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.
They chatted about inane things while he worked- the weather, local music scene, where to go for the best coffee. All too quickly he had finished the job, and he was putting away his tools.
"So, I see you like wine," he mentioned casually. Melody looked up in surprise. "That was the only thing you had under your sink, a few empty wine bottles" He grinned.
Melody smiled back. "Yeah My best friend is Italian. He got me into wine." Melody held up the bottle of Shiraz she had purchased earlier. Suddenly inspired she asked, "I was going to have a glass. Would you care to join me?" She paused and began again. "No wait, you're working. I wasn't thinking."
"Actually," Nick said, as he locked the tool box, "I was done as of seven o'clock. You were my last house call of the day. Let me go down to my place and grab a shower and I'll join you."
Melody was surprised. "You live in this building?" Why hadn't she seen him before?
"Yup, apartment 105 - incase you need plumbing assistance again." Nick grinned at her. "See you in a few."
Melody decided to take the opportunity afforded by his absence to freshen up and change into something a little more casual. She took off her skirt and blouse and put them in the dry cleaning pile. Opening her lingerie drawer, she selected a lace push up bra and matching panties in lavender. She chose her favorite jeans and a deep purple satin cami. The colour set off her pale skin nicely and made her blue eyes bluer. She brushed out her long red hair letting it fall in waves over her shoulders. She touched up her makeup and glossed her lips. Melody looked critically at herself in the mirror and then laughed out loud. All this trouble for a lousy glass of wine.
The door bell rang twenty minutes later. True to his word, Nick had showered and changed. If he looked good before in his work clothes he now looked amazing in a pair of dark jeans and dress shirt. Melody swallowed her mouth suddenly dry. She caught his masculine scent mixed with the sexy cologne he was wearing. The effect was intoxicating.
Something she hadn't felt in a very long time was stirring inside her and she was shocked she had even gone this far. It wasn't just that she had gotten out of a relationship that spring. Melody hadn't been with a man in ten years. Her last four lovers had all been women.
She led him back inside. The sun had gone down and the last streaks of light coloured the sky outside her window. It was starting to get dark inside but she didn't want to ruin the mood with harsh over-head lights. "Ah well," Melody thought, "If lighting candles is going to be obvious, then so be it." He was here, wasn't he? She picked up a box of wooden matches and lit several of the pillar candles around her living room.
Nick watched as she walked around with the matches. She was so pretty, bending slightly, striking the box, letting the match flare before she touched it to the wick and the flame lit up her eyes.
He cleared his throat. "I brought a CD of some music I downloaded, just a bunch of mixed stuff, nice for a night in."
