05-08-2016, 07:40 PM
It was silent in the shop, save for the droning hum of the fan on the ground next to the desk, and the sound of Darren's colleagues chatting nonsense loudly out back. The shop was often like this, unless the person at the desk was chatting with a customer. That obviously wasn't happening now, so Darren got a little more comfy by slouching down in the chair and reaching for the square outline his right front pocket.
He pulled out both a pack of cheap cigarettes and a lighter. Before he got used to the horrid taste of the brand, he would gag and tear up upon lighting the end of one, but he was too desperate for nicotine now to care about the quality of where his fix came from. After sliding the lighter back in his pocket, he slouched and puffed in peace and a hot breeze.
He could almost entertain the idea of dozing off when his cigarette was finished, but here came an interruption. A customer. Darren's honey-brown eyes opened, and he started at the strident creaking of the entrance door being opened. He gagged on the cigarette smoke that was welling his is throat to be blown out of his nose, and hastily tapped the embers of the lit end on his desk while coughing.
"Um... Shit!" He muttered between coughs in his fit. "Jeff?" He called. Of course, Jeff wasn't in the shop. Darren rose from his seat, and wiped some sweat from his brow back towards his dark hair with his hand, as he opened the window behind him with his free hand. Being tall, he had to bend down quite a bit to stick his head out of the window. "Jeff? Come on, man, there's a customer here!" It was Jeff's job to oversee the shop (which included seeing to the customers), but Jeff instead preferred to drink beer, stare at birds and chat with the mechanics.
Spinning around on his heels, Darren turned to face the waiting customer. A young blonde man stood before him. "Uh, shoot. I'm sorry about the wait. About your car..." Darren looked down at the desk to search for the log that the shop used to keep track of the cars that were worked in there. While he wasn't exactly sure of how to deal with the customers entirely, Darren was aware of the log as he had to look at it himself on occasion. "Just a second..." Darren spent a few minutes fumbling with the empty chip bags, magazines and paper airplanes that Jeff had strewn about the desk.
"Fuck it." Darren grumbled, as he tossed the junk in his hands down. Looking up at the blond who was waiting again, he sighed: "Yeah, yeah, let's just go look at the car." Darren stepped from behind the desk, and motioned towards the entrance door. "After you, go ahead and show me..."
Darren was now looking directly into the face of the blond man, and it finally struck him that the customer in question was highly attractive. For a few awkward seconds, it was as if Darren's brain had shut down, as he gazed into the eyes of the customer. Darren shook his head a little to scramble his focus, and then began again: "Go ahead and show me where your car is. I'll look at it." His voice was softer, but still had that rural drawl in it combined with the rasp of smoking a pack a day for years. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that Jeff was such a chronically lazy shopkeep.
He pulled out both a pack of cheap cigarettes and a lighter. Before he got used to the horrid taste of the brand, he would gag and tear up upon lighting the end of one, but he was too desperate for nicotine now to care about the quality of where his fix came from. After sliding the lighter back in his pocket, he slouched and puffed in peace and a hot breeze.
He could almost entertain the idea of dozing off when his cigarette was finished, but here came an interruption. A customer. Darren's honey-brown eyes opened, and he started at the strident creaking of the entrance door being opened. He gagged on the cigarette smoke that was welling his is throat to be blown out of his nose, and hastily tapped the embers of the lit end on his desk while coughing.
"Um... Shit!" He muttered between coughs in his fit. "Jeff?" He called. Of course, Jeff wasn't in the shop. Darren rose from his seat, and wiped some sweat from his brow back towards his dark hair with his hand, as he opened the window behind him with his free hand. Being tall, he had to bend down quite a bit to stick his head out of the window. "Jeff? Come on, man, there's a customer here!" It was Jeff's job to oversee the shop (which included seeing to the customers), but Jeff instead preferred to drink beer, stare at birds and chat with the mechanics.
Spinning around on his heels, Darren turned to face the waiting customer. A young blonde man stood before him. "Uh, shoot. I'm sorry about the wait. About your car..." Darren looked down at the desk to search for the log that the shop used to keep track of the cars that were worked in there. While he wasn't exactly sure of how to deal with the customers entirely, Darren was aware of the log as he had to look at it himself on occasion. "Just a second..." Darren spent a few minutes fumbling with the empty chip bags, magazines and paper airplanes that Jeff had strewn about the desk.
"Fuck it." Darren grumbled, as he tossed the junk in his hands down. Looking up at the blond who was waiting again, he sighed: "Yeah, yeah, let's just go look at the car." Darren stepped from behind the desk, and motioned towards the entrance door. "After you, go ahead and show me..."
Darren was now looking directly into the face of the blond man, and it finally struck him that the customer in question was highly attractive. For a few awkward seconds, it was as if Darren's brain had shut down, as he gazed into the eyes of the customer. Darren shook his head a little to scramble his focus, and then began again: "Go ahead and show me where your car is. I'll look at it." His voice was softer, but still had that rural drawl in it combined with the rasp of smoking a pack a day for years. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that Jeff was such a chronically lazy shopkeep.