It had already been a very long day, but I was finally getting my lunch break. This manufacturing job takes its toll on you after a while, and having worked from six in the morning straight through to noon already has me so exhausted that I'll be counting down the hours on the clock for the rest of my shift.
As I stepped out onto the dock, the first thing I saw was a delivery truck had pulled in and looked to be ready to load up. It's about damn time to be honest, we only had one pickup scheduled today and the driver was late by several hours. The order on the dock had already been in my way since ten when it was supposed to be picked up, and I was quickly running out of room in my workspace from not being able to move my finished lines out to the docks.
I lit a cigarette and took a long drag, enjoying the nicotine as it hit my system hard from not having one since I'd arrived. I know I need to quit, but honestly this was one of the few things I can afford to enjoy most weeks. I sat heavily in the old broken school desk that had been sitting on the dock since before I took this job and pulled out my phone.
"Still sucking on stuff after all these years, bud?" A voice came from the top of the dock stairs. Looking up it wasn't just some random truck driver, but an old schoolmate from my high school years, his name was Ritchie. We weren't exactly friends back in the day, but having to tutor him through a few of our mutual classes had introduced me to him quite well. He looked very similar but had finally managed to grow a bit of facial hair after all these years. Not a full beard or anything, just a neat mustache and a disconnected lower portion of a goatee that was kind of bushy and made him look like the devil logo straight off of the Duke University basketball team.
"Yeah, guess so man, it's still something I'm good at though" I shot back unfazed, I had become used to some of the commentary him and his friends used to throw at me back in the day. He was never actually rude to me, but he'd always had jokes every now and then ever since I'd known him. He stepped forward and laid a small clipboard with a pickup request order form attached; he was here to pick up the damned chairs in my way. I shot back a quick "your late" as he brushed me off with some defenses about it being a busy day.
"You gonna finish that up soon?" Ritchie asked, "I could really use some help to get back on schedule." He had a pitiful and begging look about him, so it must've been a hard day for him, but I was currently clocked out so I shot back a "when my break is over, I'll jump in" and continued enjoying my time off as I signed his paper and handed it back to him. "The chairs are on the dock."
He huffed, but immediately got to work on loading the chairs as fast as he could. Despite trying to focus on whatever memes I could find on my phone in the brief time I had to take my break, I couldn't help but notice him as he passed back and forth across the dock carrying the chairs.
He was still lean, but had a little more weight to him than he did in high school, and it looked damn good on him. Just a slight slouch to what used to be a washboard stomach and the same thick built pecs leading up to broad bulbous shoulders which had well defined arms shooting out of them. The man could honestly still be a model today even with the little bit of weight that adulthood had finally gifted him with.
Ritchie's waste was still narrow despite the added weight, and he still had absolutely nothing from the hips down except two chicken legs which just made his baggy pants hang sort of funny until they hit his broad calf muscles which flexed so large when he was carrying the heavy chairs that it was almost comical. I'd always had a thing for Ritchie, and sitting here now I couldn't help but wonder if I didn't still have one. Unfortunately he could kick my ass so hard if given half the chance that I wouldn't even have enough teeth left to apologize after if he caught me staring too long.
We made a little small-talk, but it was nothing significant, just a standard 'what have you been up to' and random facts about stupid things we could remember off the top of our heads from the past few years. Eventually my phone vibrated to let me know my break was over and I had to actually help rather than just sit there enjoying the eye candy as nonchalantly as I could manage.
I clocked back in and joined in on the action of carrying out chair frames with Ritchie, and our small talk continued. "What sort of stuff do you do after work?" Ritchie asked. I couldn't really think of anything significant so I just kind of brushed the question off as best as possible and mentioned something about movies and video games. I was honestly more interested in sneaking glances as we passed each other loading the truck than I was having a conversation with someone I felt like I barely knew.
Eventually, like always when you run into someone from the past, Ritchie said "we should hang out sometime, maybe catch up." It is something all people say in their twenties when they recognize someone, but it is seldom something that is actually followed through on. I just nodded and continued with the random small talk to the best of my ability, but Ritchie just seemed to not let that go. "We really should hang out sometime after work man. I've got my own space out by the old mill; we can play some video games, watch a movie, or just chill out one afternoon after work." Ritchie seemed genuine enough, so I agreed.
After we'd loaded the last of the chairs into the truck, Ritchie pulled out his phone and pulled up the Add Contact screen and handed me his phone, "put your number in, and I'll hit you up sometime" he said. I did as he requested, but as I stood there with him in the back of his truck his scent finally hit me.
He smelled exactly how I liked. It was a very manly and sweaty smell just accented slightly by cologne and deodorant, but not covered up like some guys do it. This was the scent of a real and hardworking man. I just finished entering my information and handed him his phone back while mentally thanking God that I still had my carpenter's apron on and any hardwoods I was carrying would be completely masked by the heavy rubberized material that was supposed to protect my clothes from the glue and sawdust I was constantly bombarded with my entire workday.
We walked out of the back of his truck and he closed it up as I went to get the bill of lading for him so he could sign it and be on his way, but while I was getting it I felt my phone vibrate. I took him his paperwork and as soon as I handed it over, Ritchie said "I shot you a text so you'd have my number, let's get up soon for something, ok man?"
