Stephen Pays A Debt

STEPHEN PAYS A DEBT

STEPHEN PAYS A DEBT

1 - A VASE IS BROKEN

1 - A VASE IS BROKEN

Stephen was not your ordinary part-time computer security consultant. At 21, he was a bit young for the kind of responsibility he shouldered, but he had managed to graduate just a few months prior to his 20th birthday, and he had perfected his skills through many additional hours of self-education and part-time work that began in junior high. It also helped that he loved the stuff, therefore he was quite good at what he did. When told that a part-time computer geek was stopping by to help, most people expected the stereotypical skinny or vastly overweight nerd, but Stephen stood at 6'3" with a chiseled 215 pound physique honed by hours running, lifting, rock climbing, and "playing any sport but golf".

And because he loved the outdoors, he worked a variety of outside part-time jobs to complement his main work, mainly landscaping with large rock, occasionally cutting trees, and even filling in as a lifeguard on occasion. His shoulder-length blond hair was the final item that created a rugged Viking appearance, albeit a relatively young Viking. He was confident and friendly, yet diffident and a bit shy, especially around women. It was a contrast that made him quite popular, but in fact, he would have been very surprised to find that almost any woman he encountered thought he was, in their usual words, "gorgeous".

Tara was your typical artist. She was 36, tall - 5'9", slim and lean, and with her short black hair with purple highlights and usual torn jeans, black t-shirt, and leather vest ensemble, she gave off a distinct Bohemian vibe. She was a fan of modern art and fantasy novels and while she could come across as bookish, she was witty, smart, and very assertive in her daily life. Some even called her intense when she was focused on something, and she was okay with that. And while she liked to push boundaries, both in herself and others, there was one interest she had not acted on in the way that she would like, but it was her fortunate meeting with Stephen that caused those stirrings to more than stir.

For Stephen had the combination of looks and personality that she had not really found in a man who could bring to life her fantasies. The first part she discovered when she saw him working in a friend's yard. She was a bit surprised to admit that she found this younger man's shirtless form rather fetching as he lifted and moved heavy rocks around as if they were made of styrofoam, his muscled torso glistening with sweat. Her friend introduced them, they chatted a bit, and he revealed that his "manly work", as she called it, was secondary to his computer talents. And once he found out which coffee shop she managed, he started dropping by frequently, where he met Tara's best friend Valerie. And thereafter, when Tara would bury herself in one of her favorite type of novels, she would see the male character as a tall, muscular young man with long blonde hair.

Valerie was also 36, with thick brown hair that hung about six inches below her shoulders. Her sharp green eyes shone with intelligence and mischief. People often told her that she bore a strong resemblance to Tina Fey, which she took as a compliment. Valerie was the director of a non-profit organization that worked on environmental issues, where Tara sometimes volunteered. Valerie was familiar with Tara's "secret passion", and she herself found her own thoughts wondering that way, especially when she and Tara would talk with their new tall, built and pleasant young Viking. Because of his acquaintance with the two women, Stephen would sometimes volunteer at Valerie's organization. Stephen would help them with the occasional computer emergency that would arise, always for free ("need to do my part for the environment" he would say), and, besides Valerie, he had gotten to know several of the women there pretty well.

Among the ones he interacted with the most was Claire, the main receptionist, newly 21, a petite redhead with a pixie cut and piercing blue eyes. Barely 5 feet and a bit of change, she was a bundle of energy and loquaciousness, leading Stephen to affectionately label her "a cute little firecracker, waiting to be lit". For her part, she couldn't wait until a computer crisis occurred, because she knew their chiseled expert would be visiting.

There was also Rachel, 23, a project coordinator and Claire's good friend, with hair that was a mix of dark blonde and highlights that ran wild down past her shoulders, and wide hazel eyes. At 5'5" the athletic Rachel loved cross fit, and she was a former high school tennis champion, so she naturally felt a bond with their "real life Thor", and had played a few sets of tennis against him on a couple of occasions.

Megan, 32, was a classic "nerd girl", always in need of her glasses, she was a content developer with a shy but friendly personality and long wavy light brown hair which she usually wore in braids. She liked Stephen's open, unpretentious manner, and of course, his wide shoulders and "butt that looked like it could crack walnuts".

Sophie, 34, head of fundraising, had medium length auburn hair, green eyes and gentle curves on a 5'5" frame. She was confident, open, and friendly, all useful traits for her job.

Vanessa, an occasional volunteer, was 38, tall, with a statuesque figure. She owned an interior design business and liked to write in her spare time, with several published short stories and essays to her credit.

Brooke, 32, another volunteer, was a personal trainer and part-time photographer. She had a lean, sporty build and her sun-kissed blonde hair was usually tied in a messy bun.

There were other employees and volunteers, but those were the ones Stephen interacted with the most. Not surprisingly, with his looks and easy manner, he was quite popular with "the girls" as he called them, something that showed even through his shyness.

Tara lived in a large loft near her coffee shop, where she also had an area that she used for her studio. It was a rather large and open area, well lit by natural sunlight during the day, with hidden lights and lamps that gave off a softer glow at night. He stopped by a couple of times to repair a broken pipe and install a ceiling fan/light combo in her studio, and to move some furniture for her. Stephen was handy and not surprisingly Tara liked to watch him work.

She had also succeeded in getting Stephen to pose for a couple of outdoor paintings, clad, as usual, in his rugged jeans and either a t-shirt or open collar button down. After seeing the results, and of course gazing at him as he posed, she urged him to step more into the modeling world.

"I know a lot of wo.., I mean artists who would love to have you as a model.," she told him.

"Ahhh, maybe. I'm not really model material", he shrugged, smiling as Tara rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Is he that clueless?" Tara wondered, unable to accept his self view or his lack of a dating or social life. He had dated some he told her, and he certainly liked women, but had never had a real relationship and most shockingly to Tara, Stephen confessed that he had yet to "discover all the joys of manhood" as he said it.

"You're a VIRGIN??" Tara gasped, feeling bad after blurting her question out.

"Yeah...you know, it's a choice. Sort of", Stephen smiled as he shrugged.

"What a waste" Tara muttered under her breath so that Stephen did not hear.

Ironically, these revelations fueled rather than dampened Tara's desires for a different kind of relationship with her helper. Of course, her strong "appreciation of his physical gifts" as she labeled it, added more fuel.

"You know, you just need someone to nudge you, or...make you experience new things. You might be surprised at what you might like," Tara once said slyly, adding emphasis on the "make you".

She noticed that Stephen actually blushed at that, with a "Uh, a nudge, huh? Yeah, I guess."

Naturally Tara later shared all of this with Valerie who responded with "What a waste", then seeing the thoughtful expression on her friend's face, added, "What are you thinking Tara?", Valerie asked, seeing something brewing behind her friend's dark, sharp eyes.

"Oh I don't know" Tara lied as she glanced at one of her fantasy novels, this one was titled "Bound Warrior". She pretended to be lost in thought before responding, "Oh hell, I'm going to stop pretending, you know what I'm thinking about." she said grinning wickedly. Valerie's knowing smile affirmed that yes, she did know what Tara was thinking about.

"And you think he would be willing?" Valerie asked, eyebrows raised.

"Sure...with the right nudge. And you know, a little unwilling is even better," Tara answered with a sly smile.

As it turned out, only two days later, Stephen was in Tara's loft, moving a table, when he backed into a shelf, and hearing a crash he turned around to see a shattered vase on the floor.

"Oh man, that's not valuable was it?" he asked, eyes filled with concern.

Tara began, "yeah, it was...oh never mind, it's okay...no really," she added, as Stephen's concern showed even more.

"It was an antique or something wasn't it?" He said.

"You know, what's done is done. Call it fate."

However,, Stephen insisted on paying her for it. "No, I'm not going to take your money, and besides it would cost a lot... I mean, it's not worth you doing that."

This made him insist even more, finally saying "If you won't let me pay you, let me do something for you. Something significant. Something to repair, fix, build, anything."

Anything?" Tara asked, voice suddenly silky.

"Yes. Anything--as long as it's legal," he said with an easy smile.

"Welllll... there is something," Tara began, as if the idea had just suddenly occurred to her. "And it's legal", she smiled. "I'm hosting a birthday party for some of the girls at work, you know, the girls. Claire just had a birthday, remember? Well, they wanted to get together at my place for... Well, we were going to have a sketch session, wine, art, conversation, blah blah, and the guy we hired to be our model reneged, the jerk, and I was going to have to cancel." (There was no other model). She piled on, "and you know, I think everyone would prefer you anyway since they know and like you, so they'll be a lot more relaxed"

"Quite the opposite,"she hoped.

Could you stop by for a while to sit for some sketching? Nothing formal (nothing formal indeed), just wear jeans. She glanced at the shattered vase, knowing that would probably seal it.

It did. "If it's that important to you, yeah", he answered without confidence. "Anything I can do to help, even though I will probably disappoint. And I know everyone, so I won't be too, well shy I guess.," he added without believing it. But the vase..." Sure Tara, anything I can do to help."

"Anything, huh? Tara laughed, pretty sure that he would not disappoint.

"Yep"

"Well then anything it is. Saturday night, 8 PM".

"He did say he would do anything,"Tara thought as he left.

"Anyyyyything"