Drinks at Aridelle's

He was staring out at the kids on the soccer field, almost in a trance, lost in his thoughts when a flash of pink caught his eye off to his right. It was her shorts. A pair of short, hot pink Umbros.

It wasn't the shorts, though, that kept Shane's attention. It was her legs. Long, toned, and tan, glowing in the afternoon sun. A black sports bra covered her modest chest, and she was sporting some sort of designer sunglasses. It seemed every step she took down the sidewalk toward the bleachers where he sat was in slow motion, the mid-May breeze blowing her dirty blond hair to her side, like she was a runway model. And the city sports recreation complex was Aridelle's stage.

Their sons had played on the same club soccer team for three years, yet he couldn't remember a single time when Aridelle had showed off her legs when she came to pick up her 12 year old son, Blake, from practice. Shane had always assumed by her usual rotation of yoga pants and loose fitting shirts that she was just a stressed out mom just trying to get comfortable after being at the office all day. The clothes were just part of the schedule, the easiest item to cross off the To Do list before running the kids around.

"Hey Melissa," Aridelle said to one of the other moms in the bleachers behind Shane as she walked up the steps. Shane didn't want to stare, but he couldn't help but follow her out of the corner of his eye until she was out of his peripheral vision. Aridelle's usual routine hadn't been enough to pique Shane's interest beyond nominal curiosity in all the time their boys had played together. The kids' personalities seemed so different that they weren't friends off the field that would've otherwise perhaps brought the parents together.

Aridelle and her husband had money and their kids were in private school, whereas Shane was living in a decent suburban apartment splitting his son's time with his ex-wife whom he'd amicably divorced two years prior. Shane hadn't been in a huge hurry to get back into the serious dating game, and was perfectly content hooking up with your standard younger - and flakier - bar fare a few times a month to pass the time. And he surely didn't want to complicate Matthew's extracurricular activities by chasing the 2-3 single moms on his soccer team, even if Brenda Walker might have had the best rack in town.

But seeing Aridelle flip up the wardrobe was enough of a sensory shock that Shane struggled to focus over the final 2-3 minutes of practice, and he actively had to force himself to ignore the moms' chatter behind him and watch the field, where their sons were working on corner kick sets. Practice ended minutes later, the kids trickled over from the field, and Shane was sure to leave right behind Aridelle so he could admire her stride from an optimal point of view, following her all the way up to her black Toyota Highlander before splitting off to his truck the next row over.

She had the body of a 40ish mother who was working really hard to keep in shape - all of her imperfections were in all the right places.

Shane couldn't remove Aridelle from his head for the next two days. Driving home, at work, at the barber shop Monday night getting his wavy brown hair trimmed up, his mind wandered, wondering about the pretty blonde from the soccer field. He knew she was married, and that shut down a lot of avenues, but what if there was something else?

Her husband was rarely to be seen. What if they were divorcing? What if she was unhappy? Or what if there was absolutely nothing to pursue and it was time to stop wasting time thinking about the hot mom from his son's soccer team and start preparing the resume to go after some similar prospects in the field? Whatever the attraction was, Shane had no idea what to do next, but he just couldn't shake it.

********************

The next practice was Tuesday, and Shane decided to arrive early just in case Aridelle did the same. He scoped out the parking lot to see if she'd drop off her son, but was a little disappointed when Blake arrived with another kid - Aiden, he thought that was his name anyway - on the team instead. Shane decided to skip practice and go over to the track on the other side of the lot for some laps instead.

He kept a gym bag in the truck for instances just like this. Even the best 12 year old soccer teams' practices aren't exactly entertaining, even if (or especially if) you played Division I soccer in college and went to the College Cup, like Shane had when he played for Santa Clara nearly two decades prior. He'd never considered coaching, even his kid's team, but did like to stay in relatively good shape to keep the female prospects biting, and that meant getting in some work on the track.

Shane parked his Toyota Tacoma crew cab and slipped out of his jeans - the bathroom was on the other corner of the park, and Shane didn't want to walk down to that end - so that meant that he needed to put his running shorts on in the cab and jogged over to the track. He didn't hit the weights like he did back in college, so his thighs weren't that of a Greek god as they were in 1999, but he still ran enough to where his calves were polished and fairly cut. While Shane's joints were a little more temperamental than they'd been years prior, he still had most of his stamina, putting in 10 laps in just over 12 minutes under the orange, early evening sky.

He stopped for a brief water break, then ran 10 more, this time in just under 12 minutes. He still couldn't shake Aridelle from his head, and figured if 20 laps didn't do it, 20 more wouldn't either, so he walked back to the truck to put his jeans back on. Back down to the soccer fields he went, figuring that she'd be there to pick up Blake at the end of practice. But it was getting late, and she was nowhere to be seen. Practice ended, and the coach jogged over, checking his cell phone.

"I got a message here from Blake's mom - she's got car problems. Can someone run him home?"

Shane didn't even glance around at the other parents and pounced on the opportunity, "Sure, I'll do it."

The boys led the way to the truck as Shane thought it was odd she hadn't just contacted one of the other moms directly, but he wasn't looped in on all of those goings on. Matthew and Blake hopped in the back, casually chatting about practice.

"Blake, where am I headed, kid?" Shane asked.

"Forest Gate," Blake answered. "202 Hickory Trail."

With the window down to take in the gorgeous evening spring air, Shane headed to the north end of town, where the luxurious Forest Gate community sat. Construction of the final portion of the land had just finished in the past year, and it housed some of the most expensive homes in the county, not exactly a regular spot for a guy like Shane.

It was about a ten minute drive, and while Shane thought the boys weren't friends, almost instantly they were laughing and giggling at videos on their phones together. 12 year old boys can be easily entertained, no matter their upbringing. Shane pulled into the neighborhood and was quite impressed with the houses. These were damn near mansions.

Right, left, left, right... several turns into the development, Shane found Hickory Trail, and 202 was the first house on the left - the corner lot - a staggering two story white brick structure with numerous windows reflecting the sunset behind immaculate landscaping along the front of the house. The two car, side entry garage was open and Aridelle's Highlander was parked inside by itself. He pulled into the driveway, behind her SUV, and put his truck into park. Blake opened the door to get out, but stopped.

"Can Matthew come in for a little bit? I want to show him some stuff in my room."

This caught Shane off guard, "Um, sure, if it's okay with your..."

Before Shane could finish his thought, Aridelle appeared from around the corner of the front walk, black yoga pants accentuating every curve of her hips and ass, a plain white workout tank top, and her usual prescription frames, silver with black trim. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, showing off her neck and collarbone, and she looked like she'd just finished working out, though the notebook and pen in her right hand hinted she may have been multitasking.

"Hey, thanks for bringing Blake home," she said, "Aiden's mom was gonna do it but they had to go to her sister's right after practice. I didn't know who else was up there."

From the driver's seat of the Tacoma, he couldn't take his eyes off her, but did everything he could to make it not look so obvious. She was stunning, even when she clearly wasn't putting in much effort.

"Oh, it's no pr..." he started before getting cut off.

"Can Matthew come inside?" Blake asked his mom. " I want to show him the create a wrestler set on 2K19."

"Yeah, just make it quick," she answered. "You have homework and I'm sure Matthew's dad doesn't want to wait around long."

The boys ran inside laughing, leaving Shane alone with Aridelle in the driveway. Shane was generally comfortable with women, but he awkwardly fumbled around the console of his truck for a moment, finding some Trident gum, trying to buy time for anything to break the ice.

"I'm a mess, I apologize I was on the elliptical" Aridelle said, quickly addressing her hair. "Thanks again for doing this, I'll make sure they're fast," she said.

"Sorry bout the car," he replied as he put a piece of gum in his mouth. "What's the deal with it?"

"I was coming back from the grocery store this afternoon and got a temperature warning. Light came on the dash about 3 miles from home and by the time I pulled in here, it was steaming from under the hood."

"Uh oh," Shane piped in politely.

She continued, "Our guy that usually worked on our cars moved back east about two months ago, and my husband's out of town again. I was just gonna set up a rental delivery tomorrow to keep going this week."

"Overheating?" Shane had heard enough, "You mind if I take a look at it right quick? Promise I won't break it."

"Sure," Aridelle said. "'l'll take anything right now."

Shane turned the truck off and got out, walking past the well-groomed hedges and azaleas as he headed toward the garage. "I'm not a mechanic, but I might be able to point you in the right direction."

"Well if you're not a mechanic, what do you do?" Aridelle asked him.

"I manage the supply chain for a door manufacturer," he answered. "Boards, blades, drills. Not exactly enthralling stuff."

"Can't be less exciting than medical transcription," Aridelle chimed back. "I work from home, at least you see other people at work during your day."

Shane disagreed, "You say that like those interactions are any fun. I negotiate with lumber yards and hardware distributors."

"Sounds as fun as my phone calls with the hospital," she grinned back.

Shane needed to pop the hood to the SUV, but Aridelle had it locked, "You got the keys?"

"Inside, hang on," she answered, going back into the house thru the garage entry. This allowed Shane a moment to glance around the space. The garage was very well kept, almost too clean. He looked in the back of Aridelle's Highlander and the kids had left it pretty messy: clothes, folders, fast food cups. He was used to that with his own son.

"Here ya go," a returning Aridelle said, handing him the keys. He opened the driver's side door and popped the hood of the SUV. Shane walked around the front of the vehicle to take a look, and propped the hood up. A glance at the coolant reservoir was a quick giveaway.

Well, you're low on antifreeze," he said, pointing at the tank. "But if you weren't having a problem with that until today, there may be something else going on. A leak maybe? You got water I can get out here?"

"Inside," she said. "How much you need?"

"What's the biggest cup you have?" he asked as he mimed 6 to 18 inches vertical with his hands. "Whatever that is, that'll work."

Aridelle turned and went back inside, and Shane was sure to watch her this time. She wore those pants well. Aridelle quickly came back with a juice pitcher of water. "Will this work?"

"Perfect," he said. Shane uncapped the antifreeze tank and poured the water in. "It's best with antifreeze, but to get you going for now, water's fine. I'm gonna crank her up and look at something."

"Do whatever you need to do."

Shane stepped back from the passenger side of the front of the car, but the space to get back to the driver's side was tight, and he brushed up with Aridelle's hip, who wasn't totally paying attention to where he was going.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, awkwardly maneuvering in front of her.

"No, no, my fault," she said, and gently positioned Shane by the shoulders and guided him around toward the wall and the door. Shane climbed in the driver's seat and started the ignition, then got back out to look under the hood. She was sure to give him space this time.

Shane looked at the reservoir, then traced the hose to the radiator with his hand. He pulled his cell phone out and used the flashlight to get a better view. He didn't see anything on top, so he squatted down to look underneath. Sure enough, there was a drip.

"Turn it off!" he told Aridelle, having to yell over the sound of the motor. "I think I got it."

Aridelle turned the Highlander off, closed the door, and came back around to the front of the car. "What is it?"

"Your radiator hose has a slight leak," Shane said. "I'm gonna pull it off to check it, it's right here on top. The last truck I had burned thru radiator hoses, I was changing them every six months. Never found out why." He disconnected the hose from the reservoir, then from the radiator. The engine hadn't run long enough to get it hot, so he was able to dislodge the hose with his bare hands. He brought the hose into the garage light.

"I got pretty good at diagnosing this." He wrapped his thumb and forefinger around the hose and began running it the length of the rubber. He stopped about halfway. "Do you feel this?"

Shane turned the hose over and pointed at a spot on the hose that was ever so slightly disfigured, Aridelle ran her fingers over it, brushing her hand over his fingers in the process. "There's your leak right there, looking at the discoloration of the area around it, it's been wearing out for a while."

"How bad is that?" she asked.

"About 15 bucks down at the AutoZone," he answered. "They might be a little more now with a newer model like this. I'd presume this is a stock item. Easy fix."

"Can I drive it down there tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said, "but I've gotta get the hose sealed and back on there for you to do anything with it. Watch this."

Shane pulled the gum out of his mouth and sealed the hole on the hose. Then he turned back toward the hood of the SUV.

"Think that'll hold it?" Aridelle asked.

"It should, but just in case..." Shane stopped mid-thought and undid the nylon belt from his jeans and pulled it off in one fluid motion. A stripper would've been impressed with the speed in which Shane was able to free the strap from his belt loops. This elicited a slight gasp from Aridelle, who stepped back in surprise as Shane looped the belt around the hose, lined it up with the gum, and tightened it.

"You got a philips head screwdriver?" he asked.

"Um, uh..." she stammered, "yeah, over here."

Aridelle pulled a screwdriver from the tool box on a shelf and handed it to Shane. He took it and worked a hole into the fabric of the belt, then clasped the belt tight and shut over the hose. Shane wedged the hose back onto the radiator and coolant reservoir, pulling the pocket knife out of his jeans and cutting the excess strap of the belt.

"Done," he said as he turned around to Aridelle. "Between the water in the tank and the patch on the hose, that'll safely get the kids to school and you to a parts store tomorrow."

"Thanks so much," she said, awkwardly offering a handshake. "What do I owe you? Besides a new belt?"

"Don't worry about the belt, it was old," he answered confidently. In a different situation, he may have been bold enough to joke about a romp in the sheets instead, but Shane was still trying to solve Aridelle's personality, and the reality of their sons being upstairs doused that idea immediately. "I would like my kid back though."

Aridelle smiled, "Yeah, that might be fair." She turned back to the garage entry door and yelled inside, "Blake! Time for Matthew to go home!"

Shane puts his hands in his jeans pockets, anxiously bouncing on the balls of his feet waiting for his son to come down. He was happy that he was able to help the woman he secretly pined for, but with that problem being resolved, he didn't know what to do next.

Aridelle was leaned thru the doorway back into the house, and he admired the small of her back and thin waist where the bottom of her tank top had slid up slightly, her impeccable tan accentuated by the white cotton. There was no panty line visible thru the yoga pants - her round, shapely ass pointed back toward Shane, whispering to him. The fantasizing ended abruptly as the boys romped down and out the door, sending Aridelle hopping away from the door to avoid getting trampled.

"You beat Roman Reigns??" Matthew asked Blake as they came out. "That's awesome!"

"In a steel cage match!" Blake yelled back. The parents looked at each other as if the boys were talking a different language. But it was time to go.

"Come on, kid," Shane told Matthew. "We gotta go."

"OK," Matthew said in resignation. "Hey, thanks for showing me your stuff."

Blake laughed back at him, "Big juice waterfall!" And the boys started laughing hysterically again as Blake went back inside and Matthew headed for the truck. Shane and Aridelle glanced at each other and smiled, having no idea what any of this meant.

She stopped Shane before he could completely walk away, "Hey, me and a few of the moms are getting the boys together to swim and play after practice this weekend. If you want to bring Matthew over, I think the boys would like it."

Shane was surprised, but pleased, by the offer, "Sure. I bet they'd have a good time."

"We'll let the boys run around," Aridelle expounded, "and we'll have the bar set up for beer and margaritas or whatever for the adults."

"Um, okay," Shane stuttered back. "What time Saturday?"

"Right after practice. Ends at 3:00, so be back here by 3:30, sound good?"

"Sounds good. See you then."

Shane walked back into the purple dusk toward his truck, the sun all but completely gone over the horizon. He couldn't believe he had an invite to come back for the weekend, and invite that got even better when Aridelle called him from the edge of the garage as he went to get into the truck.

"Bring stuff to swim in!" she yelled at him.

That mandate really changed his mood, because that implied that Aridelle, as well as the other moms, some of whom were also quite attractive, might be dressed to swim, too. And the thought of Aridelle in a bikini around the pool on a sunny spring afternoon with drinks in each hand instantly ran thru his body. He smiled, nodded, and waved at her, then cranked the truck up as Aridelle closed the garage door. Shane backed out of the driveway and headed home, his mind racing with fantasies.

********************

It would be a long wait til the weekend, and Shane's mind wandered incoherently for two days. There was just enough incidental contact between them during the car repair that he wondered if she was coming on to him, but he was also self-aware enough that he could've completely been imagining things.

The specific invitation to come to swim, however, is what really got him going. He was still in pretty good shape, better than your average soccer dad, and maybe Aridelle wanted to see what was under his hood. Because while he'd already seen under her literal car hood, Shane was absolutely ready to see what was under her figurative one.