Routine Maintenance [FM] [Flirting] [Romance] [At Work]

A deluge of rain continued to fall in front of Revival Auto Repair as it had the entire morning. Alice absent-mindedly finished the sweeping tail of the smiling crocodile she’d been doodling on the foggy bay door windows facing the street.

There’d been a quick rush of customers early: commuters minding the bells and lights of their dashboard, just knocking one thing off the to-do list on the way into work. None took any notice of Alice.

“Just an oil change, I’ll wait in my car thank you very much!” they inevitably said before returning to their Starbucks and looking back into their laps, faces lit by the ghostly blue glow of their phones.

One after another she’d drained their oil, topped off fluids, and sent them happily on their way. Her father worked in the repair bay next to hers and she could see his experience today had been the same. She knew he wasn’t feeling well because he didn’t engage in her chiding him for being a slower technician than her. Most days he’d puff out his chest at such an accusation and challenge her to a race on the next customer, whereupon he’d inevitably beat her so soundly that he would personally walk over to her bay and install the oil filter on her own customer’s car.

“How do you ALWAYS win?!” she’d nudge him as the customers pulled away.

“One day I’ll give you my all my secrets,” he’d say with a smile, wiping his hands on a shop rag and walking away.

Of course, she’d never let on that she already knew his secret; that he would direct the vehicle with the larger engine into her bay while assisting the economy car into his own. He’d done half the work in that one motion: spotting himself two liters less to drain and two less again to replace. Today, however, he’d looked worn down and so she’d sent him home as soon as the commuter rush had vanished.

“I own the place, you can’t send me home!” he protested meekly, already gathering his keys and putting his tools away. Despite what looked to be the beginnings of a cold, her Dad always kept his work space tidy. “Besides, I hate leaving you here alone.”

“I’ll be fine, Dad! Tim and Steve are working this afternoon and all we have scheduled before that is an alternator job on Uncle Mark’s car and you know that’s like a bird’s nest on the ground to me. Go home, sleep through the soaps, and recover.” She directed him, pointing at the back door.

That was hours ago and all she’d done since is take a few calls and schedule the necessary appointments. She was growing bored and overly caffeinated, a combination that would have her doodling a friend for her window alligator in time. She walked into the office and noted the empty coffee carafe. She knew she shouldn’t, knew she’d be the only one drinking it, but she brewed another pot all the same. Alice kept a grinder behind the counter where she readied the filter, mixing her favorite darkly roasted beans with cinnamon. She poured the pot and watched it brew. The old coffee machine burbled and came to life, saddled next to a newer Keurig and selection of pods, the usual preference for waiting customers.

The pot was half poured and Alice was savoring the aroma when a horn blared from in front of the shop. A smile crept across her lips when she saw the hazy shape of the blue pickup idling in the rain. She couldn’t see the driver through the fogged glass but knew immediately it was Chris by the unmistakable blue jean color of his truck.

She checked her reflection in the glass door that separated the empty waiting room from the mechanics shop. Her chestnut brown hair fell just to her shoulders and she gave it a quick sweep behind her ear thankful she’d bothered to wear makeup today. Her eyes were honey brown and her skin still pale from the winter past. Despite the harshness of the fluorescent lights above, she felt she still looked pretty today. Her love for mountain biking and kayaking kept her in great shape, though with her lean form and youthful look she’d defended her age (yes! I was born in 93!) to more than one bartender.

She pushed the button to open the garage door in front of her work space and stepped in front of her workbench to throw on her coveralls while the truck pulled forward, inching uncertainly into the bay.

“You’re good right there,” she called to him, meeting his gaze through his windshield.

Chris stepped out standing tall and handsome, his face cleanly shaven and hair brushed back. He was dressed in a smartly pressed plaid shirt and clean grey pants. Were it not for his scuffed brown boots, she’d have thought him too clean for outside work but his early tan said otherwise. He was a regular customer of the last year or so and she always enjoyed his visits. He gave good gab and could keep up with her teasing ways. Every time he came in she’d try to pry out of him his profession but he seemed to enjoy frustrating her and withholding that detail.

“Late start at the insurance office?” she began their dance, feigning small talk.

“It’d be the last start if I had to work in a cubicle” he said, clearly repulsed by the thought. “How you been Allie cat?”

“Don’t you start that today!” she said in exasperation, throwing a clean shop towel at his too-pleased-with-himself face. “You know I don’t do nicknames, it’s Alice or silence from you! I never let my teachers call me anything else so I’m not going to let someone else’s teacher do any different!”

“I’ll bet you gave your teachers hell aside from that,” Chris shrugged, brushing the offending shop towel off his shoulder. He walked around the front of the truck and gave her a quick hug. “Where’s the owner?” he asked, taking note of the empty shop.

“Lazy bum, had to send him home,” she replied, “Not sure I can justify employing that lay-about much longer. If he’s just going to mope around looking sick.”

“Well I hope he feels better soon,” said Chris, “I only need an oil change today but if I need something more complicated down the road, I’d hate to entrust my chariot to one of his inept technicians.”

At that, Alice punched him gently in the shoulder. They continued catching up for a few more minutes before she caught him eyeing the waiting room.

“Go on, I just brewed it.” She said, dismissing him to grab a cup of coffee.

“Am I that obvious?” he asked in a knowing half-joke while walking away.

Alice went through her workbench and gathered everything she’d need for the operation at hand and walked back to their stock shelves to locate the right filter. When she returned to the truck she walked to the driver’s side door and opened it, reaching in to release the hood and while looking around and finding frustratingly little in the way of clues to what it was Chris did for a living. He kept his interior clean and aside from some carpenter’s pencils and a few generic invoices with only his name as the billing party there simply wasn’t anything to glean in plain sight. She simply wasn’t nosey enough to start opening consoles and glove boxes so she closed the door and sighed.

*You’re not talking either are you Babe?* She asked the blue pickup in her mind. The truck had no comment, no business signage, and the cover over the bed didn’t give her anything more to go on. *Thought not.* Noticing the fallen rag she’d thrown at Chris earlier still lying on the shop floor, she reached down to pick it up, hearing approaching boots announce Chris’ return.

“Now this is why I come here.” He said, walking to the front of the truck.

“Excuse me?” she asked incredulously, looking up at him while still bending over to pick up the discarded towel. She could see immediately by his flustered reaction that he hadn’t meant it as a skeevy come-on and likely hadn’t even realized she’d bent over but she cherished the opportunity to make him uncomfortable all the same.

“Just because Dad isn’t around today, don’t take it as freedom to prowl about and leer at the help,” she teased.

“I’m really sorry Alice, I honestly just meant to compliment your coffee.” He said bashfully, raising his mug. “You make the best mud in town… mean it.”

He raised the cup to his lips and drank to prove his point. She savored the sight herself, loving that he loved her efforts and feeling appreciated in his admiration. She gave him a forgiving wink and offered him a stool to sit in while she worked.

Their playful banter continued throughout the process and by the time she turned his engine and checked the dipstick, she was feeling like a teenager hanging around the hall between classes with the boy she’d been making eyes at for weeks and she didn’t want the bell to ring, shutting the hood and prying him from her and back into the world outside her garage. She turned the truck off and took his key out of the ignition, thinking of any other maintenance she could suggest to keep him here. She peeled her coveralls off, revealing a simple grey tank top and army green pants. She walked to her work bench, grabbing a package and showing it to Chris.

“These are really cool,” she said excitedly, walking around the back of the truck with Chris following behind. “It’s a kit that slowly lowers your tailgate so it doesn’t just drop like a brick every time you go to open it. They’re cheap and I could have it installed in ten minutes.”

She unlocked the tailgate and pulled it to allow the door to fall in a loud bang but instead it fell slowly and gently, easing down until it was fully open. The disappointment showed readily on her face.

“I think the GMCs have them from the factory now, but they are great,” offered Chris. “Have you seen these new tailgates? They pull out every which way now.” He said this while pulling out a small additional step, short enough that Alice wouldn’t have to leap like a pole vaulter to climb up into the bed of the truck and could instead stand on the new step.

But that wasn’t what held her attention. In the middle of the now-open bed was a large form covered by moving blankets for protection. Chris followed her gaze and realized immediately the game was up.

“You’re a sly one, pretending to try and sell me something for an excuse to get a look at my bed.” He said, shaking his head. He moved around the bed of the truck and folded the cover back, letting the dull shop light fall onto the blue blankets. He walked around behind her and she looked back with a pleading expression.

“Go on, uncover her.”

Alice bit her lower lip and stood on the step Chris had created with his fancy tailgate. She leaned forward and delicately pulled the moving blanket to her, uncertain of what she was going to reveal. What she found dropped her jaw to the floor less deftly than the tailgate had moments ago.

“Is—is that a jaguar?!” she said, unable to hide her excitement.

“It is,” affirmed Chris, “Careful, the lacquer is pretty fresh. Smells about as sweet as that peach air freshener you got hanging somewhere in this shop. What do you think of her?”

Hiding her smile at his noticing her new perfume, Alice took her time inspecting the jaguar. It lay diagonally in the bed of the pickup, impressive in scale, and delicately carved in thick wood. It was posed in a ferocious stance, paw out as if to strike, mouth open in a great roar and teeth bared proudly. There was a hole through the abdomen and back and a long polished brass pole set aside, running the length of the bed. The colors were painted beautifully bright in hues of yellow and orange. The spots were too-large but when she leaned closer to examine them, Alice saw why. Each spot contained a small constellation of stars, expertly painted in white and pink.

“This must have taken a lot of work Chris.” Alice said, running her hands over the finely sanded wood paw, “She looks incredible.”

“Yeah, she sure does.” Chris said from behind her in an absent tone. Turning to look at him, Alice caught his eyes immediately darting away. *He was definitely checking out my ass that time* she thought to herself with some giddiness.

“But I have to know, where on Earth is there such a beautiful carousel that she’d fit in?” she asked, curiously.

“There isn’t a carousel.” Chris explained, “this customer orders a new one every year for his granddaughter’s birthday. She’s five this year so this one is going to have company but he displays them in a large entertaining area of his mansion up in the hills. She’s into outer space this year so I thought the stars would be a nice touch. You really like it?”

Alice didn’t say a word. She stepped off the tailgate and closed the five steps between them without ever taking her eyes off his. On reaching him, she placed her left hand on his chest and pulled him down to her with her right, kissing him with abandon.

Once his surprise had melted away he kissed her in kind, returning her passion with his own and pulling her close. His big hands rested on her hips and she felt his strength in them, his grip effortlessly strong. They kissed again and again, refusing to break the spell by acknowledging it aloud. His lustful intensity grew until she could feel herself being pushed back toward the truck and she gave into it, wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her to the waiting tailgate.

Pawing at each other with desire, his hands lifted her top and immediately found her breasts. He deliberately brushed by her nipples, giving them only the faintest sensation of passing flesh before withdrawing his hands again.

“Are you sure you want to—” he started to ask before she again covered his lips with her own. They’d been dancing coyly around this attraction for long enough she’d decided. She wanted to experience it now.

Between frenzied kisses, she reached down and pulled her shirt off entirely, implicitly inviting him to attend to her breasts now bared to his eyes. Again, he surprised her by not directing his immediate attention to her chest but instead kissing her neck.

“Oh yes, I love that!” she crooned in his ear. With her continued encouragement, he focused his kisses on her neck, breaking his efforts there only to renew their embrace on her lips. As her desire grew so did her anticipation. She felt her inner heat rising and her legs wrapped tighter around his waist. She was grinding into him now, enjoying the sensation of his now rather obvious need pressing firmly against her yearning clitoris separated by nothing but the clothing they were wearing.

Perhaps sensing her own thoughts, he unbuttoned her pants, slowly easing the zipper down. She stood on the small tailgate step for him, allowing him to pull her pants slowly down, finally tossing them aside. She sat down again on the tailgate but rather than wait, she leaned back, laying on her back, lifted her legs, and pulled her panties off slowly, relishing the look of intense hunger on his face. As she returned to her seat on the truck tailgate, she tossed her panties aside with her pants, she met his eyes and didn’t let go. She slowly parted her legs, allowed her fingers to find her now wet and demanding vulva, and she idly began to play with herself.

Not one to watch a girl dance alone, Chris knelt down and began massaging her thighs before gently moving her hands aside and replacing them with his own.

Feeling his fingers on her was like feeling a spark. Her body responded immediately and she found his hands were capable of much, given their use to delicate workmanship. He played with her gently, teasing her most sensitive spots before finally resting on her clitoris and building the friction she needed there. She didn’t have an easy time reaching orgasm with the men she’d been with but she knew immediately it wouldn’t be outside his reach.

As her moans intensified with his tempo, he stopped and leaned forward, immediately replaced his fingers with his tongue. With the instantaneous new sensation and intense beat he played against her clitoris with his tongue, she felt as if she’d just changed speeds on her vibrator. She was building now from the hill a rollercoaster might climb, all rattles and anticipation, to the delight of seeing the crest and knowing there’s no turning back.

“Keep doing exactly that, it feels unbelievable!” she cooed, hoping he wouldn’t take her encouragement, as some men do, to mean pick up the pace or go harder. Instead, he continued at the pace he’d set as she felt her orgasm approach. She reached down with one hand and ran her fingers through his hair and with the other grasped her nipple firmly.

“I’m coming. O Christ yes, just like that you’re gonna make me come!” this last word felt pinched in her throat as her legs gripped him and she felt her muscles tighten again and again. She rode the wave of intense pleasure rippling through her body cascading outward from her clit.

As her orgasm subsided he slowed his pace allowing her to come down easy. She pulled him up into another embrace and savored the faint taste of cinnamon and coffee that managed to remain on his tongue.

“Five stars.” She said, nearly out of breath, “The appetizer was worth the trip. Let’s see the main course.” She reached down, allowing her hand to settle on his erection now uncomfortably bulging against his pants. She felt the weight of it, the ample size, and kissed him again.

Honk.

*No. Not now.* she thought.

Honk.

*We’re closed. For the next three hours*. But when she looked at the clock on the wall, she saw it was nearly 11 and she flushed and her body stiffened.

“Shit!” she cursed, “You have to get out of here. That’s my uncle in for an alternator change!’ At this, he laughed and tossed her the pants and panties next to him. She slid them on quickly before reaching for her coveralls. Chris tossed the blanket back over the carved jaguar and folded the cover again over the bed before slamming the tailgate.

As her uncle entered the waiting room, drenched by the downpour outside, Alice was innocently standing at her workbench, scribbling something with a sharpie while Chris sat in his truck.

“April showers nothing” he complained, “that’s a damn hurricane out there! Sorry for honking at the door, sir, I couldn’t see you parked in here steamed up as the garage windows get in this humidity.”

“It’s fine, Uncle Mark, I just finished changing his oil so he’s outta here.” Alice exclaimed, slapping a sticker on the inside of Chris’s windshield. “Stay dry out there, Mister.” She said, meeting his eyes.

Unable to resist, Chris clapped back “Alright ma’am, don’t you get wet in here either.”

Alice covertly pinched his arm when she walked by to open the bay door and let him out. Chris gave a little wave while putting the truck in reverse and going back into the rain. While waiting for traffic to pull out of the lot, he eyed the “Change Oil By” sticker she’d made. It read “Better not be 3,000 miles” and finally her phone number scrawled in frantic bubbly type.

Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/jz90h8/routine_maintenance_fm_flirting_romance_at_work