Melody sighed as she unlocked the door of her apartment. Thank God it's the weekend she thought to herself. In her hands she juggled her briefcase, a shopping bag of groceries and a bottle of wine.
It had been six months since her relationship had ended. She marveled at how far she had come in establishing her independence. She now had her own place, her own things and her much-needed freedom. Life as she knew it was good.
Melody kicked the door shut and placed her briefcase on the floor, she sang her favourite line from her favourite Jann Arden song: I am not lonely, swear to God, I'm just alone
Maddy, her cat, greeted her by rubbing her ankles and purring. She walked into the kitchen and set her bags down on the counter.
"Your water dish is empty Maddy. Let Mommy get you a drink." Melody reached down for the water dish and noticed a large puddle of water on the floor. "What in bloody hell is THAT?"
Opening the cupboard under the sink, she realized there was a leak. "Crap." she thought, "What the hell will I do with that?" Reaching for the phone, she dialed the land-lady.
Mrs. LeBlanc answered on the second ring, "Allo?"
"Hi, Mrs. LeBlanc. It's Melody in 409. Listen I have a huge leak in the pipe under the sink. Is there someone I can call?"
"Ah ben la," Mrs. LeBlanc replied in her heavy Acadian accent, "I'll 'ave someone d'ere in fifteen twenty minutes. Worry pas."
"Thanks so much Mrs. LeBlanc." Melody smiled. Mrs. LeBlanc was a sweet lady, and apparently very efficient.
Melody hoped that she wouldn't have to wait long. She wanted nothing more than to strip off her work clothes and take a long hot bath. She put that thought on hold and went to find the mop. She was fairly certain whoever was coming to fix the sink; wouldn't want to kneel in a puddle of water.
The doorbell rang, just as she finished cleaning up the mess.
"Less than fifteen minutes wait," she thought, "now that is service." She went to the door and checked the peep-hole just to make sure. She reached down and picked up Maddy so she wouldn't take off. Unlocking the door, Melody greeted the plumber.
"Hi," she smiled politely. Then she looked at him, really looked at him, and her smile warmed and widened. He was gorgeous. He was tall, with a solid, muscular and well developed frame. His shoulders were broad and strong-looking. Her eyes quickly traveled back up and she found him smiling at her. Melody's stomach did a little flip. Where in God's name did he get those ice blue eyes?
"My name's Nick. You need a plumber? Mrs. LeBlanc called." Nick continued to smile.
"Oh ...uh yes of course come in" Melody blushed at being caught staring. "The kitchen is right this way." Melody closed the door behind them and showed him to the kitchen.
Nick studied her walk as she led him down the hall. He admired the way she walked with the confidence of a woman who knew she turned heads. The business suit she wore with style did little to hide her luscious curves. All of a sudden, being on call on Friday wasn't so bad.
Melody led him into the tiny galley kitchen. "I'm not sure what happened," Melody said. "It sprung a leak sometime today between nine and five. I would have looked at it myself, but I really don't know plumbing, so ..." She trailed off, realizing that she was blathering. "Yeah why don't I just let you do what you have to do?"
Nick continued to smile as Melody made to leave the kitchen, but, with the cat in one arm, her chest brushed his arm as she did so. He could smell the perfume she wore. Crisp, clean, yet slightly exotic.
"So... you never told me your name," Nick said, reaching down to open the cupboard.
"It's Melody. I just moved here. Well, here to this building. I've lived in the city a long time." Melody realized she was babbling, again. What was it about this man?
She watched as he shone his flashlight under the sink. "Thank God, there wasn't a bunch of stuff under there," she thought with a sigh of relief. She leaned on the wall as she watched him work. From the back side, he really was quite good looking, in that very masculine way. His upper biceps and torso were sculpted as if from marble, dipping down to a trim waist. His thighs were rock hard under a well worn pair of jeans, and if there really was such a thing as plumber's butt, Nick never heard of it. She hadn't known guys like him actually existed.
"Okay, it's nothing complicated," Nick explained as he backed out from under the sink. "Just a seal that needs to be replaced. I have some in the truck. Gimme two minutes; I'll get one." He flashed another sexy smile.
True to his word, he was back at her door in fewer than two minutes. She let him in again and closed the door behind him. This time it was his turn to walk down the hall first and Melody felt no shame in admiring his well-defined rear.