Emily inched the Prius through the line up at the elementary school. The sun was bright and the air was dusty. Children chattered and yelled, restless and bustling about.
A loud, dirty pickup truck pulled up beside her in the line. Irritated by the exhaust and noise, Emily gave the imposing vehicle a snide sideways glance as it reeved its engine. She peered into the cab and found a man with a full black beard peering down at her. He smiled warmly and nodded. She returned a small smile but quickly looked away.
A car attendant walked down the line of cars holding a child in each hand. The boy ran to the tall pick up truck, and the girl skipped to the side of Emily's car. "Hey momma!" she exclaimed as she pulled open the door and hopped inside, her face red from heat.
The boy opened the pick up truck door and climbed inside the cab. Emily could see the man was bare chested. He looked sweaty and dirty, a laborer who had worked in the sun all day. He noticed her looking and he gave her a wide toothy grin. She smiled, slightly embarrassed.
"How was school?" She turned to her daughter, Chelsea, who began a long and detailed summary of the day as Emily pulled out of the school parking low.
"Wanna pump gas?" Emily asked with an exaggerated enthusiasm. Chelsea wasted no time exclaiming "Yes!"
As Emily walked Chelsea through the steps of paying at the pump, the black pick up truck pulled up behind the white Prius. She noticed two other empty pumps and wondered if this was the same truck from the school line.
Confirming that thought, the same small boy popped out of the truck and ran into the store. The bearded man climbed out and began to approach Emily as she helped Chelsea open the gas cap.
"I got it! I know how to do it!!" Chelsea protested and pushed her mother away.
"Ok, ok, do it." Emily turned to meet him. He smiled as he approached, casually holding out his hand, his chest was now covered with a clean white tank top.
"Chelsea's mom?" He asked as he came close. "John talks quite a bit about Chelsea."
Emily took his hand and shook it slightly "Yes, I'm Emily. I've heard a lot about John, are you his father?" He nodded and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, I am." He gestured to her car. "I saw Chelsea pumping your gas and wanted to say hi. I'm not trying to impose but I've heard so much about Chelsea, I wanted to introduce myself, thought maybe we could set up a play date."
In contrast to his appearance, his voice was mild and soft. Towering over Emily, she imagined he was six foot or six-two and quite impossible to age. His body was broad, but lean, with a mop of thick black hair now brushed back and wet. He was dusty and dirty from labor, but his hair was clean and the beard tightly trimmed.
"Oh, ok." Emily began to blush, feeling awkward. She wondered idly how she could mention her husband. "What is your name?" She lifted her left hand to her face, brushing nonexistent hair from her eyes, hoping he would notice the wedding band.
He wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes and the thick black beard obscured the rest of his face, making it difficult to read his expression. The effect made her uneasy.
"Ha, Sorry! I guess I should have lead with that. I'm Rick. Rick Tenning." He chuckled in slight embarrassment. He noticed how she kept her left hand at her chest, showing him the single silver wedding band.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a bent and dirty business card, hoping to cut the tension. "I actually have a lawn business if you ever need some help with that. John had said Chelsea was getting a new room, so I wanted to let you and your husband know I do construction as well."
"I am getting a new room!!! Right?!" Chelsea was beside her hip. "Thats what you said!"
"Finish pumping the gas!" Emily told her, and then turning back to Rick said "yes, we are going to build onto the house. I need a home office, so I'm doubling the kids up in one room. A six year old and a baby is not a good mix." She took his card, smiling up at him and shading her eyes, relieved he understood she was married.
"I can imagine not."
"And honestly, I do need my lawn mowed. My husband is out of town and he usually does it, but I haven't had time with both of them," she gestured to Chelsea and quickly added "I have a 3 year old at daycare. But yea, it's pretty awful right now."
"Absolutely!" He bounced on the balls of his feet. "Just let me know when. Honestly, I can do it now if that works for you. Or I can at least give you an estimate. Do you live far?"
"Couple of miles away, but yes, that will be perfect ... just an estimate."
He nodded "Ok, let me fill up and I'll follow you."
Emily moved her car, herded Chelsea back into her seat and waited as Rick filled his tank. When they eventually pulled into her driveway and parked, the kids sprang from the vehicles and ran excitedly into the house, leaving the adults to the lawn.
Rick looked around for a moment and came back to Emily with an easy smile.
"It's a large yard, but no problem. If you want me to weed eat and mow I can wrap it up in about two hours. A yard this size is $175." He paused and looked down at her through the dark sunglasses. "I can come tomorrow morning if that works for you?"
Not being able to see his eyes bothered her. The combination of his beard and the dark glasses veiled too much of his face and she began to distrust him. She pursed her lips, considering. A small gut-like feeling worried her; she had brought a stranger to her home.
"I drop John off at 7:30, I can be done by 9, out of your hair in no time." He felt her unease, noticed a tension in her shoulders. He wanted to assure her, to remind her that their kids shared a classroom. It seemed to work. He noticed her shoulders relax.
"But whatever you want, I'm fine with." He had an urge to touch her, to quiet the worry. To keep from reaching out, from feeling her bare shoulders, he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, that will work." She nodded and seemingly unaware of it, she edged closer to him. She had to lift her chin like a child to look up at him. He towered over her, broad shouldered and imposing. "I should be back around 8:30, but you can get started whenever."
"Perfect. I'll see you then!" He turned and with a great booing voice, yelled for John. The two climbed back into the pick up truck and pulled away.
That night, after the kids had gone to sleep, Emily lowered herself into a steaming bath. The quiet of the house was deafening. No lingering noise from the television, no shouts or laughter. She closed her eyes and thought of Rick's broad shoulders, the powerful muscles she had seen stretch across his chest. He would be here tomorrow, and she pushed away the sensual thoughts dancing in the peripheral of her mind. However, she groomed luxuriously that night.
•••••
When Emily pulled into her driveway Rick was weed eating at the far side of her lawn. He seemed not to notice her.
Hurrying inside, she realized she was already behind on emails, and multiple voicemails waited to be returned. She sat at her kitchen table and began to organize when she heard his knock on the front porch. As she opened the door, he took of his dark sunglasses. The light blue piercing eyes were a surprise; they seemed foreign against his tanned skin and beneath the heavy darks brows.
"I'm finished." He said, slightly out of breath.
Emily pulled the door wide, "Ok. You can come in while I get your check. Cool down in the air conditioning."
She left him at the door and found her purse, her hands trembling slightly as she went through the motions of writing out the check. She felt him follow her into the living room, standing close as she bent over the table to write. When she turned to hand over the bill, he was very close to her, hands resting on hips. She noticed a sweet smell of fresh cut grass and sweat. Tiny grass clippings were sprinkled on his shoulders and neck.
He watched her intently, his face stoic but his eyes crawling slowly over her face and shoulders. Her feet were bare and calloused, her short legs muscled and firm. She simply wore running shorts and a loose t-shirt, but still, the smooth slope of her neck beneath her ponytail made him want to reach out and stroke her skin.
"Would you like something to drink" She heard herself ask. No, no, why did you say that, she thought to herself.
He smiled at the tremble in her voice. "Yes, please."
Emily turned away, but a strong arm circled around her shoulders, another wrapped around her waist, His hand sliding down her inner thigh, and he buried his face in the nap of her neck and began to devour the soft skin. Her knees buckled slightly and he pulled his fingers up her shorts and explored the curves of her inner thigh, brushing slightly against her crotch.
"What are you doing?" She managed to breath, but at the same time she felt her body pressed against his jeans, her legs instinctually opening slightly.
"I don't know, I can't help myself" His voice was muffled. She moved her head to expose more neck to him while a calloused hand roamed down her shirt and under her bra.
When his fingers found her nipple, the slight pain of his pinch broke the sudden spell. Trying to temper the instant arousal, she tried to push him away. He spun her around to face him, tangled a hand in her hair and forced her mouth onto his, breaking her lips with a long languid tongue. One hand slid down the slope of her back, cupped her ass, and pulled her leg over his hip.
