Cigarette Burns

Corey opened the passenger door of his car for Shay and she stepped inside slowly.

As he pulled out of his driveway, he informed her of everything he'd need her for over the next few months, and also told her that he wasn't sure if he'd need her for much longer than until the end of the summer, which was fine with her. It was only mid May, and he was saying he most likely wouldn't need an assistant for any longer than until the end of August.

She listened carefully as he spoke, taking notes on her phone of anything she thought she might need to remember. For the most part, it seemed like he just needed someone to keep him in line; to keep him caught up and make sure he was where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be and all of that stuff.

"Why do you need an assistant all of a sudden?" she asked him, genuinely curious. He shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road.

"My fiancé just dumped me about a month ago. Long story. But my manager and everyone else around me is now insisting that I'm too 'broken up' and 'can't think straight'," he explained quietly, and the sheer sadness in his tone caught her off guard. "Mostly they just want someone to babysit me and make sure I'm not about to jump off a building or anything," he added, and she looked at him curiously.

"Are you suicidal?" she asked bluntly, not sure how he'd take the question. She was surprised when he just took it in stride and shook his head.

"No, but I have been in the past. They're just worried about me. That's why I agreed to the assistant thing in the first place. I know they're just concerned. In all honesty, I'm not that surprised I got dumped and as shitty as it is to say, I'm not that broken up about it either. We'd been distant for a long time. It just wasn't meant to be, y'know?" he said, and she watched him as he spoke, trying to figure out if she thought he was being genuine.

Eventually, she settled on the fact that she thought he was. She nodded and reached across the front seat to put her hand on his shoulder. Corey glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then tilted his head to the side so that it was resting on her hand. He stayed that way for a long moment and then lifted his head back up as he pulled into the parking lot of what looked to be an assortment of hiking trails.

"We're going... hiking?" Shay asked him, and he nodded.

"Think of it as your interview. You never know what kinda person someone is until you see what a whiny bitch they are on a hike," he said, smirking in a way that she was quickly learning would probably make her knees go weak every time he did it. She smiled back at him and pulled the hair tie off of her wrist to pull up her long dyed silver hair. Corey smirked again and reached into the backseat of the car, tossing her a water bottle. She caught it easily and they were off.

They hiked for a good forty-five minutes before finally reaching the top of the trail. Once there, Shay collapsed onto a bench that overlooked what seemed to be the whole city.

"Jesus, that's beautiful," she said, and Corey sat down beside her heavily, nodding.

"Isn't it? I though maybe it would make you see that I'm not just some asshole. I also like to look at really far away cities and all the smog they create," he said, chuckling to himself. She laughed with him and bumped him with her shoulder playfully.

"I have to tell you a secret," she said quietly a few moments later, and he directed his attention to her immediately, his eyes glistening again.

"I love secrets," he whispered, looking at her like he could see every thought in her mind.

"I kind of... have a giant crush on you, I guess," she said, and Corey barked out a laugh and studied her.

"Is that so?" he asked, focusing his gaze back on the view before them.

"Yeah. I understand if that makes you less willing to give me the job," she said, following his gaze and taking in the beautiful sight again.

"Darlin', you've already got the job. I told you that on the phone. All that admission does is make me wanna fuck you more than I already did," he said, and she was surprised yet again with how blunt and outright he was. She wasn't sure she'd ever met someone quite like him.

"Oh," she said, doing everything she could to keep herself from stumbling over the single word.

"Don't worry. I know we can't be doing that shit right now. We do have real work to do here real soon. You can stop being all weird and twitchy," he said, laughing as he leaned his head on her shoulder. He stayed there for a moment and then raised his head to look in her eyes again. He studied her, taking one of her hands in both of his and holding it tightly. "I am gonna do this, though. Feel free to smack the shit out of me if you'd like," he said, licking his lips lightly before leaning in and placing them on hers. She was shocked at how gentle he was, waiting until she kissed back to even really start doing anything. They kissed for a long moment and then he pulled away, his hands still holding onto hers gently.

"I'm glad you did it," she told him, leaning on his shoulder and glancing up at him through her long eyelashes.

"Good," he responded, kissing the top of her head and then standing to start the hike back down the trail.