I was a simple young man; I did not watch much sports but did spend a great deal of my time in the gym or I would be out in the mountains cycling or hiking on my own.
The winter had been exceptionally frosty this year and the air was crisp on this particular morning with a sort of bite on the skin when the wind blew. I had already opened up the shop and was ready for the day when I spotted Lea's car stopping in the usual parking space. (Well, I say usual but it was her eighth day at the new job.)
Lea was a cute little blonde girl that had just finished her beautician studies and had recently started working at the beauty spa, a small spa across from the shop I was managing. Between the gossip of the shop tenants and patrons, I figured some of her background out. Being a new face in a small town and even more so; a beautiful young woman, the locals seem to become a lot more inquisitive. Gossip is in huge supply when someone new suddenly arrives in town.
She would greet everyone she passed in the shopping mall and guys would all nudge as she passed by. The older women would shamelessly point at her while the younger women would whisper or approvingly greet because she was so approachable and friendly. Her energy could actually be seen in the aura that surrounded her. It was as if a comforting warmth filled the air when she was present. Rumor had gone around that she had a boyfriend back where she came from and he would be joining her soon. It just made sense that such a bubbly woman was taken. (I was caught earlier in the week staring at her by my colleague and he teased she was out of my league and that she had a boyfriend anyway.) I guess I was just captivated, maybe mesmerized by her. Every time I looked in the direction of the Spa and saw her talking to a client at the front desk, I would find myself daydreaming of what a life with her would be like.
As she came through the rotating door of the Shopping Mall entrance, she pulled back the hood of her jacket, the light grey fur framing her angelic face, her thick white jacket almost hiding the snowflakes but not enough to have made her look even more like a model on the front cover of a Glam magazine. Her skin soft with the brownest eyes I had ever seen, she flicked her shoulder-length blonde hair back and shook out the last of the un-melted snowflakes as if in slow motion like a cliché teen movie scene. I stood there with an almost retarded open-mouth dazed look. At this point, she had spotted me and as her personality would have, she smiled and gave a gentle “Hello.” while raising her hand in a waving gesture. Her voice was soft and her smile sincere.
I stood there lifting my hand in a mechanical toy manner while giving a creepy unpracticed grin (kind of like the Nutcracker) I turned and hastily walked away having realized how ridiculous or possibly even creepy I probably came across. My heart was racing in my chest, while my stomach turned to a black hole sucking everything down my throat to an enormous void of embarrassment.
I went to the back office mortified, red and agitated with myself for making the greeting so awkward. “Idiot, idiot, idiot” I screamed in my head scorning myself. I grabbed the stock sheets and tried to keep myself busy while I calmed myself down and tried to think of a safe recovery.
I knew the beauty spa opened a little later than the rest of the stores in the mall and while I counted the stock, I got an idea. I decided that considering I had never introduced myself to Lea that there was no better time to be a gentleman than the present (as well as make up for looking dumb). I gathered my courage then went to the coffee shop and to get two take-away Horlicks because that is what she normally would order for herself (yes, I was taking notes). I was very nervous, almost terrified because this was not the type of person I was, at all. With a trembling hand and hole in my stomach I knocked on the glass door of the Spa (as if I required permission to enter her space that was already open to the public). Lea looked up from the reception desk to the huge glass door (almost confused as to why someone would knock considering there is a sign stating “OPEN” and “WELCOME”). I went in and locked eyes with her as I approached the counter she was standing behind.
“Hi, I am Adam. I work across the Spa,” I explained, as I placed the beverages on the counter and pointed across to the shop.
“Hi Adam, I’m Lea,” she said all bubbly then coyly added, “Nice to finally?”
She paused, “Officially, meet you.”
“I came to introduce myself and bring you a warm beverage to start your day because I saw you got here a bit late this morning,” acknowledging that I was aware of her schedule and watching it. “I hope you like Horlicks!” I said as I passed the paper cup over to her, already knowing she did but playing the dumb stalker's card.
“I love Horlicks,” she answered all excited as if her day had just been made. My eyes ventured from her smiling lips to her eyes then down her fringe to her neckline then lower to admire the small curves of her petite body in her uniform that was always hidden under her thick jackets. Clean, pressed, pitch black with a low but practical cut perfectly seated around her C-cups. Her uniform did not disguise much and revealed much more of her figure than I had imagined. Lea’s blonde hair was straightened that day with her make-up subtle but enough to highlight her eyes and lips. Being so close I noticed her cute freckles on her nose and cheeks.
It was from that moment, that everything started to spark between us. The conversation kept flowing from one topic to the next, our interests were carbon copies of each other’s and we fed off of each other’s stories for what seemed like a few minutes but in reality, was over an hour. We had a connection that ignited something in our hearts to the point that it was almost painful to have to leave. In the motion of looking down at my watch and realizing the time, Lea took my empty cup with hers and turned to throw them away a short distance back. I stared while she bent her knees a little, lowering herself and dropping the cups in the bin and her pants pulled tight into her bum and highlighted the panty lines. The edge of the lace glimpsed out the top to informally greet me and before I could acknowledge them fully Lea had looked back over her shoulder and covered with a slide of her hand down over her bum. She stood upright and came around the counter to face me. She took my hand into hers looking down at my nails and knuckles, I was never self-conscious about their appearance until that moment. Lea was biting the inside of her check then abruptly offered to file my nails and push my cuticles back then treat my “rough hands” as she called them with moisturizer to prevent dryness from the frosty winter air. It was clear that she had been taking notes during our conversation; either out of curiosity or what I call professional attention to details because that is her line of work.
I declined because I had to return to my store at the time (who knows what could have gone wrong in my absence), to which she replied that I should come after my shift. It was impossible to decline any request from her delicate voice.
So, after my shift of practically doing nothing and thinking of her small body and mine wrapped up tight against hers, I closed shop and stepped over and entered the Spa without knocking that time.
“Are you sure about this manicure?” I asked “Isn't it time for you to close too?” I added concerned she was spending her own time for no compensation.
“Yes, of course. I don’t have any place to be,” she answered. “It will be my pleasure.” She further explained, “Besides, business is slow and at least this way I feel I have done something,” while she pointed to a seat, she wanted me to be seated at.
As I obediently slid in behind the table, she slowly reached for my hands and made me stretch over a little. She leaned over a bit and I could see that the same lacey panties I had gotten a glimpse of earlier were part of a set that made me wonder what the whole package looked like underneath. Her breasts were so perky that I wondered how such a small body could have such a full pair of breasts. Lea unexpectedly looked up and noticed I was looking down her top but she just smiled and continued to drop an oil onto my nails then rub the excess into my cuticles.
Our conversation started about relationships and exes then jokingly querying why I was single and what I liked in women. She had caught me peeking a few times but seemed to be teasing me in a way as if she knew she was everything I wanted in a woman. I looked her in the eyes a few times and asked her why there isn’t a ring on her finger yet? “Are you damaged goods or a psycho?” I nervously dropped knowing her dark sense of humor would not take offence. I looked away feeling silly about the question and less confident about the answer I would get but it was what opened her up and she explained her current relationship and the drama it was paired with.
She worked fast but was very careful with me. Lea paid attention to her work but also to her conversation and explanation of her boyfriend’s absence. With a few wipes and rubs, she finished but continued to just sit with my hands resting in hers. She carried on talking about her plans falling apart while my hands were still being held in place but I sat there and waited for her to finish her story, just listening and admiring her plans and in the same mindset trying not to replace her boyfriend with me.
The movement of her lips monitored so as not to miss a single word that left them while the smell of coconut and lavender filled my nostrils. I found myself aroused and unwilling to retract my hands into my own space or stop looking at everything about her. At one point, I felt we had both actually been mirroring each other’s movements. I almost got the idea she was teasing me at one point and started to mimic her facial movements probably subconsciously until I felt myself getting erect then looked away again trying to not come across as a pervert.
“Should I help you clean and pack up the shop?” I eventually blurted out trying to take attention away from my thoughts.
“Well! If my company is that bad, then sure!” she coyly remarked, hinting that I found her boring and wanted to leave. Her comments were always playful with a dash of sarcasm. She got up and locked the door then took the towels to the back room. She called out and asked that I go sit there while she folded the towels and got her things.