Come on now, where is Dock’s phone number? A guy had come in that morning wanting to purchase the exact motorcycle Dock had in his possession – a ’79 Honda GL 1000 K 3 Gold Wing. Dock’s was in great condition. He’d worked on it himself.
The bell chimed. “Hey. Hold on a second,” he said. That was met with fluttery, feminine laughter and the sound of paper rustling. He let his gaze fall on his visitor. “What are you doin’ here, girl?”
“I know I told you we needed to wait a few days before checking another property of your father’s due to that author I told you about coming into town last minute for a signing, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have an hour to spare for my honey, and bring you some lunch.” Lauren offered him a bag she was holding. He casually took it, more interested in the pink and white polka dot dress she wore, which hugged her in all the right places. She’d paired it with a white cardigan and had on pink high heels. Around her neck was a string of pearls, matching earrings, and her hair was pulled away from her face and clipped in the back.
“Hot damn. You look good. You know that, right?”
She placed her hand on her hip and eyed him.
“If that’s a compliment, Aries, I’ll take it.”
He smirked and opened the bag.
“It is. Oh now, would ya look at this.” He reached into the bag and removed a clear plastic wrapped sandwich. “Looks like turkey, swiss, tomato and ham on toasted rye. You know this is like my favorite sandwich, right?”
“I know. I listen. I pay attention to what you say.”
“You’re tryna get in trouble, lady… make me drag you in the back, whip it out and give you what for.” He winked as she burst out laughing. She blushed, her cheeks a gorgeous plum sheen against her mahogany skin. And that beautiful smile of hers lit up the entire damn shop. He dipped his hand in the paper sack again and produced a bag of Lays potato chips, an ice cold bottle of lemon iced tea, a large chocolate chip and pecan cookie with her store logo on the wrapping, a boiled egg sprinkled with black pepper and a pickle spear.”
“This is just perfect. Reminds me of the good lunches my grandmother used to pack me every now and again.” He unscrewed the iced tea bottle lid and drank some. “I was hungry as hell, too. Was thinking about going ’round the corner to McDonalds. I hate the place, but I go at least a few times a week because it’s fast and practically right next door.” He shrugged.
“That’s not a suitable lunch, Aries. Anyway, I know you’ve been working real hard lately, and so have I. We’ve barely spoken, but I just wanted to remind you that you’re thought about and cared for. Don’t want to take much more of your time. I’ll be going now.”
“Hold on, now.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Give me like ten minutes, baby. Spare it for me. Eat with me.”
“Oh, honey, I already ate before I drove over here. I have—”
“Let me go wash my hands. Come on. I’ve missed you. Just ten minutes.” Her cheeks warmed with color again. “Stay put.”
“Okay. I’ll wait right here.”
When he returned from the bathroom break, he found Lauren on the other side of the room, looking at some of his tools near the open repair garage. A big man stood a few feet away from him with his helmet in his hand, his head bald and a big, scruffy white beard gracing his face. The man stared at Lauren before taking a few steps toward the counter. Homemade faded blue tattoos covered his freckled arms, and he wore big boots with chains.
“Hey, how are ya?”
“I’m good. Saw your shop as I was comin’ by. Do you do restoration?”
“Depends on what it is.” Aries grabbed a paper towel and cleaned his hands as best he could.
“Kawaski Vulcan.” Aries discarded the balled-up towel in the trashcan as if throwing a basketball in a hoop and leaned against the counter.
“Yeah. Do you need a full body restoration?” The big guy shrugged.
“Probably. It’s rusted out pretty damn bad.”
“Got it with you?”
“Sure do. I drove it over here actually”
“Cool. I’ll come out and take a look.”
The big guy shot Lauren a glance as they exited. Did he know her from somewhere? The two made their