Run to Me

After Hours

It had been another long and hectic day, the garage had been flooded with customers all morning, leaving us with a dozen new jobs and not even enough time to grab a quick coffee. I looked up at the underside of the car I'd been working on for the last half an hour. The smell caused by the leaking oil was overpowering everything else, even the cool, fresh evening air that was blowing through the open doors. I moved the lamp a little to the right, and dragged myself a bit further under the car.

"Hey, wanna call it a night?" Jett's voice called from behind me.

"Will do when I've finished this."

I heard the slight thud of something being dropped onto the trolley, then a shadow passed at my side. I turned to see Jett's face looking right at me from beside the car.

"How bad is it?" He asked, his eyes darting upwards.

"Eh, not too bad, shouldn't take more than half an hour." I shrugged, I saw him check his watch and nod his head slightly. "Something up?" I asked.

"Oh, no, it's nothing, just I was meant to meet Roman at the pub in ten minutes."

"Then go." I half laughed, "I can finish up here and lock up after."

I could practically see the cogs turning in his head, it was an amusing sight. I tried to keep from laughing as he mentally debated whether or not to take me up on his offer.

"I can manage to lock up, nothing's gonna happen. Just go, you deserve a break."

He chuckled softly and ran his hands through his hair.

"You sure you don't mind?"

I sighed, taking hold of the car, I used the force to pull the creeper out from underneath and stopped just as Jett stood up.

"I promise that I don't mind. Now get going, before Roman sends out half of the force to hunt you down." I teased.

I was about to slide back under when he closed in on me. A cheeky smile playing on his mouth. I knew that look from a mile off, it turned my insides to jelly and sent a liquid heat flooding to my core. I wanted to give in, I longed to feel his lips on mine again, but I also wanted to get home tonight, and knew that it wouldn't stop at just a kiss.

"No. Get your ass out of here." I said, trying to sound serious, but failing as I broke into laughter at the sight of him feigning innocence.

"Maybe I want to stay here." He said playfully.

"Well, I mean, if you'd rather sit there and stare at the paint job on this for the next half an hour, then go ahead. But I think I'd rather go for a beer." I winked at him and dragged myself back under.

"I guess you make a good point." He replied. I heard his footsteps begin to move past me. "Spare keys are in the safe." He called as he neared the door.

"Okay, cheers."

"Thanks, Athena." He said softly, his voice gentle and warm.

I heard him leave, and the familiar sound of his truck door closing, then the ignition starting up.

As the sound of his truck faded into the distance, I began to get back to work. The voices of the radio hosts were the only other sounds in the room as I carried on with the repairs. The minutes ticked by, and I got lost in what I was doing. My mind only drifting to the lyrics of passing songs that were echoing around me. The damage wasn't as bad as I'd initially thought, and it wasn't too long before I was finishing up. It was then that I heard a sound by the door. I couldn't see anything from where I was, and I instantly tensed up. I hadn't heard an approaching car, nor anything else to indicate that anyone else was nearby. Yet someone, or something, was here. I silently reached out to the tray of tools at my side, picking up the large wrench, I gripped it tightly, still refusing to move. The sound of footsteps soon told me that it was definitely a human, and from the weight to the steps, a man. My heart rate skyrocketed and I felt a queasiness beginning to bubble away in my stomach. The steps grew closer, and I saw a pair of men's boots. They were brown, and loosely tied. They were familiar, and that's when it clicked, and my anxiety changed to annoyance and anger. Still holding onto the wrench, I dragged myself out from under the car.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I snapped, getting to my feet, and glaring into the vivid green eyes of the man that I'd met in the pub the day before.

He didn't react, his face still a calm and cocky mask.

"Why do people usually come to a garage?" He replied sarcastically.

"Usually people come in during opening hours." I said coldly, crossing my arms over my chest.

He looked back towards the open door, then at me.

"Erm, you are open."

"The door is open, the garage isn't."

His eyes didn't waver from my face. There was a trace of amusement in his expression, but it lacked warmth. It was the cold kind of humour and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, making me glad that I still had the wrench in my hand. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but something about this guy made me uneasy. Even more so this time, given that I was alone. I inwardly questioned what the likelihood was that it was a coincidence, him turning up when I was on my own. It felt highly unlikely to me, and that thought put me on edge even more. How did he know, and how did he even get here? I didn't hear a car, and along this lane, at night... there was no one that I knew, who would be walking this road at this hour. So what did all of that mean? I tried to keep my face blank, my emotions stable and my voice calm as I asked:

"Okay, so what's the issue?"

He looked like he was trying to read me as he tilted his head to one side, his eyes boring into me and his hands now dipping into his jeans pockets as he leant back against the blue Corsa just behind him.

"You mind not leaning against other people's cars?" I pointed out coldly.

I caught a small flash of something in his eyes at his reaction, the mask slipping slightly, but then back in place before I could figure out just what it was. He straightened up, his body parting from the car and his eyes zoning in on me.

"You know what, I can see I've called at a bad time. Maybe I'll call in again soon." He winked at me and then turned away, walking slowly towards the door.

I stood there staring ahead, unsure just what move to make next. Deciding that heading home was more tempting than standing in the garage clutching a weapon for the rest of the night, I crossed to the radio and switched it off. The silence was deafening, causing a low volume ringing in my ears. I decided to not even bother going back to the locker room to change, instead, I undid my coveralls, and slipped them off, tossing them over the back of the chair. Just as I turned towards the office, I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard a car start up not far away, realising that he'd had a car out front all along. I felt sick and confused. How had I not heard it before? I heard the car drive away and hurried to the office to grab the keys from the safe. Eager to get back home, I made quick work of locking up, and jumped into my truck, not even taking a minute to catch my breath, I drove out of there. Fear wasn't something that I was used to feeling. I had been in many sticky situations in the past, and had to handle all kinds of people. But there was something in particular about this that was causing a feeling of dread and an element of fear, to flood my senses. Twice in two days wasn't normal to meet a stranger, particularly one like him. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something here, and that thought was driving me crazy as I locked my front door and made my way to bed. Just as I drifted off to sleep, I wondered where that guy was now, who he was, and whether I should tell Jett about him, or not.