Don't shut Me out
Disclaimer - I have no association with Emmerdale
"I'll get it"
There had been a knock at Smithy cottage door just as Aaron was about to set off for work, he pulled the door open and standing on the other side was a young man, slightly older than himself smiling politely
"Mr Kirk?"
"Through there" and with that he was off down the path without looking back, but something was puzzling him, he thought he'd seen this guy before, but where?. At the end of the path was a Blue van with the name Jackson Walsh Builder on the side but the name didn't seem familiar but he was sure he'd seen him before.
The young builder had stood mouth slightly parted at being dismissed in such a rude manner, at that moment a older well built man with glasses appeared at the door "Jackson Walsh?"
"Yeah, are you Mr Kirk?"
"Please call Me Paddy" he extended his hand to the builder "Sorry about Aaron He's never a ray of sunshine in the mornings, actually He's just never ray of sunshine full stop" with that He smiled "Well you better come in so I can show you what I'm hoping can be achieved "
"Great, Thanks, and it's Jackson"
"Okay follow me" the Vet turned and left the builder to follow.
At the garage the young Mechanic was still trying to figure out where He'd seen the guy before, He was distracted and nearly tripped over Ryan who was working on a Ford Transit Van with break trouble.
"Hey watch it" Ryan climbed out from under the Van in time to see Aaron disappearing into the garage, followed him wiping his greasy hand on a rag as he went, "are you making a brew?"
"What am I the Tea boy?" the younger mechanic snapped
"Alright, what's up with you?, got a hangover like last weekend?"
The usual Emmerdale suspects, Adam, Andy Sugden, Ryan, David and Aaron had decided they deserved a good night out so the previous Friday had seen them all meet up at The Woolpack for a couple of drinks before they piled into a Taxi which took them into Hotton for a serious drinking session. The group had pub crawled around the town and then someone had suggested going to a Gay Bar for a laugh, there was one in the centre of town called Bar West, they decided it was a great idea so had made their way straight there, once inside they had huddled together in a corner giggling like schoolgirls either making limp wristed gestures or air kissing each other making lip smacking noises at the same time.
Not everyone joined in, Aaron stood at the back of the group surveying his mates making fools of themselves, He'd been nervous about coming into a Gay Bar but not for the reasons people would think, no, the reason he was nervous was because he had only recently admitted to himself that he was Gay, at that moment a cheer went up at a near by pool table someone had obviously won and the whole group were eager to congratulate the victor, there were hand shakes, pats on the back and one guy had leaned in and kissed the winner on the cheek,.
Aaron had been watching the festivities but looked away at the kiss because it was the first time he'd seen two guys kiss but instead of being disgusted he was actually intrigued by the feelings it was invoking in him. When he looked back he got a good look at the man who had won, He was not too tall, slim but from the muscles bulging on his arms he either worked out or had a physically demanding job, his hair was worn short but would be curly if allowed to grow slightly and he definitely hadn't shaved for a few days as his chin was covered in a layer of whiskers, the mechanic continued to look not realising he had been noticed until the man he'd been observing looked directly at him, lifted his pint as if in salute, the younger man had again dropped his eyes, turned to his friends and pretended to join in the conversation, the group left the bar soon after as Suggers was worse for wear so the group called it a night and returned home.
Jackson spent about an hour discussing the alterations that the vet was hoping could be made to the practice attached to Smithy Cottage, Paddy really wanted any work to be in keeping with the building as it was "Good Yorkshire stone" he had pointed out, Jackson knew this but his nice nature meant that he let the comment go.
He was now sitting in the pub with a pile of papers surrounding him, trying to get a quote together to give the vet before he leaves, the vet seemed anxious to get on with the work so the builder had promised a quote before the end of the day.
He'd been in the pub a while, ordered some lunch and a soft drink which he was now finishing off when the pub door swung open and in walked the young man he'd met briefly earlier that morning.
The mechanic slouched on the bar waiting to be served , he hadn't looked to see who else was in, his Mam came from the back room "Oh Aaron love it's good to see you" she leaned over the bar wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, it was like a Eureka moment, that's where knew the builder from, he was the guy being kissed at Bar West, he ordered himself a pint once it was pulled he took a quick drink and made to walk away from the bar.
The builder had been watching the scene at the bar, when he saw the Barmaid lean over the bar to kiss the young man, he too realised where he'd seen Aaron before, the mechanic turned he noticed Jackson sitting at the back of the pub, the builder picked up his pint and saluted.
TBC