Maintenance

"Oh," he was crouched down looking under the machine, "it's my pleasure, I'm just doing my job, happy to help."

"As much as I'm glad you're here, I'm sure you wish you were back home having a cold one yourself!" She took another sip, wondering if she was being too open with him, yet also not caring.

"Yeah, that was the original plan, to be home," he laughed, standing up and facing her, "but it's all good! To be honest...I'm glad I'm here, too." He paused and continued to work, smiling at her. "In fact when I saw that call come through that's why I took it, I was hoping you'd be here working today." He looked away, smiling from ear to ear.

"Really?? That is so sweet!" She felt a bit of relief and a new sense of excitement and curiosity.

"Yeah, I thought to myself, 'ooh, I hope that hot manager Amy is working tonight.'" They both laughed.

"Shit!! I kid you not, after I got off the phone with your guys' dispatch, I said out-loud, 'You can send that hot dude from yesterday, please.'"

They both laughed, nervously looking down. She saw him slowly reach his hands towards hers. She took another sip just as his fingertips interlaced with hers, the ever-changing events of the evening flashing before her eyes. It had quickly gone from almost disastrous, to fortunately not disastrous, to now this cute guy was flirting with her and holding her hand. She felt playful anxiousness yet also felt emboldened to find out what he had in store for her.

"Hey would you walk out to my truck with me? I have something you may like."

"Of course!" She answered, looking at him curiously.

He took her hand and led her outside. It was peaceful and quiet, with a crisp chill in the air. They walked to the passenger door of his truck and he opened it and leaned inside. He put the key in the ignition and started the truck, then turned the heater on. He then began reaching behind the seat, twisting his body, rummaging for something. She watched his shirt ride up again and could see his toned stomach and back muscles.

"What is it, I can't see!" She said as she put her hands on his waist and leaned against him, pretending to try and look over his shoulder.

"Here it is..." He stood up and turned back facing her, holding a small toolbox.

"What is it?!" she lightly put her hands on his sides and tried to peek inside the small box. He opened it and the aroma hit her instantly.

"Oh. Hell. Yes!" She took a deep, deep breath and closed her eyes. "That smells so good!"

"Care to smoke with me?" He asked, grinning at her.

"Are you kidding?! Of course! I haven't in a while but I love it! Can't ever find any! " She laughed.

She watched his hands work quickly and efficiently as he ground up some flower and packed a bowl into a small pipe.

"Aren't you cold??" She wiggled playfully against him.

He laughed, reached in the back of the truck and took out his work jacket.

"No, but I can see you are."

He threw his jacket around her and she nestled against his chest. She took a deep breath and noticed again how good he smelled; a mix between his cologne and light sweat.

"What IS that?"

"What is what?" He replied.

"Your cologne, what are you wearing that smells so damn good?!"

He laughed, "Oh, that! It's Tom Ford, Noir Extreme," he smiled and looked at her, "you like it?"

She buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath. "I do, I sure do."

He clicked the lighter and took a long hit, held his breath, then handed it to her. She did the same and they stared wide-eyed at each other until they both exhaled, coughing and laughing.

"Oh that's good," he said, laughing and gasping for air.

She caught her breath and closed her eyes, letting the wave of relaxation sweep over her. She leaned against his chest again and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer by her lower back. The world melted away around her as she saw every cloud clear away and all the stars become visible. She pictured every building around them disappearing, leaving the two of them standing together. The universe spun around them as she felt the champagne and the bud kicking in even harder.

Her hands found his belt and she tugged on it, pulling herself closer to him. His body felt so good against her, he was muscular and warm and she felt so comfy and safe next to him. She ran her hand up his side and onto his chest and as she looked up and opened her eyes she saw he was leaning in towards her. She closed her eyes again and looked upwards, turning slightly. She could feel his breath on her lips as he got closer; her heart raced as their hips pressed against each other.

The sound of his truck radio startled them. They both opened their eyes and looked at each other, slightly confused. The radio came on again.

"Shit, that's my tech number, I have to answer it." He grabbed the radio microphone.

"Dispatch, go ahead." He listened as the dispatcher reported a service call.

"Copy, understood, priority one, on my way."

Her heart sank a bit, it didn't sound good.

"Ugh, I have to go, just got an emergency call."

"Damn, that sucks!" She frowned.

"The sealant should be done curing soon, just turn on the machine to test it. If you don't see a leak anymore, it's fixed." He said as he quickly closed up his toolbox and put it back in his truck.

"Ok, will do, no problem. I'm glad you were able to come out here, thank you again, you're a really nice, sweet, hot guy!" She smiled at him as he climbed into his truck. "Maybe you'll come back to my store sometime."

"I hope I do, Amy, I hope I do. It was really nice meeting you, hope you have a great night and a great weekend." He put his seatbelt on, backed out of his parking spot, then drove off. As he turned out of the parking lot, she caught his face in the side mirror and saw he was looking at her smiling.

She stood in the parking lot letting everything sink in.

"What the hell just happened?!"

It was getting cold and she could see her breath as she briskly walked back inside. She turned on the machine he repaired and let it run while she went to her office and grabbed her stuff. The machine ran like normal without any signs of a leak and she breathed a sigh of relief. She shut it off, locked up the store, then got in her car and began her drive home. She turned the radio down and began to replay the events of the evening.

"Did that really happen?" She smiled as she caught a whiff of his cologne that had rubbed off on her.

Chapter III

Her friends quickly spotted her and waved as she entered the bar. She draped his jacked over her seat and sat down, just as mimosa slid into her hand.

"OK OK OK what's with the jacket?" Her friend asked inquisitively. "That is definitely a man's jacket!"

"He left it!"

"Wait, HE? Back up!"

"Ok, it was a long night, so, after the winner was announced—"

"You mean after YOU were announced as the winner?!" They raised their glasses, toasting and cheering.

"You guys are too much!" She took a sip from her drink.

"Ok, so that same night, one of my machines broke as I was about to close, right," her friends as they hung on every word. "So long story short, I end up calling the maintenance company that was there the day before. The day before, there was this HOT guy at my store, right, so when I called last night they sent a truck out and wouldn't you know it, it was that same dude!"

"Oh?? And the jacket is his?? Geez, what happened, Amy?!" Her friends laughed and sipped.

"Nothing, actually! Well, we got high outside by his truck, and then we almost made out...I think."

"You think?! Boy, that must have been some good shit he had!" They all laughed together. "What does he look like?"

"Tall. Ripped."

"What?! Wait. How do you know? You saw his body?!"

"Well...no. I felt it."

"What?! Oh this is getting good." Her friends were practically falling over as they leaned in for the goods.

"Shut. Up! Well, we were about to make out, and he got a work call and had to leave. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I was still wearing his jacket. He put it around me when we were outside."

"Really?! That is SO sweet! Please tell us you got his number, girl!"

"Well I didn't actually. It all happened so fast! He works out of state I'm pretty sure, and he went back already. I'm telling you, the whole time I kept asking myself 'am I in the twilight zone?' Then by the time I got home it was so late, I passed right out. Then I woke up this morning and saw the jacket and had to replay everything back in my head." She finished her drink.

"Well damn, girl! Here's to almost making out with a hot guy at work!" They toasted and drank. "Another round?"

"Nah, I'm gonna head out, I have a long night of chillin' on my couch planned."

"Yeah I'll bet you do, sitting at home thinking about your maintenance man?" Her friend teased her.

"Oh my god, shut up!!" Her friends laughed as they paid their tab.

-------

The sun had just started going down and she had a bubble bath drawn, relaxing music on, and a candle going. She poured herself a fresh glass of champagne from her celebratory bottle and set it on the side of the tub. She looked in the mirror and slightly opened her robe. At times, she had been overly critical of her body, but tonight she was feeling herself. Even though nothing technically happened between them, the way his body felt against hers last night told her he liked what he saw.

"You must be doing something right, hun, you still got it!"

She took her robe off and hung it up before slipping into the tub. She sunk in, laid back, smiled, and closed her eyes, taking in the music. Moving her body slowly side to side, she let her thoughts wander. She replayed the conversation with her friends, them teasing her about the guy. Then her thoughts turned to the previous night. She sank into the tub a bit more and smiled, letting her hands feel herself and work downwards, opening her legs slowly and feeling the water rush over her. Her phone vibrated against the tub.

"Ugh!" She grabbed her phone quickly and went to turn it to silent, noticing it was a text notification. "What the hell," she opened her messages and saw it was the maintenance company number. Her heart jumped as she opened it.

"It's a survey." She laughed to herself, holding the phone down. "Wait a minute." She kept reading the text.

*On a scale from 1-10, how would you rate the service you received? 1 being terrible, 10 being would definitely like to be serviced again.*

She stared at her phone suspiciously. "What kind of survey is this?" She grinned from ear to ear as she typed in a response.

"10. But only if you send that hot guy again." She hit send. After a few seconds, she saw typing bubbles, her heart jumped again.

*Hey, hottie, how's your day going?*

Her face lit up as she held the phone closer and sank a bit deeper into the tub.

"Hey sexy man! Going pretty well, just enjoying a bubble bath..."

*Oh, hope I'm not bothering you! Was just saying hello. *

"Not at all!" Her heart raced. "In fact, I thought the hot water took a while to heat up, too bad I don't have a maintenance man to look at it..." She hit send and held her breath.

*Well, funny you say that...what are you doing tonight, say around 7?*

"Ummm, nothing in particular. Why do you ask?!" A million thoughts ran through her head, what was this guy up to now?

*I got to the airport just to see my flight was cancelled...again.  So I'm stuck here another night. That being said...*

She stared at the screen, wondering what to write. She wanted to scream with excitement as she saw text bubbles again.

*If you're free, we can finish what we started the other night...*

She gulped as the intrigue took over.

*Finish smoking that bud, I mean, of course. ;-)*

"Of course! Well, I'd really like that.  BTW, you left your jacket!"

*You're right, I did, guess I'll have to get that back! You hungry at all? I was going to grab a bite, would you like to join me?

She let her thoughts and emotions race as she read and re-read his texts. She felt the water on her body and she let herself feel aroused as she imagined and remembered how good he felt and smelled. Her thoughts shifted back to his texts, and how laid back and sweet he was. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to talk a guy like him!

"I would love to join you. " She hit send, then shared her location and address. "I'll be ready at 7, sexy man, I hope you're really here!"

Despite how excited she was, there was a little voice in the back of her mind telling her not to get too excited, that it was too good to be true and it wasn't real. It was some kind of joke or misunderstanding or he wouldn't make it for whatever reason.

*I'll see you at 7, Amy. *

She set the phone down and closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to soak it all in. Her thoughts switched rapidly between excitement, nervousness, disbelief, and everything in between. She couldn't remember the last time she felt excited to hear from a guy, much less the last time a guy was so sweet and kind to her. She grabbed her glass, guzzled her drink, then set it on the ground and sank back into the bath.

As the warm buzz of the champagne crept over her, she softly ran her hands down her hips and began rubbing her inner thighs. Her eyes were closed and she smiled, fantasizing about him. Her legs opened and she began to softly pet herself, moaning quietly. "Do I do it now...or do I wait?" She tormented herself, debating, becoming more aroused. There was something about him, his body language, the way he talked to her, that made her feel like he would take care of her; she decided to wait.

She stepped out of the tub and into her plush robe, smiling at her reflection as she began her routine. Her mind wandered, remembering the events of the last few days, the excitement of the current day, and the anxiousness of what would happen next. She finished her hair and makeup on auto-pilot, checked herself out in the mirror, and smiled. She liked feeling happy and excited, and his kind demeanor made her feel comfortable and confident. She slipped into a black lace bra and panties and threw on a black dress.

"Done!"

She finished straightening up her place and then checked the time. "6:55. You have 5 minutes, mister." Like clockwork, she got a text.

*Almost there.*

Her heart jumped, she walked to the front door and peeked out, seeing headlights approaching, but it didn't look like his truck. She tried to make out the shape of the vehicle but couldn't see past the lights. Was it him? Her doorbell rang and startled her. She quietly peeked again and saw him standing at her door. "Shit!" She whispered to herself as she leaned against her door and closed her eyes. She turned around, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, then opened the door.

"Well hello there, good to see you!" His voice and smile distracted her and calmed her down. He was wearing an open-collared shirt, dress pants, and a coat. She was glad she dressed up somewhat.

"Hey, good to see you, too!" She noticed the car lights were still on. "Looks like we're all ready to go? That's not your truck, though?"

"Oh, no, I got an Uber, I didn't want to drive that thing and I figure we could relax and be chauffeured around." He laughed, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

"Oh, that sounds great, I'm ready actually!" She grabbed her coat and stepped outside, locking up behind her. As she did so, he took her coat and began putting it on her. "Why thank you!" She laughed slightly, "Can't say I'm used to this!"

"Used to what? The cold weather?" He led her to the car and opened the rear door for her, motioning for her to get in.

"Umm..no, not the weather," she got into the car and put her seatbelt on. "I mean, I'm not used to such excellent service!"

"Ohh," he caught her drift, "well, we do our best." The driver checked his mirror then began driving.

"So, every time you try to leave this town, it seems like the universe plots against you, huh?" She felt slightly nervous yet reassured by his presence. He laughed, turning towards her. "

Yeah, seems that way huh? When I saw my flight was delayed, though, I'll tell you the first thought that came to my head was, 'hmmm, I wonder if Amy at the coffee shop is working tonight...'"

"You are so sweet, you know that? I'm glad you text me. Actually, when you text me I was..."

The car stopped suddenly. "Ah, we're here." He quickly exited the car, went to her side and opened her door. She stepped out and he shut the door. "I hope this place is OK, I picked it randomly since I'm not from here and don't know the area. It had good reviews, though!"

She looked up at the sign, "Vernon's Café."

"Looks good to me!" She said, as he walked her to the entrance. As they went inside they were greeted by the hostess who took them to booth near the back of the restaurant. They sat down and she buried her face in the menu, pretending to read as she let her mind catch up to the moment. Their server approached the table.

"Good evening, folks, welcome, I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you both something to drink?"

"I'll have a glass of cab."

"A club soda for me." He said, as the server scribbled it down.

"I'll have those right out for you."

She looked at him curiously. "Yeah, I'm not a big drinker," he held the menu up and whispered to her, "plus I plan on toking up tonight, know what I'm saying?" He grinned at her.

"Ah, that's right, and you need my assistance, yes? I remember now."

"You are correct!" He replied as he opened his coat slightly and showed her a glass tube with a joint in it. She nodded in approval and held up her glass.

"Well, cheers to that," she said as their glasses clinked.

"So what are you thinking of getting?" He asked her.

"Well, I'll be honest with you...I'm vegan, so I usually just do pasta and luckily they have a non-dairy cheese here if you ask for it, so I was actually really glad when we pulled up here! A lot of places don't have many vegan-friendly options at all."

"Really?? That is so interesting! You know I'm not vegan myself but lately I have been more curious about it. I'd love to at least try eating vegan." He stopped and looked at her, smiling. "I mean, eating vegan items, you know."

"Right, yes, of course," she felt her mind run, unable to stop herself. "Well, I'm biased but I really do think you should try eating vegan, and why not tonight?" He turned and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I mean, we're already here at the restaurant."

"Oh, right, of course!" He looked back at the menu. "Well you know what, I think I will try vegan!" He smiled as he set his menu down, then waved the server over. "I think we're all set to order."

"Excellent. For you, ma'am?"

"I'll have the vegan fettuccini alfredo, please." She handed her menu to the server.

"Of course, and for you, sir?"

"I'll do the vegan eggplant parmigiano."

"Ok folks, I'll get that going and dinner should be out shortly!"

As the server walked away, he leaned in close to whisper to her. She leaned in and turned her head, immediately smelling his cologne, he smelled so good again. "Shall we take a smoke break?"

"Why yes, I think we shall." She answered, playing along.

It was a quiet, clear evening as they strolled to a dark spot in the parking lot. He pulled the joint out of his coat pocket, put it to his lips, and lit it, taking a long drag before handing it to her. She took it and did the same. They both held their breath before exhaling slowly upwards. He nodded slowly, as if music were playing. "Oh yeah that's good...waited all day for that," he said quietly.

She took another hit and held it in. "It IS good. I'm sure you'd rather be smoking at home, though," she quickly said before exhaling, handing it back to him.