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- Jul 28, 2019
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I've wanted to give this kind of writing a try for a while, and I finally took some real-life inspiration and a chunk of time to day to start a story. I'd be happy to receive any feedback, constructive or otherwise. This is my first time writing something like this or in this style! Hope you enjoy.
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I’d been working part time doing food delivery for a few weeks – one of those “gig economy” apps, but a small, local one. I knew the guy who was trying to get it off the ground, and I was happy to help, plus, to be honest, I needed the extra cash. I’d been in kind of a tight spot… well, a self-imposed one. I had graduated almost a year earlier, but I just wasn’t ready to find a new career yet… I felt like I had too much self-exploration left to do. So part time work and gigs. One thing onto the next. Nothing exciting, but that was OK, I was just trying to get enough cash to get by so I could continue to fuck around for a year or two, even if money was tight the whole time.
I was out doing deliveries on a Thursday. It wasn’t busy, but for a weeknight I wasn’t doing too bad. It had rained a bit, which always helped. Of course, weather has other effects, and I was about to be confronted head-on with that reality, in the form of a late 90s rusted out Chevy taking a corner way too sharply and finding its way onto the wrong side of the road. The smash and crunch was incredibly loud as she smashed into me. It was a younger woman – probably a college student – and her last second swerve had caused her car to end up on the opposite curb. I doubt she ever drove that thing again. I got out to look at my own car.
“Fuck,” was my only and immediate thought. The front left corner was pretty banged up, including the wheel well. It’d need at least a few days in the shop, but I couldn’t afford to miss out on a Friday and Saturday night. Well, I could have, but liquor ain’t cheap.
The cops came. Report got filed – she was at fault, obviously. I drove my car to my shop. I was thankful, at least, that she had insurance. But I had a more immediate concern. I need a car for the next two days, and with nobody to borrow from I scrambled to find a good deal at one of the few rental shops in town. Hertz was gonna be almost a hundred bucks for two days… no good… the Alamo only had expensive cars left… Enterprise… 23 bucks a day plus tax? That I could do. And easily cover with a couple deliveries.
I put in the reservation. Only downside, cheapest option meant a compact car. Not a big deal for most, but I’m not meant for those cars. Not only am I tall at just over six-four, but I’ve got a solid bulk of muscle not to mention a couple dozen extra pounds on. Let’s just say I was a defensive tackle in high school. The last compact I drove, I slid the seat all the way back and all the way down before I got in, but as I slid my ass backwards, I found each cheek far closer to the edge of the seat than I would have liked, my head was nearly touching the ceiling, and the space between my legs, the steering wheel, and the rest of me was not nearly enough to be comfortable. For a few days though, I could endure. Had to focus on the cash, even if it meant driving a Focus. And hell, if I was sore from being cramped all day I could always bug my buddy to use his hot tub.
The next morning, I woke up early… meaning before noon… and hopped on the city bus to head over to Enterprise. Halfway across town, so I had to transfer buses. Took almost an hour. You forget how long it takes to get somewhere when you don’t have your own car. After a quarter-mile walk from the bus stop, I made it to the enterprise. It was small for a rental car place – I didn’t live in a big town. There were maybe 15 or so vehicles out front, some of which I assumed were the employees’ vehicles. When I swung open the door to enter the building, I was greeted by the refreshing breeze of air conditioning. I hadn’t realized how warm it was outside. It felt great.
The inside was maybe twenty feet wide, with a few chairs and coffee tables set up next to the front windows. About ten feet in front of me was a counter that went almost all the way across the room – only a three-foot gap was left open at the far end. I only saw one employee, a spiky-haired blond guy, who was already helping a woman with something. It sounded like she was trying to rent a car for her daughter or something? I’m not sure. I didn’t listen very closely. The dude didn’t look half bad though, wearing the store-issue black polo shirt emblazoned with a bright green square. He was a lot shorter than I was, but in decent shape. He looked like the kind of guy I’d expect to see playing ultimate frisbee in a park. At least I had something nice to look at while I waited.
I started looking more closely, and I began to imagine him outside of this context, outside of his job. He went to the park every Saturday for a pick-up game. A few people got picked, but he went relatively early, skins team this time. He reached over with his left hand and pulled his shirt up over his head in one swift motion – using his second hand only to stretch the collar a little so it didn’t mess up his hair. It was a hot day, a bead or two of sweat was already running down his completely hairless chest. He had solid-looking, flat pecs – he could use some more reps on the bench. The sweat rolled down onto his stomach – you could tell he was on the verge of having a great set of abs but couldn’t quite make it. Beer’s equally important, after all. He wore surprisingly short shorts for 2019, but he was convinced that they made it easier for him to move around. Winning was important to him, and he didn’t mind showing off his legs – they’d always looked good anyways. His calves and hamstrings were thick compared to the rest of him, and at first you might assume he shaved them, but a closer look would reveal leg hair was almost as blonde as the hair on his head, making it hard to see in the sunlight.
As I looked him up and down from a few feet away from the counter, I developed him into a person. As it played out in my head, the person in front of me began to look more and more attractive. I hadn’t yet realized that he was only a sideshow to the main event.
---
I’d been working part time doing food delivery for a few weeks – one of those “gig economy” apps, but a small, local one. I knew the guy who was trying to get it off the ground, and I was happy to help, plus, to be honest, I needed the extra cash. I’d been in kind of a tight spot… well, a self-imposed one. I had graduated almost a year earlier, but I just wasn’t ready to find a new career yet… I felt like I had too much self-exploration left to do. So part time work and gigs. One thing onto the next. Nothing exciting, but that was OK, I was just trying to get enough cash to get by so I could continue to fuck around for a year or two, even if money was tight the whole time.
I was out doing deliveries on a Thursday. It wasn’t busy, but for a weeknight I wasn’t doing too bad. It had rained a bit, which always helped. Of course, weather has other effects, and I was about to be confronted head-on with that reality, in the form of a late 90s rusted out Chevy taking a corner way too sharply and finding its way onto the wrong side of the road. The smash and crunch was incredibly loud as she smashed into me. It was a younger woman – probably a college student – and her last second swerve had caused her car to end up on the opposite curb. I doubt she ever drove that thing again. I got out to look at my own car.
“Fuck,” was my only and immediate thought. The front left corner was pretty banged up, including the wheel well. It’d need at least a few days in the shop, but I couldn’t afford to miss out on a Friday and Saturday night. Well, I could have, but liquor ain’t cheap.
The cops came. Report got filed – she was at fault, obviously. I drove my car to my shop. I was thankful, at least, that she had insurance. But I had a more immediate concern. I need a car for the next two days, and with nobody to borrow from I scrambled to find a good deal at one of the few rental shops in town. Hertz was gonna be almost a hundred bucks for two days… no good… the Alamo only had expensive cars left… Enterprise… 23 bucks a day plus tax? That I could do. And easily cover with a couple deliveries.
I put in the reservation. Only downside, cheapest option meant a compact car. Not a big deal for most, but I’m not meant for those cars. Not only am I tall at just over six-four, but I’ve got a solid bulk of muscle not to mention a couple dozen extra pounds on. Let’s just say I was a defensive tackle in high school. The last compact I drove, I slid the seat all the way back and all the way down before I got in, but as I slid my ass backwards, I found each cheek far closer to the edge of the seat than I would have liked, my head was nearly touching the ceiling, and the space between my legs, the steering wheel, and the rest of me was not nearly enough to be comfortable. For a few days though, I could endure. Had to focus on the cash, even if it meant driving a Focus. And hell, if I was sore from being cramped all day I could always bug my buddy to use his hot tub.
The next morning, I woke up early… meaning before noon… and hopped on the city bus to head over to Enterprise. Halfway across town, so I had to transfer buses. Took almost an hour. You forget how long it takes to get somewhere when you don’t have your own car. After a quarter-mile walk from the bus stop, I made it to the enterprise. It was small for a rental car place – I didn’t live in a big town. There were maybe 15 or so vehicles out front, some of which I assumed were the employees’ vehicles. When I swung open the door to enter the building, I was greeted by the refreshing breeze of air conditioning. I hadn’t realized how warm it was outside. It felt great.
The inside was maybe twenty feet wide, with a few chairs and coffee tables set up next to the front windows. About ten feet in front of me was a counter that went almost all the way across the room – only a three-foot gap was left open at the far end. I only saw one employee, a spiky-haired blond guy, who was already helping a woman with something. It sounded like she was trying to rent a car for her daughter or something? I’m not sure. I didn’t listen very closely. The dude didn’t look half bad though, wearing the store-issue black polo shirt emblazoned with a bright green square. He was a lot shorter than I was, but in decent shape. He looked like the kind of guy I’d expect to see playing ultimate frisbee in a park. At least I had something nice to look at while I waited.
I started looking more closely, and I began to imagine him outside of this context, outside of his job. He went to the park every Saturday for a pick-up game. A few people got picked, but he went relatively early, skins team this time. He reached over with his left hand and pulled his shirt up over his head in one swift motion – using his second hand only to stretch the collar a little so it didn’t mess up his hair. It was a hot day, a bead or two of sweat was already running down his completely hairless chest. He had solid-looking, flat pecs – he could use some more reps on the bench. The sweat rolled down onto his stomach – you could tell he was on the verge of having a great set of abs but couldn’t quite make it. Beer’s equally important, after all. He wore surprisingly short shorts for 2019, but he was convinced that they made it easier for him to move around. Winning was important to him, and he didn’t mind showing off his legs – they’d always looked good anyways. His calves and hamstrings were thick compared to the rest of him, and at first you might assume he shaved them, but a closer look would reveal leg hair was almost as blonde as the hair on his head, making it hard to see in the sunlight.
As I looked him up and down from a few feet away from the counter, I developed him into a person. As it played out in my head, the person in front of me began to look more and more attractive. I hadn’t yet realized that he was only a sideshow to the main event.