Varmint Exterminator Extraordinaire

Still Matt's POV

I'm sure I looked stupid as I just stared down at her with my mouth wide open. Light brown eyes stared up into mine, questioning. Curly dark hair framed her pale face, and her full bottom lip disappeared into her mouth as she bit down on it.

"Sorry, I was just expecting some big burly guy named Fred," I said, speaking for the first time since I looked at her. Her light laugh filled my ears, and I smiled.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. So, squirrels?" she asked.

"They're fucking everywhere," I mumbled and looked up at the ceiling again.

"Well, I'm here to solve the problem. Do you object to me catching them alive?" I looked away from the ceiling and down at the girl in front of me. Her eyes held a fearful look.

"If you can catch them alive, that's fine with me," I said.

"Great! Lead me to the attic," she said and smiled up at him.

"Right this way." I opened the door farther and let her step inside. I leaned forward a little and closed the door, realizing how short she was. I was six-one, and she couldn't have been any taller than five-one.

"I'm Sam, by the way," she said and stuck her hand out. I took her small fingers in mine and smiled.

Sam's POV

"Matt," the guy said as he slowly released my fingers. I hadn't been prepared for the tall, muscle-bound man who had opened the door. Where was my grandpa-aged customer?! I had recovered from the shock while he processed the idea of a female exterminator. What I really hadn't been prepared for was his smile. Full lips, straight white teeth, and dimples. I'm talking about the kind of dimples that makes hearts speed up and knees go weak.

"So, how long have you had the squirrels?" I asked.

"I'd say about three weeks," Matt said and looked at the ceiling again. His hazel eyes looked slightly paranoid.

"And you're just now calling?" People usually called after a day or so, not three weeks.

"Well, for the first two weeks I thought they'd get bored and leave. Then they just stayed," Matt said. We were walking through his house now, and I could hear the squirrels overhead. How he put up with them for three weeks, I'll never know. I would've went crazy by now. Wait a minute...

"Why do you have a broom?" I asked. He stopped and I somehow managed not to run into his back. I saw him tilt his head, towards the ceiling, and then I saw his broad shoulders move as he sighed.

"I think they drove me crazy." I was so busy concentrating on the way his muscles moved beneath histight black shirt, that I almost didn't hear him.

"I can fix that," I said quietly. Matt didn't turn around. Instead, he nodded his head and started walking again. I followed him to the end of the hallway, where we were left at a dead end. I looked up and saw the small trap door in the ceiling, but of course I was too short to reach it.

"If you could just pull that down a little, I can get this problem done and over with," I said. Matt finally turned around and looked down at me, and he was biting on the silver ring in his lip.

"I tried to get rid of them." I felt my eyebrows pull together as I looked at the heavily tattooed man in front of me.

"And...?" I asked.

"It attacked me." I tried to control my facial expressions, but it wasn't working very well. My lips tipped into a smile, and Matt rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead and laugh. You wouldn't be the first one," Matt grumbled.

"Oh, quit pouting and let me in the attic," I said. Matt reached up, exposing a bit of his stomach, and opened the little door. Steps came down, and Matt jumped back. I let out a small giggle; Matt sent me a glare. I pushed past him and started up the stairs, a wide smile on my face. The stairs creaked under my slight weight and I peered into the basement. I took the flashlight from my pocket and flicked it on. I immediately saw the family of squirrels in the corner.

"Aww, Matt, they're so cute!" I whispered and looked down. Matt was staring up at me with an unreadable expression. I started to move, but Matt's fingers closed around my ankle.

"Be careful, Sam," Matt whispered.

"Just leave this to the professionals, sir," I said. Matt released my ankle, and I went farther into the attic. There were a few boxes here and there, and the squirrels had made quite a nest using some old newspapers. I stopped a few feet from the small family of four and sat down. The squirrels studied me as I did them. Slowly, one of them crept towards me. I smiled and waited.

One Hour Later

"Psst! Sam!" Matt whispered. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the top of his head and his eyes. I smiled and waved at him.

"You gotta come here, Matt!" I whispered back. I couldn't see his whole face, but the look in his eyes was very clear.

"That's okay. I'll just stay here," Matt said.

"Oh, come on! They're adorable and you gotta see them," I said. Matt slowly revealed the rest of the face, and then he was in the attic. He stayed low and basically crawled over to where I was at. He stopped behind me and peered over my shoulder. Three of the squirrels were in my lap, and the youngest one was cradled in my hands.

"How'd you do that?" Matt's breath tickled the back of my neck, and I shrugged.

"I've always had a knack for animals. Can we set them free?" I twisted my head to look at Matt, and our noses almost touched. If I hadn't had a "button nose", as Reina called it, our noses would be touching.

"If you want to," he said, looking down at the furry animals.

"Clean out one of the boxes and we'll carry them down," I said. I listened to Matt clean out a box as I continued to play with the squirrels. Before I knew it, the box was next to me. I gently placed all the squirrels inside, and then Matt and I walked back over to the attic door. Matt went down first, and then he uneasily held the box as I climbed down. I took the box after my feet were back on the ground, and Matt led the way to his backyard.

"So, what now?" Matt asked and looked over at me.

"We let them leave in one of your trees, instead of in your attic." I walked over to the biggest tree and knelt down. I took the squirrels out of the box, and they all looked up at with wide black eyes. I pointed to the tree and smiled.

"I found you a new home, with lots of nuts!" I said. The squirrels looked up at the tree and started up it. The smallest one bumped my knee with its head, and then it scurried after its family. I stood up and took a few steps back, only to run into a brick wall. Wait, scratch that. Only to run into Matt. His arm curled around my waist and together we looked up at the squirrels.

"I'm so glad that's over with," Matt mumbled.

"Now you can actually sleep at night," I said as I slipped away from him. I turned to face him and he was poking at the spot under his eye.

"You can tell?"

"Just a little. Don't worry. You can catch up on your beauty sleep now." Matt rolled his eyes at me, and together we walked back through his house. Within minutes we were back at his front door. I had taken one step outside his house when I felt Matt's hand curl around my elbow. I stopped to look up at him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my friend's house tomorrow. We're having a barbecue, nothing fancy," Matt said. I thought over it.

"Can I bring a friend?" I asked.

"Sure. The more the merrier," Matt said and smiled.

"There they are again. It's those dimples," I thought to myself.

"So, how're we gonna meet up?" I asked.

"You and your friend can come by here at two?" Matt stopped and looked at me. I nodded my head and he continued. "And then we can drive over."

"Sounds great. See you tomorrow," I said before turning and walking away. I slipped back into the company van with a wide smile and thought "Wait until I tell Reina about this."