Location: Apex Designs; Tuesday; 5 pm
It was after the storm had passed leaving things like a winter wonderland. Siobhan packed a few things to keep boredom at bay over at the shop. So far she'd seen Joel take things apart and put them back together again and it was making her drowsy.
Siobhan had packed her sewing kit to work on her cosplay outfit for Maid Sama to wear next weekend at the Con that was a few towns over. She just had some minor adjustments to make but had to be sure. So as per normal she disappeared from the downstairs shop.
Coming back downstairs in the maid outfit, black thigh highs, and black lace up boots. Walking over to the fridge she opens it and takes out a Blue Moon. Looking up she catches Joel staring
“What? Oh this!!! It's a cosplay outfit I'm working on. Well?” She waits for a few seconds.
"Uh Joel? Anyways..." Siobhan pops open the Blue Moon and takes a long pull.
"I have to do a couple of adjustments and it'll fit better." She looks over at him raises an eyebrow archly.
"You sure you're okay?" A few more seconds go by then a half a minute.
"Jesus Christ Joel! String words together even if it's something like we never landed on the moon." She narrows her eyes at him and downs the rest of the beer reaching for two more. Then walks over handing one to Joel.
Joel was thinking about how heavy a foot Siobhan was going to have on the throttle as he carefully adjusted the linkage between the pedal and the springs that controlled intake on the Corvette’s large V8. If she stomped it, as seemed to mostly be her custom, the car was going to come around on her every time and he hadn’t really taught her the art of countersteering against torque. Even though she paid him, he didn’t particularly want her to plant it into a wall the first time out, especially considering the amount of work he’d done. Still, it wouldn’t be anything he hadn’t seen before, but with her he felt more responsible. He heard a clack of steps descending behind him on the metal stairway that were not Sio’s usual sneakers and glanced up behind him. He started to turn back to his work, but couldn’t stop himself in the middle of an obvious double-take with the words
what the fuck barely making it from his lips as he glanced over his shoulder.
He put his ratchet down and took the bottle from her hand allowing his eyes to continue glancing her over. If she was going to wear that get-up then he was going to enjoy looking at it. “Looks like it fits pretty good to me.” He said using a hand under his stained sweatshirt to pop the bottle top. “We did land on the moon,” He said taking a drink and regaining his hold on reality, “But the footage is fake... Why are you wearing that?”
"Making alterations. For the Con. Not paying attention must be a direct correlation to the shortness of the worn skirt. I also needed an opinion on it. So what do you think?” She gestured to the outfit.
“Kind of a strange place for you to be modeling it ya know? This is a car shop.” He said stepping towards her and wiping his hands on a rag. She was slightly taller than him in her heels, but he didn’t care. He knew what she was doing.
Always trying to be a tease. He thought to himself. “I’m just trying to do my job here,” He continued with a fake shrug of annoyance. “And you’re distracting me.”
“You're distracted? Mr Hyper-Focus,” Siobhan made the gesture for blinders with her free hand.
“is distracted by an outfit? I find that hard to believe. What I'd believe is that you were actually taking a break, just as I was, and heard me coming down to get a beer and decided to tease me about my outfit. That I'd believe.” Siobhan tilted her head considering her next words.
“You know I bring things here to work on. This,” She gestured to the outfit.
“just happens to be something that needed some attention. But if it's making you feel uncomfortable I'd hope that you'd be able to handle it enough to tell me. So before I go change to put the finishing touches on it I'd absolutely love an opinion on it. Distracting isn't much of an opinion.” She playfully and gently poked him in the chest. She'd come to feel very comfortable with Joel over the last few weeks, hence being able to invade his personal bubble. She had feelings for him but was at a loss as how to express them. She was afraid of being labeled as “just a friend” since she didn't feel that way. Being pushy about it was the last thing she wanted and enjoyed spending time together. The discussions on just plain stupid conspiracy theories were fascinating as well as the much more believable ones. She wondered if speaking her mind about dating would be going to far. Sometimes he was hard to read.
Suddenly Jeff Foxworthy popped into her head. Talking about how guys weren't complicated “Just wanted a beer and see something nekid”. She couldn't help it she laughed softly. She bit her lip and tried to refocus and eyes still laughing and a bit breathlessly said,
“Sorry just thinking of how uncomplicated men were said to be by a comedian. So opinion on the outfit? Distracting doesn't count.” Siobhan playfully poked Joel gently again.
Joel smirked slyly and snorted a little at her retort. She may have surprised him, but he could tell when she was fishing for temptations. It was one of her prime MO’s. He also knew she had a habit of overplaying her hand and this was one of those times. “I’m not uncomfortable at all.” He said raising his eyebrows slightly in another, more casual survey of her ensemble. “
You look uncomfortable.” They were nearly face to face. Close enough that she hardly had to bend her arm to poke him in the chest- A playful action that he enjoyed immensely. Looking her in the eyes, he could feel his heart start to beat a little harder. He put one hand on her hip, feeling the fabric and her side against his fingers and leaned back slightly as if to make a real assessment of her work. She apparently spent some time on it and he didn’t know she also knew how to sew which was interesting. He wouldn’t give her the pleasure of saying what he
wanted to say though, as she insisted on getting his “opinion”.
“Opinion?” He said giving her one last glance. Her blazing red hair and the incredible suggestiveness of her outfit did not make it easy, but he
loved to flirt and she was always up for the mental joust which was one thing he liked about her most. “I don’t have one.” He said in a tone that made it painfully obvious that
he did indeed have one and it probably wasn’t PG-rated. Taking a drink, he shrugged and turned around and went back to his work.
“Bullshit.” Siobhan moved in front of Joel smoothly just as he was going back to work. They were close and her heart picked up speed. She could swear that he'd hear her heartbeat if he listened intently. Maybe if he didn't.
“Your face says you have an opinion. I want to hear it. Unless you're afraid?”“See, now I'm startin’ to feel a little uncomfortable.” Joel said, continuing his mock apprehension and annoyance. They were near nose to nose. He ignored her persistence. “So either do somethin’ or get out of my way.”
His challenge was all the opening she needed. She lifted her hands to his hair and threaded her fingers through it resting them on the nape of his neck idly playing with his hair.
“So I have this problem. I'd like to tell you that I'm attracted to you but I don't know if you're half as attracted to me as I am to you. Let me tell you about it. I tell you that I'm attracted to you not only physically but the way you think. I tell you that I like being friends but I'd like to be more. Then before you collect your thoughts I go back upstairs and go back to what I was doing leaving you with all that knowledge.” Siobhan smirked letting go and stepping back a little.
“So what do you think of that plan?”Joel's arms wrapped around Sio’s waist before she could back away fully and pulled her back. “Sounds like you were scared of being in the friend-zone.” He said coolly. Letting his eyes drift down slowly and then back up to her eyes. “You know, you could have just said so, but I appreciate the presentation.” He smirked. They were even closer than before, nearly nose to nose and he could feel her breath and the beat of her heart pressed against him. Tilting his head slightly and kissing her lips was as natural as hitting the ball with the bat. “What was that you said about a plan?”
Siobhan looped her arms around Joel's neck as he pulled her back against him. Heart pounding and holding her breath. Only to have it rush out as he looked at her. Then he kissed her. The rightness of the action wasn't lost on her.
“I forget. Pretty sure I'm still upstairs either day dreaming or asleep. I wonder what could convince me I'm not…” She tilted her head to the side and glanced at Joel from beneath her lashes.
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