The Other Side of Someday is LIVE!!!
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I
park and, after getting out of my car, smooth my dress before walking
to the office. A bell I don’t remember from my last visit chimes to
announce me.
“Be right out.” A voice calls out from the back.
My
eyes move over the sales posters on the wall. Shocks, brakes, and one
type of oil or another. It’s somewhat daunting how little I know about
how my car runs.
“How can I help you?”
I
turn at the sound of the voice and I am greeted with startling blue
eyes. I blink suddenly, certain mine are deceiving me. In addition, I
seem to have lost the ability to talk. I stare and gulp as my eyes
process the man in front of me. He’s tall, not as tall as Grant
Offenheim my mind argues, which is odd.
My
open perusal of him seems to amuse him. He gives me a crooked smile
while my eyes take him in; no dimples, my brain screams. I direct my
gaze to his biceps clearly straining his white t-shirt. My brain offers
no argument to them.
Once I find my voice I speak, “I was…” My tongue feels heavy and fatter than normal. “Looking for an older man who works here.”
His eyes narrow. “My dad isn’t here. Is there something I can help you with?”
I
wonder at his chilly response. “I had a flat tire last week and my card
was declined when I went to pay. Your dad told me not to worry about
it, but I wanted to come pay for it.”
“Shit,” he mutters under his breath.
“Excuse me?” I stammer.
He
takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just-” he stops to drag his hand
through his wavy hair. “My dad has a heart of gold, you know?”
I
slowly nod and he goes on. “You’re here to pay, which is great. I don’t
want to dump all over you for doing the right thing. It’s that my dad
has to stop letting people not pay or he’s going to lose the shop.”
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry. Here.” I take out my wallet. “Please let me pay you.”
He gives me a half smile. “Do you remember what the total was?”
I
groan, to which he raises his eyebrows. “It was embarrassing when my
card was declined,” I explain. “Trust me; I remember what the total
was.”
As
he rings me up for the figure I give him, I feel the need to tell him
why my card was declined. “Someone tried to pull money out of my account
from overseas. My bank wouldn’t authorize any new transactions until
they could confirm whether or not I knew about it. I didn’t know about
it but that’s all straightened out now.” I gulp. “I don’t want you to
think I couldn’t afford the work.”
His
eyes widen, but I can tell he gets it. He quietly hands me my receipt.
“Is your dad taking the day off? I’d like to thank him, personally, at
some point for what he did,” I babble on. “You have no idea what an
awful day that was. Your father not charging me was the one nice thing
that happened.” His expression hardens, so I start backpedaling. “I’m
being silly, I know. Maybe, if you tell him thank you for me. I don’t
want to waste your time.”
I
turn to go, but he reaches over the counter to grab my wrist. I shake
my head and stare at his hand, not fully understanding why he stopped
me.
He
releases me, putting his hands up. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you
something before you left.” He pauses, his eyes lifting from my arm to
my face. “I’m Clay, by the way.”
“I’m Courtney,” I stammer, weirded out by the random introduction.
“I don’t usually work here. I’m only helping out because my dad fell and broke his hip.”
“Oh, my God! That’s awful,” I blurt.
Clay
walks around the counter and sits in one of the plastic waiting room
chairs. “He’s so stubborn. He needs to sell this place and retire, but
he won’t.”
My mouth drops.
“You
don’t need me dumping all of this on you. Absolutely, I’ll tell my dad
you stopped by to thank him. It will mean a lot to him.”
“But what about the garage?” I blurt.
He squints at me. “What do you mean?”
“I can work here.” I think I’ve lost my mind.
He cocks his head at me, an amused grin spreading over his face. “Do you even know anything about cars?”
I scratch the back of my neck before shrugging. “Not really.”
He stands, moving closer to me. “You’re adorable.”
“Pardon?” I take a step back.
“You seriously want to become a mechanic?” He’s teasing me.
“No,” I admit. “I don’t even know where that idea came from.”
“Too bad. I wouldn’t mind working here from time to time if he hired someone as cute as you.”
“Ugh.” Cute? Adorable? I head for the door.
He follows me through it. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Aw, don’t get mad.”
I turn to face him. “This has been great fun; but since I’m all paid up, I’m going to head home.”
“Would you like to go out sometime?”
“Not even a little bit,” I snap.
He grins. “Not even this much?” He holds his hand up with a sliver of space between his thumb and his index finger.
I can’t help it, I laugh. “I don’t like you.”
He looks at me. “I think you might.”
“I just got out of a really serious relationship,” I begin.
He
jumps in. “All the better to go out with someone you don’t even like.
It’ll be like practice for when you meet someone you do.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” I argue.
From the desk of:
Find Carey on:
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HER WEBPAGE
Buy her Books here:
AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
KOBO
iTUNES
