Chet made it down to Santa Rosa Beach in record time. Surprisingly, there had been little to no traffic on the road, so aside from a couple stops to top off the tank and get a coffee, he was smooth sailing. His boss had brought this project to him rather last minute, but leveraged it by calling it a "free weekend at the beach." See, their company had recently finished a remodel on one of the beach houses down there, but Chet was being sent on account of the owner having some overlapping questions surrounding some lighting that was put in the kitchen and master bathroom. With work being so busy at home, answering a lighting call would be a breeze, especially at the beach.
Upon arrival, he unlacked his bag at the conso he was being put up in for the weekend. It was a simple, one bedroom, one bath, with a small patio overlooking one of the popular nighttime spots where people came to eat pizza and drink beer ans listen to music. As good as pizza and beer is, Chet figured he should run to the nearby grocery store and grab a few things for the weekend. Chet grabbed the usual beach food; bacon and eggs for breakfast, some fruit, sandwich stuff for work and (hopefully) a bwach outing or two, and a six pack of his favorite beach beer. As he approached the checkout, he found the store only had three employees working the checkout lines and that each line was backed up into the main aisle. "Good thing i don't have to be at that house, tonight," Chet thought. He found a line that wasn't too much in the way and tucked in.
He hadn't noticed her, at first, but the woman in front of him proved to steal his attention as he waited in line. She was older than he was, maybe in her late forties or early fifties. Her hair was a dark auburn that dusted the tops of her shoulders. She wore a thick cardigan, but Chet could tell that she was naturally curvy. Judging by her jewelry and Tory Burch sandals, this woman had some financial prowess behind her; not that she looked snooty, she just had a togetherness that money often brings. With the focus still on her sandals, something Chet couldn't resist, he noticed her toes were beautifully painted a deep green that melted into her tan skin. "A tan like that must mean she's on the final days of a vacation or she's a local," Chet thought.
It was her turn to unload her buggy onto the conveyer. A pack of sushi, a candy bar, two bottles of Cabernet, and a modern architecture magazine. Looks like she was preparing for a quiet evening on a deck somewhere. Chet thought this was an easy segue into a conversation.
"A lineup like that looks like a chill evening in."
Turning towards him with a surprised smile, "as bold of an assumption as that was, you may be right."
"I meant no harm by it; in fact, I'm in for one, myself," Chet says as he lifts the six pack.
"Ahh so you know peace and quiet and the beauty in it."
"I try to, just doesn't seem to happen much these days."
"Wife and kids keep you busy, huh?"
"No ma'am, I'm actually single. Well, unless you count the love of my life, work."
"Really?? No family waiting back at the condo? Not often you see a single guy at the beach, not even with a group of friends. What brings you down?"
"Well, work."
"Oh, nice! A trip to the beach for work must be a perk."
"I'm certainly not complaining. Just got in, today. What about you? What do you do?"
"I'm retired, in my own way. Ex-husband cheated on me, so I took my winnings and moved to the beach. Just finished building a house, sorta. Still have a few things to finish up."
At this, Chet wondered if the house he'd come to look at was this woman's. His boss had said it was a "single older lady," but Chet figured he meant some lady in her 70's that smelled like flowers and powder. Now, he wasn't so sure.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that; but at least you got a beach house out of it. Is it close by?"
"Don't be sorry. He was barely there; I never saw him for more than two seconds at a time, in and out of the bedroom. That may have been too much information; and to think I haven't even opened the wine, yet."
"No harm, no foul. I'd definitely call it his loss, in and out of the bedroom."
A smile cracked on her lips, "you think so?"
"Absolutely. Forgive me if this is too forward, but you're a beautiful woman. I'd say whoever is sharing that second bottle of wine with you is a lucky man."
"Well, actually, the second bottle was grabbed in case the first bottle went down exceptionally smooth. I didn't have a mind to share, until now. Do you drink wine?"
"Only with a pretty woman, hence why I'm buying the six pack of beer. No pretty woman, no wine."
"What if I invited you over, tonight? Would that make you put the beer back?"
"I'm not due in at work until 9:30 in the morning, I believe I could handle a glass or two."
"Good. Let me give you, this. Why not plan for 6:30 this evening?" she said as she wrote down her number on a piece of paper.
"6:30 it is. Should I bring anything? I'd hate to feel like youre providing all the snacks and refreshments."
"You can bring some trunks, if you have some."
At that, it was her turn to check out. Chet stood there feeling like a king, this beautiful woman who he just met felt such a connection that she invited him over for wine and a swim. This is turning out to be a work trip like no other. As she finished with the cashier, she took her receipt, and turned to Chet, "see you in a bit!" she smiled.
Chet simply smiled and gave her a wink as he watched her walk out the store. Once in his truck, he pulled the paper out of his pocket and began typing the number into his contacts. He was surprised when an overwrite message appeered asking him if he wanted to replace the already existing number, the number given to him by his boss yesterday as he prepared to leave for this business trip. He couldn't believe it, it was her. It's a small world, but this, this seemed like some sort of alignment of the stars working for him, now.
The time came and Chet arrived at the house freshly showered and in a classic jeans and t-shirt; perfect for such an evening. When she opened the door, Chet was struck breathless. She had removed the cardigan and was now wearing her tight jeans and a white camis that left very little to the imagination. Every curve was there as Chet was left wondering how he missed her massive breasts at the store; instantly, he had a desire to squeeze and suck them. To make matters worse, she was barefoot and stood there, in a pose that had one foot propped up on the toes, accentuating her arch.
"Hello again," Chet said with a smile.
"Hello! You know, I got to thinking and decided it's incredibly irresponsible of me to invite someone into my house without even knowing their name; I'm Jennifer," she said, extending her hand.
"Very nice to meet you, Jennifer; I'm Chet," he says with a smile. Truth be known, he knew her name from the job paperwork, but that would remain a secret until the time was right.
"Now, come on in!" she said with a wave of her hand. "I'll show you around, if you like."
"Yes please; I'd love to see the vision you brought to life."
With that, the two walked through the house. Room to room, they went, as Jennifer spoke on various accents she was going for and Chet focused on her lips. Her soft, full lips...
When they made it to the kitchen, the one thing Chet took a mental note of was how close she stood, even before the wine was opened. Was she into him?
Walking into the kitchen, Chet's mind went from play to work as he immediately understood why he was here in the first place. The building team had done a terrible job installing the lighting underneath the cabinets, and at that, Chet figured he should come clean.
"Jennifer, I love what you've done to the house. I'm going to take a wild guess and say the only things you're unhappy with at the moment are the lighting in here and the master bath, am I right?"
"That's right...is it that obvious??"
"May I tell you something wild?"
"Of course, I could use the excitement these days."
"It turns out that I was set to come to your house, regardless."