An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Hannah kept to the speed limit on her way to the sports bar so as not to attract the attention of law enforcement to her expired vehicle inspection. She was running late to her date with Cliff, having taken too much time fretting over what to wear.
It should've been a no brainer, he was teaching her to drive a garbage truck which meant casual, right? She had cutoff shorts, but Hannah felt they were too ratty for a date. She didn't want to wear slacks because it was too hot outside for long pants. She had nicer shorts she wore to work as part of her uniform but was sick of wearing those. Finally, she pulled navy blue capris from her laundry basket. She had worn them once. They weren't too wrinkled, and they passed the sniff test. She completed her outfit by pulling on a t-shirt and slipping into sandals.
Hannah drove into the parking lot and saw Cliff standing beside a sleek, blue sports car. He waved her over and she parked next to him. He wore a big smile.
She returned his smile and got out of her car. "Sorry I'm late."
He held the passenger door open for her. "You're not that late."
She climbed in and felt as if her seat was just a few inches off the pavement. She took a deep breath enjoying the scent of leather and the unique odor of a new car.
Cliff closed her door and joined her by climbing into the driver's seat.
"Nice car!" she exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
"Good to see you again, Hannah."
She ran her hand across the dashboard and glanced at the console. "All those switches make it look like a jet plane cockpit."
As Cliff drove them away, she checked out the door pocket where she found a pack of tissues and a tube of lipstick. Likely from some other woman, she figured, and wondered why that bothered her so much. She fingered the latch for the center console.
Cliff met her gaze.
She pulled her hand away. "Sorry. I'm nosy, and I've never been in a Corvette before."
"Go ahead. I don't mind."
She felt silly and sat back in her seat. They made small talk for a while, but Hannah kept eyeing the console. She couldn't resist and was overcome by the same curiosity as when visiting bathrooms at her friends' homes. She always peeked in the medicine cabinet.
Cliff noticed and reached over to pop the lid for her.
Hannah peered inside and pulled out an owner's manual thick as a Holy Bible. "Did you read this?"
He scoffed. "No. Does anybody?"
"I guess not." She went to put it back when something caught her eye. From the bottom of the console, she pulled a zippered organizer case. Since Hannah owned an identical case, she immediately recognized it for what it was, a tampon holder. She giggled and pulled it out but didn't open it. "I thought you were a guy, but now I have to wonder."
He glanced at the object and his face turned red. "Izzy. Damn it. I told her to get all her crap out of my car before the weekend."
"You're cute when you're embarrassed."
He grinned. "It's not funny."
"If you were quicker with a comeback, you could've told me you use it to store cigars instead of coochie corks."
"Eww. I don't smoke. Even if I did, the thought of keeping cigars in there is a bit disturbing, don't you think?"
Amused, she dropped the case back into the console and closed the lid. "If I snoop around some more, I wonder what other little treasures I might find."
"If my sister isn't more thorough, I'll have to rethink allowing her to drive my car."
Cliff's comment revealed a lot about him. "You're generous to your sister. I noticed at the bar when you let her steal wings from your plate. You two must be close."
"We are," he said with no hesitation. "Izzy is my buddy and my best friend."
Being an only child, Hannah often wondered what it would be like to have a sibling, especially an older brother as considerate as Cliff. It sure would help the family to have someone else to depend on given the troubled financial problems they faced.
A while later, Cliff pulled up to a chain link gate. He pressed a button on the sun visor and the gate rolled away, allowing them to drive through. They passed an office building Hannah assumed was some sort of administrative center. Beyond was a long, low structure reminding her of an airplane hangar.
"It's the shop where we service all our trucks," Cliff explained.
To the side of the shop an obstacle course was laid out with cones, various sizes of trash containers, and full-sized Dumpsters.
"This is it," Cliff said as he parked the car.
Beside them she saw a huge truck. "Suddenly, I'm feeling intimidated. Maybe this is not such a good idea."
"You'll do fine," Cliff said with confidence. "Nobody is around because it's Sunday. Nobody will see it if you goof up."
She scoffed. "Are you expecting me to goof up? Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Moments later, Hannah was sitting in the truck's driver's seat. Cliff joined her in the passenger seat.
The dashboard had a speedometer and all the usual gauges, but it also sported a large TV monitor. Between the seats, a six-speed manual transmission shifter protruded from the floor, also a joystick that Cliff explained controlled the hydraulic arm.
Toward the front of the joystick, a lever protruded from the floor. Hannah rested her hand on the lever. "What does this do?"
Cliff laid his hand atop hers. His taking such a liberty alarmed her.
Their gazes met.
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