Slippery When Wet || Tyren AU

Chapter 2

Lauren takes some satisfaction in the way the helpless stranger flinches at the threatening tone in her voice, so she comes at him again for good measure.

"And why the FUCK are you in my yard?"

At this, the water-treading man rotates in place to face her, and for the first time Lauren is able to get a good look at the intruder.

But now she kind of wishes she hadn't, because this man's eyes are disarmingly green, much like her own. To make matters worse, his bushy eyebrows raise kindly along with his hands, palms open next to his head as if to show he means no harm, and Lauren already feels her guard dropping.

"Miss, I'm so sorry I scared you."

Fuck. Even his voice is calm and soothing, low with a hint of rasp, but Lauren resolves not to lower her weapon just yet.

"I shoulda knocked and introduced myself before coming back here. I'm Tyrone Griffin," he continues, cautiously reaching toward the soggy baseball cap limply floating beside him, "the pool cleaner from Atlantic Pool & Spa."

And sure enough, Lauren can clearly make out the embroidered company logo stitched onto the cap in dark blue. But she's still skeptical, knowing that scammers and burglars can get pretty resourceful these days.

"So you have a hat," she challenges with an unimpressed frown. "You could've swiped that fucker from anyone. Try again, asshole."

Even though she had been cursing at the man from the start, her vulgarity still seems to catch him off guard. His full lips open and close soundlessly as he struggles to find a better explanation. Finally, a light of recognition flashes across his face, and he tries again.

"You're Lauren, right?"

Now Lauren's the one caught off guard.

"Why the fuck do you know my name," she demands more than asks.

"Your mom said her daughter Lauren would be staying here, and that's why she hired me in the first place. 'I trust her to take care of the dog, but not my pool and hot tub' is what she said," he explained, cracking a slight smile at the quote.

Lauren maintains an unamused demeanor, but after the mention of Dash, she's beginning to wonder if maybe this guy is actually legit. But he could've just taken a lucky guess that the Jaureguis have a dog... or maybe it isn't luck and he cased the place before Clara and Mike left. Opting for the safer route of assuming the worst, she keeps the pressure on.

"Sure she did, Tyrone, if that's actually your name," she sneers, not letting up. "I don't buy it."

Now the man in the pool is starting to look a bit exasperated, but he takes a deep breath and tries again.

"Miss, I promise you my name is Ty, your mother even asked my name so she could write it down on the note she was gonna leave for you. I'm from Atlantic Pool & Spa, and I'm supposed to come at four every day for the next three weeks to treat the pool and hot tub. I swear I ain't here to cause problems."

His mention of her mom's note gets Lauren thinking. Clara did leave instructions on a sticky note, but it was just a list of what to feed Dash and when to give his medications, followed by a reminder that garbage pick-up is on Thursdays, and something about "you don't have to clean the pool" at the very bottom... oh.

Lauren inhales sharply through her nose at the realization that she didn't check to see if her mother's note had a back side. She keeps her tough facade though, still not ready to believe this Ty guy until she has definite proof he's for real.

"Okay then, Ty," she announces, pointedly emphasizing his name. "If you really aren't here to cause problems, you'll stay exactly where you are until I come back."

She keeps a wary eye on him the entire way to the sliding door, where her dog is still watching on through the glass. With her fingers resting on the door handle, she shoots Ty her best warning look. "I mean it. Don't. Move."

With that, she scoots inside and sprints upstairs, Dash hot on her heels. Resting on the kitchen counter right where she left it is the handwritten note from her mother. Lauren quickly scans the front, confirming all the details she remembers, then flips the paper over. Sure enough, the reverse side is halfway covered in Clara's penmanship.

"Tyrone Griffin from Atlantic Pool & Spa will be coming every day at 4 to clean the pool and hot tub so you don't have to :)," Lauren reads aloud. "If you need to change the time, Ty said his schedule is flexible, so just work it out with him."

She closes her eyes for a moment before groaning her frustration out loud. Half annoyed at herself for not flipping the paper over and half annoyed at her mother for actually writing on the back side of a damn sticky note, Lauren sighs and tries to figure out how to make things right with the truthful man she left stranded in the deep end of her pool.

"I guess a towel and an apology would be a good start," she grumbles to herself, traipsing back downstairs to where they keep their stash of pool towels. Even though she doesn't really care what this stranger thinks of her, she still roots through the towels trying to find the most presentable-looking one. After selecting an extra-long towel even though the man barely looked six feet tall, Lauren remembers the long dreads adorning his head and figures they must be heavy and waterlogged, so she grabs a second fluffy towel before heading outside.

To her mild surprise, Ty is exactly where she left him, treading water smack in the middle of the deep end. The only things that changed are he's placed his baseball cap backwards on his head and he's now facing the house instead of the pool shed. He raises his eyebrows as Lauren approaches, asking his unspoken question. Both parties remain silent until Lauren reaches the ladder for the deep end of the pool, a towel in each hand. Brilliant green eyes lock, one set apologetic, the other still soft and kind as they've been through the entire ordeal.

As Lauren opens her mouth to speak, the fleeting thought of how attractive this man is streaks through her consciousness, and she can only fumble out a weak apology.

"Umm, you can get out now. My bad."