Un Encuentro Casual

[My POV.]

It seemed like it was going to be another uneventful day as I drove to work. I liked to leave early to avoid the morning traffic but today it looked a little busier than usual. I was at a red light when my car suddenly stopped. ~Ah, **!~ I turned on my hazard lights and took the key out. I popped open the hood and got out to check what was wrong. I waved at the cars behind me to go around before I walked over to the hood. I propped it open and waved off the smoke that was coming out. ~Great, just my luck.~ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to avoid a mental breakdown. I suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice call out to me.

Stranger: ”¿Estás bien? ”

I opened my eyes and turned to look at the stranger. ~Oh, hes cute.~ I awkwardly smiled and nodded.

Me: ”Yeah, Im okay but my car… ”

Stranger: ”Ya veo. Is it okay if I help you? ”

Me: ”Do you know anything about cars? ”

Stranger: ”{laugh}I know a little. ”

He smiled cutely and turned towards my car. He checked on a few things before standing up straight as he wiped his hands.

Stranger: ”Do you mind taking a ride with me? ”

I looked up at him, confused as I wasn sure what he meant.

Stranger: ”I can fix your car at my shop. But if you - ”

Me: ”Oh, yeah. Sorry, I don mind. ”

He smiled at me again as I was suddenly feeling shy by the strange feeling he gave me. It wasn a bad feeling but I just had never felt it before. It wasn butterflies, it was familiarity but I didn recognize him at all.

Stranger: ”Ill bring my truck over. Just give me a sec. ”

I nodded and watched him walk to his truck that was parked behind my car. He brought it over and hooked up my car to his truck. He wiped his hands and motioned for me to follow him. He opened the passenger door for me and I thanked him as I climbed up. I buckled myself in as he ran around and got in the drivers seat. He buckled up and started driving as he started talking to me.

Stranger: ”My shop isn too far from here, but where were you headed? ”

I suddenly remembered I hadn notified my manager and grabbed my phone as he laughed subtly. ~Ah, should I wait to be able to send a picture as proof?~ I was debating whether or not to call yet when he spoke again.

Stranger: ”Were you going to work? Or… Were you on your way to meet someone? ”

I finally snapped out of it and turned to face him.

Me: ”Oh, I was going to work. I just wasn sure if I should call my boss now or at your shop to be able to send a picture as proof. ”

The stranger smiled and nodded to himself.

Stranger: ”Have you ever called in for no important reason? ”

Me: ”No, I don think Ive ever called in at this job. Its still fairly new. ”

Stranger: ”What did you do before? ”

Me: ”I worked at a cell phone store. ”

Stranger: ”¿Y ahora? ”

Me: ”At an accounting firm. ”

Stranger: ”Wow… Beautiful and smart. ”

I felt my face get hot and quickly looked out the window to avoid him noticing me blushing. ~Why am I blushing?!~ I heard him chuckle softly before clearing his throat.

Stranger: ”We
e almost there. ”

Me: ”Oh, okay. ”

We were quiet the rest of the drive until we arrived at a large mechanic shop. ~Whoa… This looks fancy as **.~ I was in awe as I looked at the outside of the shop causing me to jump when the stranger opened my door.

Me: ”Oh! Thanks. ”

He smiled and helped me down. We walked over to the front entrance and he again opened the door for me. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by a bright lobby that looked and smelled clean as well as a small group of handsome men talking by the front desk.

Stranger: ”William! Ayúdame afuera. ”

The man named William poked his head out from the small group and nodded. He ran right over and briefly looked at me.

William: ”Oh, hola. ”

I looked at him with an awkward smile as I returned the greeting.

Me: ”Hola. ”

He stared at me curiously before looking back at the stranger.

William: ”Ella - ”

Stranger: ”Her car broke down in the middle of the road. Lets get it fixed quickly. ”

He motioned for William to leave then turned to me. However, William hadn been paying attention.

Stranger: ”You can take a seat anywhere. We won take long. ”

He smiled again then dragged William away. ~What was that?~ I shrugged it off and went to sit down at a random chair. I took out my phone and took a picture of a business card that was on the coffee table and sent it to my manager along with a message.

Voice: ”Aquí tiene. ”

I looked up to see one of the other guys handing me a cup of coffee.

Me: ”Gracias. ”

Voice: ”De nada. ”

He smiled at me cutely and turned to leave. ~Wow, everyone here is charming as hell…~ I quietly took a sip of the coffee as I scrolled through my phone. After about 30 minutes, the stranger came back inside and stood next to me.

Stranger: ”¿Lista? ”

I turned to face him startled by his sudden question. He had changed into a mechanic jumpsuit in which he had the sleeves tied around his waist and only had on a muscle shirt. He was wiping his hands on a towel and smiling at me flirtatiously.

Me: ”Uh – um… What? ”

He laughed quietly and repeated his question.

Stranger: ”¿Lista? Your car is ready. ”

Me: ”Oh! Thanks so much. How much do I owe you? ”

He shook his head as he stared at me.

Stranger: ”Nada. ”

Me: ”What? No way, I have to pay you for your work. ”

The stranger looked at me with obvious intentions as he continued to smirk.

Stranger: ”But… I don want your money. ”

I stared back at him blankly, unsure of what to do or say.

Stranger: ”Are you free anytime this week? ”

Me: ”I – um… I don know. ”

He smiled even wider as he grew more shy. I had to admit, I really wanted to say yes but I didn want to feel like he could control me on a whim. I cleared my throat but he spoke up first.

Stranger: ”No la quise ofender. ”

Me: ”Está bien… Solo no quiero que piense que quiero aprovecharme de usted. ”

He looked away shyly as he smiled before looking at me curiously.

Stranger: ”I would never think that of you. ”

Me: ”But still… Ill just pay for today so we don have any misunderstandings. ”

He nodded and motioned for me to follow him. We walked over to the counter where he whispered something to the man at the register who just nodded then looked over at me disinterested.

Cashier: ”Your total is $35. ”

Me: ”That cheap? What was wrong with it? ”

The cashier shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at the screen. ~Hes obviously giving me a big discount…~ I gave in and paid with no other arguments. The stranger came back out and handed me my keys. I turned to walk away but heard his footsteps behind mine. He quickly ran towards the door to open it for me again.

Me: ”Thank you. ”

He smiled at me and walked me to my car.

Stranger: ”Do you have a business card? ”

I looked at him curiously.

Me: ”You just want my number, don you? ”

He smiled widely. ~Ugh… Hes doing this on purpose. He must know he has a killer smile.~

Stranger: ”No… What if I need a new accountant? ”

I stared at him and smirked as he laughed.

Stranger: ”Was it that obvious? ”

Me: ”A little bit. ”

I walked over to the drivers side door. I opened it but hesitated.

Me: ”Are you really interested in me? Or is this some joke? ”

Stranger: ”Ive been interested in you since I first saw you. I don joke about my feelings. ”

He was staring at me intently and I felt my heart skip a beat. ~What the hell…?~ It took me a few seconds to gather myself.

Me: ”Well, if you really are serious then look me up. See if you find me. ”

He smirked as he nodded then held out his hand after taking a business card.

Stranger: ”Deal. ”

~Is he really that confident?~ I smirked and shook his hand before getting into my car and heading to work. I was swamped with work for the whole day. Since I was still fairly new to the company and to my team, my coworker usually left me with all the work by the end of the day. I didn mind since I didn have much to do otherwise and I had gotten there late. I was finishing up when my phone suddenly rang. ~What the hell? Someone else is still here at work?~ I answered the phone and heard a semi-familiar voice on the other end.

Voice: ”I found you. ”

I was stunned as I tried to register who was on the line. ~I don know if I should be impressed or scared.~

Me: ”So you did. ”

Stranger: ”Do I get a reward? ”

Me: ”You already got your reward. ”

Stranger: ”Really? Is it you? ”

Me: ”{laugh}No, its my work number and just talking to me. ”

Stranger: ”Alright, Ill work harder then. ”

Me: ”What do you mean? ”

Stranger: ”Ill work harder to win you over. ”

I could feel my face get hot as I blushed and I couldn stop smiling. But I tried my best to keep calm.

Me: ”Hm… I don know if you can though. ”

Stranger: ”¿Tienes novio? ”

Me: ”No, mejor sola que mal acompañada. ”

Stranger: ”I can respect that. Are you interested in anyone at the moment? ”

Me: ”At this time, no. Im focusing on work. ”

Stranger: ”I respect that too. Would you mind if I kept in touch with you? ”

Me: ”I mean you can try, but Im pretty busy during work. ”

Stranger: ”Would it be possible to call you outside of work? ”

Me: ”Hm… I don typically like to give out my number. ”

Stranger: ”If you aren interested in me, you could just say so. Ill respect your choice. I wouldn want to waste your time or make you feel uncomfortable. ”

Me: ”I would have told you at your shop to not even bother… But I admit, you are charming. ”

Stranger: ”Just charming? ”

Me: ”Well, Id say more but not on my work line. ”

Stranger: ”So then? ”

Me: ”Ill get your number. ”

Stranger: ”Are you actually going to call me? ”

Me: ”Wanna make a bet? ”

Stranger: ”If you do, then what? ”

Me: ”Ill take you up on your offer. ”

Stranger: ”And if you don ? ”

Me: ”What would you like as an apology? ”

Stranger: ”How could I ask you for anything? Wouldn that mean you
e not interested in me? ”

Me: ”Not playing games, but I could forget. ”

Stranger: ”Then if you forget, you would still o