Delivery

1. Hand Carried

DELIVERY featured in Cosmo!

Fridays were the worst evenings of his week. When Harry applied for the internship with the start-up organic pizzeria he anticipated exhausting hours. Those hours, however, were supposed to be spent learning to operate a business and manage staff. They were not supposed to be spent making food deliveries. Monday through Friday, Harry spent most of his waking hours attending classes and studying for his master's degree in business. When he wasn't on campus or in the library, he was at Etta's Eatery. Harry was serious and he was dedicated. That meant he was willing to pull his weight wherever he was needed. In a college town, booming weekend patronage was the lifeblood of an eatery. After a long week of responsibility, people wanted a small reward. They wanted to knock off after a tough week, leaving dinner prep to someone else. And so, Harry found himself spending Friday nights behind the wheel, picking up the slack, and the extra tips, when the other delivery drivers were swamped.

The air was brisk and his lungs complained at the temp as he jogged from Etta's back door down the dark alley to the shop-owned delivery vehicle. Luckily he was driving a Highlander hybrid tonight, so the bit of snow that was falling would not impede him. The world was going to shit, from an environmental standpoint. Harry had been drawn to this particular business because they were committed to taking care of their customers as well as the planet. So it was local farm-sourced ingredients, hybrid vehicles, and environmentally safe products that were utilized throughout. What Harry hadn't expected when he came to the restaurant, was that he would find a place he wanted to stay. He had managed to set aside a good chunk of cash and when he graduated at the end of May, he was going into business with Etta's owner. They were planning a second location. At 24, he would be a business owner and an entrepreneur. He could not fucking wait!

In the meantime, it was Friday night deliveries.

The heat kicked in quickly and Brandi Carlile's, Dreams filled the interior. Harry had always had strong women in his life and this particular woman could seriously belt it out. He had actually met the singer/songwriter once in a local bar after she and her band had performed. Her partner, now wife, was touring with them at the time and the ladies had allowed him to buy them a beer. In a half-drunken confession, she told him that the song was somewhat based on delayed orgasm. Jesus, he loved women!

Harry had taken the order he was carrying himself. The call came in just as the kitchen was closing down for the night. She was a regular customer so he had pushed her order through. She was a professor in the business school and he had taken a class from her during his bachelor studies. Her name was Madelyn Conroy. A lot of the guys from the business department tried to get into her classes for reasons that were not purely academic. Heck, some of the women did, too. Who could blame them? She was a fantastic looking woman with a dynamic personality to match. When her hair was down, you could see deep auburn coursing through the brown so dark it was nearly black. Her eyes were the color of unpolished jade. The professor wasn't tall and Harry had wondered once if that was why she preferred such high heels. Whatever her reason, they absolutely worked in her favor. Most of the time, Harry tried not to dwell on such thoughts. He admired the fact that she was a full professor before the age of forty. It couldn't have been easy for her. The rumor was that her husband had taken a hike when she put her career ahead of babies. Harry didn't know exactly how a woman's biological clock ticked, but he knew some of his mother's friends had kids that were under five, so he expected that the opportunity to have children still existed for her.

The roads through the mountain town were getting a little dicey. Harry was glad he had one of those heated food bags that plugged into the lighter adapter since the drive was taking longer than expected. It would be poor form to present her with a cold dinner. He still had that desire to please the teacher where she was concerned, even if he hadn't been her student for quite some time. Harry hadn't bothered to enter her address into his GPS since he'd driven the route to her home just last week. The professor ordered often on Friday nights, always the same; a medium veggie pizza, extra cheese, and a salad.

Three deer ran alongside the road distracting him. Slamming on the brakes, Harry narrowly avoided hitting a fourth that had darted in front of the SUV. Truly, he loved living in this town, but the further up the mountain toward her house he drove, the more dangerous the night became. It was completely black outside now and he could see the stars clearly; a white light from the nearly full moon peeking through the tree boughs. The music he was listening to had shifted to L.A. Woman by The Doors. A classic for certain, with a pounding beat. It made him feel invigorated in spite of the long week he'd had.

Rounding the final curve, Harry saw her house tucked back from the road on the left. It occurred to him that not many single women would want to live so far from the safety of town and other nearby homes. What did that say about her? She was evidently self-confident about her ability to take care of herself. It was incredible up here! The light from the moon glittered off the snow. In the distance, he could see the lake in the valley below. Like iridescent glass, it shown brightly. For a few moments he was caught up in the atmosphere and forgot all about the delivery he was holding. Temporarily immune to the cold, he absorbed the view.

As he took a step up the shoveled stone path, bright lights suddenly flooded the property. A second of shock passed and Harry quickly made his way to the front of the house. He rang the bell and gave two swift raps on the thick oak door. There was a small portal in the center of the door just below his eye level.  It made him think of a castle door. The person inside could open it and peer through the small metal bars to see who was attempting access. He appreciated the safety precaution of the peep door and the motion sensor lights. He had a protective streak, it was just part of his nature.

Madelyn had forgotten her hunger, having become engrossed in grading papers. The activity at the door startled her at first. Quickly she pulled herself off the chaise near the fireplace. Since she had already divested herself of her bra for the evening, she reached for the semi-sheer wrap lying over the back of the lounge and pulled it over her thin t-shirt just as she reached for the peep. Opening the door within the door, she was able to see Harry carrying one of those thermal containers made for hot food transport. A woman would have to be dead not to notice how good-looking he was, and she very much had a pulse. Harry had taken one of her classes not too long ago. He had been a committed student; he worked hard and produced exemplary work. What had really struck her about him particularly was that he actually had some passion for the coursework. Unlike so many of her male students, he did not make sly remarks during class or loiter afterward attempting to engage her in ridiculous verbal foreplay.

This was the third time in a month that he had stood on her porch. Friday nights in had become her recent habit. The dating pool was lacking at the moment and she definitely believed in quality over quantity where men were concerned. As an attractive woman, Madelyn was always leery of dating men from the University. She worked her ass off to get where she was and did not need to be accused of sleeping her way to the top. She was confident and self-reliant. If she had immediate sexual needs, well, she could take care of those herself for the time being. After a quick acknowledgment of Harry's presence through the peep, she pulled the big door open.

Immediately Harry whisked the beanie from his head. She watched as his dark honey-colored curls tumbled past his shoulders. The frigid air blew through the open door and white fluff began to collect in Harry's ringlets. She may have stared for just a second; he truly was a stunning specimen. He smiled easily; and without thought, she broke the cardinal rule of single girl safety, and invited him in.