Page 3 of Warm and Dry

"This one is pretty fast. We can check it in twenty minutes and see if you need more time."

“Okay, that should be okay.” His shoulders dropped and he seemed to relax, but then he swayed a bit like he was lightheaded. “Is there a vending machine or something?”

He looked pale and was still damp. I didn’t like it. "I was gonna grab a sandwich next door. You wanna join me?”

His eyes went wide, and he looked at the dryer. “I feel like I should stay close by, but thank you. I’ll grab something on my way to the rink.”

“Hockey?” I didn’t try to hide the way my eyes raked down and then back up his body. He had an athletic build. Not as bulky as me but probably fast as fuck to stay nimble on the ice.

He smiled as if that was a topic that made him happy. "Yeah. Left wing. We have a game in…" He glanced at his watch and cringed. “Just over an hour. Drew’s gonna kill me.”

“Drew?” Was that a boyfriend?

“Team captain. He’s been lecturing the guys about arriving early for warmups. I’m usually early, but now I’ll be making the walk of shame at the last minute.” He pulled out his phone and thumbed out a quick message. Then he placed his hand on the glass of the dryer and tapped it. “Come on, baby. Dry, dry, dry.”

He was cute. “Fair enough. I’m gonna get a turkey club. Does that work for you?” I pulled out my phone to start an online order. It was still early, but I didn’t want to waste time. "My treat for not having clear signage on the equipment."

He blinked at me like he wasn’t sure how to respond. "You don't have to do that."

"I know." I put the two sandwiches in the cart. "Any allergies?"

He was quiet for a second before he shook his head. "No. I eat everything."

“Good boy.” I sent the order and then realized what I’d said. “I’ll go pick them up in a few minutes.”

“Okay, thank you." He walked over to a bench and dropped onto it. "Are you the owner?"

"Yep.” I sat down beside him. “I’m Scott."

"Forest." He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "I live right down the street, but I've never come in here before."

"Most people don't need to…until they do." I wanted to ask a million questions, but I kept it casual. "You got a dryer at home?"

"Yeah, but it’s dead." He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned forward with his forearms resting on his thighs. "It’s been making a grinding noise, but I thought I’d be fine for a while."

I chuckled softly. "Grinding noises are never fine."

"Yeah, I'm realizing that." The corner of his mouth turned up a little. "I fix HVAC units for a living and tell people that exact thing every day."

I smiled at that and cocked my head. "Cobbler's kids."

He laughed and seemed to finally shake off the morning stress. "Exactly. An HVAC guy with a busted dryer."

“Well, you’re about to be an HVAC guy with the best turkey club you’ve ever tasted.” I pushed up from the bench and took a few steps out. “I’ll be right back.”

As I headed out the door, I could feel him watching me. I wanted to keep my cool, but as I pushed open the door, I couldn't resist glancing back at him. Forest’s eyes were locked on my ass, but they quickly moved up to my face when he realized I was looking.

I wanted to say something flirty or suggestive but nothing came to mind. I was completely disarmed by this guy and needed a few minutes of fresh air to gather my thoughts and maybe come up with a way to get his number.

But first, I needed to feed that boy.

3

FOREST

The second the door swung shut behind him, I exhaled deeply and scrubbed my hands over my face.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure he wasn't coming right back, I peeled off my soaking hoodie and dropped it over the back of the bench. The shirt underneath was damp but not soaked through, and it was warm enough that I figured I'd survive. Thankfully, there weren’t any mirrors around because I had to be a mess. I had to be. Running my fingers through my hair helped a bit but probably not much.