity and hear colors.”

I laugh, and it feels great because I haven’t felt this light in weeks.

While I wait for Glitch to appear, I let me eyes, and mind, wander some more.

???

Glitch



I can’t find a replacement for this one fucking screw, and it’s driving me nuts. After taking apart a Zephyrus G15 laptop, I refuse to get it all back together and have one screw beat me. Most people tear this equipment apart and end up with screws left over. Not me. My dumbass managed to lose it, and I can’t find my box of spares to save my life.

The back of my shop is made up of an inventory closet and an eight-foot-long worktable that no one else but me can use. Boxes are lined up against one of the walls, and I have tubes of posters in a barrel that I give out as prizes sometimes. Above my tool bench is a series of small drawers with a variety of screws, pins, and spare memory cards. Below that is an old toolbox filled with hard drives, batteries, spare wires, graphics cards, and other shit.

“Uncle Glitch!”

“Yeah?” I call out. Ah-ha! Found it! I pluck a small screw out the drawer and clutch it in my hand as I turn around to see what my nephew needs. He comes here after school on days my sister works evenings. I get stuck helping him with his homework, but I don’t mind.

“There’s a lady here to see you.”

I freeze. Ara. I almost gave up hope that she’d actually come. I never gave her a specific day or time to drop into my shop, but in the back of my mind, I really hoped it would have been the next day. When she never showed, I shoved away the possibility of her bringing computer problems to me so I wouldn’t fixate on it.

I spent the better part of Monday staring at the door. Tuesday, I came in on my day off and waited in the back, distracting myself by organizing shit. Wednesday, I was a salty motherfucker. This morning I came in thinking she’d gone elsewhere and refused to be upset about it. She didn’t know me. I’d never made an effort with her. And it was a computer, not a fucking date. She wasn’t standing me up.

But the instant Beetle said a woman was here to see me, damned if my heart didn’t leap into my throat. I calmly make my way to the door and look out.

The screw I’ve spent forty-five minutes trying to find falls out of my hand and bounces across the floor.

Ara’s back is to me. Jesus fucking Christ, this woman’s ass should be illegal. There’s so much I want to grab and bite. My hands close into fists and I grind my molars together. Fuck me, she’s hot. And I haven’t even seen her face yet. Her pink hair is long and curly, cascading down her back in waves. I imagine digging my fingers into it, tugging by the roots, and forcing her head back so I can kiss her while I take her from behind.

“Are you okay, Uncle Glitch?”

I snap out of my fantasy at the sound of my nephew. Holy shit, I forgot he was here. I forgot I was here. Completely sucked into Ara’s orbit, I didn’t realize there were other life forms around. “Yeah. Why?”

“You’re making weird noises.”

Am I? Well, he’ll get it one day when he’s a grown ass man lusting over his perfect woman. I can’t peel my gaze away from Ara. She tips her head back and laughs at something my manager says to her. Rage and jealousy have me leaving my sanctuary and heading for the counter.

I don’t want anyone else getting a piece of her. Not her laugh. Her time. Her attention.

She’s mine.

I can’t explain why I feel the way I do, but now that she’s here, she’s real.

And she’s fucking mine.

“Glitch, this lady has a computer she needs you to—”

“Ara,” I say, and quickly grab the computer from her. I can’t believe my manager made her hold this heavy thing. Fucker should be fired for this. I set the equipment on the counter and hold out my hand. As long as she shakes it, I won’t use it to choke my manager for calling her a lady. She’s a goddess and nothing less. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Ara’s eyes widen, and her cheeks turn a bright red.

There it is. The reaction I usually get when I open my mouth. She’s heard me talk before, so I don’t get why my voice would trigger this response now, but it’s starting to make me uneasy. If I can’t figure a way to gain control, I’ll glitch.

I refuse to let that happen.

But as she gawks at me, with her pretty mouth parted and her pupils blown wide, I start to wonder if she’s the one having the glitch. I bunch my brow together. “Are you okay?”

She sways. Her exhale is shaky, and I watch red and pink blotches take over her neck and chest. Which means I’m now staring at her cleavage.

I want to drag my tongue between her tits and fuck them. Cover them in my cum. Bite them.

Fuck me sideways, I’m getting a hard-on.

Damage control. DAMAGE. CONTROL!

“When do you need your computer back?” I think of sports. I think of shit-stained underwear. I think of the night Trey puked all over my suit at our friend’s wedding. I think of a million things that should deflate my dick, and none of it works. Especially not when Ara bites her bottom lip.