Grabbing his basket of folded clothes, John was about to leave the area Laundromat when a late-comer entered.
He froze. It was her, his 'laundry girl'. A brunette that had been here the last couple of times he'd come to do wash.
Before she could see him, he took his basket of clean clothes and dumped it back into the washing machine and started it up. Slowly, he fiddled with the buttons, trying to think of something to say to her this time as she walked to the back but a loud voice shattered the moment.
"Hey, Hummel!" His friend Barry yelled from the front. John groaned inwardly and looked over. "We'll be down the street at the Nickel trolling for drunk sorority girls when you done, join us!"
John gave a half hearted wave and ducked his head. Great, he thought to himself, that was sure to have got her attention.
"So, you attend U of M?" A soft voice asked from behind. Hummel whipped around to find her standing mere inches from him. Raised eyebrows told him he was taking too long to answer.
Finding his tongue, he answered, "No...you?"
She nodded her head yes, laughing with her eyes, "But I'm not in a sorority though."
"Yeah," John said slowly, grinning, "that's Barry...he still thinks he's in college."
She stuck out her hand, "I'm Deanna."
He lightly grasped her slender fingers, holding her hand longer than he should have, "I'm John."
Her smile grew, "John, do you think you could help me for a moment? I dropped something behind one of the machines and the attendant left for a few hours. Could you move it for me?"
He nodded and started to follow her, saying a silent thank you to Lady Summer for the high heat of late. Deanna was wearing only a simple tank and short denim skirt with flip flops. The white fitted top showed off her trim athletic build. He admired the sway of her hips that lead down to nicely tanned thighs and cut runner's calves. Her ankle bracelet caught the light as she rounded the corner.
She turned suddenly, causing him to bump into her. His hands instinctively went to her waist as her arms went around his neck when she fell into him. John could feel her breath on his neck as she looked up into his eyes.
"I'm sorry." She apologized but didn't pull away.
He shook his head, looking down into the biggest brown eyes, "It's okay."