*** Here's the first part of my latest work. Unlike my others it's something of a 'slow burn' with lots of build-up and romance, and there's not a whole lot of sex in the first chapter. Chapter two will be submitted a few days after this, so you won't have long to wait! ***
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As I drove along the winding country lane at a snail's pace, I cursed myself for deciding to stay late at work on the last Friday in October to finish a major project - one of the perils of running a design office filled with lazy idiots that had no work ethic whatsoever. The first storm of the autumn had hit with a vengeance, the rain coming down so hard that the wipers on my eight-year-old VW Golf just couldn't keep up and I was unable to see more than a few yards in front. The wind was howling too, and on several occasions I found myself having to swerve around fallen branches that were lying in the narrow road. At least my car was warm and dry, I mused - something I was very grateful for, as the twenty-mile journey home was likely to take me the better part of two hours unless the rain eased.
Rounding a bend, I suddenly saw a pair of amber lights flashing dimly immediately ahead of me. Dipping my headlights immediately, I braked hard and managed to stop before I hit whatever it was. Even with the car stationary, the wipers were failing to clear the screen to allow me to see much, but I could see what looked like a small red car blocking the road, with a figure climbing suddenly up from a spot under an adjacent tree and waving furiously at me. At least whoever it was had enough common sense not to sit in the car when it was stuck in such a dangerous position.
Sighing crossly, I cursed myself for my unusual lack of preparedness that day - while my job as a senior project engineer on the motorways meant that my car was ready for most eventualities, I had failed to bring a decent waterproof coat with me. Throwing my thin jacket over my head, I stepped out into the downpour as the figure approached the driver's door of my car. It was a young girl, not much more than eighteen or nineteen, and she was soaked to the bone and shivering with cold. I could see a few strands of red hair protruding below her hood. She looked very pale, with very little colour in her cheeks, but even in the harsh light from my headlamps I could make out an elfin face and the most beautiful blue eyes, peering up at me from beneath long, sodden lashes.
"Excuse me, sir - could you help me? My car's broken down and I've been stuck here for over an hour."
Now that I was out from behind the fogged-up and flooded windscreen, I could see that her car was a somewhat battered 1970s Mini - never the most reliable of cars at the best of times and hopeless in the wet. Closing my driver's door, I opened one of the rear doors. "Sure thing. Get inside out of the rain, and I'll go and take a look at your car."
She looked at me, fear in her eyes, and my caregiving instincts immediately kicked in. I could pretty much read her thoughts - a strange guy, telling her to get into his car...
"Hey, it's okay," I said softly. "Why don't you call someone, give them my registration number and tell them you're with me - my name's Joe." Realising that I was still wearing my office ID badge, I slipped the strap over my head and passed it to her.
She still looked uncertain. "My phone's dead," she answered, "so I guess I'm pretty vulnerable right now."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my iPhone, unlocking it for her. "Here you go, use this. I'll go and see what I can do with your car, but for God's sake get out of the wet."
The whole exchange had taken less than a minute, but my trousers were already stuck to me and the torrential rain was beginning to seep through my jacket. Thankfully the girl did as I'd suggested and climbed into the back of my car as I took the few paces to the door of the Mini. Opening it, I found that she had left the keys in the ignition; the dimness of the car's hazard warning lights didn't give me much cause for optimism, and a turn of the key produced a single churn of the starter motor before the battery gave up altogether. While I had a set of jump leads in the boot of my car, I didn't fancy trying to jump-start her engine with so much water around - and even if I took the risk, I doubted it would do any good after the car had broken down in the first place.
With the Mini where it was, there was no way anyone else could get past - that is if anyone else would be stupid enough to be out on such a wild night. As I drove this route every day, I knew the road fairly well and remembered that there was a gateway only fifty or so yards along. Thankfully the lane was fairly level, and, after taking off the handbrake and winding down the driver's window I was able to push and steer the little car onto the wide verge by the gate. After winding up the window and applying the handbrake, I grabbed her handbag and phone from the passenger seat, locked the car and trudged back to my Golf.
The windows were completely fogged up, so I climbed in to the driver's seat and started the engine, cranking up the demister before turning awkwardly to face my passenger and pass her belongings.
"Thanks," she smiled shyly. "And thanks for the loan of your phone."
"No problem at all. Did you get through to someone?" Her smile was infectious, and despite the fact that I was now also soaked and shivering, I found myself smiling back.
"Yes, I told my mum what had happened. She's out at her keep fit class at the moment, but in any case we only have the one car so I guess I'm stuck out here, as I don't have breakdown cover or anything."
I was shocked by her latter remark. "Really? Is that wise when you drive an old Mini?"
She blushed. "Hey! Old? It's a classic, or so my mum says," she chuckled. "And I just can't afford it. We aren't exactly well-off or anything."
"Okay. Well there's no way I'm leaving you out here - I'll happily take you home. Whereabouts do you live?"
"A little village called Whitechapel. Do you know it?" she asked hopefully.
I knew it all right - it was sixteen miles out of my way in the other direction, and I was already cursing making my chivalrous offer. However, I had always been a firm believer in keeping my promises, so I plastered what I hoped was a genuine-looking smile on my face before replying. "Sure, I know it. I'll get you home."
"Are you sure?" she said through chattering teeth. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
