Astera had finally found a job, or at least she thought of one. She could work as an EMT at the nearby hospital. She had forgotten that the name, but she remembered that her cousin had spent some time there when he was in a coma. She had been wanting to get over to apply, but she never had the time.
Lynette had offered her a job at their pizza parlor, but Astera told Lynette she would take it into consideration. She really liked the people of Wisteria Lane, well at least the better of them. She wasn't going to lie, but there was something weird about Bree's new chef, Ria.
It seemed as though Ria would listen intently to everything Gabby said about Carlos, and everything Lynette said about Tom. Then she would randomly burst out with a comment.
Today was the day that Astera was actually planning on heading over to the hospital, but to her amazingly wonderful luck…she was having car problems.
When Astera was growing up, most girls would ignore her because she was too into sports, martial arts, working out, and building. Cars was one of her weaknesses. She knew how to change a tire, but she never was a real grease monkey.
For Dave Williams, this was the perfect time to come to her rescue. He could tell that Astera didn't like him as much as he wanted her to or as much as he needed her to. Sure, he could just find out some way to become a 'brother' to Mike, but it seemed like Astera would make things easier.
If Astera really liked him, Mike would surely follow suite. Mike and Astera were pretty close, and that was a plus for Dave…but a minus for Mike. Dave knew his timing had to be perfect; after all he had been the one to give her car problems by switching her car battery with a dead one last night while Wisteria Lane slept.
He approached her to find her already under the hood and he smiled.
"Astera, is something wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned. Astera turned to face him. "Oh. Hi Dave. Pretty sure my car battery is dead…" Astera stated.
Dave raised an eyebrow. In a way, he liked the idea of Astera playing the 'hard-to-get' act. He could use a good chase. Plus, she knew more about cars than he thought. Most women on the street probably didn't even know where the battery was.
"Oh. Well…I'm sure Mike has an extra battery. You both drive pick-up trucks. How about I check the garage?" Dave asked.
"Uh…sure…" Astera said, waving her hand as if to dismiss him. Every time either her or Mike seemed to be having problems, Dave would always show up. This peeved her. She couldn't deny the fact that Dave was attractive, but he sure as hell wouldn't shut up about her cousin.
She still secretly thought he had some kind of crush on Mike.
Dave returned a few minutes later, carrying a box. "Found it…" Dave said, setting it down and taking the battery out. "Oh, thanks…" Astera said, removing the old one.
"You know how to replace it?" he questioned. "Um…I'm kind of embarrassed to say no but….no…" Astera stated.
Dave smiled and shrugged. Now he was getting somewhere.
"It's okay. You learn something new everyday. Besides, what kind of guy would say no to working on your engine?" Dave asked.
Astera looked away, not even bothering to comment on the dirty reference.
"Okay… let's get rid of this old one….here….come stand infront of me," Dave said, motioning her over.
Astera approached him cautiously, before stepping up to the grill of her car. She felt Dave stand behind her, his chest pressed against her back. He placed his hands ontop of hers, and she could feel his breath on her.
"Um Dave… is this necessary?" she asked. "Well, its easier if we see it from the same perspective. Plus, I can help you fix the car yourself," he stated. Astera nodded, in a way it did make sense. In a way it also gave her the gist that Dave wanted some…but he wasn't getting any.
"Okay…so we are going to take this hand here, and use it to plug this in here…" Dave said. He lifted her left hand and helped her attach the battery.
Aster wasn't sure, but to her it felt as though Dave was trying to flex all those muscles in his body. Was he trying to impress her?
"And that's it…" Dave said, interrupting her thoughts.
"What?" Astera asked. Dave's hands slid up to her elbows. "We're done…" Dave said.
Astera turned her head back slightly, so she could look at him.
Say it, Dave thought.
"Oh…thanks, Dave…." Astera stated.
"No Problem," Dave replied.
Come on, say it… Dave thought.
"Guess I owe you one," she said. Dave smiled. Atta girl…
"Oh trust me, it was my pleasure…" he said.
There was the sound of a door or two shutting, and they looked to see Mike walking towards them, MJ at his side. Dave and Astera separated.
"What were you doing?" Mike asked. "Replacing my car battery…" Astera said, shutting her hood.
Mike chuckled. "Battery died? That sucks. Aren't we lucky to have a nice guy like Dave on the block to help?" he asked.
Astera forced a smile. "So lucky…"
"Well, I'll see you later. Edie will be home soon from visiting Mrs. McClusky and I'm very…anxious…to see how she is holding up…" Dave said, walking past Astera.
"Dave, you don't need to rush off. We can watch the game…Ast could make us all burgers…" Mike stated.
Astera forced another smile. "Sure…I'll watch MJ too while I'm at it…"
"Yay!" MJ exclaimed, hugging her leg.
"Well…I guess I could…" Dave said, with a shrug. "You've helped Astera, it's the least I can do…" Mike said, leading Dave inside.
"Oh, it was no problem…" Dave said, following him. "You're a cool guy, Dave. I really appreciate all you've done, and thank you so much for helping Astera adjust. I mean…I know she's twenty one….but…thanks…" Mike said.
There was a small laughter heard and they both looked out the window. Astera had fired up the grill and put the burgers on, but was also having a catch with MJ.
"Oh trust me….it's not a problem…" he replied.
His plan was working, his sweet revenge was coming
…….
Ria walked up to the Solis's house and knocked. She rested back, waiting patiently. A few seconds later the door opened, and a small slightly chubby girl stood there. "Hi, is your mommy or daddy home?" Ria asked.
The girl made a face, before slamming the door shut.
Ria raised an eyebrow, and the door opened again and Gabby stood there. "Hey!" Gabby said, with a smile.
"Hi. I was just wondering if you had any extra flour around…Bree is all out…" Ria said.
"Bree out of flour? Oh that's not good…yea sure…come in…" Gabby said, motioning her in.
Ria stepped inside and looked around. "I apologize for Juanita. She can be a pain in the butt…" Gabby said, with a small laugh.
Ria turned to see a man sitting in a lounge chair. Carlos Solis in the flesh.
Gabby followed her gaze. "Oh this is Carlos….Carlos!" Gabby yelled. "Gabby I think I hear a new voice, who is that?" Carlos questioned.
"Ria is a new neighbor…you can go say hi…" Gabby said, walking into the kitchen. Ria slowly approached Carlos.
"Hi Carlos….My name is Ria Baker…" Ria said, shaking his hand.
"Carlos Solis, nice to meet you…." Carlos said.
Oh yes, Carlos Solis. It IS nice to meet you too…
