Heavy Liftin' Ch. 01

Within a month and a half of seeing Melissa he had turned his built, muscular frame into a build that would have made the models in the muscle magazines jealous. His skin had gotten a healthy tan from working outside under the hot sun and his hair had gotten fairly thoroughly bleached from that same sunshine. He also grew back his stylish goatee, something he hadn’t had since before his accident.

With all this work and his amazing appearance, his confidence grew. It didn’t make much of a difference though, because Jason never went out to clubs or parties, but he was happy just the same. In fact, the night he ran into Melissa again, he was on his way to meet his best friend, who had just gotten out of the Marines, for a night of partying.

Jason pulled into the QuikChek, which was on the way to his friend’s house, driving his brand new pickup. It was a 2003 GMC 2500HD with an extended cab, short bed and the Duramax diesel with the Alison five speed transmission. His father had the same truck with the full size bed and Jason loved the truck so much he bought his own.

He had already put a four inch lift kit in the truck with bigger rims and tires. A few off road excursions had proved the truck was unstoppable. Everyone who saw the truck complimented Jason on it and it always made him smile.

As he got out of the truck, Jason smiled, admiring his reflection in the flawless black paint, then turned to walk inside the store. Immediately, he saw her and it was apparent that she had seen him. Smiling, nervously, he walked over towards her.

THEN: Melissa

Melissa was standing outside the door to the store, where she had been waiting for an hour. Her car had decided to die on her on the road in front of the store and she had coasted into the parking lot. She had called her boyfriend and triple A, but so far neither of them had shown up.

As she waited she saw a lot of people coming and going and then a big black pickup had pulled up a few spots away. She watched as the driver, a good looking kid about her age climbed from the cab. Her eyes moved over his well defined form, taking in his tan skin, flawless goatee and tall silhouette. It wasn’t until he looked at her that she realized it was Jason.

She smiled as he saw her and smiled back. Melissa unconsciously adjusted her clothes, the ones she had worn to work. Jason was fairly well dressed in a pair of carpenter style blue jeans and a form hugging, long sleeve, light tan shirt of some delicate knit material. Suddenly, Melissa felt very self-conscious and fidgeted as Jason stood in front of her.

“ Hey, Melissa,” he said. “ How’s it going?”

“ All right, Jason. I didn’t even recognize you.”

He smiled. “ Yeah, the goatee,” he said, stroking it for a second. “ I didn’t have it the last time I saw you.”

Melissa nodded, though she knew it wasn’t the goatee. Something about him seemed different. He looked leaner since the last time they’d seen each other, or maybe more tan, but either way the butterflies were back and had set up camp in Melissa’s stomach.

“ So what are you doing here?” he asked.

Melissa rolled her eyes. “ My stupid car broke down.”

“ Oh, do you need a cell phone?”

She shook her head. “ No I called my boyfriend and triple A, but neither of them have shown up yet.”

“ Oh,” Jason replied, looking suddenly crestfallen. Melissa realized then that he was interested in her and the mention of her boyfriend had disappointed him.

“ What car is it?” he asked.

Melissa pointed to the Prelude in front of her. “ That one.”

Jason looked over at it. “ Mind if I take a look?”

“ Oh, you don’t have to,” she said.

Jason stepped off the curb and opened the driver’s door. “ I don’t mind,” he said as he popped the hood.

Melissa stepped down and stood next to the car as Jason lifted the hood, propping it open and leaning into the engine compartment. She watched as he pushed his sleeves up above his elbows and then reached into the tangle of wires and hoses. Not knowing anything about cars, Melissa watched him.

She admired the lines of his body through his shirt and his jeans and the look of intense concentration on his face. His piercing blue eyes stared into space as he felt along the back of the engine block. At that point, she saw her boyfriend walking down the sidewalk towards them.

“ Over here, Gabe,” she called.

Gabriel, her boyfriend stepped off the curb and stood next to her. He didn’t so much as give her a kiss or an ‘are you all right?’ He looked down suspiciously at Jason and brushed his long dark hair away from his face.

“ Do you know what you’re doing?” he asked.

Jason looked over sharply, giving Gabriel a look of disgust.

“ Yeah, I think so.”

“ What makes you so sure?” Gabriel asked.

Melissa looked at Gabriel. He was a gorgeous man, with an incredible body, piercing green eyes and a sharp mind. He was wearing dress pants and a blue shirt, tucked in at the waist. His shoes were polished to perfection and his skin was flawless.

Melissa turned and looked at Jason. His hands were already covered in grease and road grit. But the rest of him was flawless. A quick glance would show that both of these men were gorgeous, but there were differences. First of all Gabriel would never have even opened the hood of the car. Secondly, he would never touch the engine. But most of all, Melissa noticed his hands. Gabriel’s hands were smooth, unscarred and manicured. In fact, he hated doing anything with his hands aside from sex and dialing the phone.

Jason gave a frustrated sigh. “ I’ve been working on cars for years and I used to work at an auto parts store.”

“ Well that doesn’t make you certified or anything,” Gabriel shot back.

“ Gabe,” Melissa said.

Jason stood up from under the hood and closed it with a slam, being careful not get any grease on the paint.

“ You know what Gabe, it doesn’t,” Jason said. “ But I’m an ASE certified parts specialist, engine mechanic and electronics specialist,” he continued as he walked to the driver’s door, opened it and slid into the driver’s seat.

The engine turned over, sputtered and roared to life. Jason climbed out of the car and closed the door. He walked back up onto the sidewalk and looked at Melissa and Gabriel.

“ But all that aside, the car is running,” Jason said.

“ What was wrong?” Gabriel asked.

Jason looked at Melissa and then at Gabe. With a completely straight face he said: “ The inductive amalgamator came loose. I just tightened it back up. You’re right as rain now.”

Gabriel stood there speechless for a moment and then looked down at Melissa.

“ Right,” he said. “ I’ve heard that’s a common problem with these cars.”

Jason nodded.

“ Well, thanks for the help, pal,” Gabriel said. “ How much do we owe you?”

Jason shook his head. “ Don’t worry about it, just helping out a friend.”

“ Right, thanks then. Melissa I’ll follow you home just in case the amalg- inductive- in case the thing comes loose again.”

“ Okay,” Melissa said as Gabriel walked across the lot to his BMW.

Jason smiled as Melissa walked over to him. She looked down at his grease-covered hands and then up at his face. She could see a look of sadness in his eyes that was hard to gauge.

“ Jason, what’s an inductive amalgamator?” she asked.

He shrugged. “ I have no fucking clue. It’s just something we used to say to make fun of the idiots that came into the store I used to work at. Your boyfriend really doesn’t have a clue. One of your spark plug wires came loose. You’ll need to get a new set put on, but you’ll be good for awhile.”

Melissa smiled. “ Thanks, Jason.”

“ No problem.”

“ No, I mean it. You’re really sweet,” she said.

Jason smiled. Melissa stood on her tiptoes, put her one hand on his arm and kissed him on the cheek. Jason blushed.

“ I’ll see you around?” she asked.

“ Absolutely,” Jason replied.

THEN: Jason

That was the end of June when Jason fixed Melissa’s car. It wouldn’t be until August when he would see her again. In that time Jason learned enough for his father to put him in charge of some of the jobs they had.

For Jason this meant a lot to him. His father was the owner and operator of their small business. But in the past three years their business and clientele had exploded. They now had over a dozen jobs going all at once and three of them were into the millions of dollars scope of work.

Mr. Cooper was so busy with those jobs that he put Jason in charge of the rest of them. There was so much work to be done that Jason hired a few of his friends to work for him. Between Jason’s skill and his friends’ hard work, they were getting the jobs done in record time, which only led to more work. All in all Jason was helping to run a successful business and his income and attitude showed it.

So it was that Jason found himself pulling into the QuikChek parking lot on a Friday night in August. He was on his way to Justin’s, the guy who had gotten out of the Marines in June. Justin had been working for Jason ever since and the two of them were going out for another night of partying to celebrate the completion of yet another job. Justin had called and asked Jason to stop and pick him up a pack of cigarettes. Were it not for Justin running out of cigarettes it’s quite possible that Melissa and Jason would never have seen each other again.

As Jason backed into a parking space he was overwhelmed with a sense of déjà vu when he saw a silver Prelude sitting in front of the store. The hood was propped open and Jason could see someone leaning over the engine. Climbing from his truck, Jason crossed the parking lot and smiled when he saw Melissa staring contemplatively at the engine.

He walked up behind her taking her in at a glance. She was wearing another pair of cargo pants that flattered her narrow waist and a tight, short sleeve T-shirt that hugged her curves and showed off her tan skin. The sight took Jason’s breath away as she reached up and pulled her hair back, tying it in place with a scrunchee.

“ You’re not about to reach into that engine are you?” he asked.

Melissa turned and smiled broadly, flashing flawless white teeth at him.

“ I was about to,” she replied.

Jason stepped off the curb. “ Let me save you the trouble. What happened?”

“ Well I was coming home from work and I noticed the temperature gauge was way above normal, you know? So I pulled in here and just as I did the car kind of shuddered and the engine just stopped. The car kind of like bucked or something and just stopped dead.”

Jason pulled the dipstick and didn’t see a drop of oil on it.

“ Did somebody work on this thing recently?”

Melissa nodded. “ My boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend after the phone conversation I just had with him, was pissed about you fixing my car last time. So he said he could service it. Anyway he made a big mess of himself just changing the oil last night. Why?”

Jason got down on the ground in a pushup position and looked under the front of the car. He stood up and brushed his hands off, giving Melissa a brave smile.

“ What phone conversation?” he asked.

“ Huh?” Melissa asked, but seeing the look on his face she decided to tell him.

“ Well, I called him to have him come and get me, you know? And he flat out said to wait for triple A, because he had better things to do then come rescue me”

Jason raised his eyebrows. “ Are you fucking kidding me?”

Melissa shook her head. “ No. I hung up on him. We’re through.”

Jason smiled. “ Well, Melissa, I hate to add to your already downhill day, but Mr. Wizard didn’t tighten your drain plug. Your car’s oil is everywhere but in the engine, which probably means that your motor is blown.”

Melissa sighed. “ Wonderful, I can’t afford a new motor for this thing.”

Jason looked away for a moment. If he did what he was about to do, it could be a huge mistake. Every time he had gone out on a limb and done something like he was about to for a girl, all he ever got was a broken heart. But, helping people was what he was good at and he couldn’t resist coming to Melissa’s rescue again.

“ Hang on a minute, Melissa,” Jason said and pulled out his cell phone.

Melissa was about to protest, but Jason walked a few feet away and very shortly began talking to someone on the phone. She waited patiently while he carried on a heated discussion with someone. Finally, he hung up and walked back over.

“ I took care of it,” Jason said, his tone perfectly calm, but a quiet smile had spread over his face.

“ What? What do you mean?”

Jason shrugged. “ I’ve got a friend with a garage who owes me a huge favor. I got him out of a big speeding ticket one night. He’s going to come and get your car and have a new motor in it by Monday.”

Melissa’s mouth hit the ground. “ You didn’t- I mean, I could have- Why?” she stammered.

Again, Jason shrugged. “ Because I could and you deserve better than a ‘I’ve got better things to do’ kind of guy in your life.”

Melissa smiled and gave Jason a huge hug, pressing her body to his.

“ Oh, Jason, thank you! What can I ever do to repay you?” she asked, stepping back and looking up at him.

Jason dug his hands into his pockets and smiled down at her.

“ I can think of quite a few things, Melissa,” he said.

“ Jason!” she gasped, appalled at his comment. She wasn’t appalled at him for making it, but at herself for realizing she probably would do anything he asked her to.

He laughed. “ But, how about for starters coming and hanging out with me and my best friend tonight?”

Melissa smiled. She had been waiting for a chance like this since the first day she had seen him. Now that her chance was here she wasn’t about to pass it up.

“ I’d love to,” she replied.

THEN: Jason

It seemed to Jason that he had done a lot of growing up in that pool hall. He had been going there with Justin since before either of them could drive. One way or the other, whether it was their parents, riding their bikes the five miles, or getting a ride from their older friend Phil, they would always make it to the place. But never in a million years would Jason have thought he would be there one day with two of his best friends and the most gorgeous girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Yet here he was, smiling as Justin spouted off some insensible nonsense while he lined up a difficult shot. He was showing off for Melissa, who was smiling, because she knew he was. Jason couldn’t help but look down at her again.

Since they had pulled into the parking lot of the building where the pool hall was situated she hadn’t left his side. When he introduced her to Justin and Phil she had said hello and smiled, making their knees go weak, but she hadn’t moved more than five feet away from him. Jason could literally feel her presence with every fiber of his being. It settled over him with the same comforting feel of a soft blanket.

He couldn’t recall a time when a girl had made him feel so excited, tense, relaxed and confident all at once. There was something about her that drew Jason to her like a moth to a flame. Maybe it was her size, next to him she looked so feminine and delicate that it made Jason’s chest swell. Or maybe it was her sweet, innocent nature that he was pretty sure she didn’t even know she possessed. Whatever it was, the feeling was incredible.

“ Bam!” Justin shouted as the eight ball dropped into the corner pocket. “ You owe me twenty bucks, Phil.”

“ Bullshit, you didn’t call the shot,” Phil responded then took a long drag from his cigarette.

“ Oh give me a break. Jason, what do you think, should he pay me?”

Jason tore his eyes away from Melissa.

“ Well, Phil. He would have won anyways.”

“ See, pay up!” Justin said.

“ But,” Jason said. “ If Phil hadn’t called it, you wouldn’t have paid him, Justin.”

Phil smiled. “ See,” he said, mimicking Justin with a high-pitched voice.

Jason looked down at Melissa, his eyes locked on her smiling face. After a second or two she looked up at him, their eyes locking. Neither of them looked away, but merely kept staring deeply into the other’s eyes. Jason felt himself getting lost in her hazel eyes, sinking deeper into those dark pools.

“ Look at the two of them,” Justin said.

Jason and Melissa blinked in unison and looked over at Justin and Phil, who were standing together and looking over at them with mock disgust.

“ I know,” Phil said. “ They should just get a room already.”

Jason and Melissa both smiled and blushed.

“ Hey, I know,” continued Phil. “ Let’s take ‘em out to the farm. A little moonlight by the water should do the trick.”

Justin grinned. “ Yeah, definitely.”

THEN: Melissa

Melissa climbed out of Jason’s truck, closing the door behind her. She walked down towards the back of the truck, the ground soft beneath her feet. Jason was already at the back of the truck and lowered the tailgate. The light of the full moon silhouetted Justin and Phil as they broke out fishing rods and tackle.

They had followed Justin and Phil out of the pool hall parking lot and along the main road out of town. After about ten minutes they had turned onto a long, narrow driveway leading into a farm. Jason had explained that the place belonged to Justin’s uncle. The two of them always used to go fishing there when they were younger.

After passing the farmhouse they went another quarter mile before pulling off the driveway and onto a grassy strip. They circled around a row of bushes taller than the truck and then pulled out onto the grassy bank where they were now parked. Behind the two trucks was a gorgeous little pond with a dock stretching twenty feet out from shore. As Melissa looked over the tranquil surface a fish jumped, causing a splash and creating a growing ripple in the water.

“ What do you think?” Jason asked.

Melissa smiled. “ It’s beautiful.”

Jason nodded. “ Yeah, we used to have a lot of fun here.”

“ Used to?” Melissa asked as she tried to hop up on the tailgate. She didn’t seem to be having any luck between the angle of the bank and the height of the truck. Then, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, Jason stepped in front of her and before Melissa could say anything, he gently grabbed her waist, lifted her off her feet and sat her on the tailgate.

It was one of the most manly, delicate and natural things that Melissa had ever seen a guy do before. She looked up at him as he leaned back against the tailgate next to her. They were finally at eye level, though he was looking towards the pond where Justin and Phil were busy arguing over what kind of bait to use.

Her eyes traveled over the back of his neck, his short, spiked up hair and the profile of his face. Jason wasn’t like any of the guys she had ever dated. He wasn’t some model or a pretty boy, he was a real man, down to earth, honest and confident. Though, what she had begun to notice about the guys she dated, their looks were based on the pop-culture. If the styles changed, so did they, if they didn’t they wouldn’t be good looking.

Jason on the other hand wasn’t changing to suit popular opinion. He had his look, it was the same one he had had in high school. Back then it was a little touch and go as to whether or not he could pull it off. But now he had grown into it and he looked absolutely incredible. He was classically good looking in the way that never changes. He was tall, broad shouldered, muscular, but not a gargantuan and he was so unwittingly smooth and confident.

Melissa shivered as she looked at him. He looked over at her.

“ Cold?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded, it had gotten a little cooler than it normally did. Jason walked to the front of the truck and opened the door. He returned a few seconds later, not with a jacket, but with a blanket. Standing in front of her, her opened it up and wrapped it around her back, giving her the corners to hold together in front of her body.