(Authors note: I quite enjoyed working on this one. I do apologise for any editing errors, I'm a bit rubbish when it comes to that job. However I think I may come back these two in the future)
There comes a time in a girl's life when she has to spread her wings and do all she can to escape her mother's influence. And I had every intention of doing so. I loved my mother beyond all else, but she drove me up the wall day in, day out and I needed my own place where she wasn't able to just walk in on me in the shower every morning.
So that's why I was stood in the middle of a building site, surrounded by houses and flats in varying stages of construction. Mud covered my boots and dust hung in the air from the near-by cement mixer. Delightful, but mine. Or soon to be anyway.
Technically this site wasn't even open yet to prospective purchasers, with no show house or sale room available. But I knew the foreman and he had wrangled a preview for me. OK so the house I was after was still just a shell, yet to have its fixtures and fittings put in, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. This was escape territory and I was raring to go.
Smiling at the man who was picking his way towards me over the ruts and muddy pools, I was caught up in a quick hug as he appraised me.
"Hello Sadie, finally getting out huh?" he asked as he beckoned to a tall man walking past.
"Finally got the money to get out," I corrected with a laugh. "Not seen you for ages, where you been hiding yourself?"
"Wife and kids take up all my time," he said with a grimace. Handing me a hardhat and a hi-vis vest, he watched me put them on. "Damn you look sexy."
"Married man," I reminded him with a chuckle. "Can't see Karen being best pleased you are flirting with a younger woman."
"If Karen had her way I'd be dead anyway," he muttered under his breath. Turning his head at a new arrival, he tilted his head back to look him in the face. "Mark, this is my friend Sadie, she's here to look around Plot 3."
Mark shrugged at his boss as he turned to me. He was what? About 20 years older than me, that weather worn face of his tanned and deeply lined, especially about the eyes. And those eyes were most wonderful blue I'd seen in a long time.
"Hello," I said brightly as he did a quick scan from the top of my head to the floor.
"Hey, he answered with a lazy tilt to his deep voice. "Plot 3 is just over here."
Turning to look with him, I inspected the 3 story town house that was stood near the main entrance to the new estate. Unlike most it had its roof and windows installed, but that appeared to be about it. The rooms inside were dark and the front garden was piled high with rubble and equipment. Hefting a bag higher onto my shoulder, I offered Mark a bright smile and held out my hand. "Lead the way."
He slanted me a questioning glance before wandering over to the house, his long legs making light work of the muddy gulley's of the dirt track. Yelping as my feet slipped, I flailed for help before I could dive headlong into the filth. Mark spun around and grabbed my arm, yanking me across the path and onto solid ground just before I fell. Tumbling against him, I clung on as I got my heart rate under control and whilst I had a surreptitious feel of his body. It was wiry and strong under his dust covered clothes.
Stepping back, I blushed and thanked him for the timely rescue, earning me a soft 'Hmm' in return. He must have been aware of my intentions as he held me safe in the curve of his arm. I was such a hussy.
He stared at me for a few more moments before he turned and walked up the short path to the front door. Taking a large bunch of keys out of his pocket, he quickly flicked through them to the key for the front door. Tumbling the lock, he pushed the heavy wood door open and stepped in, his boots echoing on the concrete floor of the dark entrance hall.
Stepping over the deep step, I stood just inside the door and waited for my eyes to adjust. Mark obviously knew the layout of the property already, but I was new to it and was predisposed to go arse over crop in the gloom. Looking around, I noticed the staircase turning upwards to my right and the start of a kitchen on the left. Glancing in I noticed coils of wires laying around the floor, waiting to be channelled into walls before plaster board could go on over the breezeblocks. Not huge, but then neither was it a tiny room. Perfect for me, and it opened at one end into the living room.
Following the tall figure as he wandered into the living room, I looked around the spacious room, the small garden at the back churned up by diggers and tippers. The patio doors almost stretched the entire width of the house letting in lots of light. Yes this was just perfect for what I was wanting.
"There'll be power points on each wall," Mark was saying as he leaned against the wall and watched me, his hands tucked into his pockets. "They've not started yet, so if you want any extras just have a word with the boss and he'll sort it."
"That's cool," I responded, my mind's eye already planning out the furniture and where I would need extra sockets. "Will the garden be sorted before I move in?"
"Depends when you intend to move in," he said with a shrug. I noticed the sharp line of his shoulder; there couldn't be an ounce of fat on this man. "You move in soon as the house is done then you get a bomb site. You wait until four or five others are ready for viewing and they'll send in landscapers, who quite frankly will roll it flat and put turf down over rubble."
"So better to do it myself." I turned and strolled past him, my arm just brushing against his as I wandered into the hallway again. There was a definite charge between us, my skin tingling where it had met his. Closing my eyes for a second, I took a deep breath and got myself under control. I was acting like the worst kind of tart with a total stranger.
And yet I felt drawn to him, my body responding in a sexual way to him as his scent reached me. He wasn't far behind me, so close in fact I could feel the warmth of his body. Turning up the stairs, I climbed quickly to cover my confusion. On the landing I looked right and left at the bedrooms, again bare floors and walls waiting the electricians and plasterers. In front of me was the main bathroom, boxes of tiles stacked in the corner waiting for cement.
"You'll get to choose your bathroom suite and kitchen cupboards," Rob was explaining as he leaned in the doorway, watching. "We've already got them all in store so it won't take long to get the fitters in once the boss puts in a call."
"So how long could it be before I could move in?" I asked as I looked up at him. He was a good foot taller than me and I was having to really crick my neck to look him in the eye in this small bathroom.
"Depends." He shrugged again and I was aware of his blue eyes resting on my body. "If you want to be able to access easily then I'd give it another two months then this area and the garages will be tarmaced. Earlier and you'll have to park out on the road or be lost in a muddy hell."
