Page 60 of Wrench
This time, when I invited a girl upstairs, I made sure my home was spotless and
smelling like a can of Febreze. Buddy zoomed from the small kitchenette to Samantha,
yapping excitedly, with his tail wagging. She giggled.
¡°He seems to be doing much better,¡± she said. ¡°Any issues since?¡±
¡°None,¡± I answered and walked to the fridge. ¡°Uh, do you want a beer? If you don¡¯t like
beer, I can run downstairs and get¡ literally anything you¡¯d like.¡±
¡°Beer is great.¡± Good, a girl who likes her beer. I cracked us each open a can and
guided her to the back of my home. The inside was cramped and dark; fine for sleeping in,
but not the best to woo a woman in. Thankfully, I had that covered.
I opened a small wooden door, and a breeze of fresh air filled the house. ¡°Ladies first,¡±
I said. Intrigued, she peered out the frame and a delighted gasp escaped her lips.
¡°Isaac!¡± she said, stepping outside and I followed. ¡°It¡¯s¡ it¡¯s beautiful out here.¡±
I leaned against a wooden beam of the patio I built myself on the back of the Tavern.
With my arms crossed, I smiled with pride as I watched her inspect the sturdy rail of the
balcony with admiration.
¡°The view¡¡± she trailed off, but I knew it was hard to put into words how breathtaking
it really was. The Tavern sat on the outskirts of town, with no buildings or light pollution
for miles behind. Overlooking the desert, we watched the purple hue from the last beams
of the sunrise hide behind the horizon.
¡°They look like people,¡± she said, and I turned to her with my brows furrowed. ¡°Over
there, all the cacti.¡±
I chuckled and shook my head. I¡¯d never noticed that before. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve always thought that, since I was kid, whenever I saw a bunch at night,¡± she said,
¡°they¡¯re like¡ ghosts of people¡ frozen in the desert.¡± Whisps of her light blond hair blew
around her face as she gazed peacefully far into the horizon and I couldn¡¯t take my eyes
off her. I didn¡¯t want to interrupt her, I wanted to hear more of her candid thoughts.
When she caught me staring, though, she looked flustered. ¡°God, that was so weird.
Just¡ ignore that.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
Our eyes met and I lowered mine to her lips, knowing how easily I could have her
