Chapter 1: The Countdown
As Charley finished up on the last part of an oil change for a customer, she felt a sense of melancholy wash over her. It was one week until Valentine's Day and she was not feeling up for the holiday. She watched as many couples came and went out of her shop over the past few days, which didn't help her mood.
In her case, she had three fur-balls who acknowledged as being one of the guys. But, that wasn't totally true...
Vinnie was constantly flirting with her on a daily basis and she would playfully rebuff his advances. But, then again, he flirted with anything female that looked.
Then there was Modo. He was constantly "ma'am" this and that with her. Modo was a true gentleman to the core but, sometimes it got on her last nerve. It made her feel old considering that he used the same term with really old ladies.
Of course, she couldn't leave out Throttle. He was happy medium between the other two. It also didn't help that he was beyond handsome and incredibly noble to the core. He kept his flirting with her down to a minimum and respected her, not only for her mechanical skills but, also for the fact that she was female. The only thing wrong with him was the fact that he had Carbine, his girlfriend on Mars.
In Charley's mind, she just couldn't win for losing. Tossing the grease and oil soaked rag into the wash pile, she put the last of her tools away. That's when she heard the familiar sound of Carbine's bike approaching the shop. Letting out a heavy sigh, Charley was actually grateful that the other three mouseketeers weren't with her. She just wasn't in the mood for either of them and felt as though she needed someone female in her life at this moment.
"Hey Charley!" Carbine exclaimed as she pulled up into the garage, turned off her bike, and then removed her helmet. Her long black hair fell down her back as she looked at her Earth friend and then became concerned over the sadness that lurked in her eyes.
"Hey Carbine! What's going on?" Charley inquired as she locked up her toolbox and placed the keys in her pocket. Walking over to her schedule, she crossed off another day. Seven more days until Valentine's Day.
"Not much. Everything alright with you?" Carbine asked as she grabbed a root beer out of the fridge and sat down on one of the stools.
"Yeah. Great. Why?" Charley knew she was too quick on answering Carbine's question and the fact that she didn't even look at the General was certainly a dead give away that something was wrong.
"Now you and I both know better than to start telling a tall tale" Carbine chuckled as she sipped on her bubbly drink and looked at her mechanic friend's frustrated face.
"That obvious?" Charley asked and then smiled as her martian friend gave her a grin and then winked.
"Yep. So, what's really going on? Do I need to reprimand three idiot males? I know it's been a while but it hasn't been that long has it?" Carbine chuckled.
"No. They're fine. It's just that I haven't been out on a date in really long time and next week is Valentine's Day" Charley stated as she grabbed a soda, another stool, and then joined Carbine in sitting down.
"Oh" Carbine said as she remembered hearing human tales about this romantic holiday. Now she understood why her friend was so down. She had three males in her life and not one of them had even made an attempt at being romantic with her.
"Now you see the problem. I know it's silly but, I just would like to feel special" Charley complained as she took a big gulp of her drink.
"Oh, I get it. They've been treating you like one of the guys here lately" Carbine's mind was already brainstorming in order to help her friend out and make those three macho males remember that Charley was female.
"Yeah. I know I shouldn't be complaining because, they do a lot of saving the city and they have their jobs on Mars..." Charley began to say but, stopped to stare down at her drink. She felt absolutely childish complaining about her three best male friends to her best female friend.
"No excuse. You've done so much for them as well as for Mars. The least they can do is treat you like a female who has needs that they haven't met" Carbine figured she would use her authority against the three mice to make Charley feel better about holiday.
"It's fine. I feel better now that I've vented my spleen" Charley said as stood up and answered the phone.
"Yes, Carbine's here. Yeah. Carbine, it's Throttle" Charley felt a bit more cheerful as she handed the phone to Carbine.
"Yeah. I'll be over shortly. Yes. There's a mission" Carbine stated in a very authoritative voice as she hung the phone up on Throttle as he tried to ask a few more questions.
"Really? A mission?" Charley questioned as she watched Carbine mount her bike.
"Yeah. If they call back, tell them I'm on my way and they better not go anywhere" Carbine stated as she put her helmet on and rode off to the scoreboard.
"Not a problem" Charley had learned not to question Carbine when it came to secret missions that she had for the guys.
Last night a little dancer came dancin' to my door
Last night a little angel came pumping on the floor
She said "Come on baby I got a license for love
And if it expires pray help from above"
Charley closed the garage up for the night and made double sure to lock all the doors before striping out of all her clothes and dumping them into the washing machine. Rubbing her neck, she sauntered, nude, into the bathroom for a long overdue bubble bath.
Because
Groaning, she realized that her favorite scent, Sweet Pea, for her shower gel was almost gone. She had just enough left for about two more showers before she would just have to suck it up and buy the cheap store products that didn't smell as good.
In the midnight hour she cried- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell she cried- "more, more, more"
In the midnight hour babe- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell- "more, more, more"
More, more, more.
Turning on the bath water, she sat on the edge of the tub and thought about what she really wanted for Valentine's Day and then shook her head. She knew that none of those three mice could even come close to making her fantasy a reality.
She don't like slavery, she won't sit and beg
But when I'm tired and lonely she sees me to bed
What set you free and brought you to me babe
What set you free I need you here by me
She wanted to feel really special and that meant they would actually have to step outside themselves. They knew she liked Shakespear and knights in shining armor. But, there was more to her than that. She wanted to be wooed and feel loved, even if it was for only one day. But, she knew she was asking for too much out of her three friends.
Because
They loved her and she knew that deep in her heart. Occasionally, she just wished it was more than them just saying it. She wanted them to show it without her having to mention it. There were times she just felt used and discarded but, she also knew that was just their way.
In the midnight hour she cried- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell she cried- "more, more, more"
In the midnight hour babe- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell- "more, more, more"
Vinnie cared about her but, he made the mistake of calling her "Harley" one time and she knew he wasn't completely over his girlfriend. Modo was loving in his own big brother sort of way but, she felt as though he was way too over protective of her and that drove her crazy. And Throttle, well, he was charming and most of the time acted like a gentleman but, he still had Carbine.
He lives in his own heaven
Collects it to go from the seven eleven
Well he's out all night to collect a fare
Just so long, just so long it don't mess up his hair.
"Why can't I find the perfect man?" Charley snarled as she slipped into the bath water and grabbed an old wash cloth.
I walked the world with you, babe
A thousand miles with you
I dried your tears of pain, babe
A million times for you
It had been so long since she had dated anyone that she wasn't even sure she could. She tried a couple of times to at least meet of for coffee with a couple of potential suitors but, one look at her biker friends at a distance was enough to deter them from a second date.
I'd sell my soul for you babe
For money to burn with you
I'd give you all, and have none, babe
Just to, just to, just to, to have you here by me
Deep down in her heart, she knew that she would never be able to date a human male again. She might as well resign herself to the fact that all she would be able to date were Martian males. She didn't even know if they were even sexually compatible due to the fact that she had never seen one of them naked.
Because
Wait, take that back, she had seen Throttle in a pair of boxers drinking a cup of coffee at the scoreboard. He immediately saw Charley and grabbed a pair of pants. He also apologized, thinking that he had embarrassed her with him waking up slightly aroused. That was the last time she had caught him, or any of them, with their pants off.
In the midnight hour she cried- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell she cried- "more, more, more"
In the midnight hour babe- "more, more, more"
With a rebel yell she cried "more, more, more"
More, more, more.
She still hoped to catch Throttle again without his pants on. For research purposes only.
Oh yeah little baby
She want more
More, more, more, more, more.
She did inform Carbine about accidentally seeing Throttle in his boxers and about the look on his face. Carbine laughed so hard that she fell off the stool. That's when she told Charley, that for all of Throttle's macho male bravado, he embarrassed easily when he was caught in what he felt was thought was a compromising position. And being caught in his boxers, with a partial erection, in front of someone who's not his girlfriend, is classified one of those times.
Oh yeah little angel
She want more
More, more, more, more.
Squeezing some of the sweet scented gel onto her cloth, she inhaled its luxurious fragrance as she scrubbed her skin. She hoped that after she finished bathing that she would feel more like a human being instead of a wrench jokey who had just finished an entire day's worth of work in grease and oil.
Charley spent almost thirty minutes scrubbing her skin until it was a pale pink shade and all the dirt and grease was off her skin. Then, she scrubbed her hair and scalp until it felt clean and actually squeaked. Unplugging the tub, Charley stepped out and grabbed an old towel that had definitely seen better days but was still usable in her book.
Climbing up the ladder, she saw that her room was under some control as far as being clean goes. Her clean clothes were hung up and put away. Her bed was made, even though she could use some new sheets and pillowcases. Maybe some new pillows wouldn't hurt either. The sparse furniture was dusted and her floor was clean.
Pulling a tee shirt out of one of her draws, she thought about how nice it would be to have something sexy to wear to bed along with a handsome man to show it off to. Dropping her towel to the floor, she looked at herself in the mirror and thought about the nightgown in her latest Victoria's Secret® catalog and how much she really wanted an excuse to buy it. Unfortunately, she didn't have one and couldn't even come up with a logical reason to spend that kind of money on something that she wasn't about to wear.
After throwing on her tee shirt, Charley climbed down the ladder and went to the kitchen only to be greeted with a pile of dirty dishes that Vinnie was suppose to do and a trash can overflowing with trash that Modo was suppose to take out. There were multiple motorcycle magazines sprawled across the table with several on the floor that Throttle was suppose to pick up and put back into the garage for other customers to look through.
Letting out an exasperated growl, Charley resigned herself to cleaning up their mess before being able to have dinner. It took her another forty-five minutes to get the kitchen back under control and the only thing that Charley wanted to eat was a microwavable meal for one and some hot tea.
Scowling at her pathetic looking meal, Charley wolfed down her dinner and slowly drank her tea. Tossing the box into the trash, she walked into the living room with her cup of tea and sat down on the couch. Placing the cup onto the coffee table, Charley grabbed the blanket from the back of couch, turned on the T.V., and just laid there. It wasn't long before her eyelids felt heavy and she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.
She just prayed that tomorrow would be a better day.
I know it's few weeks after Valentine's day and I hope everyone enjoyed the beginning. Obviously, this story is going to have an M rating on it. Any and all reviews are welcome. If something needs an explanation or some clarification please feel free to let me know. I am right now trying to work on two stories that are already up and this new one. So, that makes three stories that I'm in the midst of doing and I know I am bound to get them bollixed up somewhere along the lines. But, this story will end up being shorter than my others.