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The New Guy Excerpt

Oil changes: the most boring thing in the world.  Right??  Flipping through three-month-old magazines for kids isn’t exactly my idea of excitement.  Well then, you’ve never been to my mechanic.  His nametag said McLain.  He’d bought the place a few months earlier, he’d always been on the other side of the shop, just leaving me to stare.  I’d call an oil change and go sit in the waiting room supposedly reading about the latest break up 6 months after it happened but really staring at him.  Especially when he bent over to look in the engine compartment.  Ah yes, the spiel to get you to spend more as the door opened.  Without a word out of his mouth, I would buy anything he asked.  Six foot one of lean coffee colored skin and a smile that would have melted my grandmother; oh, and that cute little goatee. 

“Your car has over a hundred thousand miles on it.  I’d really suggest spending a little extra for the formulation designed just for that.”

“Sure, it doesn’t get driven much, probably a good idea.”  See how that cute thing works.  I could never put a frown on such a perfect delickious mouth.

“Your air filter looks great your husband must change it regularly so I don’t need to worry you about that.”

“My father’s car actually.  I’m not married.  Not anymore more at least.”  I knew I was rambling, but I wanted him to stay a little while so I could drool.  My car was brand new; the first one I’d ever owned, when I came in there was never anything to talk about.  I bought it just before he came to town.  We would have been old friends if it was still my old one.  “He doesn’t drive it much after his stroke so I doubt it has much chance to get dirty.” 

The car in the other bay honked and he excused himself for a moment.  The big huge SUV pulled out leaving the shop empty. 

“Sorry about that.  Now, Miss Riley…”

“Just call me Kate.”

“Now Kate, I’m going to suggest you go down in the pit.”

The closeness of him made a shiver of unexpected warmth run through me.  My mouth opened and just hung there.  “I . . .”

“You’re the last one of the day, and are you going to deny you’ve been staring at me every time you come in?”  Then he held up . . . he held up the vibrator I had in the glove box.  “You always keep this in your dad’s car or just when you come to have the oil changed.”

“Only since you started working here.”