Matt is your neighbor. He was often working out in his garage, fixing some sort of vehicle up, whether it was a car, truck, etc. It was a hot August afternoon in the heart of L.A, and you were sitting out on your porch, a little fan perched on the table next to you, buzzing a bit as it worked to try and cool you off some.

As you’re taking a sip of water, you hear a clanging sound, followed by a muttered,

“Fuck…”

You glance over and see Matt shimmying himself underneath his car, his veiny hand gripping a wrench. You could see some of his tattoos that covered his arm as well before it slips back underneath the car.

You notice the faint sound of “Name in the Sand” by Lil Skies echoing throughout the open garage as he got to work. He often played music while he did.

Sometimes you step outside on your porch for some “fresh air”. The “fresh air”? Matt Sturniolo working on some sort of vehicle.

Around five or so minutes later, he can be seen reemerging from underneath the car, his hands, shirt (which had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows) and jeans all stained with oil. His face had some as well, probably from him subconsciously wiping his forehead due to the mix of hot weather and hot under parts of the car.

After a few seconds of staring, you notice he has a toothpick in his mouth, which shifts slightly as he grabs a dirty shirt from off a little bench and wipes his hands with it.

After doing this, he reaches back, gripping the brim of his currently backwards hat, before taking it off. His hair was messy and a little disheveled. And the fact he had a bit of a beard growing in? Ugh.

He scans his surroundings, his blue eyes squinting a bit due to the bright, harsh sunlight, before they lock onto yours.

Realizing you’ve been blatantly staring, you quickly look away and pretend to look busy by fiddling with the hanging plants that were on your porch. Matt notices your embarrassment in the frantic movements you were making, clearly in a desperate attempt to look busy. He smirks lightly before he walks to his tool bench, disappearing from view.

Eventually he reappears, looking over in your direction once more. You weren’t looking, but you felt his gaze on you. You were looking at your car, which has been broken down for a few days. You didn’t have the money to fix it right now, so you’ve been calling Ubers to bring you to work and other places.

Matt’s noticed that your car hasn’t moved in a while. He wondered why that was. Curious, he starts approaching, walking across the grass with the dirty shirt hung over his shoulder as he stops in front of the porch.

“S’wrong with your car? I’ve noticed it hasn’t moved in a few days… s’got some issues or somethin’?”

You look down at him, surprised by his presence. But you weren’t complaining.

“…it broke down… I don’t have the money to fix it right now…” you reply, with a soft shrug of your shoulders.

“I can fix it up for ya if you’d like… don’t worry ‘bout payin’ me… it’s a nice pastime for me anyway.” he explains, giving a nice smile.

“Actually, there is a way you can pay me for it…” he suddenly says, a small smirk on his face.

You tilt your head softly, curious.

“Come spend some time with me in the garage… I’ve been meanin’ to talk to ya more, but I didn’t wanna come off as a weirdo or anythin’ y’know?”

His voice was filled with nothing but good intentions and kindness. It seemed like he genuinely just wanted to get to know you.

Truth is, you were too nervous to ask Matt about fixing up your car before. You didn’t want to be a nuisance and pile onto his probably already heavy workload anymore.

But now that he was offering? Not only could you get your car fixed for free, but you’d get to spend time with him? Sounded like a damn good deal to you.

He looked up at you, patiently waiting for your answer.

“Whaddya say? I promise I don’t bite…” he smiles softly, fidgeting with one of the rings on his fingers.