"Fifteen more minutes!"
Kellie glanced up from running the vacuum over the dark blue carpet to see Wes standing next to the entrance with the pull down metal latticework already halfway to the ground. A short girl with auburn hair stood up on tiptoe next to him to give Wes a kiss on the check before ducking and hurrying out into the deserted food court.
Kellie watched the girl for a moment trying to ignore the pang of disappointment while wondering at her age and how Wes who was a Sophomore at U of E would even consider dating her. Finally with a slight grimace Kellie returned her attention to the patterns of comets and stars printed on the short pile carpet and a matted piece of chewing gum stuck in the fibers.
Three older teens with slicked back hair, black leather jackets and one of them with an unlit cigarette already in his mouth were the last to duck beneath the gate before Wes pulled it shut as Kellie finished vacuuming beneath the pinball machines.
"I'll get the trash and then clean up the counter," Wes said pleasantly after pulling down the metal door that cut off any view of the food court.
"Sure," Kellie called back and tried to again ignore the pang she felt remembering that quick kiss from a girl who looked way too young for Wes.
Kellie had moved from a small farm town to the 'big city' to start U of E only this year and quickly found a part time job working in the arcade at Eastland Mall to make a little spending money as well as a way to keep herself out of trouble. She found it nice to have a ready made excuse that she had to work to tell her new friends when they asked her out to go party on a Friday or Saturday night.
She just hadn't counted on meeting Wes.
Wes was also from a small town and had grown up working on his family farm with the wide, muscular shoulders and no nonsense attitude that came with it. With his ready smile and easy manner Kellie had found herself fantasizing about him from the first day they had met.
"Was that your girlfriend?" Kellie asked as casually as she could after she had finished vacuuming and returned the vacuum to the closet behind the concessions counter.
"Huh?" Wes asked in surprise as he finished counting the money in the till, "Who.... Oh, you mean Becky!
"Nah, Rebeca's my little cousin," Wes said with a laugh, "She's always been wanting to hang around for as long as I can remember and I told my Aunt I'd keep an eye on her when I could."
"Oh," Kellie said.
Wes glanced up at the tone of Kellie's voice and smiled.
"Why do I get the idea that you're happy that Becky isn't my girlfriend?" Wes asked.
"Oh... ahhh..." Kellie stammered and stared around the dimly lit room full of boxy videogames, flashing lights, and incessant clips of music, bells and electronic beeps and whistles designed to grab a person's attention.
"No, hey, it's cool," Wes said as he closed the till, "I thought you were cute and, you know, maybe..."
"I'm cute?" Kellie replied and felt her face flush and her heart skip a beat, "Just... cute?"
"Definitely cute!" Wes replied with a laugh, "But I didn't want to come across as a jerk since we work together."
Flashes of the many conversations, the confident way Wes acted, the way he always treated her respectfully while still managing to flirt and tease crossed Kellie's mind and she gave her head a small shake.
"I don't think you're a jerk," Kellie replied and felt herself blush at the inane response.
"Well, thank you... I think," Wes laughed and surprised Kellie by reaching out to place his hand on top of hers where she had it resting on the glass topped counter, "How about you, do you have a boyfriend?"
Kellie instantly thought of all the snide and mean comments from the other women in the dorm she had overheard about how Kellie never went out, never dated, and probably never even touched herself. Remembered the one fumbling, clumsy time in the backseat of a car with her boyfriend from high school, the flare of pain and the embarrassment when neither of them had 'finished' and how they had broken up soon after...
How many of those immature bitches had dreamed of getting a stud trying to bite and snap into a stall with a mare, watched while the stud mounted the mare, or had their arms elbow deep in a mare's vagina to help with a problem foal...
"I..." Kellie began and then leaned forward to gently kiss Wes's lips.
Wes's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't pull away and after only a moment leaned forward into the kiss. Kellie closed her eyes as the pressure against her lips increased and she felt Wes's hand gently cup the back of her head and then had her eyes opened in surprise when she felt his lips part and his tongue caress her lips and then slip into her mouth to press against her tongue.
"Ummmm," Kellie moaned, her own mouth opening slightly, her own tongue caressing Wes's as she tasted coffee and mint.
Kellie closed her eyes again, savoring the soft, intimate caress of Wes's tongue as he slowly explored her lips, the pressure as they pressed their tongues against each other in a sparing match made for lovers, and tried not to giggle when she felt Wes close his lips around her questing tongue and suck gently.
"Wow, I take that as a no," Wes said a bit breathlessly when they finally broke apart and he stepped around the counter.
"I had a boyfriend in high school," Kellie said a bit defensively as she caught her breath, "But I haven't dated in over a year."
"Would you like to?" Wes said suggestively and took Kellie in his arms to pull her slowly to him as he leaned back against the counter.
"Would I like to what?" Kellie said as she wondered why she was still trying to catch her breath.