ROMANCE: The Bad Boy Meeting

by Kevin, Amanda

  She furrowed her brow as she gazed, because there was just something about him; about the way he looked at her like he could see right through her; about the way he spoke, as if the words she heard were only a small percentage of everything he could have said; about the fact that she had only been to his apartment once, had never slept over in it, and had only ever seen him at night, that told her it was probably wise for her to hold back.

  And, just like that, they entered into the point of the evening where she began to doubt his feelings for her.

  He swung her hand. “What are thinking about?” he asked as he raised her hand to his lips and planted a kiss on it.

  Laura shrugged. “Oh nothing.”

  He chuckled at this. “And why don't I believe you?” He asked, shooting her a sidewards glance.

  Laura giggled at this, “Maybe because I'm lying?” She replied in a teasing voice.

  He beat his hand against his chest, her eyebrows mashing together as he feigned insult. “Why do you hurt me so?” He cried.

  Laura's laughter rang through the night. “Oh my God. Stoppit!” she cried.

  But he just drew her in for another kiss. “It's impossible how much I like you right now.” He mumbled with his lips still sitting on hers.

  Laura's heart lept with delight. “Don't say things like that.”

  “Because it makes you feel uncomfortable?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Laura shook her head. “Because then I might believe you.”

  He sighed. “And here I was thinking I had finally burst through your walls.”

  Laura glowered at him. “Says the most mysterious man the on the planet.” She retorted.

  He shook his head, a joking gleam in his eye. “See, you keep saying that, but I don't know what you mean.” he replied.

  Laura laughed. “One of these days, I'll break you.”

  He turned to her, an earnest look in his eyes. “Oh please don't.” he replied, taking her hand in both of his.

  “On one condition.” She replied.

  “What?” He asked turning his attention back in the direction that they were going in.

  “Buy me ice cream.” she replied, tagging a little giggle to the end of that sentence.

  He nodded. “Okay. Okay. You convinced me.”

  Chapter 2

  Laughing, Laura took the first lick of her ice cream cone. “Oh this is really good.” She murmured. She then tipped it towards him. “Do you want some?” She asked.

  Roy smiled, but shook his head. “No I can't eat anymore.”

  Laura glowered at him. “That's funny. I don't recall seeing you eat at all.” She replied as they stepped out of the ice cream shop and back into the night.

  He placed his hand on the small of her back, a small gesture that made her feel so much more protected as the night was getting darker and darker. Laura's stomach lurched, but it wasn't because of her ice cream cone, or the fact that she was actually out on a date with a man who looked like he had just walked off of a Calvin Klein billboard. There was something about the silence on this street in Alphabet city, just beyond the park that housed heroine addicts just a decade ago, that made her want to cling to Roy. As if having read her mind, he pulled her closer, wrapping his arm firmly around her shoulder. “Oh this is great.” she whispered.

  “Can we walk through the park?” He asked as they approached one of the many entrances.

  Laura shrugged. “I mean, it's not my favorite thing to do at midnight, but since you bought me ice cream, I guess I can make an exception.” She replied.

  He shot her a rueful smile. “Oh you'll have fun. I promise.” he replied as he drew just far enough away from her to grab her hand and lead her inside.

  Despite practically being yanked into the other side of the gates, Laura's pace slowed. She darted this way and that, her eyes picking up everything from the shadows the leaves made on the dank earth to the sounds of rustling, no doubt caused by the movements of insanely large rats, or other animals that could probably give her diseases. Nevertheless, they went deeper and deeper inside.

  “Laura?” he said, finally slowing her pace.

  Ironically, walking slower didn't make her feel any better about her surroundings. In fact, as soon as that had slow down to a leisurely pace, she wanted to start power walking again. “What?” She asked, her unease making her sound much more urgent than she intended.

  “Are you afraid?” he asked, not even trying to hide the amusement underlying his voice.

  Laura cocked her head to one side. “Is that surprising to you?” she asked.

  He just shrugged. “I don't know. You seemed so unphased by that horror movie, I just thought you would find this completely normal. In fact, I imagined you doing cartwheels in the bushes.”

  Laura glowered at him. “Why would you ever imagine me doing cartwheels?”

  He laughed, immediately understanding the joke underlying that. “I don't know. Didn't you say you were in gymnastics once?” he asked.

  Laura laughed at that, remembering that night, so many weeks ago when they were standing on her stoop, trying to prolong the good-bye kiss and she told him about the most embarrassing day of her life, which, incidentally, happened to occur while she was in gymnastics class. “Yeah but that was only for a year, when I was like five.” she replied.

  “Oh come on. But doesn't everyone know how to do a cartwheel?” He asked.

  Laura raised an eyebrow at this generalization. “I'm sorry, do you know how to do a cartwheel?” She then demanded.

  But to her surprise. He nodded.

  Her eyes went wide as another laugh forced its way to the top of her throat in mere anticipation of the seeing him twirling over his head like a clown or a child on a sugar high. “Do one!” she demanded. “Right now.”

  He shrugged, as if it was nothing, then let go of her hand. Before Laura could utter a gasp of surprise, he had set off into a running start.

  “Wait! You'll get a splinter!” she hissed, for fear of waking the hobos or the racoons that she very well believed would dart out of the bushes and take her right there.

  He gave her a look that suggested he believed her to be a little bit more than a bit insane. “On asphalt?” he asked in a disbelieving voice.

  She shrugged, running to catch up with him. “I don't know! Broken glass?”

  He just laughed at her. “Lighten up!” he exclaimed as he launched himself into a cartwheel.

  Her eyes went wide as she was caught in utter disbelief as to how he could always make everything look so effortless. “Oh, don't do that.” she mumbled.

  “Do what?” he asked as he jogged back to her. For all that energy he had just expelled he wasn't even panting.

  “Make yourself look so superhuman in front of a mere mortal like me.” she replied, more to herself than to him.

  He released a heavy breath, placing his hand under her chin and lifting her face towards him. “Look, you are so much more than just a woman.” he replied. “And that's a lot coming from me.” but his last words were lost in yet another kiss.

  “But I do have to say. I am a bit disappointed.” he replied once they drew away.

  Laura's eyes went wide. “Oh God. I have been dreading this moment.” she muttered. “What are you surprised about.”

  “I don't know, I just thought you would be more of a woman of the night.” he replied with a shrug.

  Laura narrowed her eyes. “I really just have no idea what you're talking about.” She replied..

  He just kept looking at her. “You are so afraid right now. I can see you trembling in your shoes.”

  Laura couldn't help but get a little annoyed at this. He takes her to one of the most sketchiest parks in New York in the middle of the night, and then gets surprised that she's not “totally feeling it”? “Uh. Hell yeah I'm scared. Haven't you seen rent?” she demanded.

  He nodded. “Yes, but I don't see how that applies.”

  “Well, they all had aides and did her
oine, and lived here.” she explained, wondering why she had to draw the connections for him in the first place.

  “But they were friendly drug addicts.”

  Laura burst out laughing at the paradox that just slipped out of his mouth. “I don't even know what that means.”

  Roy opened his mouth to respond, but nothing but laughter came out of it, so he just put his arm around her again and drew her in even closer. “Look, I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable.” he replied.

  He wasn't wrong about making her feel uncomfortable, but merely acknowledging it was enough grounds for forgiveness. “It's okay.” She replied. Then, in an attempt to redeem herself from sounding like such a wimp in the whole night, she continued with, “This isn't so bad anyway. I kind of like it out here at night. It's calming.”

  He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Good. Because my woman has to be a creature of the night.”

  Laura ignored the way that her heart swelled when he called her, “my woman,” and continued with, “Why, because you're a vampire?” she asked.

  It was as if those words flipped a switch in him. He drew away from her, putting a yard of distance between them and with enough force to stop her in her tracks. Her heart raced in her chest as she gazed at his rigid stance with wide eyes. “What's wrong?” She demanded, as she took a step towards him.

  But, as if by complete reflex, he stepped back, maintaining the distance between them.

  Laura couldn't decide whether she was more embarrassed that she had said something so obviously incredibly wrong, or bewildered at the fact that what she said had elicited such a response out of him. “What did I say?” she demanded, desperate to get him acting normal again.

  Then, as if he, himself, had turned that switch in the back of his head, back to the off position, he shook his head and stepped towards him. “It's nothing. I just used to have nightmares about those as a kid. It was pretty bad. My mom had to take me to therapy at one point.” By the time he had finished saying that, he had reached her side and the two were on their way again.

  “That's odd.” Laura replied, a mischievous look in her eye.

  “What? The vampire thing? I know.” he replied absentmindedly.

  Laura shook her head. “No, the thought of you having a mom.” She retorted.

  He let out a fit of hearty laughter, and Laura knew that she had won back his favor. “Everyone has one.” he replied in a joking voice.

  Laura glowered at him. “Oh you know what I mean.”

  After that, the two of them settled into a calm silence, occupying their senses by taking in the night around them. Roy tried his best to keep a firm hold on her to keep her from freaking out and Laura tried her best not to think of every rustle in the bushes as her killer coming to slash her throat. They had almost reached the other side when Laura saw something move out of the corner of her eye. “Oh my God, Roy.”she muttered in an excited voice.

  “What?” He demanded, darting around them.

  But Laura had her eyes trained on a small rabbit who had found its way to the asphalt trail. His white fur gleamed silver in the moonlight, and his almond eyes, big and beady, seemed to carry the depth of all the oceans in the world inside of them. She found herself entranced as she slipped her phone out of her small clutch and knelt for a picture. “Oh, wait. I have to get this. Oh my God. It's going to look so good when I edit it.” she replied and focused her camera on it, her eyes wide as she was still mesmerized by the beauty of the creature right in front of her. For a moment, she had completely forgotten her fears about being in that park; had completely forgotten that it was so late at night to begin with.

  Roy chuckled at this. “Hashtag. No filter.” he muttered.

  It took everything in Laura to suppress that laughter. The truth was that she didn't want to scare that rabbit away. However, before she could even get a good picture of it, it scurried away. It's little feet moved so fast that it was completely out of sight before she could snap even one picture. “What the-” she started as she darted up, her gaze sweeping the ground around her.... but he was nowhere to be found. “Oh no!” she cried, finding herself stupidly disappointed that she could not get a good look at that rabbit.

  But Roy had already taken his first step towards the bushes. “Don't worry. I know where it went.” he replied, reaching his hand out for her phone.

  At the sight of him putting in so much effort for this, Laura already felt as if she had overreacted with the whole thing. “Oh, it's not that important. Don't worry about it.” she told him.

  But he just shook his head and swiped her phone out of her hand. “I'd feel awful if you didn't get at least one little thing out of this insanely scary walk.”

  Laura dropped her shoulders. “Okay. It's not that scary.” she replied, still a little hesitant about sending the guy she was dating after a random rabbit, just so that she could have a cool picture for social media.

  But he didn't want to wait any longer. “Laura, just let me do this. I don't understand.” With that, he disappeared into the bushes with nothing but his footsteps to indicate that he was still there.

  Laura sighed a little at a loss for what to do or think about in his absence. She paced back and forth, her heart swelling in that scary way that it does when she realizes that she might like someone a little bit more than they liked her. “How am I even going to ask him to be exclusive?” she muttered to herself as she stared at her white, pointed flats. Was tonight the night? Just as she was telling herself to calm down before she got way too ahead of herself, she looked up to find a man towering over her. His eyes were ice blue and his body, though draped in layers of torn clothing, was heavy revealing two forearms with his veins protruding just under the thin surface of worn skin. He held on hand out to her, but in the other hand was a blade, glinting in the moonlight.

  Chapter 3

  “Give me your money.” his voice shook enough to let her know that he was definitely doped out on something, but firm enough for her to realize that he would not hesitate to use that knife in his hand.

  Eight years in New York had hardened Laura enough to say, “No.”

  He raised one of those bushy eyebrows, cocking his head to the side as if he couldn't believe she would refuse him. He took another step towards her, then stood his ground, shifting his weight from foot to foot swaying back and forward.

  Laura could say that she was incredibly frightened even though he couldn't even hold her gaze. She stood frozen in her spot, her stomach lurching and her skin covered in goosebumps. She could muster enough brain power to refuse him the expensive bag her late mother had given her for her 21st birthday. “I can't give you this. I'm sorry.” she replied, but because he had demanded it of her and not even deigned to ask her like a nice person, she wasn't the least bit sorry. Besides, Roy was coming back at any moment.... wasn't he?

  “It wasn't a question.” he replied in his sickly voice.

  Laura shook her head frantically, her heart fluttering in her chest and desperately calling out for Roy to come to her rescue. Yet, conveniently, his footsteps had already faded away. “Okay. Fine.” She replied, but she failed at keeping her frustration out of her voice. She rummaged through her clutched for her small wallet, but she always packed light when she went out with Roy, taking nothing but a credit card just in case, by some freak accident, one of his declined. Aside from that, she'd only have cash if it had been left in it from the last time she used it. A sigh slipped out of her lips as she shook her head. This guy was in for a big disappointment. “Look. I don't have any money in here.” she muttered as she opened her small wallet for him to see for himself.

  He glowered disbelievingly at her. “Then give me the bag.” he demanded, lunging for it.

  Laura jumped out of his reach, some sort of primal protective instinct igniting inside of her. “I can't give this to you. I refuse.” she hissed, wondering how the hell Roy still hadn't shown up yet.

  He winced as if in complete disbelief that she
would deny him; a man clearly much bigger than her and brandishing a weapon of his own, when she stood there, caught off guard and unarmed. “It wasn't a request.”

  “I know, but it's a waste of time. You won't get anything for it.” She replied, misguidedly thinking that she was going to be able to reason with him.

  He just took another step at her and wrapped his rough hand around her wrist, yanking her so that she was standing that much closer to him. She could smell his foul breath and rancid odor of a body that had not seen a shower in weeks. “Give it to me!” he growled.