THE MINERVA MINK STORY
"The Oldest Game in the World"
Chapter 11
“Hmmm, interesting. So, like what is that for?”
“That? Oh, that’s the gas reserve hold. It’s completely empty, and it’s never been used. Air tight, four inches of reenforced steel, and has an access opening inside too.”
“Really? Cool. You wouldn’t mind showing me inside, would you?”
John flushed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck with one big hand. “Sure, no problem Miss Mi....”
“Minerva, k’ay? Just Minerva. All this Miss Mink, and Ma’am makes me feel like an old lady. Tee-Hee!”
However, Minerva felt more like she was in the zone! ‘Oh ya! This is just too sweet! You go Minerva!’ Her inner personality took on the voice of Dee Dee, cheering her on as she inspected the building Sawyer had sent her to look at.
In fact, Minerva could have asked for better if she had been able to arrange the meeting herself.
The building, which had been more or less empty ever since it’s construction, seemed to be the perfect size Minerva was looking for with only a few areas that needed any kind of additions. The office space was small, but that could be easily rectified and it was a bit out of the way, but that might be more of a blessing than curse the longer she thought about it.
She already had plans to use the huge steel gasolene drum under the building as a records/storm room, even before she saw it.
It had been built by the local Ford Motor Company as part of a campaign to catch up on their under-production of automobiles. They seemed to be unable to keep up with the demand for cars and trucks of all models, so the plan had been to produce a few extras cars/trucks and put them here until they had stockpiled enough to be able to keep up with the orders.
Problem was, Ford vehicles had become so popular, and their demand jumped unexpectedly, that even the few extra they could squeeze out of the lines had to be used quickly to fill orders. Thus the building fell empty and the company decided it would probably be best to rent or sell it outright.
As far as the young man showing her around could remember, the only other thing to ever be done here was hold a few car shows, and they had done a good job of cleaning up after themselves.
Then there was her young guide himself.
She had been at first peeved that her relator had cut out on her, and she would be sure to give Trudy and ear full about this person’s professionalism, or rather lack of it. But she quickly forgot about being stood up, and was almost grateful that she hadn’t shown. The alternative was much, much better.
John Mink, who had been more or less elected to be care taker of the building, was probably one of the most gorgeous men Minerva had seen in a long time. And, she went into total flirt mode as soon as she had gotten his attention.
Minerva Mink’s Ultra Flirt mode consisted of her own time tested and developed modes of interacting with the opposite sex, and almost always ended with her getting asked out on a date. (That she usually declined. Better to bait them a bit first.)
‘The Flirt Mode’ also varied between guys, but they all included specific elements, ‘Minerva-isms’ that made her irresistible to her target. These naturally included, yet were not limited to, her Valley Speak getting thicker, a must to capture that California born and bread attitude, slinking about in perfect female mink fashion, sometimes acting indifferent or ‘snotty’ as Steph liked to call it, and stealing little looks over her shoulder, making sure to bat her eyelashes at the appropriate moments.
And, much to her own satisfaction, none of it was wasted on John, who seemed to pick up on all of her hints, as a child might pick up jellybeans dropped in intervals to make a trail. It pleased her greatly.
“So, I don’t have to worry about like, getting asphyxiated down there or something?”
They reached the door that led down into the empty fuel tank, and John knelt to open the hatch. “Nope. We never filled it, so there isn’t any left over fumes, and there is an emergency release switch in there, and in the office area, that opens up several small air lines out of it.”
The latch looked kind of like the hatches on an old sub or old Nazi U-boat, and Minerva couldn’t help but imagine some German’s popping their heads out of the latch, “Aktch! Vat are you doinks?! Zis isn’t no pleasure cruise, mein Fraulein!”, but naturally none did. Still, she couldn’t suppress a smile and a small giggle.
John grasped the turning wheel that would open the latch’s tumblers and allow it to lift up. The muscles in his arm bunched as he began to turn it, and a there was a small hiss of air.
Minerva watched his arms with her own version of admiration, as he had been watching her for the past hour. “Wooo, nice.” Dee Dee said again in her head.
John’s build, was a ‘working man’s’ build. This was, as her father explained, was a body type that only certain kinds of men developed. There was the Service Men’s Build, that those in the armed forces acquired from rigorous training, and sometime combat situations, and then there was the ‘Working Man’s’ build.
Both were similar in they sculpted a man’s figure the same way. Minerva had always been a little turned off by some of the male models that were appearing with more frequency in magazines, because their figures were so rounded and..... soft looking. Like a woman’s body. ‘Uck!’
‘The Working Man’s’ build of which John seemed to sport was much more attractive. Owned by police men, fire fighters, construction workers, and those who worked in factory environments. There were no soft round edges to be found on these particular guys thankfully.
Their muscles were sharp and defined, filled with cords rather than fluff. It was the type of thing that could make her go weak in the knees, but he didn’t need to know that just yet.
He was also dressed rather acceptably for a single man, something that struck Minerva as an oddity. He wore a simple short sleeved blue flannel shirt, button up, that was actually ironed. (Surprise, surprise.) His jeans were faded and dusty, but not ragged or dirty, which would have made them unacceptable. A pair of tan workmen’s boots covered his feet, and although they too were worn and a bit scuffed up, they weren’t falling apart by any means, thus adding a wonderful accent to his “Working Man” look.
His hair was also very attractive. Clean, combed, and hanging neatly just above his eyes, it swayed and jumped as he talked, begging Minerva to reach out and brush it away. (Which she actually had done on two occasions when it had gotten into his eyes.) It’s color was interesting too, a very soft Strawberry blonde, several shades lighter than her mother’s hair, but none the less fetching.
All in all, he was just as eye catching to her, as she hoped she was being to him.
Stephanie, who had been again very well behaved, also thought that John was a ‘hottie’ and did her best to let her aunt know this without him hearing. She had also given her Aunt a few pokes and nudges, getting her attention then mouthing, “Ask him out!” or “Get his phone number!”
The lid on the tank opened up and the little girl instantly covered her nose. “Pew! Smells like that empty old house on Mapleshade! Uck!”
Minerva cocked her head a bit. “Oh? How do you know how it smells in there?”
Steph didn’t miss a beat and confidently said, “Tommy Birch told me!”
“Uh huh. He told you how it smelled in there? Sure he did.”
She shrugged, smiling, because she knew that it was only Aunt Minerva, and she wouldn’t get after her for crawling around in the old abandoned house down the road from where she lived, at least not in front of anyone.
“Sorry about that girls. Just stale air is all. It’s been a while since I last popped this thing open.” John produced a pocket flashlight and shown it down inside for Minerva to see.
She knelt down. Making sure to tuck her skirt in as she did, and peered down inside the tank.
John had, so far, been enjoying this little tour himself. In fact, his feelings earlier that day, about how much showing this place to another business suit incrusted snob elitist was going to suck, had disappeared completely.
Replacing it, were visions of the sensual blonde mink who, along with her niece, and almost made him swallow his tongue by sneaking up on him.
He had been having a bit of a difficult time, concentrating on selling the building rather than gawking at the possible buyer. But she didn’t seem to notice the occasional lag in his talking or stutter when she happened to extend a shapely hip and rest her hand upon it while she studied something. Besides, he wasn’t a relator, he was a single guy.
But there was one thing that kept bothering him, itching at the back of his mind.
John couldn’t shake the strange feeling that he knew this woman from someplace before. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more the memory seemed to get away from him, so he decided to leave it as it was for now.
There really wasn’t much to see inside the tank, a long tube that led down into it’s belly, adorned with a simple metal ladder.
“There was a set of hanging lights down there that the workmen used while welding up the inner shielding, and as far as I know, they are still down there.”
“Fab!” Minerva shot him a brilliant smile and stood. “It will be just totally perfect for keep my records and junk in!”
John refitted the latch and twisted the wheel till the tumblers locked again, then, brushing off his knees, stood up. “Well, anything else I can show you Ladies?”
Minerva could easily have come up with about a hundred salty little answers to that particular question, but thought better of it and simply shook her head.
“No, I think that will about do it. We really need to get going, and besides, we don’t want to keep you any longer.”
“It’s been no problem at all Mis.... er Minerva. It’s been my pleasure.” He extended one of his big hands and Minerva shook it gently.
“Pssst! Aunt Minerva?” Stephanie gave Minerva’s skirt a gentile tug and called her aunt down to her level with her hands.
“What is it sweetie?”
The little girl cupped her hands, and watching John out of the corner of her eye, whispered into Minerva’s ear.
“Ohhhhh.... Okay honey. Just one second.”
She stood again and, brushing a few strands of her hair that slipped over her shoulders as she bent down away, took John’s arm. “Um, you know, there is come to think of it, like, one other thing you could do for me.”
John felt his temperature rise a bit at her touch. “Sure, what?”
“Would it be okay if she used the little girls room before we go? That is if it’s working?”
He smiled a bit and pointed to a set of doors next to the office entrance. “I turn them on every time I have to come here, so it’s no problem.”
“Thanks!” Steph said and rushed off to the door with a caricature of a girl painted on it.
Once Steph was gone, Minerva released John and took a step or two away from him. The empty building made a the sudden silence between them very noticeable.
Finally, Minerva crossed her arms and cocked her head toward the male mink. “So, how long have you been a ditto-head?”
John smiled, obviously glad she started the conversation back up again. “Couple of years. Gave up the punk life style in the late 80's and got into Rush. Now I’ve got a good paying job and I’m a devout member of the Vast-Right-Wing-Conspiracy. Or, I’ve been domesticated as some of my old friends call it.”
“You say that as if it were a bad thing!”
They both laughed heartily, John itching the back of his head again, and Minerva covering her giggles with her hand.
“So, how about you? How long have you tuning in?”
“Since almost the start. My dad is with the military brass, so he and I have been ditto-ing since Sacramento. Every time we were in the car together, he would flip the dial over to AM just in time to catch the start of ‘My City Was Gone.’ Hehehe, You know, I use to hate that stupid song, until Rush started to play it.”
“No kidding. So did I.”
Minerva felt happy to be to strike common ground with John, for every one of her senses, including the special one that notified her when a guy was someone she would want to date, were sounding claxons in her body. Not to mention that it had been a very, VERY long time since she had last dated.
Not that there wasn’t reasons for that......
They chatted for several moments, about food, music, movies, and such, discovering that they shared quite a few common interests as well.
“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what will you put in here if you buy the place? I sure would like to see a new business go in here.”
“No problem at all.” She smiled and ran her fingers through her hair casually. “I’m starting up a fashion studio, or rather, I would like to.”
“Oh?” John frowned. “That’s going to be a tough field to get into here. There has to be half a dozen little studios around this area alone, and God knows how many in LA.
“Most of them are barely hanging on, especially with that one, what’s it called? Hhhmmmmm.....”
“Augustine Fashions?” She said with false politeness.
“That’s the one. I’ve heard that the owner is very shrewd, not to mention down right mean, and has forced a number of her competitors out of business.”
Minerva shrugged, shaking her head. “Like, so what? She hasn’t gone up against me yet. And that’s going to be her real test.
“Besides, this is something that, deep down, I really want to do. No matter if I hit it big, or fail. For my own personal reasons.”
For a moment, John saw a shockwave of determination run through the young woman’s face, and it made her, in his personal opinion, more beautiful and attractive than before.
“Well then, more power to you, and the best of luck. I’ll be the last person to berate anyone for trying their hand in the business world. And with an attitude like that, you sure to go far.”
Minerva broke out in another big smile. “Awww, that’s very sweet of you to say.” She suddenly moved toward him again, and took one of his hands into both of hers, caressing it gently.
“You have been very helpful John, and I appreciate it.” She locked his wonderfully baby blue eyes with hers, and continued to gently rub his hand.
“N-no problem Miss Mink, er Minerva. Heh! You’ve probably been one of the nicest and most polite people I’ve shown this place to.” He looked down into the blue pools of her eyes, and felt his stomach do a slow roll and turn into jelly, along with his legs.
“See? Always with the sweet complements. It’s a wonder some lucky girl hasn’t nabbed you up already. Tee-hee!”
Just then Stephanie reappeared, wiping her freshly washed hands on her jeans. “I’m done. Lets go Aunt Minerva!”
“Thanks again John.” Minerva stepped up in the tip of her brown loafer and pecked him with a small kiss on his cheek. “I hope we’ll meet up again sometime soon.”
The action caught him so off guard, that by the time he understood what she had done, the two girls were waving at him, hand in hand at the exit. “Bye-ee!”
All he could do, was wave back at them like a total nimrod.
The door shut and he was alone again.
“Way to go John....” He mumbled to himself feeling a bit disappointed.
He went back the panel he had been working on before the two girls had arrived and started to clean up his mess.
Picking up the radio and placing it in the box with the rest of the tools, he felt another grand observation strike him. “You could have asked for her number you naif.” He let out a deep sigh and started shutting the building down, kicking off the plumbing and electricity last.
John had popped his trunk and was in the process of placing his tools inside when he noticed something on the inside of his left hand, the one Minerva had been touching.
Tossing the box down he examined his palm closely.
Printed in delicate looping script with a felt tip marker, were the words, ‘Give me a jingle sometime handsome.’ and a phone number. “XOXOXO Minerva”
His heart burst into gleeful happy beating... until he noticed something that made it almost stop.
The last two numbers had been smudged, and were almost totally illegible.
“Awwww, crud.....”
******************
“So?! So?! Did ya?! Did ya Aunt Minerva?!”
The little red Mustang roared down the high way with it’s top down, Minerva’s golden hair rippling out behind her head. She was smiling broadly.
“You know what? I did! I gave him my number! Ahhh! I’m so excited! You were so totally excellent Steph! The bathroom diversion was brilliant! Do you think he’ll call me?”
Stephanie laughed and clapped her hand’s excitedly. “Like DUH! Of course he will! He was drooling over you so much I though he was going to slip in a puddle of it! Hehehehe!”
Both girls laughed happily, and Minerva turned on the car stereo. “How about a victory song my favorite little side kick? Your pick!”
“Great!” Stephanie dug into the car glove for Minerva’s black CD case and pulled it out. She flipped through several pages until she found a light green CD and pushed it into the player. “This one sounds perfect Aunt Minerva!”
Soon Cyndi Lauper was telling her father that he was still number one, but girls just wanted to have fun, and both girls in the bright red Mustang sang along with her, having the most fun they had in a very long time.
End Of Chapter 11