Chapter Ten
Jason
It was beginning to feel a lot icier around this small town. The air now had a painful crisp to it, forcing me to work in long sleeves, which I hated. In the garage, I could putz around in jeans and my shirt, but if I wanted to work on my car now, I had to do it with clothes on, and all they did was get in the way. I officially had to bust out Jenna’s winter clothes so she could keep playing outside, but her stuffy nose was beginning to worry me. She loved playing outside, and the cold weather was always brutal to her sinuses. I wasn’t about to risk her getting sick just so I could tinker around out here.
That meant I had to relegate working on my car until she was down for a nap. If I was outside, she wanted to be outside, and there was nothing I could do about that free and demanding little spirit of hers.
I heard a pair of feet walk up the sidewalk, but then they ceased their movements. I continued to fiddle around while the cold morning air kicked up around us, but when they didn’t make another move or saying anything, I spoke up.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Nope. Just watching.”
Oh, great. It was Megan. She’d been coming by a bit too much and getting flirty a bit too often while my daughter was around, and even though I didn’t want to see her, I was glad Jenna was napping.
“You sure?” I asked.
“I’m sure.” She smiled lightly at me while I peered around the open hood of my car, wondering what the hell she was doin’. She had on these incredibly tight jeans and a tank top she was practically spilling out of. When the wind kicked up, I had no issues seeing her hardened nipples poke right on through her shirt, and part of me wanted to ask if she understood how desperate she looked.
Every time she came around, I tried to be nice. She’d touch my arm, and I’d shift away. She’d step a bit too close, and I’d find an excuse to go get Jenna. She was our neighbor, and I was trying to be friendly, but her advances were incredibly pushy. I’d almost had enough. I looked over her body one last time before I went back to working on my truck, and I couldn’t decide if her just wanting to watch was flattering or creepy.
In any other circumstance with any other woman, I’d be all over it. Playful banter, flirtatious remarks, maybe a bit of making out against my car—the works. But, Megan? Not so much.
“Whatcha up to this weekend, Jason?” she asked.
“I’m actually lookin’ forward to it. I’m taking Jenna to the zoo a few towns over, and then, we’re gonna have a movie day. She’s very excited. You?”
I looked over at her and saw the disappointment wash over her face. Her smile that crinkled her freckles had slowly dissipated, and her arms fell to her sides. She was no longer trying to flash me a massive smile or shove her tits out for the world to see, nor was she attempting to hide that she was annoyed. I didn’t give a shit if I’d just lied to her about my plans. If some bitch was gonna be pissed ‘cause I was spending time with my daughter instead of her, she could fuck off.
“Ah, not much. Just figured I’d stop by to say hi,” she said.
“Well, it was nice to see you.”
“You, too.”
She slowly began to walk off, and I watched her the entire way while I cleaned off my wrench. I knew I’d have to keep my eye on her, but now I had a perk to working on my car outside while Jenna was sleeping.
It meant I could keep her away from Megan.
I went back to working on my car and finally got to what I’d been trying to reach. I slowly sat parts off to the side while I dug around for a screw I’d dropped, and I raised up and banged my head when a car backfired nearby. I rubbed the sore spot with my greasy hands while I looked up to see where the hell all that noise was comin’ from. Then, I saw Lucy’s car barrelin’ down the road in a haze of smoke.
Her car was lurching and wheezing, struggling just to get down the road. The air, tainted with its crisp apple smell, was now permeated with engine smoke and the remnant smell of old car fuel. Her car needed a serious amount of work, and it needed work quickly. If I could catch her before she shut her car off, she could get it to the shop.
I tried to flag her down while she was pulling into the driveway, but the smoke was so thick, she couldn’t see me. Then, her car shut off. Well, it wouldn’t be going anywhere now without a tow truck. She stumbled out, red-faced, angry, and cursing under her breath. She was pissed, that much I could tell, but when she kicked the tire of her car, I couldn’t help but smirk. She was honestly cute when she was upset, with her blond hair tousled and her neck reddened with stress. I had a few ways I could think of to help her get rid of that stress and bring that flush down her body a bit, but I shook the thought away when she turned and spotted me.
“You really should get that fixed soon,” I said.
I watched her walk toward me after throwing her keys in the grass. She pulled her coat tight around her body once the wind began to pick up again, and all it did was blow that beautiful blond hair around her cute little angered face. I wondered if she knew how adorable she looked right now, but she’d probably punch me or something for finding her anger amusing.
“I don’t have the money right now. Especially not for serious repairs like that,” she said. “What the hell am I gonna do?”
“Wow, such a dirty little mouth. Do you kiss yourself in the mirror every day with that mouth?”
“Ha, ha, ha. But seriously, I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”
“Well, I fixed your hoses a little while back. I could take a look if you wanted.”
“I can’t put you out like that,” she said. “I haven’t even paid you for the hoses yet.”
“And you don’t owe me anythin’. We’re neighbors. I’m happy to help out,” I said.
“If this is a serious issue, then it’s gonna cost you money to fix if I don’t pay you. I’m not doing that to you,” she said.
“If it’s a serious parts issue, I have connections and could get you those parts cheaper,” I said.
“God, if I’m lucky, maybe it won’t be something that important.”
“The plume of smoke rising from the hood of your car could’ve signaled rain. It’s a serious issue, and now it’s a hazard for you to drive. Just let me take a look at it,” I said. She was being stubborn, and sometimes I admired that spunk in a woman. But, right now, her stubbornness was putting her in a great amount of trouble, especially if she was actually thinking about continuing to drive it, and something inside me was suddenly not okay with that.
“And me looking at it here will save you towing costs. Seriously, this is what I do. Let me look at it,” I urged.
“But I still haven’t paid you for those hoses,” she said breathlessly. “And I just... it doesn’t feel right, Jason. Let me pay you something. Anything.”
God, she’d opened the perfect avenue. My cock throbbed, and my eyes raked up and down her trembling form. She was obviously cold and still very upset, and all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and pull her close. I bet her tight little body would feel warm against my chest, and her legs would slide smoothly between mine if we were laying down in a bed.
I had my opening, and I was taking it.
“Alright. Fine. If you feel that determined to pay, then I’m not taking your money. Why don’t you let me take you out?” I asked.
“What?” she asked.
“That’s my price: one date with me in payment for the hoses and the work it’ll take to fix your car up now.”
“But, isn’t that just more money for you to be spending?” she asked. “Taking me out and then fixing up my car?”
“You told me to name my price, and I did,” I said.
I watched a battle rage behind her eyes while she looked from me to her car. I knew I hadn’t misread all those times I’d caught her staring at me from her porch, the look in her eye I was certain about, but I started to wonder if maybe I’d gone about this all wrong. Women like Megan I didn’t give a shit about. I’d ask them out, and they almost always said yes no matter how I did it. Women like Lucy, however—with their hesitancy and their inner tumultuous battles—had morals she was battling. Emotions and feelings and shit. She was weighing pros and cons and trying to rationalize going out with her neighbor while still trying to keep the peace.
And no doubt, she was trying to convince herself it was a good idea after losing her husband.
It still shook me up in the wrong way that Megan has just blurted out that tidbit of information about her.
“Alright, I suppose it couldn’t hurt. One date in exchange for the car work,” she said.
“Deal,” I said, smiling. “I’ve got tomorrow morning off, so I’ll take a look at your car then. If you wanna just leave the keys out for me somewhere, that’s fine. Or, I can come bang down your door whenever I get the chance.”
“Just don’t bang too hard. I don’t have the money to fix my door, either,” she said with a grin.
“I’ll be as gentle as you want me to be.”
She fluttered her gaze up to mine, and I saw that same look I’d seen so many times before. That lustful shock that always rolled over her eyes whenever I made a quip at her that sparked thoughts she couldn’t keep at bay. I enjoyed that look on her, taking her by surprise in these vulnerable moments. I wanted to think she enjoyed my presence as much as I enjoyed hers, because even just talking with her made me feel alive again.
Like Jenna’s mother had when she’d been still here.
“Well, I gotta shut up shop and go check on Jenna. It’s almost time for her nap to be over.”
“Oh, a nap sounds fabulous,” she said. “Tell her I said hello. Oh! And tell her I hung her picture up just like I said I would. She can come over anytime and check it out.”
“I’ll let her know, but if she comes over, make sure you’ve got popsicles and macaroni and cheese.”
“I can definitely have those things on hand for her,” she said. Her smile lit up her eyes, and I noticed she had a slight dimple in her left cheek. My thumb burned to caress it, to run it over the little divot and watch her skin flush underneath my touch. Lucy was a vision to look at, and every time I was around her, I saw and learned something new. Today, I learned she had a dimple and was cute when she was upset, but on the date, I hoped to find out much, much more.
Like what her fingernails felt like raking down my back.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.
“See you tomorrow. And just let me know whenever you want to cash in on that date. I’m all yours,” she said.
And every single muscle in my body twitched as those words flew from her mouth.