Mechanic: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 23)

by Flora Ferrari

  I expect him to look me up and down and make some sort of face at my sorry situation. He doesn’t.

  “I might have some good news.”

  “Really? That’s great,” I say trying to hold back the sobs.

  “Your car will take an engine that we already have here at the garage. It’s not a perfect fit, but we can get it in and get you on your way a lot quicker.”

  “That’s great news, but I’m guessing it’s not going to be cheap.”

  “Well, it’s a used engine so it’s the cheapest you’ll find. I’ll knock off twenty-five percent, and throw in the labor free. It won’t take me long, and I don’t mind.”

  “How much are we talking?”

  “All in. Five hundred.”

  I know he can see the pain in my face at the reaction to his number.

  “You can pay me when you come back through, if it makes things easier.”

  “I’m not planning on coming back through,” I say.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “California.”

  “California?”

  “Yeah. I have to be there by tomorrow tonight. I’m opening up a The Hollywood Improv.”

  “You’re a comedian?”

  “Yeah. Pretty ironic, isn’t it?”

  He does his best not to laugh, but I’m the one who brought it up. I smile and before I know what’s happening I’m laughing so hard I’m bent over. Thank god for my crazy childhood that allows me to laugh at anything. I should be going crazy right now, and inside I am, but even I can see the humor in this situation.

  “How much stuff do you have with you?”

  “Just me and my backpack.”

  He motions with his head, and I come out of the bathroom. I hadn’t even realized we were having a conversation half in and half out of the bathroom. I file it away for a future addition to my stand-up routine, under “that one time in Texas when I was in the hot mechanic’s bathroom.”

  And is he ever hot. I could see he was good looking when I arrived, but he was so covered in grease, oil, sweat and who knows what else at first I couldn’t really see just how good looking he was.

  And it sure doesn’t hurt that he has manners. Unfortunately, it seems like manners are a lost art these days. We pride ourselves down south on our manners, and he certainly doesn’t disappoint.

  We walk back out into the lot and he walks around my car, surveying it. I’m not sure what he’s got in mind, but it’s attractive that he’s trying to think of something. I’ve got on my only good dress, and I probably look like Miss Priss right now, but deep down I’m a simple girl. I like a guy who isn’t afraid to take charge, and one who’s just as good with his head as he is with his hands. And it’s becoming clear he’s good with both.

  For a moment I think how nice it would be if I were stuck here overnight. Maybe we could have gone out for a drink, and maybe more.

  I’ve been saving myself for the right guy, but as the years continue ticking by I’m wondering if Mister Right even exists, or if I’ll have to eventually settle for Mister Right Now. I’m still holding out hope, but at some point in the future I’m going to have to face reality.

  “Mind if I pop the trunk?”

  “Help yourself,” I say.

  He turns the key and the back pops open, just as my jaw drops to that scorching asphalt below my feet. In the back of my car is the big pack of bottled waters I got for the trip, just in case I got stranded in a situation like this, and…my pink dildo.

  I never put it in my backpack since I’m sleeping at friends’ houses all the time. I don’t want it accidentally falling out so I just leave it in the trunk.

  I see his eyes find it, and although he does a good job of being subtle, I see his eyebrows pull back in amazement.

  I am so embarrassed, and now he’s probably thinking of another way I can pay. He must think deep down I’m a dirty little girl.

  “I can offer you five hundred for your car. To be honest, we’ll strip it for parts and we’ll probably get about three hundred for all of it. It’s a thousand dollar difference. Paying five hundred or getting five hundred. Plus it’s the most anyone around here will offer. I’m sure of it.”

  “Thank you,” I say. “But that still doesn’t get me to Hollywood by tomorrow night.”

  “That doesn’t, but I will.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Mack

  I look in the rearview and see Axel standing there staring in disbelief as we pull out of the lot and make our way toward the I-10 onramp.

  I don’t know what’s crazier…that I offered or that she accepted.

  I’ve always wanted to take a dip in the Pacific and I figured what better time than now. Life is short, and I know a girl like this isn’t going to come around again. And I don’t mean as in not soon…I mean as in ever.

  I’m all in. I don’t want to look back in fifty years and wonder “what if.” I’ve worked hard and made my money, now it’s time to live a little.

  “Mind if I turn on the radio?” she asks.

  “Not at all,” I say. Make that live a lot. I can see she’s got a zest for life and I’m looking forward to sharing it with her.

  “Oh, I like this one,” she says, turning up the volume, as she starts singing along…

  Well I'm a-runnin' down the road, tryin' to loosen my load

  I've got seven women on my mind

  Four that want to own me, two that want to stone me

  One says she's a friend of mine

  “Come on! Everybody now…”

  “Take it easy,” she sings along before playfully slapping me on the thigh.

  “Take it easy,” I join in.

  It’s been so long since I’ve had my head out from under a broken down automobile that I don’t even remember what fun feels like. She’s doing one heck of a job reminding me real quick. And she’s got that steel rod in my pants firing up again from that thigh slap she just gave me. Another inch or two over and she would have had her hands on something else entirely.

  Before I know it an hour has passed and we’re still singing along to songs. Some we both know, and some only one of us knows. It doesn’t seem to matter. If one of us doesn’t know the other just sings a little louder while the other hums the beat. We make a pretty good pair, her and I. I can see us trying out some karaoke when we get to L.A. That is if this little adventure lasts that long.

  I haven’t even thought that far ahead. What happens after I get her to her gig in Hollywood? They may not even have any tickets, and furthermore that might be the end of us all together. Not that there’s technically an us as it stands right now.

  I don’t want to bother thinking about it right now. I’ll deal with it when it comes. Right now all I know is I’ve got the girl of my dreams in the seat next to me and we’re heading for Cal-i-forn-i-a.

  *****

  Four hours later we’re still driving. We’ve spent the entire time just singing along to songs and teasing each other. Wow…I can’t believe I kept up with her so long. I know she’s younger than me, and should have more energy. That and I’ve been working like a mad man lately trying to get through a backlog of work at the shop. For now, it will have to wait.

  I set the cruise control and just as I do I feel the car swerve uncontrollably.

  Crap! A blow out!

  CHAPTER 5

  Dawna

  I watch as Mack stops singing and zeroes in on the road in front of us. He’s focused and his massive forearms are flexing, holding the steering wheel straight and steady as he guides us off the road. Thankfully I already had my seat belt on, but it’s not so much the seat belt that makes me feel safe as it is him.

  Growing up in foster homes you never really feel relaxed. Here one day, gone the next. Plus you never know when someone’s going to sneak in and “borrow” your stuff. Borrow being a convenient term for stealing, until you find it at which point it reverts to borrowing…in the thief’s mind.

  But just watching him makes me
feel safe. He was fun and not all over me when we were enjoying the music together. He gives me a lot of space, and of course that just makes me want to get even closer to him. He doesn’t push.

  But when times do get hectic, like right now, it’s nice to see that he’s a rock. He’s a man who can think fast and with a level head.

  A few seconds later the car comes to a complete stop along the shoulder of the road.

  “You handled that like a pro,” I say.

  “Thanks. First time for everything I guess.”

  “Not for me.”

  “You’ve had a blowout before?” he asks, reaching for his phone.

  “Not a blowout, but this whole trip is starting to turn into one kind of car trouble after another.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s not your fault. As a matter of fact you’ve saved me twice. I owe you a thank you.”

  “None necessary. Glad I could help out.”

  “You’re modest,” I say, reaching over and putting my hand on his knee. He looks up from his phone, and those light green eyes of his lock in on mine. “And I can use all this drama in my act,” I say.

  I hear his call connect and I pull my hand away and lean to the side in my seat. I look out the window and wonder what’s gotten into me.

  What is it about this guy? He’s just so kind and so caring and so laid back that it draws me right into him. It makes me want to come to him like a cat and curl up on his lap, and a whole lot more.

  But why is he so easy going? Is it because he’s not really all that interested in me and that he truly is just a Good Samaritan? Or is it that he’s older than me and he just knows what women like and how to deal with the fairer of the species? I mean not all women are the same, but he certainly seems to be reading my signals well…except for the part where as more time goes by I’m wanting to jump on top of him more and more.

  “Right. I just saw a sign for Del Lago Golf Club. Okay. We’ll be here. Thanks.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I just called AAA. They’re sending a tow truck to come get us.”

  “Where are we?”

  “Just outside Tucson.”

  “I’ve never been to Tucson before.”

  “Me either.”

  “Well I guess we can explore it together.”

  “Together,” he says, giving me a look that lets me know he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

  CHAPTER 6

  Dawna

  “What do you think? The Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain or The Westin La Paloma?” Mack asks.

  I see the tow truck driver raise his eyebrows. He must know the prices, and I don’t, but I sure can guess.

  “Maybe there are some budget options?”

  “You only head out to California with an absolute stranger once in your life.”

  “Only once because you’re planning on killing me?”

  “I can see why you’re a comedian.”

  “I’m a little strapped for cash right—“

  “It’s on me.”

  “Mack.”

  “I insist. I need a vacation more than you could imagine, and I’m not about to pinch pennies tonight.”

  “I like the swimming pool at The Westin,” I say, looking at the brochure in the tow truck driver’s office.

  “The Westin it is,” Mack says to the tow truck driver.

  The car’s not in bad shape, but it’s going to need a new tire and the wheel needs fixed. Plus they mentioned something about the front fender getting straightened out. I expect most guys in Mack’s position would have talked shop or just fixed it themselves. He is a mechanic after all. But then again Mack’s making it more and more apparent that he isn’t most guys. He’s far from it.

  He calmly handed the job over to the local guys and now we’re on our way to what’s certain to be the best swimming pool I’ve ever swam in.

  *****

  Twenty minutes later we pull up to the hotel.

  The tow truck guy waits for us as we run in and make sure they have vacancy. They do, and next thing I know we’re being shown to our room.

  “There you go,” the bellboy says, opening the door and turning on the air conditioning.

  The room is absolutely beautiful, but there’s one thing inside that immediately presents a huge question mark.

  “Thanks,” Mack says and then discreetly hands him a folded up bill.

  The boy turns to leave. Mack surveys the room and then sees my face, realizing what I’m realizing. “One second,” he says.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you happen to have a room with two separate beds?”

  “The suits only come with one California king bed, sir. I can move you to a standard, but I think we just booked our last one a few minutes before you arrived.”

  “Is there anything else with two beds?”

  “I can call over to the Ritz Carlton if you insist.”

  “This one is perfect,” I say, trying not to put Mack in a tough spot. “We can always ask for a roll away later.”

  “If decide you’d like one just call the front desk and we’ll bring it right up.”

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Mack says.

  A million thoughts go through my mind, most of them naughty, imagining how much fun we could have on that bed later, but I play the safe route. “Pool time?”

  “After an afternoon in the car, that sounds perfect.”

  I reach through my bag and realize I don’t have a swimsuit. Rats! I wore it as underwear the other day, and left it hanging in the shower at my friend’s house. The joys of not having enough clothes to live a normal life.

  “One problem,” I say.

  “No problems. No stress tonight,” Mack says, turning to me as he rifles through his duffel, removing a pair of mid-thigh high navy blue swim shorts. Wow, is he ever going to look good in those. They’re not too long, like a thirteen-year-old surfer would wear, and they’re not short, like something you might see along the Italian Riviera. They’re just right, and I can’t wait to check out his bulge.

  “I don’t have a swimsuit,” I say. “I know what you’re thinking…no swimsuit, one bed…I’m starting to look like one of those girls in the movies who’s making it way too easy on the hero.”

  “You don’t look easy at all, but you definitely look like a lovely lady who could be on the silver screen.”

  “Thank you! That was a very elegant compliment.”

  “For an elegant young woman. And I think an elegant hotel such as this should have some elegant swimsuits for such an elegant young woman. And don’t worry, it’s on me.”

  “We could probably go online and have one of the Amazon drones deliver one here in five minutes. And it will be way cheaper.”

  Mack laughs. “That’s funny because I’m not sure if you’re serious or not. It’s crazy how quickly they deliver now. We even use them for the garage sometimes. But this isn’t an Amazon type of vacation. This is the spoil ourselves vacation.”

  “You’re making a case that’s very hard to disagree with.”

  “Very hard,” he says, turning his body to the side as he walks toward the bathroom. But as much as he tried, I saw it. His erection was growing the more we spoke about getting me a swimsuit. I know what he’s imagining, because I’m imagining it too.

  CHAPTER 7

  Mack

  They’ve got a lot more swimsuits than I expected in their gift shop, but there’s one in particular I can’t take my eyes off of. A white bikini. God, I would give anything to see her in that.

  She’s in the changing room trying a different suit, but all I can think about is her in that white one. I can imagine her lifting her body up from the side of the pool, her chest emerging, covered in water and the suit being completely see-through. I make a fist, bring it to my mouth and bite down on the side.

  “How do I look?” she says, as she bounces out of the changing room.

  “Incredible,” I say, and does she ever. S
he’s picked a one-piece that’s fire engine red. She’ll definitely be the star of the entire pool with those curves of hers, but I don’t want anyone else looking at her. Only me.

  “What’s that one that’s in front of you?”