"Unexpected Item in Bagging Area"

[Emstar202]

The night seemed to drag on and on. God, Miley HATED long shifts, especially on slow Monday nights when they had one customer literally every half hour. She cleaned the belt to her register lazily. It was already sparkling clean. Could probably eat off the thing, but there was nothing else to do. At least it was almost closing time. She sighed, thinking about the past day. Her ex-boyfriend's sister had come in, which was awkward as fuck. She'd had to tell her that he'd dumped her just a few days okay all while maintaining a smile on her face as she checked the woman's groceries.

The only bright spot on this bleak day was the fact her manager was the hot, older, brunette, toned male she'd been crushing on for months. This wasn't surprising though; everyone and their mother had a crush on him. Miley never stood a chance with him. She was 21 and his employee. This was just her summer job. It was just a hopeless fantasy, but that didn't mean she couldn't use it to get her through the night.

She smiled at him as she saw him come in from taking in grocery carts. Would this fantasy ever become a reality?

 

[gearhead73]

"Fuckin carts!" Jason said to himself as he headed back out into the barely lit parking lot. "Why am I out here doing this shit when I have all of these other assholes working for me?!"
It was the same thing almost every night. Jason had been manager at the local grocery store for about 6 yrs, but every day he grew more and more frustrated. None of the teens that he hired were worth a shit. They always called off, or had to leave for this or that. He had really started to hate coming to work, the pay was a joke, the hours were long, customers were rude, but then...there was Miley.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley heard Jason swear loudly as he left to grab more carts. She sighed and wondered if something had put him in a bad mood too. When he came back in she spoke, "Got the last of 'em? We can switch, you know. I like getting carts." She told him honestly. Really, sometimes it was just nice to get some fresh air and be alone without having to come up with new greetings to keep herself from becoming a robot with the customers. She doubted he would accept though. They only had a few minutes before closing.

 

[gearhead73]

"That was the last of them Miley, but thank you." Jason said with a slight smile. "You are the only one who ever offers, and it's not even your job." It was true. One of the things Jason liked the best about Miley was that she was always willing to help. No matter what the situation was, from cleaning up spills to catching shoplifters, Miley had always offered to help in any way she could. "I wish I could find five more of you Miley." Jason said as he made his way to the register she was working. "If everyone pitched in the way you do, this place would run like a Swiss watch." As he approached her register he couldn't help but catch the faintest whiff of her perfume. It was flowery, and fruity at the same time. It was so faint, yet so heavenly that it instantly started making him feel better. That, coupled with her amazing smile, he suddenly forgot the melancholy memories of cart retrieval.

 

[Emstar202]

She blushed as he paid her that compliment. "Thanks Jason," she said, smiling brightly. Her day had just completely turned around. It was so nice to work with him alone; to have his full attention and not have to watch in silent jealously as coworkers and customers alike flirted with him. "You work really hard too." She wasn't sure what else to say, but wanted desperately to think of something. She rarely had these moments alone with him. Last time they'd spoke they'd discussed college life and family, just small talk, nothing significant. She wanted to learn more about him, but he was her boss. She couldn't exactly ask him out.

"So..." Miley began, checking the clock. "We've got ten more minutes. Wanna just kick everyone out now?" she joked, leaning against her register.

 

[gearhead73]

"I wish." Jason said with a nervous grin. "I don't even know why, I don't really have anywhere I need to be or anything I have to do, I just want to get out of here." He walked to the end of her register area and started mindlessly straightening the plastic bags on the dispenser rack. He tried to avert his eyes away from her, but she was leaning against her register and he just couldn't help it. She was stunning. Not just pretty, or even beautiful, but positively stunning. Her long brown hair was tied up in a messy pony-tail giving exposure to the light skin of the back of her neck. She was wearing frameless glasses which accentuated her beautiful brown eyes. They rested upon her cute little button nose that sat so unassumingly above her perfect lips. They shimmered in the fluorescent light of the store and highlighted the cupids bow shape that looked so soft, tender, kissable. He could imagine thm whispering his name..."Jason....Jason...Jason......Jason!" He snapped out of the trance he was in just as he hears Miley ask, "Jason, are you ok? Can you help me bag this last order?"

 

[Emstar202]

Miley isn't sure what his problem is, but he's been staring at her for the past half a minute. At first, she wasn't sure what to make of it, but then her heart had started beating faster and she nearly said something completely dorky, but was saved by a middle aged man with a huge cartload of assorted foods, mostly microwavable meals and ice cream, who entered her line. "Hey, this register open?" he grunted, drawing her out of her trance.

"Oh! Yes, sorry sir. How are you tonight?" she asked. "Jason, can you help me bag this last order?" she prompted when he didn't seem to be moving anytime soon.

Miley was expecting a grumpy old man like reply from her customer based on his gritty demeanor, but instead he just shook his head and grinned. "Don't worry, I'll unload fast so you love birds can get out of here."

She stuttered incoherently and flashed Jason a look. How had this man gotten that impression? Had she truly not imagined that goofy look Jason had given her? "Ahaha, we're not... he's my friend...I mean my manager! He's my manager! Ha..." she tailed off, feeling awkward. The old man just chuckled and pulled out his wallet.

 

[gearhead73]

"Ye..yeah, sure...I got it Miley." Trying his best to recover, Jason thrust a hand into a bag hanging on the dispenser to start filling it with the man's purchases. However, in his haste, and muddled thinking he yanked his arm back at an angle and looped his wrist through one of the handles. The bag, still fastened to the dispenser, pulled the shiny metal rack off of the bagging platform and it went sailing across the linoleum tile floor with a series of loud clangs.
The old man's and Miley's heads snapped over in his direction at the sound of the commotion and Jason was so embarrassed that all he could do was stand there red-faced with one solitary plastic bag hanging from his right wrist.
"Damn son," the old man said. "You alright?"
"Uhm, yes, fine sir, thank you." Jason stuttered back. God, what was wrong with him? It was always like this when he get's around Miley, but this is by far the worst it had ever been. Every time he is near her, he loses all function of his mind, his coordination goes out the window, and eventually he has to just walk away to avoid circumstances like the present.
"Manager...right." the old man said with a smile. He paid the total and told Miley with a sarcastic smile, "Keep the change hon, with Captain Fantastic here running the show you may need it."
Jason was at a loss. He could feel the fire in his cheeks, and just knew they had to be flaming red. "Go ahead and start closing your register Miley. I will go lock the doors. He walked about 10 paces, bent down, picked up the rack for the bags, and set it on the register station next to hers. As quickly as he could without looking silly...er, he made his way to the front doors.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley's eyes grew wide as Jason knocked the bagging corral off it's hook and it crashed to the floor. She tried to bark back a laugh but it bubbled past her lips and she laughed openly at the whole situation. Her customer smiled and shook his head at the two of them. "It's been a long night," she offered as an explanation as she bagged the last of his groceries.

"I'll bet," the man said, handing her $60 dollars cash. He told her to keep the change and left with a smile. Well, at least his night was made.

She turned to Jason when he spoke to her and nodded. "Okay." She watched him walk away. There was a blush evident on her face that she'd seen reflected in his own. Miley smiled and turned back to her station. She flicked off her light, signaling that this register was closed. She didn't bother to clean her belt again, but languidly walked to the front of her register with the close sign. When she returned, Jason was back, having finished shutting the doors.

"Well... he was a silly old man, hah," She laughed awkwardly. "I was expecting him to be grumpy and ask for cigarettes."

 

[gearhead73]

"I think he was just trying to get out of here without injury." Jason said quietly, the embarrassment self-consciousness so evident in his face. "You all closed up?" He said looking into those beautiful eyes. "If you are, you can go ahead and go if you want. I will punch you out at your regular time so get all of your hours. I am going to count your drawer and then put tomorrow's order together. You did great today and the store looks clean and tidy. No reason to make you hang around." Jason said with conflict in his expression. He would love to have her hang around, be near him, even if it was to fill out a stock order. The problem was, when she was near him, he fell apart. The last time she had helped him with inventory he had almost lost his job.
It wasn't that anything inappropriate had happened, no such luck, but his inability to concentrate when in such close proximity to her had caused a huge error in the stock order.
They had been counting the air fresheners on the top shelf of aisle seven. Miley was standing on a short ladder so she could easily get a count of everything on the shelf. Jason was entering the number of items in stock by each respective item number. She was reaching toward the back of the shelf to grab an errant can of spray that had rolled away. Miley was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. As she reached back as far as she could the movement of her arm pulled up on her sweatshirt enough that her midriff was exposed. Jason immediately noticed how flat and tight her stomach was, She didn't have a six pack or anything but you could tell she took care of her body. There was a glitter of light coming from her navel where a small sparkling tear-drop shaped jewel hung from a short chain that attached to a diamond stud just above her belly button.

 

[gearhead73]

Her jeans were snug but not skin tight. They had clung to her shapely hips and small perfect bottom. Oh that bottom, the time he had spent gazing at its perfection had cost the grocery store chains thousands of dollars in lost productivity. He had always admired her ass from a distance, but today it was practically at eye level. Her stomach, the jeans, the navel ring, coupled with that heavenly fragrance that she always wore was literally causing his mind to stop, like it had been put on pause.
Miley was leaning all the way forward and slightly to her right. She was stretching as far as she could to reach that can that was just at her fingertips. Just then the uneven pressure of her tilted stance caused the ladder to scoot and inch in the opposite direction. The slight movement was enough to upset the small amount of balance that she had and as she tried to catch herself she felt herself falling.
In an instant she was in his arms, clinging to his neck. He could feel her breaths coming rapidly and almost hear her heart beating as he held her too him. He asked her several times if she was ok. They straightened themselves, pick up the spilled items that had been knocked off during her fall, then continued working. Unfortunately, when Jason had thrown the tablet that he had been entering numbers into, his fingers had scraped across the screen and he had inadvertently ordered 1000 units of Febreez.
Needless to say, his boss wasn't pleased, and had almost fired Jason, but thankfully his years of hard work and dedication was enough to save his job.
Now, as he stood there looking at Miley, he was stricken with the fear of being alone with her again. He loved being around her, spending time with her, and talking with her. Their conversations had always been easy and interesting. He loved the way her smile could brighten his mood. He loved the way her perfume always calmed him, mad him feel at ease. He loved looking at her body and watched the way she moved effortlessly around the store. He relished being with her, he just couldn't function around her.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley wanted to leave so she could go home and relax, but at the same time she wanted to spend more time with Jason. She didn't want to make him suspicious or anything though, so she bid him goodnight and left the store, pleased with the night's events.

~~~

The next few shifts Miley had were sadly devoid of Jason. They weren't bad shifts, but having him around always did make things more exciting. Finally, upon the following Sunday, she was pleasantly surprised to see him behind the podium at the front of the store. He didn't spot her at first, so she hustled by and punched in, smiling to herself. It was when she turned around that some of her excitement vanished. Allie was working. She was a tall, thin blonde girl, probably a couple of years older. She was always fake nice to the customers, and very dainty in the way she did her job, not wanting to get hands dirty. Perhaps the worst part though, was that she always flirted with Jason. Every single day. Miley sighed, trying not to let this put her in a bad mood and affect her work.

When she spotted her, Allie gave her a sweet yet deceiving smile. "Hey Miley, good to be working with you again."

"Good morning, Allie," Miley smiled back. She passed by the girl and to the podium where Jason was standing. "Hey, where do you want me today?"

 

[gearhead73]

"Good morning Miley." Jason said as he smiled at her. "I think I am going to have you working the express lane today." He glanced down at the assignment sheet laying on the podium. "In fact I am going to have you work with Allie for a while. She needs a little help getting faster and becoming more efficient. You can give her a few pointers and see if there is any advice you can give to help her out." Jason picked up the paperwork and tapped the stack on the Formica surface to straighten it out. He started to walk away, then stopped suddenly and said, "You look nice today Miley. Have a good day and I will swing by your register just before your break to see how you are making out." With that, he turned and strted toward the back of the store where his office was located.

 

[gearhead73]

'You look nice today' Jason spat under his breath. "God Jason, why don't you just forward your information to her lawyer for when she files the harassment suit." He closed the door and slumped down in his desk chair. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes so he could bask in the solitude of his office.
Had intentionally paired Miley and Allie together. He knew that they didn't really care for one another, but that was what he was counting on. Miley would forge ahead and do her job with complete focus and determination regardless of who was around. She would, in turn, for Allie to try and focus as well. Who knows, she may actually learn something.
Allison Piedmont, or Allie as she insisted everyone call her was one of the key sources of stress at this job. Jason could handle the paperwork, irate customers, hyperactive children, and the occasional senior citizen that like to graze in the fruits and vegetables. Allie, however, was like the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. You had a feeling she would be dangerous, but by the time that you see her coming it would be too late to get out of her way.
George Piedmont has built his father's corner stop-n-shop grocery into the megamart that supplied foodstuffs to two thirds of the city and half of the restaurants in the metropolitan area. His only child was the 5' 8" blonde fireball named Allison. George had wanted Allie to get a feel for the family business and had asked Jason to "show her the ropes". Jason had no problem with that, but it seemed that the only thing Allie was interested in was Jason.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley made a face she didn’t bother to hide when Jason told her she was the express lane. Everyone hated express. It was boring. Most customers went to the self-checkouts if they had less than ten items, so you ended up standing there, trying to look busy for the majority of your shift. Thankfully, Jason changed his tune, whether it was due to her facial expression or simple necessity he ended up telling her she was to bag today and give Allie some advice to speed things up. Miley already knew what advice to give the girl, but of course she wouldn’t listen. She was the type of employee who was only nice to certain customers, ie the attractive ones. She’d chat up the cute boys that came through her line and took her sweet time in checking out her friends’ orders. That was why there was such a hold up. But it wasn’t as if Miley or even Jason could do anything about it. Her daddy was in charge of this chain of supermarkets in this area, and there was no way he’d take any complaints about his daughter seriously. She nearly told Jason this, but the place was getting busy so she simply nodded and headed over to Allie’s station.

The one comment that halted her stride was Jason’s compliment. It sounded so innocent, so nonchalant and easy coming from his lips. She smiled at him and blushed a little. “Thanks,” was all she had to say. Of course, she could have told him how handsome he looked, but somehow that seemed terribly inappropriate. Besides, he was probably just being nice so she wouldn’t put up a fuss at having to work with the worst employee their local Stop-n-Shop had to offer. Still, in her mind she couldn’t help entertaining the idea that his compliment meant something more. That he was harboring a crush on her the same way she was for him. But as she began to pack the young mother’s food items at the end of Allie’s register, she tried to push that thought from her mind. It was silly to be getting all worked up like a school girl over a guy six years her elder who she was nothing more to than an employee. Still, it was nice to dream.

“Have a good day,” she told the lady with a genuine smile as she placed the last of the groceries in the woman’s cart. Allie snapped her gum loudly (which you weren’t supposed to chew) and turned to Miley.

“Hey, do you know if Jason is closing today?” she asked innocently. This one question told Miley what she needed to know. Allie was the closing cashier, and she, like every other female employee, loved to be alone with Jason.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think so,” Miley lied, opening a discarded bag for the next order. She knew he was. She’d peeked at his schedule before her shift today.

“Oh,” Allie seemed disappointed. A customer came up to her but she didn’t bother to greet them. She just grabbed the jug of milk and tossed it across the scanner and down the belt haphazardly. She followed suit with the rest of the food as well. “That’s disappointing. I was hoping to talk to him. I’ve been meaning to apply for upper management.”

Miley barely contained a snort. Allie? Upper management? There was no way! “Oh?” Miley inquired, righting the milk and bagging the fruit carefully.

“Mmhmm,” Allie nodded. “I’m getting tired of check out. I figure he might need some… additional convincing though, since I’m sort of new. That’s why I wanted to catch him alone, if you catch my drift.”

She didn’t even bother to lower her voice when she said that. Miley felt her face burn hot and she squeezed an apple a little too hard. “Allie, stop thinking about boys and pay attention to the customers.”

Allie rolled her eyes and cast a brief glance at her customer, “He’s on his cell phone. Besides, I’m a fucking cashier not his psychiatrist. Anyway, you’ve been working here longer than I have. Think I could convince him?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking. Jason values hard work. You’ll have to be nicer to the customers and do your job right if you want to be promoted.” She was probably taking this too far now, but she had to do something to keep the steam from boiling over.

Allie merely laughed. “All men are the same, Miley. I’ve got this in the bag.”

“Sure whatever,” Miley replied. She watched as Allie’s line got longer and longer. “I can take you over here, sir,” she called to the next customer in line, pulling him to the express lane.

 

[gearhead73]

It was close to 10 A.M. when Jason finished the first round of the mornings paperwork. Profit and loss reports, spoilage, food orders and the never ending supply of coupons he needed to submit for reimbursement. Finally he had had enough and he slid back his chair, rocked his neck from side to side, then headed back out into the store to see how things were going. This was the best part of the job. He would start in the dairy section and work through each department greeting all of his coworkers and checking the store looked clean and organized.
After greeting and chatting briefly with ladies in the bakery he made his toward the checkout.
"Jesus" Jason thought as he started towards the checkout. The regular checkouts were moving nicely, but express was backed up something awful. There was Allie leaning across the conveyor looking at something on the screen of a young woman's cell phone.

It was obvious that Allie and the young woman were friends by the way they were giggling. Jason didn't really mind that some of the employees would visit with their friends from time to time, but this was insane. Behind Allie's friend an elderly woman was holding a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread and waiting patiently to get checked out.
"I can help you over hear maam." Jason said as he opened the register next to Miley. The older woman gave a sigh of relief and slowly made her way over to Jason's register.
About and hour later that morning's rush had dissipated and Jason flipped off the light for his register. He turned to Miley and said, "Well, thank God that is over. It's been forever since I have had to run a register. I think I could get back into it with a little practice."
"You however, are a pro. You keep this up and I will be looking for a job.", he said smiling. He could see that perfect smile start to form and a sparkle in those breathtaking eyes. He noticed that as she thanked him, her hand went to her earring. She would twist it between her fingers and fidget where she was standing when she was nervous or embarrassed. He had noticed this about 2 yrs ago and loved seeing it. It endeared her even more to him and he always wanted to snatch her into his arms and nibble on that little perfect earlobe.

 

[Emstar202]

"Jason, you're just full of compliments today, aren't you?" she laughed bashfully and tugged at her silver angel wing earring slightly in nerves. She always fiddled with her jewelry when she was nervous. "You did fine. Running a register's like riding a bike; you can't forget." She smiled reassuringly at him before organizing the mountain of coupons at her register and sorting them accordingly. Across from them, Allie was checking out a young man with large gauges in his ears and a ripped t-shirt. She didn't seem to be paying him much attention though. Her ears where like those of a startled cat, in tune to Miley and Jason's conversation. She had nearly finished checking him out when her register made an obnoxious beeping sound and Miley watched as she jumped back in surprise.

"Jasssooonnn," She cooed, "Can you help me? My register's gone physco and I don't know how to make it stop." Her girly, giddy, grotesque laugh filled the checkout and she turned to face them, one hand on her hip and the other fiddling with the heart necklace around her neck, slyly drawing attention to her impressive cleavage. She was a slender girl, but push up bras could do wonders.

Miley sighed and reached under her register to grab some cleaning supplies to wash her belt during this interlude after the morning rush. "You better help her. That sound is really obnoxious. I think she just needs to reload her receipt machine," Miley informed Jason.

 

[gearhead73]

Jason reached into his pockets to retrieve his key ring. He had heard the shrill call of the "gimme pig" known to the lay person as Allie. Without looking he turned to leave his register and ran smack dab into the perfect rear end of Miley. "Ohmigod! I am so sorry Miley." Jason said as Miley stood up from grabbing her cleaning supplies. She turned around and he was for the first time able to gaze into those big brown irises and for a brief moment he was transfixed. Jason was so close that he could feel the rapid breaths she was taking form the surprising contact. Her breath was minty, and fresh. Her nostrils were flared from the shock, she was beautiful.
"I'm soo sorry Miley." he said again. "Let me take care of that noise." With that he slid past her and moved over to Allie's register. A few seconds later, the noise ceased and the silence became deafening.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley nearly fell forward when Jason crashed into her. He was so much bigger than her that the impact left her stumbling. God, she hoped he hadn't seen her throng when she'd bent down like that. Fuck! She pulled up her pants hastily and took a few deep breaths. It was a black thong she'd bought in a five for twenty deal at the mall. She liked to wear naughty underwear under her uniform. It made her feel confident and maybe... maybe some small part of her did want Jason to see. "I--it's okay," she stuttered and let out an awkward laugh.

She watched as he went over to help Allie with the receipt tape. She hoped he saw through her antics. God, she hoped he wasn't as weak as Allie claimed him to be. She hoped her wouldn't give in to her tonight...

 

[gearhead73]

"Thank you Jason, you always know what to do." Allie said with that easy sultry grin that he was sure she had praticed on countless would-be heros throughout her life.
"No probem, that is what I am here for." Jason replied matter of factly. "Now that you have seen me do it, you can handle it the next time." With that Jason exited her register and looked over at Mley's. She was busy cleaning the conveyor so he decided that another apology would do nothing but interrupt her work.
As he left the checkout area to make another lap through the store Jason's mind went to the way Miley had felt against his body. The contact had been so brief, but it seemed as though he run it back through his mind frame by frame like those old slide shows that they used to guve in school befor power point presentations became the norm. It was if he was outside of himself and watching the whole scene unfold as a spectator. He hadn't been paying attention, to where he was at, and as soon as the screech of the error alarm he reacted autonomously and headed to tak care of it. Miley had been bent over at the waist with her legs straight as she reached for the cleaning supplies that she always kept under her register. Frame by frame, millimeter by millimeter his eyes roamed over her form.
The uniform pants that she was wearing were of a unisex design. About a year ago a memo had come down from corporate that all employees would need to be dressed in matching uniforms during their shifts at the store. The had been countless fittings and orders, and corrections, until finally everyone looked basically the same. Jason had always liked the idea. It added continuity and helped deter younger employees from showing up for work in the outfit they had partied in the night before. The only problem was they weren't comfortable. Jaon had delt with numerous complaints from everyonr about the cut and fit of the clothing. It seems in order to save money the company opted for a more unsiex design that was supposed to"fit" pretty much everyone. As a result when people were moving about their clothing didn't always seemto move with them. When you would bend over, the back of the slacks would stay put and most of the time anyone standing behind you would know what you were wearing underneath.
The THONG!

 

[gearhead73]

Jason had only gotten a glimpse of it, but that was enough. It was black, and tiny and sexy and on the perfect rump of Miley. As he flipped through the still images in the slide show he paused, the scene trying to squeez ever last detail of the beauty he had before him.
He had always suspected that Miley had worn thongs. Before the uniform policy had been instituted he had on numerous occasions been able to gleen evidence that allowed him to believe that she wore them. Miley had always dressed conservatively, but once in a while Jason would be treated to a veiw of her lower assets. Miley would come to work on a Saturday morning dressed in that garment designed specifically, as Jason believed, to drive men crazy; yoga pants.
God she looked good in them. He didn't know if she did yoga, or even worked out, but that fashion of late for most young women had been the adornment of yoga pants. They were tight in all of the right places and allowed the viewer a sublime image of the body on which they were worn. On Miley's body, the show was magnificent. The countless minutes that he had dicreetly looked at her ass in those things alowed for several conclusions to be derived.
First, there were no obvious panty lines. It wouldn't have mattered to him if there had been, but there hadn't. Second, Miley had a worldclass butt. Jason had always been an "ass man" and when faced with such a spectacular specimen, well he was instanly captivated. Miley had several physical attributes that Jason liked. Her long flowing brown hair that was often tied back in a ponytail, her big brown eyes, her perfect lips, shapley chest (although she was prone to wearing sweatshirts so he had no idea of size), thin waist and of course, her perfect bum.

 

[gearhead73]

The thong. It's upper band had been snug around her waist and attached was a thin layer of fabric shaped in a thin triangle that had side that arced inward. Oh, to be able to see just a little more of it as it made it's way downward.
"Jason, do you have a minute?" and Jason was snapped back to reality. He turned to see Allie standing there, a thin smile forming on her cherry red lips. "
"Uh, sure, what do you need Allie." Jason fumbled out trying to reagin his composure as a manager.
"Do you close tonight?" Allie asked sweetly as she closed the distance between her and Jason.
"Yeah, sure, I have to put in a stock order and take care of the time cards, why?" Jason asked.
"Good, would it be okay if I came by you office after my shift? I need to ask your opinion about something." She asked, inching even closer.
"Sure, but I could talk about it now if it's urgent." Jason said with concern.
"No, it's not that big of a deal, tonight would be fine." she said her thin smile growing, revealing her perfect smile.
"OK, sure, when your shift is over, swing by and I will see what I can do to help." Jason replied, relieved that there wasn't an emergency.
Jason turned his head as Miley was walking past them, "Oh hey Miley, you taking your break?"

 

[Emstar202]

Was Jason really that clueless? Or was he just pretending? It was hard to tell. He was so sincere with Allie and professional that it seemed even if her coworker tore her shirt off and danced on top of the register with a banana between her legs Jason still wouldn't get the hint. Miley sighed, both frustrated and agitated she'd even considered his compliment earlier had meant anything. He was cordial and kind to everyone. Besides, he had women hitting on him all the time. Thinner, taller, tantalizing woman who walked into the grocery store in high heels and dresses, short shorts and tank tops, parading about just for him. She'd seen his gaze pursue them sometimes, like all men's do, but never had he paid one of them any special attention over another. He would sometimes compliment them, but he never accepted their offers to come over to have them cook up their latest concoction of the ingredients they'd just purchased. Still, that didn't mean Miley didn't get incredibly jealous. It was ridiculous of her. She had no claim on this man, none at all. He was her employer, and it was frowned upon for coworkers to fraternize romantically with one another. Since he was her boss it would only make it worse. But even with these realistic thoughts, Miley still couldn't help the jealousy that bubbled inside her whenever he paid beautiful women his brilliant smile.

She couldn't tone out Allie's and Jason's conversation, nor did she want to. Her latest customer was a mom with three kids, but she couldn't bring herself to compliment them on how cute they were or offer them a sticker; she was too busy trying to eavesdrop on Jason's conversation with Allie. The very sound of Allie's voice made her fists clench and her thumb punctured a hole in the water melon she was scanning. She just hoped the mother of three hadn't noticed. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Allie pressing herself closer and closer to Jason with each word she spoke. Miley knew she was acting like a petty schoolgirl, but she couldn't help it. Suddenly she was having flashbacks to high school. Allie looked so much like some of her popular classmates who'd gained all the attention. It wasn't as if Miley hadn't got her own fair share of attention, but she'd never gotten attention from men like Jason, the ones she was inevitably attracted too. Allie had legs that seemed to stretch on for miles. Everything on her was perfect. Perhaps the only thing Miley had that was better was the fact her breasts were larger at 34 C. Allie had A cups, but she'd wear the most extreme push up bras so no man would ever know. Miley had wanted Jason for so long and to have this new daddy's little spoiled princess snatch him away was too much to handle.

"Okay, thanks so much Jason," Miley overheard Allie say. The blonde touched his hand briefly before going back to her register. So lost in her envy, it took Miley a moment to register that Jason was talking to her. She glanced at the clock. She was supposed to have started her break half an hour ago. "Oh, oops," she forced a laugh. "I'll take it now, thanks." She turned off her light and shoved the close sign on her register rather forcefully. It was evident something was bothering her. It was rare for Miley to let personal feelings get in the way of her job. She slipped past Jason and started for the break room, wondering if she should warn him about Allie's plan to seduce him tonight, but what if Allie decided not to? Then Miley would be the fool. Maybe she should seduce him first, pull Jason aside, unbutton the top of her uniform just like Allie did and show him how much she wanted him. Her body heated at that thought, but she knew she'd never do it. As attractive as he was, he wasn't worth losing her job over. How else was she supposed to pay for college?

~~~

Meanwhile, back at checkout, Allie noted Jason's perplexed expression at Miley's behavior. She was usually so friendly towards him. Well, the girl was friendly to everyone, but there was something different in her eyes when she talked with Jason. Allie knew Miley was smitten with him, but so was she, and a little friendly competition wouldn't hurt anyone right? Miley was a great girl, but Allie always got what she wanted. "Don't worry about her, Jason. She's probably still upset about Alex, you know, her solider boyfriend who broke up with her a few weeks back?"

 

[gearhead73]

"Don't worry about her, Jason. She's probably still upset about Alex, you know, her solider boyfriend who broke..." the rest of Allie's comment was faded out as Jason started walking back through the store toward the break room. Something was bothering Miley and his feelings for her commanded that he go see if he could help.
Jason had always had a bit of a white-knight complex, or so he had been told. It seemed that no matter what the circumstance or what he had going on in his own life, he would always put his needs aside and lend a hand. This was more than that though. He cared for Miley, deeply and when she was hurting, he hurt for her.
"Alex, hmph."Jason thought. That guy was a dick! Jason had thought he was dick when he had first met him, and when he returned home after serving in the Naval marching band for two years, he still thought he was a dick. Jason didn't know all of the details of Miley's and Alex's breakup, it didn't matter. He had never cared for the guy or how he had treated Miley. He was always pawing at her and touching her inappropriately in public. He couldn't blame the guy for wanting to touch her, but she had never seemed into it. Besides, Alex had always done it as a way to show off his dominance to his buddies, or so it seemed to Jason.
"Miley..." Jason said questioningly as he entered the break room. There was no one in there. As he look toward the back of the room he noticed that the door that led out to the employee smoking area was ajar.
As he stepped through the door, he could see her standing at the other end of the courtyard. Her back was to him and she seemed to be looking out over the retention basin that was at the rear of the store's property.
"Miley, are you ok?", he said as he walked over to where she was. "Miley?", he said a little louder.
She turned toward him and he stopped in his tracks as he saw her face. She wasn't crying but it looked to him that she might have been. Her eyes were pink and a little puffy and her eyelids looked heavy. She had one arm around her waist, and the other was rubbing her forehead. Her glasses hung precariously between her fingers and Jason thought he heard a faint sniffle.
"Are you okay? I thought something may be wrong and I wanted to see if you were ok". Jason said as he moved closer to her.

 

[Emstar202]

Miley didn't bother to take the lunch she'd packed out of her locker or find the bottle of milk she'd labeled as her own in the employee fridge. She was thankful no one was in the break room, because she felt on the verge of tears, and the fact that she was made her so angry at herself that those sad tears mixed with angry ones and they both burned behind her eyes painfully. She pushed open the back door to the designated smoke area and placed her hands on the picnic table, staring at an ant that was crawling across, looking for small food debris. It was all by itself, the little ant, and there was no food debris around, just cigarette butts. She almost pityed it.

With a sigh Miley rose from the table and stood looking out over the horizon. She was lonely. Usually she was good at putting a smile on her face, but lately she was just over whelmed with work from Stop-n-Shop and her second job at Radio Shack. Plus, the wound from her break up was still fresh, even though she tried convincing herself she was better off in the long run. She'd taken more hours at work in order to forget about him, but it seemed to be back firing now. Miley knew she was missed the idea of Alex, the image of the person she wished he was, and not the actual man he turned out to be. She just missed being held in his arms when he'd visit her at her dorm last year and the tender touches they'd shared in the darkness. The whole thing was overly physical. That probably wasn't a good thing, and at times it got annoying, all that groping of his, but at the same time she missed being wanted by someone. And now, on top of her broken heart, Allie was trying to draw Jason's attention on to her. Miley might be rebounding, but what she felt for Jason she'd felt for a while. She'd just never pursued it because of it's impracticality.

So lost in her musings, she didn't notice when the back door opened and the man on her mind approached. It was only upon the second calling of her name that she turned around, wiping her eyes quickly on the back of her hand. "Hey Jason," she greeted him, voice cracking a little. She smiled at him. He was so thoughtful. Her body reacted to being this close to him as it always did, and she cursed it. She wished she could stop liking someone who was so far out of reach! "I'm okay... just..." she didn't know what to say. They'd known each other for two years, but she wasn't sure how personal she should get with him. Looking up into those kind eyes of his however, she blurted out, "I'm just really upset about the break up is all," she said, giving him at least half of the reason for her emotional break down.