This is a work of fiction, inspired by a young lady I had chatted with.
It felt like it was going to be another scorching summer in the desert and it was only June. We had been researching solar panels for our home, but I know our AC unit was original to the house and wanted to replace it around the same time we upgraded to solar. The problem is that most of the solar sales people that knock on the door are generally middle-aged sweaty men that are our canvassing the neighborhood.
I had gotten up early Saturday and got cleaned up and put on some comfortable, loose fitting clothing because today was my day to do my laundry and generally straighten the house. My wife was visiting her family back east for several weeks, so I had decided to put in some time and do a bit more research on solar as well as the cost of a new AC for the house.
As I sat there in front of the PC, which seemed to be happening far too much lately, a knock on the door and my dog barked which barked which startled me. My heart was racing as I got her calmed down and put in one of the spare bedrooms, and headed to answer the front door. I was thinking that it was either another solar salesman or members of one of the many local churches seeking to invite me to one of their services.
By the time I got the door open there was a beautiful young woman beginning to walk away, she heard the door open and turned around and smiled and began to introduce herself. She said her name was Poppy and she was representing a new local solar company and would like to give me and the lady of the house a short presentation. She was a stunning African American young woman that I guessed to be in her mid-twenties, or as I thought to myself, about half my age, which along with all my other thoughts made me feel like a dirty old man. I jokingly said, 'the lady of house is out, so you're stuck with me, but I'd love to see your presentation'. She smiled and said 'of course.'
As Poppy continued her introduction, I noticed that she had a bead of sweat running down her temple. I interrupted her and asked if she would like to come in. I said she must be burning up, it's only 9 am and already close to 100 degrees, she agreed. I swung the front door open for her and I tried to make a joke by saying I don't bite, which caused her to giggle a bit, but made me turn bright red as I realized that I was in fact sounding like an old pervert.
She came in and asked where she should sit. I suggested the couch because we had a large table there where she could lay out her information. As she began to walk towards the couch I asked if she would like a cold bottle of water she said yes please in a very genuine way.
When I returned with the water, she was beginning to lay out her presentation on the table and began with a formal introduction and a brief history of her company. I sat away from her on the couch, not too close as I didn't want this to seem weird. I was impressed because it wasn't a rehearsed canned presentation, but she was clearly knowledgeable on not only the product, but her company and the solar market itself. I told her how impressed I was with her knowledge and presentation so far and she placed her hand on my arm thanking me for the compliment.
I am not a touchy-feely sort of guy so her hand on my arm was somewhat electric. She went on to explain that not only was she one of the sales persons, but also a co-owner. I said that I was truly impressed. She smiled and thanked me again.
She had such a kind quality to her. I noticed she had finished her water, so I asked if she would like another and she said it wasn't too much of a problem. I said no worries and quickly returned with another cold water for her. This time I had sit a bit farther away, so to better be able to see her, I had brought my right knee up onto the couch so that I could face her a bit easier, she very gracefully brought her left knee up to the edge of the couch as she continued to explain the sequence of events and all of a sudden she looked away and her voice changed and it startled me.
I didn't quite understand what had happened initially, but I then realized that I had accidentally flashed her. I turned bright red again and began falling over myself trying to explain that wasn't my intent. She smiled and said, 'I'm certain it was an accident.'
She composed herself and grabbed another brochure and said that where other solar companies fall short is all they do is solar and that customers are often left with old outdated AC equipment. I laughed a little and she asked quizzically what it was that she said that caused me to laugh. Again, I felt like I was beginning to turn red, so I began to explain that the reason I hadn't got solar so far was due to exactly that reason. She smiled and said, 'see, that's what I'm talking about.'
She asked if we could take some very basic measurements of the rooms to know which size AC unit she would recommend. I said sure and asked that she follow me. She heard the dog barking in one of the spare bedrooms and I assured her that she would only lick her to death, trying to make a joke. We measured the room with a small laser measuring tool she had, and I went to the spare bedroom door and knelt down to calm Prissy, our 6 pound Chihuahua. Poppy looked at her and smiled and asked if she could pet her and I said yes, she's a sweetheart, but she thinks she's a rottweiler.
Poppy laughed and knelt down next to me to pet her. I noticed that Poppy's skirt showed just a bit of a beautifully toned lower leg. Realizing that I was probably starring so quickly changed my focus back to our dog which kept trying to jump into her lap. I grabbed Prissy and said excuse me while I went to place her into her crate. When I returned Poppy had just finished measuring the second spare bedroom so I took her to the master bedroom and again with my old man jokes said this is where all the action happens, she giggled again and I turned bright red again.
