Troy immediately shut his mouth and began gathering up some papers on the desk in front of him.
"I am so sorry. I really do apologize. You have to excuse my brother."
His brother? They looked nothing alike. In fact, they looked like night and day. Jordan was muscular and handsome, dark hair, dark eyes, even coffee and cream complexion. Troy was cute, medium-size build, hazel eyes, and light complexioned. The only resemblance was the nose, jawline, and height. They were both equally tall.
"That's okay. I admit that I was a little rushed for time. I--" She couldn't believe that she was making excuses for her anger.
"See? She was rushing me since the moment she stepped foot in this door!" Troy blurted out another comment that made Jordan turn around again. When Jordan turned around, Troy looked down quickly and began typing on the computer in front of him.
"Sorry about that. It shouldn't take that long to put tires on. Part of the problem was mine. I had to bring the tires from another location because we didn't have any in stock over here as the computer indicated. Have you paid? How about I give you the tires on the house?"
She realized that she hadn't paid and walked up to the counter where Troy was standing. "That really is not necessary." She handed Troy her American Express card.
Jordan tried to push the card back toward her. "No, really, I insist."
"No, I would like to pay for the tires. I just wanted to suggest that if tires are not in stock when the service order is placed, then the customer should be aware of that," she said, as Troy took the card from her.
"That is our policy," Jordan said, giving Troy a look of dissatisfaction.
"I apologize once again, ma'am. Sorry, Jordan." Troy said, handing her the receipt.
"Can I talk to you a second? Before you leave?" Jordan asked.
Annette searched her purse for her cell phone again to check the time. "Umm … " She needed to get going if she and Anthony were going to make the comedy show. She obviously had no time to go to the mall now.
"Just a couple minutes. I won't keep you long." He began pulling his arms out of his work shirt. She almost chocked on her own breath when she saw how built he was. He wasn't "body builder" built, but every muscle in the man's body was ripped and present. She could even tell that what was hidden under the wife beater and the rest of his clothes was nothing but skin and muscle. He hung his work shirt over the counter and waited for her answer.
"Okay … Here?"
"If you want, we can go outside. There's an ice cream place across the street. Let's go sit out there."
"Okay, fine."
"It's just across the street. Would you like to walk?"
"Sure. No need to drive if it's just across the street."
He held the door for her and she walked outside.
"Aren't you working?"
She thought he was a car salesman. Maybe he had gotten a new job as a car repair person.
"Something like that. You like ice cream, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you'll like this one. They make their ice cream fresh daily. It's the best in town."
"I know. I've been to another chain they have in my neighborhood."
"Oh? What's your favorite flavor?"
"Creamy vanilla with cherries mixed in."
When they walked outside, she noticed that Troy's friends hadn't left yet. The guy who propositioned her earlier looked as they walked across the parking lot. He didn't say a word to her this time.
"What's yours?" she asked.
"Chocolate." He held her by the waist and they walked across the street as soon as the street lamps gave them the go ahead.
She couldn't believe that she was actually talking to him again. She knew that he was still out of her league, but it was nice to just look at him. If she could just look at him everyday even from afar, she would be satisfied. Besides, he was only being nice to her because of the bad customer service she encountered at the repair shop he worked at. Who knows? He was probably the one working on her car, causing some of the delays as well. They walked up to the little window to place their orders.
"Let me have one regular creamy vanilla with cherries mixed in and one regular chocolate, please."
She was surprised when Jordan placed the orders with her favorite creation in mind.
Jordan paid for the ice cream with a fresh twenty dollar bill, placed the change the girl handed him in the tip jar in the window, and they found private seats on a bench under an umbrella outside. He took a seat dangerously close to her. She watched as he began devouring his chocolate ice cream like a little kid.
"So, what brought you to the shop? Just riding around and decided to get four new tires … ?"
"Not exactly. I had a flat tire on the expressway. Someone recommended that I go there. It seemed convenient, so I stopped in."
"Oh, really? A flat tire, huh?" he asked. "So, is that what it took to bring us together, so I could talk to you again?"
"I wasn't aware that you were so interested in talking to me again," she said, using her spoon to pick a cherry out of the ice cream and placing it in her mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me. I gave you my number and you never called me. You must not be interested in me. Is that it?"
"Well, you said that you had my number already. So, if you were interested in talking to me, why didn't you call me?"
"I did," he said. "Several times, actually."
"What? Are you sure?" He must have been bluffing to make her feel good.
"Yes, I'm sure. I didn't leave any messages or anything like that, but I called you and you never answered your phone."
"Ohhhh … is your number private?" She had been getting calls from a private number at least once a week.
"Yes."
"Well, I don't answer blocked calls," she said.
"What? You owe somebody some money and you don't want to answer your phone?" he teased.
"No." She giggled. "It's just that if you can't identify yourself when you call my cell phone, why should I answer the phone? The minutes ain't free, you know. Besides, why didn't you leave a message?"
"You are kinda feisty! Would you have called me back? You had my number out right and you still didn't call me."
"If I knew you were trying to call me, then yes, I would have called you back." She didn't know how true that statement was. She still had the coaster that he wrote his phone number on, but she never even looked at it once since that night they met at the club. She hadn't forgotten about him, though. How could she forget that smooth, sexy voice and well-sculpted body?
"Uh-huh. That's what you say." He didn't believe her. "Why aren't you eating your ice cream? You picked all the cherries out?"
"I know. I eat the cherries first." She said, putting the very first scoop of vanilla ice cream in her mouth.
He laughed. "So, you're one of those people who lick the icing off the Oreos first and then eat the cookie?"
She laughed, too. "Yeah."
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"I thought you sold cars. Do you have two jobs?" If she could remember correctly, he had offered Anthony a deal on a new car.
"Something like that … "
"Wow? How many hours do you work a week? Eighty? Both seem like demanding jobs. How do you do it?"
"Actually, I work forty hours, just like you."
"How do you know I work forty hours?" she asked.
"Well, I just assume that everyone has a full time job. If not full time, then at least part time?"
"I'm a recent college grad. I work part time and full time, here and there, at a temporary agency here in Atlanta. Trying to find what I like do and the pay that goes along with it."
"There's nothing wrong with that. That's actually a pretty smart thing to do. How old are you, do you mind me asking?" He was looking in her eyes, searching her face, almost trying to guess her age.
"I'm twenty-two."
He smiled. "That's pretty young. You present yourself as beyond your real age. You know what I mean? You look young, but yet you are so mature in personality."
"Oh, really?" He hadn't been the first to tell her that. Some people had even gone as far as to ask what she was doing with someone as childish as Anthony because she was so mature. "How old are you?"
"Thirty." She probably could have guessed that he was at least five years older than her.
"Well, that's pretty old," she teased.
He laughed. "What are you talking about? Thirty is the new twenty."
"Oh, yeah." She giggled, putting her index finger in her mouth to suck off some of the ice cream that had dripped from the spoon on it. She closed her eyes. "Mmmmm. This ice cream is better than I remember it."
"Is that right?"
When she opened her eyes, Jordan was looking at her intently. He had placed his spoon in the half empty bowl of ice cream. Suddenly, it seemed as if he had lost interest in his ice cream and was now completely focused on her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He was so close, that she could smell the chocolate on his breath.