Notes: This story contains lesbian themes, graphic sex, and vulgar language. Please don't read it if you aren't old enough. This story is fiction: resemblance between the characters and any actual person or persons is coincidental.
I posted this several years ago on a defunct site under another name. I hope you've never seen it before!
Miss Fix-It
by pacifist91w
+++++
Have you ever used a vending machine and something went wrong?
Yeah, dumb question!--but I had a reason for asking. No matter what you've seen or been told, sometimes broken machines do get repaired! I happen to be one of that rarest of all breeds: the vending machine mechanic. I have been one for a couple of years. Most of my work is done in the repair shop, but I occasionally make "house calls" when the machine gets a lot of use and the fix sounds simple.
This time was the first house call I'd had in a month. It was in an office building on the outskirts of my town, Cincinatti. I made sure it would be after business hours when I arrived to work my magic, because I don't like dealing with angry customers (and most customers are angry when a machine has taken their money. I'm sure we've all been that way).
At a little after 9:00 p.m., I parked my company pick-up in a guest stall of the abandoned parking lot and let the security guard know I'd arrived. I was directed to the employee lounge on the second floor. They had a decent selection: nine machines. My business was with the sandwich/yogurt seller on the right: one of the "wheel of death" models. I pulled up a chair and opened my tool bag.
It was a pretty easy fix: just a worn out return mechanism. I had the old one out and the replacement installed quickly. I was about to close the access panel....
"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" said a voice behind me.
I've always been jumpy. To make matters worse, I'm irritable when startled. I hopped up and spun to confront the gal who I felt had sneaked up on me.
"Why? What do you think I'm doing?" I asked in a defensive tone.
The woman who had addressed me was probably in her late 30s, wearing a pretty nice medium blue skirt suit and cute shoes with low heels. She looked surprised and a little hurt.
"Sorry I said anything," she muttered and turned away.
"Wait, I'm sorry I snapped at you," I said, taking a small step toward her. "You startled me and that always makes me annoyed."
"Did I? I thought you would have heard me coming--I mean, with the tile floor." She gave me a meek little smile.
I gave her a large smile in response. "The floor and the walls have noise-dampening material," I pointed out. "But forget that, let me just answer your question. I'm fixing this machine. So if you thought I was doing that, you were right."
She seemed to accept my olive branch. "That's what I thought, but I'd never seen anyone doing it before. Besides, I was a little startled when I saw you; I'm usually the only non-security person here this late."
"If you don't mind me prying, why are you here?" I asked, keeping my voice conversational.
"Expense reports," she said. "I'll be here another hour at least."
"So you're here for a snack," I assumed.
"For coffee, actually."
"Really? Tea's better for you."
I think I had her attention. One of her eyebrows rose a little. Was she trying not to laugh? "Is it?"
This woman didn't mind talking to me. I liked her manner. I'd expected her to be business-exec snobby and pretty much ignore me, but now I wanted to keep talking with her, for a few minutes at least. To be forthcoming, I also liked her looks: she was average height but had long arms and legs, as well as full hips and an equally full bosom. Her hair was up, but the color was a rich chestnut brown, with a trace of honey blonde. Her voice was unexpectedly high, but soothing.
"Sure, you ever had green tea?" I answered.
"I tried it once, I think," she said. "That was when I was in middle school."
"Well, how about I buy you one?" She looked ready to argue or refuse, so I quickly added, "Let me do that to apologize for my rudeness."
"Okay," she said. "Don't take it personally if I don't like it and get the coffee anyway."
I got a cup for her and one for myself. I leaned against a counter and took a sip; it was decent stuff. She tried hers. "It's not bad," she pronounced.
"Glad to hear that," I said.
"It's got caffeine?"
"Yeah."
"Good," she said. "That's the point of coffee for me at a time like this. I don't mind saying that I put off the reports because they're boring. I want to keep going until they're done; dozing off simply won't do."
"I heard that; it sounds kind of boring--no offense."
"Your job is probably never boring, though."
I laughed a little. "It can be. Heck, it is more often than it's not! I usually do my work in a concrete block shop under drab flourescent lights. I look forward to errands like this one."
"That's interesting," she said. "What made you want to be a repairman? Sorry!--I mean--!"
At this point, she was floundering and I was laughing hard. "No, it's okay," I said, waving my free arm. "I've heard that term a thousand times! Machine repair: everyone thinks of it as a guy's job, or a dyke's. To me, it's just a way to earn a living."
Her face, which had been embarrassed, became unreadable to me. I thought I caught a glimpse of gleaming white teeth as she made a quick grimace, but I couldn't be sure I'd seen it. Feeling a little unsettled, I returned my attention to the office worker's words. In a more serious tone, she was saying, "My job was a man's job too until about two or three decades ago. I'm glad I'm doing what I'm doing though; overall, it's a very good job."