Page 15 of Picking Pismo

Claire couldn’t help herself as her eyes slid down the length of his body. Oh dear… David looked extra hot this morning in his joggers, sweatshirt, and baseball cap. Forcing herself to move and not stare, Claire weaved her way through the messy garage, stopping a few feet from him.

With a hand on her hip, Claire simply said, “So… you’re one of those annoying morning people. Aren’t you?” Her voice came out all weird and overly high with her pathetic attempt to flirt.

Calm down. Calm down. Calm. Down.

Holding her gaze, David took a sip from his travel mug, before he replied, “Only when I get to see you.”

A tingle slid down her spine. Her cheeks burned, no doubt making a streak of red down her entire neck. Claire chose to ignore his flirtatious comment, reminding herself he was the one who didn’t call. This was David. A shameless flirt, someone who had a natural repertoire with women and was naturally charming. None of it meant he liked her back.

“Thanks for coming to help.” Claire avoided his gaze, choosing instead to glance past him toward the street. “I appreciate it.” Then she peered around the garage packed with stuff. “But, I think Kelly volunteered you for more than you bargained for.”

David took another sip from his travel mug. He shrugged. “Nothing I can’t handle.” Then he flipped open the lid of the donuts with the bottom of his travel mug, revealing a dozen assorted donuts. The tantalizing aroma of sugar tickled her nostrils, making her suddenly aware of her lack of any sort of breakfast. “Donut?”

Taking two steps closer, Claire peeked inside. “I don’t know how I’ll choose. You’ve brought all my favorites. But I’m a sucker for a chocolate bar.” She reached in and grabbed it. “Thanks.” Smiling, she held it up then took a bite.

David dug out a napkin packed into the side of the box and held it out to her. “I’ve always had a weakness for chocolate sprinkles. There’s no other way you can basically eat cake for breakfast, and nobody will question you.”

Claire laughed, easing the tension in her gut. “You’re totally right. I never thought about it that way.”

Smirking, David took another sip from his travel mug. Then David set his mug and box of donuts down on a waist high pile of boxes, digging into the box of donuts himself. Taking a chocolate sprinkled donut, David ate it in three bites.

Wiping his fingers off on a napkin, David said, “Okay… now that we’ve been properly set up for a sugar crash, you need to put me to work before that happens.” He tipped up his baseball cap, making the edge of his hair hang out. “What do you need me to do first?”

Finishing up the last bites of her donut, Claire wiped her face with a napkin, then crumpled it up, shoving it into her pocket to throw away later. “I think we should first move the stuff from the garage out to the driveway. It will make space for the furniture I need to move from the house to outside.”

Readjusting his baseball cap, David clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Let’s do this. I’m completely counting this as my workout for the day.”

“Me too… though I rarely work out,” replied Claire.

David’s gaze slid over her, making her body buzz. “It certainly doesn’t show… you had me fooled.”

Claire hesitated. She wasn’t as skilled at flirting, so Claire simply twisted toward the beginning of the piles of stuff that needed to be moved. Quickly, they worked together to bring things out to the driveway, unpacking them and placing them on tables for people to better view what was for sale. Once the garage was cleared out, Claire led David into the house. Claire pointed out the furniture items needing to be moved. They worked in tandem with one another.

In the middle of moving the last sofa, Claire held one end of it with both hands. “I didn’t realize how much stuff I needed to sell,” said Claire.

David grunted.

Claire continued, “I think this can be the last piece of furniture. I need to keep at least one couch for us to use for the remainder of our time here.”

David didn’t respond but remained focused, maneuvering the sofa around odd angles and corners.

Claire rambled on, “I’ll have to do another garage sale before we move out.”

Sweat glistened on David’s brow. “That’s probably a good idea,” he finally replied. He shifted the weight of the sofa. “We need to angle this end to get it through the door to the garage.”

Her arms screamed against the weight of the couch. “Okay, I’m ready.” Claire lifted her end higher while David crouched down at the other end, navigating it seamlessly through the door.

Once through the doorway, they walked the remaining steps to the driveway, plopping the sofa down on the last empty piece of concrete. Wiping his hands on his jogger pants, David then held his hand up in a high five. “Great job.” Claire high fived him back. “I’m impressed with how strong you are.”

Flushed, Claire smiled. “Thanks.”

People started to arrive, rifling through the piles of stuff at the far end of the driveway. Meandering further out, Claire greeted some of the neighbors who stopped by to look. “Everything must go.” Claire waved her hands over a table of trinkets. “I’m ready to give you some deals.”

David came up beside her. His nearness made the hairs on her arms stand straight up. Claire sidestepped away from him, widening the gap between them to help her mind clear. Soon she became busy helping those shopping. David jumped in too, assisting some neighbors who asked about a pair of side tables. Double checking with Claire, David sold the tables then moved onto another pair shopping.

The first few hours flew by. David proved to be extra helpful, moving sold items into the back of people’s pickup trucks. When there was a lull in shoppers, David spent the time rearranging items, moving things to better positions to be seen from the curb. Claire couldn’t help but stare in awe at his ease around others. Everyone he helped ended up laughing and talking to him like they were old friends and not perfect strangers. He was the exact opposite of Claire, who was stressed and anxious the entire time.

As the garage sale wound down, they relaxed in the two foldable beach chairs Claire didn’t want to sell. Exhausted, Claire slumped further into her chair, crossing her ankles. David sat, cupping the back of his head with his hands. Claire stared out at the mostly empty driveway. Luckily, most of the bulky items sold, and only random knickknacks remained.

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