Chapter 6 AS LONG AS YOU’RE HERE
AS LONG AS YOU’RE HERE
Pulling the hoodie over her head, Giselle rushed along until she arrived outside the glass door to the auto shop.
There were other community announcements and flyers taped to the window that she peeked through to view inside.
Just as she raised her hand to knock, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, and she fished it out.
Maisie was calling, no doubt to check on her since she’d been gone for almost forty-five minutes.
Deciding to ignore her, she tucked it back into her pocket.
“Hello!” Giselle beat on the door with her fist and tried to peek through the glass inside the shop.
She saw a truck parked outside, and there was still a dim light in the front window, so she assumed someone was there.
The faint sound of a drill or some type of equipment being used rumbled in the distance.
Knocking again, she paused and listened right as the lock clicked on the door, and it cracked open.
“Oh, thank God!” Relieved, she sighed, standing there wet and shivering in front of the grumpy looking stranger with oil smudges on his face.
“We’re closed,” he told her in a thick, husky tone while skimming her carefully in her drenched clothes.
“Are you serious? It’s pouring rain right now,” she pointed out, eyes desperately peeking at him from underneath her soaked hoodie.
“Sign says nine to six. It’s six-fifteen.”
“Well, how much for you to be open?” Giselle demanded.
“Not an option.” He prepared to slam the door in her face.
Pressing her hand against the wood, Giselle refused to be dismissed. Her sparkling eyes bounced around his greenish-brown hazel ones, and for a minute, she paused. They were gorgeous, even with his thick brows bunched together in an irritated frown.
“My cousin’s car caught a flat a block over. I need a new tire, and it’s really coming down out here. This is an auto shop. You do repairs, no?”
“Yeah, from nine to six, princess,” he grumbled, glancing up at the black sky as another bolt illuminated above them.
Seething, a spark of anger flickered behind her gaze. He had struck a nerve. There was nothing she hated more than being addressed as that. Not even her daddy called her princess. She found the shit insulting.
“I don’t think you get it. It’s cold, it’s wet, and I’m stranded. Now, you can let me in, or I can tell everyone in town that the customer service at Sapien Automotive is trash,” she surmised.
He hiked a brow before shaking his head.
The door slammed shut, and Giselle was on the verge of beating it down when she heard a lock click, and he suddenly pitched it open.
Stunned, she found her gaze dipping over his thick frame.
Broad shoulders, arms corded with muscles, and an infuriating confidence, even standing there in one of those navy mechanic jumpsuits with the business name on the front and a wife beater tucked underneath, both stained with oil.
“You gon’ stand there and keep getting wet or come in?” he asked, using a towel to wipe his hands.
Motor oil and metal ignited her senses as she drifted inside.
The waiting area was empty and in need of renovations.
Old, tattered chairs were arranged around an oak table covered in auto magazines.
In the corner, a 55-inch flat screen TV was mounted to the wall, and that seemed to be the most updated thing in the place.
Her head spun with different ways to spruce the place up out of habit.
She had a background in interior design, so it was something she always found herself doing.
He closed the door behind her and locked it back up.
With her back to him, Giselle canvassed the rest of the space while he examined her backside.
She was petite, but there was no denying her curves.
When Giselle spun on her heel, she didn’t expect him to be a couple of feet away, studying her so closely.
To her left, there was an office with a dim light shining into the waiting area, and behind him a large space to mount cars, at least three or four at a time.
The hood was up on an old school Chevy, and she assumed that was where he was working when she arrived.
“It’s raining right now. When it lets up, I can go fix your car, and you can be on your way,” he told her, still rubbing his hands against the already greasy towel. “You want to have a seat? I was in the middle of something before you so rudely interrupted.”
“You would know rude,” Giselle muttered, holding herself tight as she caught a chill.
“That car ain’t gon’ fix itself. You want my help, or would you rather grab a wrench and give it a go yourself?” he shot back, a lazy smirk tugging the corners of his mouth.
A spark of something electric zipped between them, which left her startled since she had a rebuttal. It faltered the minute those piercing eyes landed on hers. Steady. Intrusive.
“How long is this going to take?” Giselle demanded, tucking her arms across her chest.
“I don’t control the weather, princess. Maybe you should learn a little patience,” he suggested.
“Don’t call me that.” Giselle griped, lip curling in contempt.
Heavy caught the sternness in her tone and the combativeness in her eyes. The word was a trigger. Holding his hands up in surrender, he simpered cutely.
“Seems to suit you,” he noted, tipping his head to the side.
“You don’t know shit about me,” she countered. “And what do they call you?”
“The name is Heavy. Sit tight. There’s bottled water in that mini fridge over there and coffee in that pot. I can’t guarantee it’s fresh, though.” He turned and marched back over to the open hood he’d been working under.
Giselle’s jaw tightened from his complete disregard, as if she was bothering him.
Nobody talked to her like that. She damn sure wasn’t some weak-willed little bird who needed to be saved.
Most of her life, she’d dealt with all the ass kissing because of her parents.
This man, Heavy, didn’t care who she was or who she was related to for that matter.
Stomping over to the waiting area, Giselle turned up her nose at the outdated furniture before plopping down in a chair.
When her phone rang again, she sighed, knowing it was Maisie. “Hello.”
“Where are you? Are you okay? Mama is worried. This storm is getting bad, and they’re talking about flooding in some areas,” her cousin ranted with concern.
“Mais, don’t be mad.”
“G, don’t tell me to not be mad, just tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I caught a flat. Your car is around the corner, and I’m sitting in this auto shop, waiting for the rain to let up so I can get it fixed.”
“Are you kidding me?” Maisie groaned. “How did that happen?”
“I don’t know. Now I’m sitting here in this shop with this mean ass man…”
“Wait, what shop?” Maisie prodded.
“Sapien Auto,” Giselle answered.
“So… you’ve met our Heavy.” Maisie tittered.
“Oh, so you know Mr. Grouch? The hell is wrong with him?” Giselle’s gaze shifted in his direction as he pulled the top half of his jumper down and let it hover at his waist.
Now, his thick, tatted arms and hands were on display in the wife beater. Giselle couldn’t look away as he knelt back under the hood to continue tinkering with whatever he was doing.
Maisie chuckled. “Heavy’s cool. A little anti-social, but him and Crew are friends.”
“So, people actually like his rude ass?”
“Have you seen him?” Maisie queried. “I know you’re a little green and probably used to those men in custom suits, with no swag or real personality…
” She let her sentence trail off. “Heavy is a different breed, though. I’m a married woman, but even I can’t deny that man has a very dominating presence.
It’s some women around here with no shame, too.
Young, old, married, or single. Heavy leaves these bitches swooning, and the nigga barely strings two sentences together at a time. ”
“Hmm, I guess.” Giselle tucked one arm under the other while still holding the phone to her ear and tearing her eyes away from him.
“You are something else.” Her cousin cackled. “Well, as long as you’re safe. I’m sure Heavy will fix you up when he gets a chance. Just try to be nice. You know how your little prissy ass can be.”
The light above her flickered before the entire shop went dark, and Giselle’s eyes lifted to the ceiling. Outside, there was a loud cracking sound, like something had blown up, and she flinched from her chair at the sparks shooting across the sky through the window.
“Great.” Giselle moaned.
“Shit, the power just went out,” Maisie declared.
“Here too.”
“Well, stay calm. Just let Heavy work his mechanic magic and sit tight. He’ll get you taken care of, and stay off your phone, so you can reserve what’s left of your battery. Call me when you have an update,” Maisie instructed.
“You got it.” Giselle ended the call, and Heavy’s thick, even footsteps moved closer to her.
There was light from the moon outside illuminating the waiting area, and from where she sat, she caught a glimpse of what Maisie was saying.
Heavy had a strong jawline and smooth, almond coated skin.
His Grecian nose was perfect for his face shape, and those hooded eyes never wavered from hers as he got closer.
He sighed before moving closer to the windows where another set of waiting chairs were lined up.
Propping one hand against the wall, he scanned the streets as water flowed like a mini river.
“Looks like we’re going to be here for a minute. Hope you didn’t have plans,” he jested, swiping his hand through the juicy sienna curls resting on top of his head and glancing at her over his shoulder.