Riding Blind

Chapter 2

I walked into the corner store down the street from my house.  The old man at the counter, Mr. Jim he called himself, greeted me with a smile. "Good afternoon dear.  I see we haven't run you out of town yet." He said with a laugh. I smiled back at him. "Nope. Not yet. Still waiting on the villagers to come to my house at 2am with pitch forks" I laughed back.

I made my way down an aisle to pick up a few things. As I was turning to the next, I was met with what felt like a stone wall against my body. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention...." I trailed on in embarrassment. "It's ok. You didn't do any damage." A deep voice answered back. I looked up at realized it was the mysterious man who had been starring at me for a week from the other side of the bar.

At that moment my heart stopped. It was day time so it was easier to see what he looked like, also seeing as he was standing right in front of me. I had to look up at him, seeing as he was probably every bit of 6 feet. He had dirty blond hair. A mustache and beard that wasn't too long, but also very well kept up. His eyes were intimidating. But also mesmerizing at the same time. He wore a leather vest that was open; a vintage band looking black tee shirt shown through. His arms covered in tattoos. I assumed by the way they started at his wrists and visible ink trailed to his neck, that there was a good chance his whole body was more than likely covered in art work.

"You know it's rude to stare" he finally said, breaking my thoughts. I shook my head a bit to get myself back to reality. "I'm sorry. I just......I was....admiring your ink." I mumbled through. I felt like a scared confused idiot. He smirked and laughed with a huff. "There's a lot to admire" his answer made me feel uneasy. I smiled and began to walk past him to venture down the next aisle. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to get what I came for and leave as fast as possible.

I made my way to the front counter to check out. As Mr. Jim was ringing up my items, I could hear and feel a presence behind me in line. "Hey Jeff. Staying out of trouble today?" He said to the person behind me. I turned my head around a bit, only to see the mysterious man standing there. "So far yeah. But the day is still young. Can't make any promises." He answered back. I turned back to the counter. Trying to act cool and unfazed. As soon as my transaction was over, I thanked Mr. Jim and made my escape.

Outside I felt like I could breathe again. It was warm under the sun. But a cool breeze made the weather perfect. I got into my car and tried to start it. Nothing. I tried again.....and again.....and again. "Fuck!!! Not now!!!" I said out loud to myself. I let out a big sigh and later my forehead on the steering wheel. I sat there for a few seconds until I was startled by a knock on the window. " let me see what's wrong". The mysterious man, who I had just learned was named Jeff, said. I opened my car door and scooted out. "I don't know why it's doing this. Everything was fine this morning." I said in annoyance. Jeff then popped the hood. "Machines break out of nowhere all the time. But the good news is, they can almost always be fixed." He said as he looked around the inside of my car.

A few minutes went by before he emerged back up. "It's your battery. Looks like it's draining for some reason. The only way to know for sure is test it out and then fix what the problem is." He said. I closed my eyes and threw my hands up in defeat. "Great. Another thing I touch that just breaks." I was honestly about ready to just give up and call it quits, until my self pity party was interrupted. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it for you. I have a garage at my house. I usually only work on bikes, but I'm sure I can get this thing to fit in there." He said. I looked up at him in amazement. "I appreciate that. But really, I don't want to trouble you at all." I tried to fight. He smirked and wakes closer to me. "Then in that case I'll do it if you take care of my tab this weekend." That smirk still never left his face.

My heart dropped. "I guess I can do that." I answered him finally. He walked back over to my car, closing them hood. "I'll get one of my boys to come pick this thing up with their tow. Should be done by Monday." He said as he wiped his hands on a towel he had taken out of his bike. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." I said back. I started walking towards the direction of my house when I was stopped. "Jump on. I'll bring you home." He said as he positioned himself on his bike. I wasn't sure if I should accept his offer. He was a stranger to me who had been starring at me for a week with no words. I was fearful, But at the same time, I felt oddly comfortable. I wasn't sure if getting on the back of that bike was the smart move, but then again, I was never really all that into making smart choices.