The late-May sun beat down on the old Mercedes as Dan guided it purposefully through the lanes of West Wales, the verges fringed with purple flowers that whipped past in a blur. We had the top down, the wind in our hair, feeling ultra-glamorous and free, making for the coast at Aberaeron. It was our third wedding anniversary, and we'd decided to disconnect from the grid a bit and focus on each other. That meant that for the next couple of days we would have no phones, no distractions, just us and this lovely vintage car and the beautiful landscape. Today we'd left Carmarthen with a picnic in the back seat, dressed for a day of fun in the sun; Dan was wearing shorts and a polo shirt, hoping to catch at least a farmer's tan, while I was wearing a light sun-dress over a bikini. The water in Cardigan Bay would be cold this time of year, but I grew up in the west of Wales and I loved the shock of the Atlantic followed by drying off in the warm sun.
We passed through tiny village after tiny village, coming up on the halfway point of the drive, when suddenly there was a knocking sound. I glanced over at Dan, who was looking at the dashboard with a puzzled expression. He looked up at the road again and shouted, "We're going to have to pull over." I put my hands on the back of my head and looked up at the sky. Really? Why couldn't anything go right! 'At least it's not raining,' I thought, trying to cheer myself up. He steered the car over onto the verge and turned off the engine. "What do you think's wrong with it?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "It didn't give me any particular indication on the dash. I'll pop the bonnet and see if there's anything I can figure out there."
I sighed, inwardly more concerned than I was letting on. Dan was many things, but mechanically oriented was not one of them. Still, he'd be able to figure out if it was low on water or visibly broken in any obvious way; even I could do that. "Let me know if I can help you at all," I said as he lifted the bonnet to inspect the engine. I got out of the car too and stood against the hedge. 'Of course this would happen when we don't have our phones on us,' I thought. 'So much for getting away from it all.'
After a few minutes his head popped out from around the side of the car. "I can't see anything that's obviously wrong. I think we're going to have to flag someone down."
I looked up and down the road. "Well, we haven't seen anyone on this road in the whole half-hour we've been driving. I suppose it's on us for deciding to take the scenic route!" I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice; it was no one's fault, but it was very irritating. I thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure the last village we went through had a garage, but we've not got any way of calling them."
Dan closed the bonnet with a thud. "Okay, so what are we going to do, then?"
I looked at him. "Well, obviously one of us is going to have to walk back there and ask if they can come and help us out." We stood, thinking. Obviously, we couldn't leave the car unattended; for starters, it wasn't ours and I was concerned enough about it breaking down, let alone anything else happening to it. Also, I didn't feel great about just standing in the countryside alone next to a pretty valuable vehicle. "Maybe you should stay with the car, and I'll go and see what I can find out. It can't be a massive walk, we only passed through it a few minutes ago."
He looked into the middle distance and chewed his lip, his eyes inscrutable behind his sunglasses. "Okay, I guess you're going to have to. Be careful, okay? If you can get them to come out, you're going to have to tell them it'll be a cash payment when they've arrived."
I nodded; it was smarter to leave the cash with Dan and the car rather than me walking about with it. "All right. I'd better get going then." I picked my bottle of water out of the cup holder. "Be safe, don't flag down any weirdos." I pulled him in for a kiss. "This isn't a biggie, we'll be back on the road before you know it. Just part of the adventure! I love you."
"I love you too," he said, kissing me back. "Be safe."
I looked up and down the road and crossed to the opposite verge, waved, and started walking back in the direction we'd come. Moving on foot it was actually really quite hot. The fields sang with the sound of insects, and my sandal-clad feet started to get dusty from the parched verge. I could feel sweat beading at the nape of my neck, the small of my back, and running down my cleavage. Still, this was the summer I grew up in, and a big part of me felt free and at home. Plus, as I'd said to Dan, all part of the adventure.
The garage was just on the edge of the small village. I walked under the canopy past the petrol pumps, grateful of the shade, brushing my hair off my sweaty forehead. I couldn't see anyone around, but the big metal roller shutter was up so I popped my head in. "Hello?" I called. There was no answer, so I walked a little further in, navigating around the car lifts and various garage stuff. "Hello?"
"Hello?" A deep Welsh voice responded. "We're closed."
I sighed. Just my luck. I looked around and saw a door at the top of some metal stairs. "Okay," I called back, "Can I come up? It's sort of an emergency."
"Yeah," the voice responded, sounding a little put-upon. 'Oh great, a grumpy mechanic,' I thought. 'Let's try and start this interaction off on a nice footing.' I climbed up the stairs and knocked on the open office door to announce myself. "Come in," the voice said. I walked in to find an older man sat behind a desk, thick black hair and a salt-and-pepper beard, glasses perched on his forehead as he looked at a form. "Can I help you?"
"Hopefully!" I replied, just realising that I must have looked quite the mess. I was very grateful for the fan he had oscillating in the corner. "Our car has broken down about 10 minutes' walk up the road, and I was wondering whether you could come and give us a hand."
He put the form down. "Well, I did just say we're closed. Don't know if you heard me."
I felt a little sick. "Please? We're absolutely stuck, we don't have our phones on us or any way of contacting anyone, and I don't know the number of any other garage around here."
He looked me up and down, sweaty and bedraggled. "Sorry, I don't think I can help."
"We'll pay you extra if you come out, I'm sure it's nothing particularly difficult to fix," I said, starting to wheedle him a little and walking towards the desk.
"I told you, I'm sorry, but no." He stood up to put the form in a filing cabinet. "I've promised some mates of mine that I'll help them out with something on their farm, so that's me for cash and time this afternoon."
He was pretty tall and in good condition, although he must have been at least 10 years older than me, maybe even pushing 50. He had the sort of upper body that came from a lifetime of working with his hands, and the spark lit inside me that I actually found him quite attractive. Some of it was familiarity I suppose, the fact that he was the sort of man I grew up around; his accent and mine were the same, and he had the demeanour of every guy I'd fancied since I could remember until I'd left Wales. I thought about it. Could I make one more play before giving up and walking back to the car? I didn't see a wedding ring. I cleared my throat to make him turn around, and looked at the ground coquettishly, then back up into his eyes. "I could make it worth your while, I suppose." I bit my lip. 'Come on, say yes. I actually rather fancy this now; all part of the adventure,' I thought to myself eagerly.
He looked back at me, taking in my dusty feet, sweaty hair, wedding ring. "What exactly do you have in mind?" He stepped closer to me, into my personal space, as I backed up against the desk and placed my hands either side of me, my gaze fixed on his.
"Well, I suppose you can set the price, seeing as it's your time and labour." I reached up and took my hair out of the loose ponytail I'd had it in, shook it over my shoulders and sat on the desk.
He advanced towards me again, parting my legs as he did so, his rough jeans against the smooth skin of my inner thighs. He put a hand in my hair. "I think you might have an idea where to start," he said, undoing his belt with the other hand. My fingers went to the button and zip of his jeans, quickly undoing them. I reached inside and felt my whole body light up with excitement. Even flaccid, he was bigger than Dan. This was a good idea after all. I started to stroke him through the fabric of his boxers and felt my own arousal flickering into life. He pulled my head back so I was looking up at him. "That's right," he said, staring into my eyes. I could feel him hardening as I ran my hand over him, from the base to the tip of his growing cock. I gulped and smiled up at him. 'Definitely made the right decision not to send Dan,' I thought.