**** Edited by HotBabesLover69 , Thank you from Lizzysfriend. ****
**** Thanks to my friend in Texas, for letting me use your laptop to start this journey. ****
**** RIP Elizabeth, I miss you so much. ****
*****
Chapter 1
I should be able to overcome this, what is wrong with me? I felt doomed.
I heard laughter. Nothing was inside my condo, so it had to come from outside.
I opened my curtains to peek at the street and there was a couple walking towards my place and one of them was laughing, the shorter of the two anyway. I am not sure why, but I associated that laughter with rescue. I ran out the door to intercept them.
I hit the sidewalk just two steps in front of them. The laughing stopped dead.
Small details seemed important, but I couldn't make the quick connections of what they meant.
First, the taller male of the pair had stepped in front of the female form laughing.
A couple on a date my mind said, but she was dark, black skinned and thin standing behind this man.
I couldn't make out her completely because of the stance of the man.
Was he holding her back with his right hand? He had it twisted behind him.
He was tall, and had grey hair at his temples with the rest of it black. A white guy that reminded me of my Dad, if my Dad was taller, fitter, and had hands twice their size. This man's left hand was large, and seemed symmetrical to his arm.
That is what held me in place; his outstretched left arm had to be the most defined manly arm I had ever seen up close. Not his open palm in a "stop right there" gesture. I stared at that arm, like it was more precious than the diamond ring I held earlier in the evening.
"Sorry to bother you guys, but I dropped my cell and my Dad was talking me through an emergency."
I said in a rush.
He studied me a few seconds, and then removed his right hand from behind his back.
"Are you hurt?" His deep voice asked. My knees shook what the hell.
"Yes, no, I think I will be ok, but..." I started to feel like I was going to cry, because I could not explain what was wrong. Everything was at the moment.
"Adam, you are scaring her." A light musical voice said, and stepped up beside the man.
"Ba careful Jackie, I think she might be mental." He said is a husky voice, and that just pissed me off.
"I am not mental! I just need to use a phone to call my Dad back. My house is flooding!" I cried.
"We have to help her." The musical voice said.
In the indirect light of the street lamps, I could see him sigh if not hear him. He took another deep breath, and I felt a touch to my chin as he lifted it with a finger so my eyes could stare into the most intense face I had ever seen. I was trapped in that stare, but I could not make out the color of his eyes in the darkened street illumination. I felt connected, and warm. I never thought I would have such a powerful indirect feeling from someone I never met.
The deep voice melted me, and calmed me at the same time, "I will do as much as I can since Jackie wants us to help you, where is your house?" He asked sincerely.
His touch left my chin, and my skin hurt from the lack of contact. The roughness of that instance clouded my thoughts and I quickly turned and ran back up the three steps and into my condo. He said he would, and for some stupid reason I believed he would follow me.
I ran into the foyer, and the clock read 9:21pm. I heard the soft clicks behind me as I walked a few steps, and could see the man only a step behind me as I turned. Damn, I could feel his breath. Goose bumps went up my arms.
"The emergency, Miss?" He said as he looked around the room. I pointed towards the kitchen, and walked fast to put some distance between us. Only I didn't really want to put that distance between him and me. I felt safe near him. I had never in my life felt like I didn't have to worry about the environment I was in. I couldn't understand it. This aura he gave off was intoxicating to me.
I stopped just inside the doorway to the kitchen and looked at the wet mess. I felt him brush past me. In a blink he had grabbed the smaller pot I had used earlier and dumped the water in it into the sink. He then replaced the big pot with the empty little one and picked up the huge thing with one hand and used the other to aim it into the sink with its contents which included my drowned cell as it clunked into the sink. He lifted that huge pot one handed. Damn, he was so strong.
He replaced the small pot with the now empty large one. "Jackie, we need towels." He said.
I felt a light touch on my arm. "Where do you keep your towels, Dear?" The musical voice asked.
"Ah, in the drawer over there. " I said and pointed. I paused, in the kitchen light, I saw beauty. This black goddess had to have the most perfect skin and so dark.
He quickly opened it and pulled out every hand towel in the drawer and dumped them on the wet floor.
"I said,'Towels', not rags." He said gruffly.
"Those are hand towels. " I volunteered.
I heard the laughter coming from his date, and this time I turned and looked at her, just her. I was trying not to see the whole picture of her. It was too perfect. She had to have a flaw somewhere.
She was my same height, with cornrow braids that ended half between her neck and her smaller breasts. Her nose was slightly flattened, but it fit her face. So much so, that I was jealous of that elfin like face. It was beautiful, and her black eyes just added to the allure. She was so dark, that when she smiled her very white perfect teeth glowed in contrast.
She had a thin frame, and a beautiful neckline. Why, for God's sake was I looking at her boobs? It was only an instant, but she looked like she was a model, actress or something. I felt self-conscious about the outfit I was wearing. When she turned and I could see her perfect ears, I almost didn't hear what she was asking me.
"Do you have some bath towels, Dear?" She asked in that musical voice.
"Upstairs, I'll be right back."
I ran past her, then up my stairway, into the bathroom and grabbed four towels in the closet behind the bathroom door, and stared at the monster in the mirror looking back at me. My clothes were wet, and my makeup had run.
My ruined mascara made me look like a raccoon. I quickly just wiped off the whole mess and cried inside because that man had seen me like this. I quickly replaced my soaked blouse with an old concert T-shirt. It didn't go with the skirt, but it was the first thing I saw in my bedroom as I headed downstairs with the towels. The first thing I felt comfortable wearing that is.
Just outside the doorway to the kitchen, I could hear them talking. So I paused before walking in. Really, I wanted to see if they were talking about me.
"The Hot water turn off was behind the drawer next to the sink. She was half way done before we got here. "The man said.
"Well, can you fix it?" The woman asked.
"Of course I could fix it, but nothing is open to replace the faucet now. Besides, wasn't the plan to just help her out of her emergency? The water is turned off. She can call a plumber in the morning."
I walked into the kitchen with the towels and unfolded them and started mopping up the floor. The water was off, but for some reason I was still emotional. Was it because he suggested they leave soon?
After a few minutes, I felt a tapping on my shoulder and looked up. The man was standing over me.
I stood up to talk to him. I didn't want him to think I needed anything more from him.
His voice seemed gentler this time, and I was calmed a little.
"My name is Adam, and this is Jackie." He gestured to the woman, and she tilted her head down and back up with a smile.
"You need to use a phone, to call your Dad?" He asked, and pulled out a cell from his front pocket pants as he said it.
He pushed on the display a couple times and handed it to me.
I dialed my Dad, grateful that I could connect to him while Adam was standing there.
"Who is this?" My dad asked after he said hello.
"It's me, Dad, I had to call on someone else's phone."
"Are you ok? Do I need to get on a plane?"
"No, Dad, I am ok, now, a nice couple has stopped by and stopped the water. I just could not see the second valve. I dropped my cell into the pot of water when it burned my hand "Can I talk to him?" Adam asked, and held out his hand. I handed the cell back to him without a pause.
"Sir, this is Adam Turner, and I turned off the water. The sink fixture has corroded on the inside, and your daughter will need a new one. The second valve was hidden behind a drawer to the right of the sink. I think someone did some remodeling because it is not to code."
"I see." I heard my Dad say then pause. "What do you suggest Adam?"
"She can call a plumber in the morning, if she owns this place, have him reposition the hot water valve and replace the fixture. If she rents, she should contact the owners and have them at least pay for the relocation of the valve if not the fixture. Legally they can't sell the place, or rent it without it being up to code."
"Thank you, Adam. My little girl is important to me, and I feel helpless being so far away. Can I talk to her, again, please?"
"Yes sir." Adam handed the phone back to me.
"Daddy."
"Pumpkin, do I need to fly out there and take care of things or can you handle it?"
"I can handle it, this occurrence was just unexpected. I was tired after so long a day at work."
"I see, then, well. Love you, Pumpkin. Call me when you get a new phone."
"Yes Daddy. Love you, too. Bye."
I hung up. I was annoyed that he didn't think I could handle it, even though I hadn't done a very good job of it.
Chapter 2
I looked around and Jackie was on the floor wiping up the last of water. I felt embarrassed with her on her hands and knees, cleaning my kitchen floor. Yet, I hadn't stopped her.