The Welder

I started the arc, ran the bead, and shut off the arc, holding the torch nozzle over the bead I just made. The gas flow stopped a few seconds later and she watched as the hot metal suddenly changed to a dark blue. "Cool!" she said, smiling at me. "That was really cool. Can you make the other colors?"

"Well, it's hard to control the exact colors with a torch, but I can make several of them pretty easily, if you want." I said. She nodded with enthusiasm.

So I tacked the hasp in place, then welded the edges to the chest. She watched as I did this, standing close to me. Close enough for me to feel the heat, close enough to make me want more.

"There," I said, "one welded hasp." She looked up at me and smiled. "Pretty colors," she said. "How much do I owe you?"

I thought about that. I thought about what I wanted. I thought about running my hands up her sides, caressing her breasts, attacking her lips, staring into her eyes. I must have thought about it too long, because I noticed her looking at me expectantly.

"Well, I think one of your gorgeous smiles should do it," I said.

Oh my God, did I really say that?! What an idiot. I winced inside, hoping she hadn't heard me.

She smiled. "No, really, how much do I owe you?" she repeated.

She let me off the hook. "Well, let's step into my office." I pointed to the desk in the corner.

She sat down in the chair and I sat across from her. I looked at her eyes, trying not to stare, but failing miserably. She smiled. "Uh, let me set up an account for you, for my billing," I lied. "Name?" "Amy," she said. "Robert," I responded and shook her hand. "How do you do?" "Pleased to meet you," she said. It sounded like she actually meant it. I asked for her address and phone number and typed away in the computer.

"Now, as for payment, I normally charge $10 for hasps. However, I believe you are a new customer, are you not?" She nodded and said, "Yes, I don't believe I have been here before." "Ah, excellent," I said. "We have a discount for new customers. As a new customer, you get $20 off the first order. I believe," I raised my eyebrows, "I owe you $10."

She smiled and said, "That is satisfactory, sir. Can I apply that to my next order?"

"Why, yes, I believe that is accordance with our policies," I responded. "Do you have another order?"

"Well," she said, "I do have something else for you. Can I bring it in tomorrow?"

"I'll be here all day, waiting for you," I said. And I would be.

"Tomorrow, then." She rose from the chair and reached out to shake my hand. I touched her hand, that lovely hand, and shook it gently, almost reverently. Did she hang on to my hand a bit longer than needed? I wish she had never let it go.

Tomorrow came entirely too slowly, but it did eventually arrive. I checked outside several times, looking down the road for Amy's truck. I spotted it, finally, and pulled back into the building to act nonchalant, something I had no chance of doing.

"Hello again," she called out. I smiled. "Hello. What do you have for me today?"

She showed me the artwork she had in her hand. It was a small metal platform with wires sticking out of it. At the top of each wire was a metal heart. The wires were bent like bulrushes in a gentle breeze. "Can we make colors on this?" she asked.

I looked at the metal. "Sure," I said. "We'll have to shine up the metal a bit, but we should be able to take a torch to it, or maybe put it in the tempering furnace. Do you want a solid color on all the hearts, or do you want each to be unique?"

"Unique would be good," she answered.

"Ah, then we'll use the torch. Let's get to work," I said.

I took the heart arrangement over to one of the tables and grabbed a propane torch. "Remember how we got colors with the TIG torch? Well, we'll do something similar with this torch, heating the metal just up to the point where it gets the color we want." I lit the torch and directed the flame onto one of the hearts. After a while, moving the flame back and forth, the heart turned a straw yellow, then a brown, then purple. I took the flame away to stay at purple.

"Lovely," she said. "Can I try?"

"Of course," I replied. I gave her the torch. "Hold the torch like this and wave the flame back and forth, trying to keep the temperature the same across the heart." I placed her fingers on the torch and moved her hand, that lovely hand, back and forth, showing her the motion she needed.

She looked up at me and said, "Well, here goes." She lit the torch and moved the flame back and forth, watching the color change. She tried to stop at purple, but held the flame too long and got a light blue. "Rats," she said, "that's not what I wanted." "No problem," I told her, "we simply polish off the color and try again. In general, you can't mess up metal. That's one of the reasons I like working with it. It's not like life." I said that last part under my breath, but she heard it anyway.

"Did you mess something up in your life?" she asked. I sighed and said "Yeah, a few things. Sometimes things don't work out like you'd hoped, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," she said. "I've had a few of those myself." She turned off the torch and looked directly into my eyes, staring at my soul. "What do you regret most?"

I frowned. "My marriage, I guess." "You're married?" she asked, with a frown equaling my own. "No," I said, "not anymore. I was a while back, but my wife got tired of me. Or something." "Divorced?" "No," I replied, "there was an accident and she died...along with my neighbor. A car crashed into our bedroom."

Understanding flashed across her face. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "It's okay," I said. "I took the whole situation as a hint that I wasn't a very good husband. At the time, I was angry and sad, but that's gone away, mostly." I smiled a sad little smile that she understood.

"What makes you think you weren't a good husband?" she asked.

"Well, she wouldn't have been with my neighbor if I had been a good one, would she?" I replied.

"Hmm," she said, "I'm not sure that's always true. Sometimes people want change. It doesn't mean what they have is not good, it just means they want something different. Of course, different isn't always better. In fact, people who are looking for change generally take the problem with them. I suspect that was the case with your wife."

"Thanks, that's kind of you, but I'm not sure you know me well enough to draw that conclusion," I said.

She smiled and said, "Perhaps that's true, but that can be fixed."

I didn't know what to say. She was expressing interest in me, I think, but I hadn't a clue what to do. "I'm not sure I would be good company. That's why I do welding; it keeps me occupied without having to deal with people all that much."

"Then they're missing out," she said. She pulled me closer and kissed me on the lips.

Oh, my, those lips were soft and warm. I had forgotten so much about a woman, but it all came flooding back in that one moment. I kissed her back, with perhaps more desire and urgency than I intended. She took it all in stride.

"Thanks," she said. "That was lovely." Her smile melted my soul and enraptured my spirits. I was like a kid again and it felt good, so very good.

I cleared my throat, a bit embarrassed by what I had done and the erection that was coming dangerously close to being obvious. "Perhaps we should finish the hearts," I suggested. "Yes," she said, "perhaps we should finish the hearts." Her smile made me wonder which hearts we were talking about.

She turned the torch back on and waved the flame back and forth across each heart, bringing a different color to each. We had to polish out some of the hearts when she wasn't satisfied with the color, but she eventually got what she wanted. I was disappointed when we finished.

"So, how much do I owe you this time?" she asked. "Well," I started, "I owed you $10 to start with, and you did most of the work this time, so I think I still owe you $10."

"And the kiss?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we traded those, so I think we're even," I answered. "Okay," she said with a smile.

"I'm afraid I have to go now," she said. My chest fell. I didn't want her to leave, but her tone of voice told me she didn't want to either. She picked up her tangle of hearts and started to walk out. She turned as she got to the door and said, "Can I ask a favor?"

"Of course," I said. "I doubt there is much I wouldn't say yes to."

"Can you teach me to weld?" she asked. It surprised me, that request, but I said "Of course. It would be my pleasure. When did you have in mind?"

"Saturday morning would work for me," she said.

I smiled. "Saturday it is."

"Until then," she said as she walked out the door, waving to me with a smile. I waved back with a hope.

Saturday took forever to come. Einstein was right; there is such a thing as time dilation. Time moves quickly when you're doing something you like, but when you're waiting to do that thing, it doesn't seem to move at all. But Saturday, as predicted, showed up right after Friday.

I opened the door and waited for her. She was right on time. "Hello," she said, giving me that smile that made me hope for more. "Hello," I answered, "come right in. Punctuality is a very good characteristic for a new student." She returned my smile.

"Is it okay if I lock the door? I'm not open for business today and don't want us to be interrupted." She knew why I was asking. "That's a good idea," she said, "and I can think of worse things than being locked in here with you." This time, there was a smile and a blush. She was even prettier when she blushed. I'm not sure how the blush looked on me, though.

"Today," I said, "we'll start on basic things. We'll learn how to make an arc and how to control the puddle. The arc is very hot, so you have to be careful. Controlling the puddle is the key to a good weld. We'll work with stainless steel, since that's what I have the most of. It warps a lot, more than ordinary steel, but it ends up being pretty, and that's the goal here anyway, right?" "Right," she agreed.

"The first thing we'll do is talk about safety," I continued. "Welding is dangerous if you're careless. I don't want any burns or fires. We have a fire extinguisher here, just in case, but I'm hoping we won't have to use it. We'll cover our hands with gloves, thin enough to allow for the feel of the filler rod but thick enough to protect us. We'll wear a helmet that automatically darkens, so we can see the puddle and arc and not be blinded. And we'll wear a welding jacket, just to keep the sparks off of us. Blisters are fun at first, but they get old real fast." She nodded with understanding. Like most things that are fun, this is dangerous.

I got her set up with gloves, a helmet, and a welding jacket. The jacket hid many of her attributes, much to my dismay, but I still had a good view of her ass from the back. I showed her how to hold the torch and how to hold the filler rod. We were working with quarter inch steel plate, so it was pretty easy. I explained that the rule of thumb is an amp of welding current for each thousandth of an inch of metal we were working with. Since the metal was 0.250 inches, that meant 250 amps. With that much current, she could stay pretty far from the metal and still get a good puddle. I showed her how to control the arc with the foot pedal and told her to give it a shot. She slowly pushed on the pedal and an arc formed. She was too close to the metal and the tungsten electrode got stuck to the piece.

"Whoops," she said. "Don't worry about it," I said, "it happens all the time." I removed the electrode and resharpened it on the grinder with the diamond wheel. "We want to make sure we sharpen the tungsten electrode on a wheel that has only seen stainless steel, otherwise we'll contaminate the electrode and it won't work as well." She nodded that she understood.

She tried again, this time staying further away from the metal. She got a puddle to form and moved it along the metal. After traveling a few inches, she lifted her foot off the pedal and stopped the arc. She raised her helmet visor and looked at her work.

"Not bad," I said. "That's a pretty good bead for a first time. You should be proud." The smile on her face told me she was.

We spent a few hours working on technique and I told her some things about metal and welding. It was more complicated than she thought, but she was clearly interested. She realized that a delicate touch was required to make a good weld and expressed respect for people who could do this sort of thing well.

By the time we had finished for the day, it was close to three in the afternoon. She took her helmet off, then her gloves. She then shrugged her jacket off. "Whew!" she said, "this is pretty warm work, isn't it?" She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, exposing some impressive cleavage. She flapped the material back and forth to cool off. It might have cooled her off, but it only made me hotter. I couldn't help staring at her breasts, what I could see of them. She caught me looking.

"Should I continue?" she asked, smiling at my obvious interest. I could only nod. I don't think I was drooling, but I couldn't swear to it.

She unbuttoned the rest of her shirt, gently pulling the sides away to show a lacy bra and some beautiful breasts. My breathing got shallow and quicker. She reached over to me and started unbuttoning my shirt, saying "You must be a bit hot yourself." I nodded.

She noticed I wasn't saying anything. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked. "No," I said, "my tongue works fine." I pulled her close to me and kissed her lips, dancing my tongue on hers, toying with ideas of what to do next.

She moaned into my mouth, giving me courage to caress a breast. I toyed with the nipple beneath the fabric, but couldn't do what I wanted. I told her to turn around; she complied. I gently pulled her shirt off of her, placed it on the table, then worked on the hooks of the bra. I pulled the bra away from her, then turned her around to see what I had uncovered.

"Beautiful," I whispered as I stared at her breasts, "simply beautiful." Her breasts were just the right size, not so small there was nothing to play with, but not so big they were too large to handle. I rubbed her left breast, playing with the nipple, delighted it became erect and the areola wrinkled with desire. I kissed her nipple, then sucked on it, lightly scraping my teeth across it. I was rewarded with a moan.

"Let's go over to my office," I said. "Your desk?" she asked, not entirely opposed to the idea. "No," I said, " the other one, the one nobody but me uses." I took her over to what passes for my bedroom. There's not much there, it's pretty spartan, but it has a bed and that's all I needed just now. I lead her over to the bed and kissed her again, fondling her breasts as I did so. Her lips were so warm and inviting I almost forgot what I had in mind next.

She finished unbuttoning my shirt and dropped it to the floor. She kissed my nipple, something most women forget to do. I felt her tongue on me and it was delicious. She rose for a kiss I willingly gave her.

I slid my hands down to her jeans and unbuttoned them. Then I slid the zipper down. Lowering myself to my knees, I dropped her jeans and rubbed her sex, the wet spot on her panties already making it clear she was filled with desire. I stood up and rubbed her pussy some more, while she rubbed, through my trousers, what had become a very erect cock. I moaned my appreciation. She dropped my trousers and pulled my underwear down, releasing my cock. It was so erect it hurt. She placed her lips on it and gently kissed it. Slowly, she slid her mouth over my manhood and used her tongue to play with the head, concentrating on underneath, where it was most sensitive. Then, in one long slide, she took all of it in her mouth, all the way to my pubic bone. The feeling was like nothing I had ever experienced. I gasped in surprise and delight. She worked on me with her tongue, lips, and hands, bringing me closer and closer to the edge. I pushed her away. "Not yet," I said. "I don't want to come yet." She smiled at me.

I lifted her up and moved her back to the bed. "I want to taste you," I said. Her eyes got wider as I pulled her panties down and, after she stepped out of them, tossed them with my shirt and pants. Her pussy was shaved and I could see her lips and smell her wetness. I was intoxicated.

I gently lowered her onto the bed and kissed her hungrily; she reciprocated with passion. I slowly licked her ear lobe, skimming the edges and gently exhaling warm breath into her ear. She moaned in response. "I can feel that all the way down to my pussy," she said. "That's the idea," I told her. "I want you to know where I'm headed." I sucked on her nipples, raising each to attention while she pulled on my cock. She wanted to make sure I was ready, but my cock was so hard I couldn't possibly have been more ready than I was. I twirled my tongue around her nipples and areolas, driving her desire higher and higher. While I dragged my teeth gently over her nipples, I reached down to her pussy and rubbed her outer lips. They were wet and swollen with desire. I reached inside with a finger and rubbed some more; her hips arched, pushing her sex higher and closer to me. I licked each nipple and rubbed her lips some more. Then I kissed her body all the way down to her wetness. I placed myself between the legs she spread to give me access. I kissed her legs, starting at her inner thighs and ending just short of her pussy. As I switched from one leg to the other, I gave her clit a quick lick; she gasped and arched each time I did this. A little flick and I was on to the next leg, kissing it down and up to her pussy. Another flick, another gasp and arch, then on to the next leg. Eventually, I stopped at her sex and let my tongue lick her juices, burying deep into her pussy. The moans told me she liked it, the hips arching up told me to continue. I parted her lips and licked the clit mercilessly, driving her higher and higher to her climax. Back and forth I licked her, over and over again, until she was writhing in ecstasy. Then I raised myself over her, cupping her pussy and driving my fingers up into her, searching for the walnut that is her G spot. I found it and pulled my hand to rub her spot and massage her clit. My reward was one moan after another. She grabbed my hand but I continued to pull up and in, driving her even deeper into a world of throbbing pleasure.

She forced her eyes open and grabbed my cock, pulling on it even though it was already hard. "I want you in me, now!" she said. I didn't need to be told twice. I climbed between those two beautiful legs and lowered my hips to place my cock in line with her very wet pussy. I gently pressed my head against her and drove in only an inch. She arched to get me to go deeper, but I pulled out and drove in only a little more, slowly covering my cock with her juices. Each time, I drove a little deeper, and each time she pushed a little harder. Finally, I rammed my cock home as deep as it would get. I pushed against her clit and ground on it with my pubic bone. She screamed with pleasure and squeezed my cock with her pussy. I plowed into her over and over again, feeling her pussy muscles hold me tightly. I kissed her and licked her nipples, all the while driving my cock home. Her screams became louder and my muscles tightened in my cock; I was coming closer to the edge, just as she was. When I felt her entire body tighten and writhe, I pushed harder and harder, bringing myself to my climax as she hit hers. I growled with my peak as she screamed with hers. I pounded her and pounded her, bring waves of pleasure to both of us. My muscles tightened and the lights flashed in my eyes. She jerked in response as my own mind and body flooded with an ecstasy I had never known before.