Post by rsafan on Sept 27, 2006 4:41:23 GMT -5
Chapter 2
When she walked into the garage, Max had to blink twice to make sure he wasn’t imagining what it was he was seeing. He had to make sure that there really was a truly gorgeous brunette approaching him, and he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Then she smiled and he knew he was lost.
“Hi, I’m looking for Max.”
“I’m...” he cleared his throat and tried again, “I’m Max, can I help you with something?” Can I help you with something? Really Max, he scolded himself, would she walk into a garage if she didn’t need help?
“I was hoping you could.” The smile never wavered. “I’m looking for a car, and while I realise that you don’t sell them, Mr. Kiriakis said you’d be ale to organise one for me?” She looked at him hopefully.
Mr. Kiriakis?, she must be an employee at Titan. No one else would refer to Victor as Mr. Kiriakis. “A car… What kind were you looking for exactly?”
“Just something to get me around until I have time to buy a new one. I don’t know much about cars, and I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. But you seem to be trustworthy, so I’m hoping you can help me.”
“I might know where you can get a great deal. In fact, I might have just what you’re looking for right here.” He indicated to the car he’d been working on, “it’s not much but…”
Her face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “This thing?” she looked the car over, “It’s so cute, I love it, I want it. Are you really selling it or are you just pulling my leg?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to sell it, but your enthusiasm for this car has convinced me that you’ll take good care of it at least.”
“Oh, I will. I promise,” like a child who was promising to be good if her parents let her have the puppy she wanted so much. “What’s going to convince you to sell it to me?”
“Well, you could convince me over dinner.” The smile faded. Nice one Max. Be that obvious, she probably gets similar offers all day long. “Never mind… it was a bad suggestion. I’ll get the paperwork done, when do you need the car by?”
“Oh gosh, you’ve gotten the wrong idea. I’m not turning you down. Well, not exactly. You see, I’m going home tonight, to Chicago. I’ll be gone for a week, so I can’t have dinner with you.”
“How about I give you my number and you call me when you get back to Salem, if you still want to go out for dinner, that is.”
She smiled at him, “Okay.” Taking the business card he handed her, “I’ll only need the car when I get back. See you around Max.”
Max knocked his head against the bonnet of the car he’d been working on, the mystery girl’s car. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t even gotten her name. He was such an idiot. Rubbing his head, he looked up to find Chelsea standing by the car; arms crossed across her chest, and annoyed expression on her face.
“Chelsea, how long have you been here?”
“Five minutes.” He relaxed, at least it hadn’t been longer, he didn’t know what was wrong with him, ever since that girl had walked into his garage, she’d been all he could think about. “I’ve been here for five minutes, after waiting at the Pub for almost an hour. We were supposed to be seeing a movie together.”
“Sorry, I forgot…”
“You forgot?” She eyed him sceptically, Max hardly ever forgot anything, at least not when it came to her. Maybe he had just been swamped with work and had forgotten about the time. “That’s okay, there’s a later show. We can go if you still want to?”
“Sure, I’ll just go and change into something decent,” looking down at his filthy apparel, “And take a shower while I’m at it.” Her eye batting did nothing for him, her coyness left him cold. He knew then, without a doubt that he was in trouble. One meeting and he was already sinking faster than the Titanic. Still, even as he left the garage, his arm around Chelsea, all he could think about were her green eyes, and her long brown hair…and whether or not she’d call come the end of the week.
“No, I can’t just call him. He’s probably forgotten about me.”
Sara looked at her sceptically; no guy could ever forget that face, that body, those eyes or those lips. For a while she’d been suspicious of Rex and his roommate, the closeness between himself and this gorgeous siren had been of great concern to her. That was before she’d realised that there was absolutely no chemistry between the two of them, they were simply really close friends.
“Fine,” she picked up the handset from the nightstand, “I’ll call him then.” She dialled the number and waited for it to start ringing.
Victoria dived across the bed in an attempt to gain possession of the phone. She managed to grab it from Sara’s hand and was about to hang up when she heard a voice. She hadn’t thought Sara had actually dialled the number; she brought the receiver reluctantly to her ear, “Hello?”
“Hello.”
“Max, its Victoria.”
“Victoria?” The confused note in his voice reminded her that she hadn’t given him her name.
“Yes, Victoria. I was in your garage two days ago, I enquired about a second hand car? You asked me out to dinner…”
“Yes, yes I remember.” He interrupted her, “Victoria, what an interesting name. Classic, but that figures.”
It was her turn to be confused, “What figures?”
“Your name, it matches your face, and your personality. A classic beauty.”
She was glad they were speaking over the phone, else he would’ve seen the blush rising from her neck. He thought she was beautiful; she couldn’t help but break out in a smile. “You think I’m beautiful?”
He laughed, “You know you are. Are you back in Salem already, is that why you’re calling?”
“No, I’m still in Chicago. I told you I’d be here till the end of the week.”
“Then why’d you call?” he was thinking she wanted to cancel their dinner engagement. If that was what she’d wanted to do, all she had to do was not call; he’d have gotten the message.
“I just realised that I’ve agreed to have dinner with you, but I know almost nothing about you. Except that your name is Max, and you own a garage in Salem. How do you know we’d have a good time? We may have nothing to say to each other.”
“I just do. And besides, I don’t have to say much looking at you is conversation enough for me.” Had he gone too far with the flirting? Was she going to slam the phone down in a fit of female indignation?
But she didn’t, in fact she was intrigued, “Well, that’s certainly nice to hear, but I like conversation. The verbal kind, so tell me something about yourself that I don’t know. What do you do when you’re not working at the garage?”
Sara, who had by now realised that this phone conversation would probably go on forever, discreetly left the room. Discouraging Rex from entering when he wanted to ask Victoria what she wanted for supper. “Something tells me, she’s not in the mood for food at the moment” was all she said.
“Well… when I’m not working at the garage, I’m racing cars.”
“No way! Are you like famous or is it just a hobby? Should I know who you are?”
“Famous? You could say that. You were speaking the truth when you said you didn’t know much about cars weren’t you?”
“Of course I was. I hardly ever tell non-truths, why would I? I have no reason to lie about anything.”
Great, he loved honest girls, “So what are your interests?” By now, they were both lying back on their beds, imagining they were talking face to face as opposed to over a telephone line.
“My interests are strictly along the academic route. That’s me, study, study, study.”
“So I guess I’m going to have to give you a lesson in living the good life huh.”
“You mean living the adrenaline junkie life? I’d need more than a few lessons for that, I’m totally hopeless at adventure and letting go.”
Their conversation went on till the early hours of the morning, neither wanting to hang up. Both never running out of things to say, they agreed though, that they would have that dinner date as soon as she was back in Salem. Victoria went to bed dreaming of Max, max never went to bed that night, but he did do a whole lot of dreaming…
When she walked into the garage, Max had to blink twice to make sure he wasn’t imagining what it was he was seeing. He had to make sure that there really was a truly gorgeous brunette approaching him, and he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Then she smiled and he knew he was lost.
“Hi, I’m looking for Max.”
“I’m...” he cleared his throat and tried again, “I’m Max, can I help you with something?” Can I help you with something? Really Max, he scolded himself, would she walk into a garage if she didn’t need help?
“I was hoping you could.” The smile never wavered. “I’m looking for a car, and while I realise that you don’t sell them, Mr. Kiriakis said you’d be ale to organise one for me?” She looked at him hopefully.
Mr. Kiriakis?, she must be an employee at Titan. No one else would refer to Victor as Mr. Kiriakis. “A car… What kind were you looking for exactly?”
“Just something to get me around until I have time to buy a new one. I don’t know much about cars, and I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. But you seem to be trustworthy, so I’m hoping you can help me.”
“I might know where you can get a great deal. In fact, I might have just what you’re looking for right here.” He indicated to the car he’d been working on, “it’s not much but…”
Her face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. “This thing?” she looked the car over, “It’s so cute, I love it, I want it. Are you really selling it or are you just pulling my leg?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to sell it, but your enthusiasm for this car has convinced me that you’ll take good care of it at least.”
“Oh, I will. I promise,” like a child who was promising to be good if her parents let her have the puppy she wanted so much. “What’s going to convince you to sell it to me?”
“Well, you could convince me over dinner.” The smile faded. Nice one Max. Be that obvious, she probably gets similar offers all day long. “Never mind… it was a bad suggestion. I’ll get the paperwork done, when do you need the car by?”
“Oh gosh, you’ve gotten the wrong idea. I’m not turning you down. Well, not exactly. You see, I’m going home tonight, to Chicago. I’ll be gone for a week, so I can’t have dinner with you.”
“How about I give you my number and you call me when you get back to Salem, if you still want to go out for dinner, that is.”
She smiled at him, “Okay.” Taking the business card he handed her, “I’ll only need the car when I get back. See you around Max.”
*****
“Max?” Max knocked his head against the bonnet of the car he’d been working on, the mystery girl’s car. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t even gotten her name. He was such an idiot. Rubbing his head, he looked up to find Chelsea standing by the car; arms crossed across her chest, and annoyed expression on her face.
“Chelsea, how long have you been here?”
“Five minutes.” He relaxed, at least it hadn’t been longer, he didn’t know what was wrong with him, ever since that girl had walked into his garage, she’d been all he could think about. “I’ve been here for five minutes, after waiting at the Pub for almost an hour. We were supposed to be seeing a movie together.”
“Sorry, I forgot…”
“You forgot?” She eyed him sceptically, Max hardly ever forgot anything, at least not when it came to her. Maybe he had just been swamped with work and had forgotten about the time. “That’s okay, there’s a later show. We can go if you still want to?”
“Sure, I’ll just go and change into something decent,” looking down at his filthy apparel, “And take a shower while I’m at it.” Her eye batting did nothing for him, her coyness left him cold. He knew then, without a doubt that he was in trouble. One meeting and he was already sinking faster than the Titanic. Still, even as he left the garage, his arm around Chelsea, all he could think about were her green eyes, and her long brown hair…and whether or not she’d call come the end of the week.
*****
“Just call him already.” She was in her Chicago apartment, the one she shared with rex and Cassie. Sara, Rex’s girlfriend, was sitting on her bed watching her pack some of her things. “No, I can’t just call him. He’s probably forgotten about me.”
Sara looked at her sceptically; no guy could ever forget that face, that body, those eyes or those lips. For a while she’d been suspicious of Rex and his roommate, the closeness between himself and this gorgeous siren had been of great concern to her. That was before she’d realised that there was absolutely no chemistry between the two of them, they were simply really close friends.
“Fine,” she picked up the handset from the nightstand, “I’ll call him then.” She dialled the number and waited for it to start ringing.
Victoria dived across the bed in an attempt to gain possession of the phone. She managed to grab it from Sara’s hand and was about to hang up when she heard a voice. She hadn’t thought Sara had actually dialled the number; she brought the receiver reluctantly to her ear, “Hello?”
“Hello.”
“Max, its Victoria.”
“Victoria?” The confused note in his voice reminded her that she hadn’t given him her name.
“Yes, Victoria. I was in your garage two days ago, I enquired about a second hand car? You asked me out to dinner…”
“Yes, yes I remember.” He interrupted her, “Victoria, what an interesting name. Classic, but that figures.”
It was her turn to be confused, “What figures?”
“Your name, it matches your face, and your personality. A classic beauty.”
She was glad they were speaking over the phone, else he would’ve seen the blush rising from her neck. He thought she was beautiful; she couldn’t help but break out in a smile. “You think I’m beautiful?”
He laughed, “You know you are. Are you back in Salem already, is that why you’re calling?”
“No, I’m still in Chicago. I told you I’d be here till the end of the week.”
“Then why’d you call?” he was thinking she wanted to cancel their dinner engagement. If that was what she’d wanted to do, all she had to do was not call; he’d have gotten the message.
“I just realised that I’ve agreed to have dinner with you, but I know almost nothing about you. Except that your name is Max, and you own a garage in Salem. How do you know we’d have a good time? We may have nothing to say to each other.”
“I just do. And besides, I don’t have to say much looking at you is conversation enough for me.” Had he gone too far with the flirting? Was she going to slam the phone down in a fit of female indignation?
But she didn’t, in fact she was intrigued, “Well, that’s certainly nice to hear, but I like conversation. The verbal kind, so tell me something about yourself that I don’t know. What do you do when you’re not working at the garage?”
Sara, who had by now realised that this phone conversation would probably go on forever, discreetly left the room. Discouraging Rex from entering when he wanted to ask Victoria what she wanted for supper. “Something tells me, she’s not in the mood for food at the moment” was all she said.
“Well… when I’m not working at the garage, I’m racing cars.”
“No way! Are you like famous or is it just a hobby? Should I know who you are?”
“Famous? You could say that. You were speaking the truth when you said you didn’t know much about cars weren’t you?”
“Of course I was. I hardly ever tell non-truths, why would I? I have no reason to lie about anything.”
Great, he loved honest girls, “So what are your interests?” By now, they were both lying back on their beds, imagining they were talking face to face as opposed to over a telephone line.
“My interests are strictly along the academic route. That’s me, study, study, study.”
“So I guess I’m going to have to give you a lesson in living the good life huh.”
“You mean living the adrenaline junkie life? I’d need more than a few lessons for that, I’m totally hopeless at adventure and letting go.”
Their conversation went on till the early hours of the morning, neither wanting to hang up. Both never running out of things to say, they agreed though, that they would have that dinner date as soon as she was back in Salem. Victoria went to bed dreaming of Max, max never went to bed that night, but he did do a whole lot of dreaming…
