Lust Meter System: Conquering Beauties-Chapter 37: You Owe Me!

The thought rattled around in his head, strange and unfamiliar. He’d never really had a girlfriend before. Not a real one, anyway. And Tasha... well, whatever Tasha was, it wasn’t a relationship. Not officially.

But Miss Kelly?

The idea felt too big, too complicated to process right now.

"So judging by the silence, I’m right," Elsa said from behind the door, a hint of smugness creeping into her voice.

"No," Liam said quickly, his voice coming out sharper than he intended. "I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about."

"Either way, I’m still going to report you"

Liam’s first instinct was to laugh.

’Report me?’

The ten thousand dollars sitting in his account flashed through his mind. Money he’d gotten from the system from his recent victory.

Money that could probably buy this entire store twice over if he wanted. Hell, he could walk away right now and never think about this place again.

’I don’t need this job,’ he thought. ’I don’t need her threatening me. I don’t need any of this.’

But then reality settled in, cold and uncomfortable.

The money was there, sure.

But where did it come from? How would he explain it? If he suddenly started throwing cash around, paying off debts, and living like he had a real income, people would ask questions. His landlord, his mom. the bank, everyone. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He needed a cover. Some legitimate reason for having money. Some kind of paper trail that made sense.

And this job, this shitty, minimum-wage delivery job at a corner store, was that cover.

’Fuck.’

He needed this job more than they needed him.

His jaw tightened.

"I’m sorry," Liam said, his voice coming out quieter now, less defensive. "Please don’t tell him."

Another pause.

Then the door opened.

Elsa stood there now, fully dressed, her white hair still tied back in a loose ponytail. She had her bag slung over one shoulder, her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked at him for a long moment, her brown eyes narrowed.

Then she sighed.

"I’m not going to tell him," she said finally. "But you owe me."

Liam blinked. "What?"

"You owe me a favor," Elsa said, her tone matter-of-fact. "It’d be uncool being a bitch on my first day."

’You literally just threatened me and now you’re making me owe you a favor right after,’ Liam thought.

But he didn’t say that.

"Thank you," he said instead.

Elsa smirked slightly, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. She tossed them at him.

Liam caught them.

"Lock up," she said, already walking past him toward the exit. "I’ve got to get home to my boyfriend."

’Boyfriend,’ Liam thought, the word echoing in his head.

Elsa’s footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing fainter. Then the side door opened and closed with a metallic clang.

And just like that, she was gone.

Liam stood there for a moment, holding the keys, staring at the empty hallway.

The fluorescent light above him flickered again, buzzing faintly.

Then he let out a long breath and walked back into the employee room.

The room was exactly as Elsa had left it.

Her locker was still open, the metal door hanging loose.

A small mirror hung on the inside of the door, and a few items were scattered on the shelf inside, a tube of lip balm, a pack of gum, a folded piece of paper.

Liam closed the locker door and turned to his own locker.

He opened it, pulled out his black t-shirt, and changed out of the red polo.

The fabric of his own shirt felt softer, more familiar. He folded the polo and placed it back in the locker, then closed the door.

He grabbed the keys and walked through the back hallway, pushing through the door that led into the main store area.

The aisles were quiet and still.

The overhead lights were dimmed, casting long shadows across the shelves. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed softly, the only sound in the empty space.

Liam walked down the center aisle, his footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor. He passed rows of chips, canned goods, instant noodles, and cleaning supplies.

The refrigerated section along the back wall hummed quietly, the glass doors fogged slightly at the edges.

When he reached the front, he walked behind the counter.

The register was covered with a black cloth, just as Elsa had left it.

The small transistor radio that Mr. Sam usually kept there was turned off, sitting silent next to a stack of receipts.

Liam walked to the front door and checked the lock. Already secured.

Then he started turning off the lights.

One by one, he flipped the switches along the wall near the counter.

Each section of the store went dark—first the front area near the register, then the middle aisles, then the back near the refrigerators.

The store plunged into darkness section by section until only the faint glow from the neon sign outside filtered through the windows, casting red and white light across the empty aisles.

Liam stood there for a moment in the dim light, looking around the silent store.

Then he walked back through the main area, through the door to the back hallway. He pushed open the employee entrance and stepped outside.

The bike was still leaning against the brick wall where he’d left it.

He grabbed the handlebars and wheeled it inside, the tires squeaking slightly on the concrete floor of the back hallway.

He leaned it carefully against the wall inside the employee room, making sure it wouldn’t fall.

Then he walked back out and locked the employee door leading outside behind him, pocketing the keys.

The street was quiet now.

A few cars passed by, their headlights cutting through the darkness.

The neon sign above the store buzzed and flickered, casting a red glow across the pavement.

Liam turned and started walking.

The walk home took about twenty-five minutes, but Liam didn’t mind.

He passed closed shops, darkened windows, the occasional person walking their dog. A car drove by, bass thumping from the speakers.

Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed briefly before fading away.

By the time he turned onto his street, his legs were starting to feel heavy. Not from pain, the system had taken care of that, but from the sheer mental exhaustion of the day.

His apartment building came into view.

Most of the windows were dark, a few glowing with the soft light of TVs or lamps.

He looked up at the second floor, at the familiar windows of his unit. The curtains were drawn, the lights off.

Then his eyes drifted to the curb directly in front of his building.

The spot where Tasha always parked was empty.

He frowned.

’Why am I even thinking of her all of a sudden?’

But the question lingered, sitting heavy in his chest.

He’d expected to see her car there, the familiar silver sedan that she always parked right in front of his place.

Expected to maybe run into her wait for him arms crossed and looking pissed. But there was nothing. Just empty curb space where her car should’ve been.

He pulled out his phone and opened his messages. Scrolled down to Tasha’s name. Stared at the last message she’d sent, from two days ago.

His thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Then he typed: Hey

He hit send.

The message showed as delivered immediately. Then, a second later, the three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen.

She was typing.

Liam’s heart beat a little faster. He stared at the screen, waiting.

The dots bounced. Once. Twice. Three times.

Then they stopped.

No message came through.

He waited.

Still nothing.

The three dots had disappeared completely, leaving just his message sitting there, read receipt now showing.

’She read it and didn’t reply.’

He sighed and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

’Whatever.’

He walked up to his building.