Love Goggles

CHAPTER ONE

Not again! Justin Barker peered through the torrential rain pouring down on the windshield of his ten year old Ford pickup as he sat at the stoplight waiting for it to change.

The bright red jacket and matching red boots of the woman standing at the bus stop a few feet away was all too familiar to convince himself it was not whom he thought it was.

Damn you, Hil. He muttered.

With a heavy sigh, he checked his blind spot and rearview mirror to be sure it was safe to cross the two lane avenue before pulling up beside the woman being pelted by the spring storm.

Justin rolled down the passenger window and his heart sunk. Even with her thigh length jacket zipped all the way up, and her hood tied securely beneath her chin she was as drenched as a rat in a sewer. Her slender shoulders were folded against her body in a useless attempt to shield herself as she huddled next to the bus stop sign.

Tory! Justin called over the pouring rain.

At the sound of the familiar nickname, Torianna Michaels lifted her head and looked around. Spotting the pickup truck she smiled and shuffled over to the window.

For some reason, in that particular moment, her smile—which Justin usually felt put the sun in the sky—just really pissed him off. Here she was standing in the pouring rain grinning like an idiot. It was as if she were somehow oblivious to…everything!

Get in here! He practically snarled.

Her cinnamon brown eyes widened at the angry tone, and Justin thought for a moment she was going to resist. He waited, almost hoping she would give him a reason to forcibly place her ass on the seat. After watching her behavior over the past couple of weeks he would like nothing more than a reason to shake some sense into her.

Tory opened the door and climbed into the truck even as the rain continued to run down her slick jacket in little rivulets. Only then did Justin realize she was shivering. He reached over the back of the seat and found the old blanket he kept in the truck.

Here. He handed it to her. Wrap this around you.

Thanks. She took the blanket and clumsily wrapped it around her body as he pulled away from the curb. Boy, am I lucky that you came this way. She rolled up the window.

It’s not luck, Tory. I come this way every morning. Justin snapped before taking several deep breaths. He knew he needed to control his temper, but this whole situation was just completely out of control. If you needed a ride, why didn’t you just call me?

She glanced at him just long enough for him to catch the glimpse of defiance in her eyes. Because I didn’t want to have to hear you bitch.

Justin took another deep breath determined to keep silent. After all, it wasn’t his business. He’d told himself that a thousand times in the past weeks. It wasn’t his business. He just needed to stay out of it and let nature take its course.

Don’t do it. Don’t do it. He glanced at her profile as she was staring out the window watching the world go by and felt his anger melt away like butter on a hot stove.

Even soggy as she was, she was still beautiful…at least to him.

Anyone else might describe her as cute or pretty. But Justin had studied every inch of that face from the first time he spotted her on the schoolyard playground fifteen years ago. And he, unlike most people, recognized the uniqueness of everything about her.

Tory wasn’t cute or pretty…she was beautiful…inside and out.

Just then she turned her head and looked directly at him and Justin fought the urge to smile. Tory had been his best friend since they were both in the third grade, and all it ever took was one look in her eyes for him to know exactly what she was thinking. And right now she was cold, wet, miserable and itching for a fight. But he’d been down this road with her too many times in the past few days and it never seemed to make a difference. So this time he refused to take the bait.

Instead, Justin kept both hands and his complete attention on the traffic as he navigated the truck onto a busy freeway. When he looked over again, Tory had her arms crossed over her chest staring at him, her whole body strung as tight as a drum just daring him to say what he was thinking. Unfortunately, she could read his mind as easily as he read hers.

So this time, he did smile at her.

Not the slightest bit fooled, she glared back.

And they rode on in silence a few minutes more.

Don’t you want to know where my car is? She had apparently decided to bring the fight to him.

I know where it is. Obviously, Hil has it…again.

Don’t you want to know why? She untied her hood and pulled it back revealing a head full of fluffy, dark auburn curls.

Couldn’t care less.

He needed it to go on a job interview.

Leave it alone. Leave it alone. Justin put on his turning signal and merged into the center lane of the busy freeway. Don’t take the bait. Don’t take the bait. He found himself biting down hard on his bottom lip. A few more minutes of silence and then…it had to be said.

You don’t seriously believe he’s going on a job interview, do you?!

Of course I believe it—it’s the truth! And I have a good feeling about this one.

You had a good feeling about the last one too! And the one before that! And the one before that!

It’s hard finding a job nowadays!

You’re right. It’s even harder when you’re not looking!

He’s out there every day, Justin! It’s not his fault he doesn’t have your advantages!

Justin’s eyes widened and his tight grip on the steering wheel caused the truck to swerve slightly when he jerked back in shock. My advantages?! What advantages exactly would those be?

Your education. He doesn’t have a college degree like you. So, he doesn’t have as many options.

Justin felt an all-consuming fury creep into his body. It started in the heel of his steel toed boots and crept up the length of his five foot, ten-inch frame boiling his blood along the way, until finally it reached the tips of his two inch afro.

And then it exploded. Are you fucking kidding me?!

Tory’s eyes widened and she slowly inched back into the corner of her seat. I just meant—

Hil has used and abused everybody who has ever tried to help him! Including my parents who offered to help pay for his education! But instead of accepting their help, he decided to steal every piece of electronic equipment in their house and the emergency money they kept hidden in their bedroom!

You don’t know for certain that was—

And how about when he conned me into letting him stay in my dorm room only to wake up the next morning and discover he’d robbed both my roommates and me!

That’s not what—

It took me almost six months to finally pay my friends back! And by then, they weren’t my friends anymore, Tory!

I didn’t mean—

The hell you didn’t! When it comes to that sorry bastard, you mean every word you say!

In the sudden quiet of the truck the only sound was the soft squeaking of the wiper blades against the glass windshield.

Exiting the freeway, Justin felt his heart pounding against his chest as he tried to calm his savage emotions. Since his cousin, Hilton Barker, had returned to town and took up residence in Tory’s apartment, Justin had argued with Tory repeatedly about her relationship with him. Tory and Hil had been high school sweethearts, and that past connection seem to make her think she owed him something now.

The night Hil returned, Justin had dropped by unexpectedly to see if Tory wanted to catch a movie and found his worthless cousin lounging in his favorite chair.

He lost it.

And to make matters worse, Tory ended up siding with Hil and asked him to leave.

The next day Justin tried to talk to her again in a calmer manner. But apparently, his emotions didn’t get the memo because he exploded again, and that only seem to make her dig in her heels that much harder. When the mood struck her Tory could out stubborn a mule and no one knew that better than Justin.

It wasn’t until later that day, in a moment of pure clarity, Justin realized his angry opposition was only making matters worse. Tory had always been a defender of the weak and helpless. And somehow she’d convinced herself that his punk-ass cousin fit into that category.

So, for the sake of their lifelong friendship Justin had made the conscious decision to leave the whole situation alone. It was now two weeks later…and he was still working on that.

The wipers squeaked across the windshield in a slow and steady staccato. Justin took a deep breath as his heart finally slowed to its normal rate.

His advantages! What the hell was she talking about?! During the summer he turned fifteen, Hil had taken away any advantage Justin could’ve ever had over him. And no one knew that history better than Tory because she had been there the moment it happened. Maybe that was why her defense of Hil now felt so much like a betrayal. No one in the world knew better than Tory exactly what Hil had put him through.

Out of the silence came a soft, feminine whisper. I’m sorry.

Justin said nothing.

I didn’t mean to imply that…

Justin turned right at the next stoplight and continued down the block to the Riverview Power Plant.

After another long silence, she said, I know you don’t believe me, but he has changed, Justin. People can change, you know.

Justin turned left into the employee parking lot and found a single empty parking spot in the very back of the large lot. He pulled into the parking space, put the truck in gear, turned off the ignition and glanced in Tory’s direction to find her soft brown eyes focused on his face.

I’m sorry, she said, again. You know I didn’t mean—

It’s okay. He forced the words out, even though he knew it would take him a lot longer to let go of the anger he was feeling. But he would eventually. He always did. When it came to Tory, there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t forgive.

She reached over and with a feather light touch ran her index finger along the deep, jagged scar that ran at a cross angle from his left temple over his bridge of his nose down to the right corner of his mouth.

He’s not the monster you think he is, she said softly.

Justin reached up and took her hand in his. Yes…he is. But since I’ll never make you see that I’ve given up trying.

For several seconds the friends simply stared at each other, both convinced of what they believed and both knowing they would never change the other’s mind. A wicked gust of wind swept through, gently rocking the truck and breaking the spell.

Reminded that they were late for work, Justin reached behind the seat, pulled out an umbrella and offered it to her.

No thanks. She shook her head. Pushing away the damp blanket, she pulled her hood up to cover her wild hair and tied a knot beneath her chin. I can move faster without it.

Well, now I can’t use it. I’d feel too much like a wimp.

She smiled. I won’t judge you.

He smirked. Yeah, right.

With a shrug he tossed the umbrella onto the back seat. Cracking his door and holding it tight against the gusting wind he looked over his shoulder at her. Ready?

Tory nodded and gave him a wide smile that reminded him of the children they’d once been. Then they were both out of the truck and racing across the parking lot to the employee entrance.

Despite the merciless downpour, they managed to make it to the employee entrance without getting completely drenched. Once inside, Justin shook off the water like a big, wet dog causing Tory to let out an ear piercing shriek every time a particularly big drop hit her.

Cut that out! She tried to shuffle back out of the way, but her high heeled boots slipped on the sleek, wet tile entryway.

I got you! Justin grabbed her around the waist before she could hit the ground and held her up until she found her balance.

Thanks. She stood straight, and glanced at him sheepishly. And that never happened.

He laughed. Please, you think I don’t know how clumsy you are?

I’m not clumsy. She turned to the time clock and punched her time card. The floor is just slippery, that’s all.

Aww, man. Justin studied his reflection in the glass mirror hanging next to the time clock, and shook his head woefully. His pride and joy, the perfectly trimmed afro which he groomed almost religiously was now soaked and flattened to his skull, the spiral tips dripping water down his face. His favorite leather bomber jacket was drenched as well and coated in the remnants of tossed about leaves.

Poor baby, the rain killed your cool. She chuckled, while removing her hood and shaking off her own water residue.

A little rain water never hurt anyone. And just for the record, nothing can kill my cool. He turned to the time clock and punched his time card. So, what are we doing for lunch?

I don’t know, you decide. She very carefully peeled off her wet coat to avoid also pulling off her suit jacket. After that argument in his truck the last thing she needed was for Justin to see her bare arms right now. Just no Chinese, we had that three times last week.

Ok, Bionic Burger it is. Justin glanced at his watch. Damn! I’m late for my eight o’clock. He hurried along the long corridor that led into the plant. At the end, he stopped and called out, Be ready to go at noon!

Justin! Tory called to him just before he turned the corner.

He stopped. Yeah?

She just stared