Vanessa had known Herman for most of her life. After all, he ran the little confectionary shop in town and she was always a big fan of candy. Chocolate-covered peanuts, Swedish fish, Boston-baked beans ... you name it, she loved it. And he always gave her a special smile when he gave her an extra trowel full of horehound candies. But this last year, she'd been giving him a special smile because he seemed so sad. She knew that his wife had died and that he was all alone in that big house so she made it a point to go by the shop every day, just to see him and give him that smile.
Today was different. Today, she had planned to seduce him. So she was very surprised to see the For Sale sign on the shop's door and to find it closed and locked tight. She drove over to his house and knocked on the door. His face showed surprise.
"Hello! Fancy seeing you here!"
For a long moment, Vanessa couldn't speak. She was so used to seeing him on the other side of a counter in his usual white pants and shirt, that she couldn't reconcile him with this person. His silver-and-black hair was slicked back, his tanned chest bare and a wet pair of swimming trunks clinging in all the right places and revealing his manly bulge.
"Well, can you talk?"
"Uh, er, sorry, Mr. Bittman."
"The name's Herm, short for Herman, and you know that because you call me that at the store."
"Uh, yes, sir."
"What can I do for you?"
"The store. Why are you selling it?"
His strong shoulders slumped a bit. "Why don't you come in?"
"Oh, I don't want to impose on your time, Herm."
"No imposition. Come on in."
Her heart thudding in her ears, Vanessa entered his home. While he gave her the explanation of the store's sale, she glanced around, taking in the atmosphere and learning about what made Herm tick. Everywhere were the feminine touches of his late wife, Joy. Flowers here, china there. But it seemed so lonely.
" ... just can't handle it any more."
"What?"
"I said, I just can't handle running the shop alone any more."
"You could hire someone."
"Who'd want to work in a candy store?"
Vanessa had a vision of his hands, those big strong hands rubbing her chocolate skin, and she said, "I would."
He stared at her for a second. "Really?"
"Really." She glanced at the front of his trunks again, surprised to see that his bulge had enlarged a bit. So, he
was
paying attention to her! "You have a pool?"